At 5:30 am on weekdays, the entire city of Beijing was still shrouded in night and sleep, and Chen Zizhong had already left. As the store manager of Starbucks Youan International Store, who lives in Fangshan District, he needs to transfer twice to the subway before 6:30 pm to reach the store located near the Xitie Ying subway entrance in Fengtai District.
Passing by countless people on the Beijing subway, no one would notice any difference between Chen Zizhong and others; As a hearing-impaired person, Chen Zizhong grew from a "coffee novice" to a store manager in just over three years. His story is full of tension, setting an example for many disabled people seeking employment.
On the eve of International Day for Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd, Chen Zizhong sat down again after half a year to be interviewed by a reporter from China Times, discussing his emotional journey along the way. Unlike the previous interview, which was at a sign language store in Xitieying several hundred meters away, the location of this interview is the store he manages; Another difference lies in the fact that during his first conversation with our reporter, he had just passed the fiercely competitive "Store Deputy Manager" exam. Now, just over half a year has passed, and he has become the first hearing-impaired store manager at Starbucks China, managing a core Starbucks store on his own.
The first hearing-impaired store manager, Cheng Changlu
Around 10am is the time when store manager Chen Zizhong can take a little breath - between 8am and 9am, it is the busiest morning rush hour for Youan International Store. This store, located on the first floor of a Grade A office building between the South Second and Third Ring Roads, will receive waves of office workers' "coffee fast" and takeout orders. In the idle period after this, the passenger flow began to stabilize, and there would be consumers in small groups coming to order and inquire about products related to festivals. Chen Zizhong would greet customers at the first time, enthusiastically make recommendations and provide answers.
When you first meet Chen Zizhong, you may feel that he is a bit introverted, but you can also directly feel his sincerity: before you say anything, your eyes are already curved with a smile. He, who is just thirty years old this year, comes from Dandong, Liaoning. Due to illness in his childhood, he lost some of his hearing and his speech was not clear enough. After finishing high school and university in Beijing, he worked in computer modeling and other related jobs in Beijing and Guangzhou. He spent his days dealing with computers and had few opportunities to communicate with people.
Chen Zizhong's original intention for joining Starbucks was to communicate with others, improve his listening and speaking skills, and truly integrate into society. In July 2020, Chen Zizhong joined Starbucks Beijing Xitieying Sign Language Store. Among the same group of hearing-impaired baristas who received training at the time, he was the most diligent. He successfully passed the coffee master certification in November of that year.
Due to excellent work performance, Chen Zizhong was promoted to the position of duty supervisor in April 2021; At the beginning of 2023, he stood out from the selection of 3000 duty supervisors in Starbucks North China and achieved a good result of second place in the written test in the fiercely competitive "Store Deputy Manager" exam. In October of this year, he was promoted again and assumed the position of new manager of Youan International Store.
Unlike the Xitieying Sign Language Store, Starbucks Youan International Store is a now store that supports online point to store pickup. At present, in addition to Chen Zizhong, there is also a hearing-impaired barista working harmoniously with a healthy listening barista in the store.
As a store manager now, compared to his previous experience in the West Rail Camp store, Chen Zizhong not only needs to communicate with internal colleagues and customers, but also needs to independently undertake more external communication functions, which further tests his ability to communicate with others. During the interview, it happened that the street staff at the location of the store came to inspect the fire safety and other work of the store. As the store manager, Chen Zizhong also needed to contact the street staff without any communication barriers. In his words, "They often come to inspect the work, and everyone is already very familiar with them."
Compared to only saying a few simple words when talking to people three years ago, Chen Zizhong now speaks significantly more. When he returns to his hometown in Liaoning during vacation, his family is also surprised by his changes. When asked by reporters about his plans for the future, he still said with a hint of shyness, "If I want to manage this store well and be a good store manager, I still need to continue to work hard." Perhaps life should be simple and simple, but when you know and do good things, don't ask about your future.
Disability integration and "guides"
For all disabled individuals heading towards work, walking alone in a completely unfamiliar environment has a period of adaptation, during which the "guide" plays an important role. For Chen Zizhong, Starbucks' listening partners, as well as the standardized workflow and training behind the Starbucks platform, are all considered his "leaders".
It is understood that when Chen Zizhong first joined the West Rail Camp Sign Language store in July 2020, she was not good at words. At that time, the store manager Fangqi was the guide who led him into the coffee world. During the process of training Chen Zizhong and other hearing-impaired partners, she also put in a lot of patience and effort. "Hearing impaired partners either read lip language or need to be very loud, they can hear clearly, and many contents are often repeated many times. At that time, she did not feel tired, only felt that there was a responsibility on her body." Fangqi said.
