Customers who stammer expose discrimination in coffee shops

New research from STAMMA, the UK's leading stammering charity, reveals how ordering in coffee shops can be a hostile and undignified experience for people who stammer. 
 

The report uncovers the pervasive humiliation faced by some people who stammer as they are mimicked, rushed and ignored when attempting to place an order in coffee shops. 
 

STAMMA is urging coffee shops to overhaul their practices, train their staff and provide alternative ways of ordering as they are currently failing to provide an accessible service to people who stammer. 

Over 1,500 STAMMA members and supporters shared their experiences. The results highlight the issue: 

• 58% of people who stammer don't order what they want to avoid humiliation, 

• instead choosing options which are easier to say. 

• 90% cite their stammer as the reason. 

• 83% find it difficult to say their name on demand, yet this is standard practice in Starbucks. 

Jane Powell, CEO of STAMMA said: 
 

"We're calling on the major brands to make such a mundane task accessible for people who stammer. We're looking for basic training to be put in place so that coffee shop staff can recognise when someone is stammering and don't behave in a manner which is potentially litigious."
 

STAMMA has produced the guide 'Stammering & Coffee Shops' to help people working in hospitality meet the needs of their customers who stammer. They have contacted seven major high street brands, inviting them to review their practices in collaboration. Two have responded favourably but five major brands have yet to respond to STAMMA's request for a meeting. 
 

STAMMA is inviting their members to report back to them about any negative experiences they experience when ordering a coffee. 

Notes to Editor 

The campaign is part of STAMMA's Space to Stammer strategy, which aims to create a culture where consideration for people who stammer, whether socially, in the marketplace, in education or at work, is normal, akin to checking for wheelchair access. So that stammering is seen as unremarkable; a fact, a way some people talk. Something to be thought about when it comes to, say, customer service, online banking or oral exams.