In addition to Fangqi, Liu Jing, the second store manager of Xitie Yingdian, helped Chen Zizhong "fly higher". Provide one-on-one training and hands-on management experience to support him in his progression from supervisor to store manager. Whenever he needs help, Liu Jing will respond and provide support.
When Chen Zizhong first became a store manager and needed to lead an independent team, he told a reporter from Huaxia Times that he would initially be very anxious, worried that he would be a hearing-impaired person and not speak very fluently. He also feared that due to his poor listening and speaking abilities, his listening partners would not be willing to accept his management. He also communicated his troubles with his immediate regional manager. After learning about Chen Zizhong's inner unease, the district manager specially convened an internal meeting of the store, where everyone openly discussed Chen Zizhong's role and management, gained the support and understanding of his colleagues, and dispelled Chen Zizhong's inner concerns.
When it comes to the process of integrating disabled people into employment, what is the most needed help? Chen Zizhong said that at the beginning of entering the employment environment, the adaptability is not good, and someone needs to take care of it for a period of time. But he added that once disabled employees become independent, they should let go to avoid forming dependence.
Having been treated kindly by others, Chen Zizhong also played an invisible role as a "guide" in the process of his wings gradually growing. With a keen observation ability, he is able to carefully capture the needs of others and provide timely assistance. Whether it is his hearing-impaired friends in Beijing or his friends from other cities who come to learn and exchange ideas, he is enthusiastic about sharing his own experiences and insights.
Zhou Lan, a deaf coffee master currently working at a Starbucks store in Xitieying, is one of Chen Zizhong's most proud "apprentices". Initially, Zhou Lan often made mistakes in basic beverage making. With his encouragement and experience, he not only passed the coffee master exam, but also achieved a good result of second place in the coffee competition organized by the Beijing Disabled Persons' Federation. In addition, Chen Zizhong is also an active member of the Xitie Yingdian Sign Language Coffee Classroom, working hard to enhance understanding and integration among different communities, and integrating the aroma of coffee into the silent world, so that more hearing-impaired people can learn about coffee and fall in love with it.
Deep fusion
Integration is increasingly becoming the main direction for the development of disability in China. In recent years, relevant departments of the central government have issued special policies to promote and develop various forms of employment for people with disabilities, including proportional employment, auxiliary employment, centralized employment, independent employment, and flexible employment; In the process of promoting employment for people with disabilities, employment enterprises and platforms also play an important role.
Taking Starbucks China, where Chen Zizhong is located, as an example, in recent years, Starbucks has been continuously creating a unique "third space" experience for diverse groups. Since the first sign language store in China made its debut in Guangzhou in 2019, Starbucks has opened 16 sign language stores in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other places. The latest move is to open the first sign language store in Jiangsu on November 28th in Nanjing.
Cultivating hearing-impaired baristas represented by Chen Zizhong and accelerating the opening of sign language stores is a microcosm of Starbucks' deep cultivation in the Chinese market. After entering the Chinese market for more than 20 years, China has become Starbucks' largest international market and one of the most important strategic markets. According to Starbucks' fourth quarter financial report for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2023, released on November 2, revenue in the Chinese market for the fourth quarter was $841 million, a year-on-year increase of 8%, and a year-on-year increase of 15% after excluding the impact of exchange rate fluctuations. In the fourth quarter, the Chinese market saw a net increase of 326 new stores, reaching a historic high, with a total of 6806 stores in China.
Previously, on September 19th, Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park was officially completed and put into operation in Kunshan, Jiangsu. Starbucks was the first in China to achieve large-scale integration of the vertical industrial chain from planting, procurement, to blending, baking, and distribution, ultimately presenting customers. According to Wang Jingying, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks China, the production of the industrial park enables Starbucks to quickly carry out coffee blending and product innovation, especially by launching different blending coffee products tailored to the tastes of Chinese consumers and creating unique coffee roasting curves. All of this is to ensure that Starbucks can achieve high-quality development in China in the future and establish stronger development advantages.
In addition to the Innovation Industrial Park, Starbucks China Innovation Technology Center settled in Shenzhen in August this year to enhance its technical capabilities and data infrastructure construction, further driving the digitalization process of its stores and multi-channel. According to the plan, Starbucks China Innovation Technology Center will invest approximately 1.5 billion yuan for the first time in the next three years, recruiting hundreds of outstanding technology talents in the initial stage, providing a development platform for people-oriented innovation, redefining the retail landscape and customer experience.