"Convincing the parents and gaining their trust was the hardest" - Prashant Issar, CEO and cofounder of Mirchi and Mime, a restaurant in Mumbai, which has hired 44 Speech and Hearing Impaired persons as its mainstay staff. Read the PatientsEngage interview with Prashant
To have a restaurant manned essentially by speech and hearing impaired is an innovative concept. When and how did you embark on starting Mirchi and Mime?
I and my partner Anuj are both alumni of Henley Business School, UK. We decided to start a restaurant group with a global footprint. Or company aspires to two values:
- Commitment and integrity are more important than capability and skill.
- It is important for businesses to generate wealth for society in addition to generating wealth for individuals.
Whilst looking for investors we met two gentlemen who suggested a video they had seen on Facebook about a restaurant in Toronto, Canada which employed speech and hearing impaired (SHI) staff. We felt this was aligned to our values and decided to give it a try.
What is their staff strength and in what capacity are they employed?
We have 44 SHI staff, they are employed as service staff, cashiers, hostesses, bar tenders, food runners and housekeeping.
The hospitality industry, especially a restaurant, is very customer driven. How has the interaction of the speech and hearing challenged been as servers?
The staff have undergone a training program with four modules, viz. Life sciences, Job readiness, Simple English, Service skills.
We have created manager interventions at the beginning of the experience to introduce the guests to the concept. The menu is designed with an optimal level of difficulty to aid seamless communication.
Where did you’ll recruit the staff from?
We have recruited our staff from a variety of sources, some of which are:
- Rochiram Thadani High School for the Hearing Impaired.
- NASEOH job fair for the disabled.
- Peer recommendations
You and your partner learnt the sign language to communicate with your staff. Has it changed your perception about the differently abled?
Yes, Sign language is a communication tool and is ever evolving. Our interactions have certainly given us a glimpse into their lives and taught us humility.
These days, more and more companies in India like Titan, IBM, MphasiS, KFC, Lemon Tree, Coffee Day, and the Taj Group of Hotels, are opening their doors to provide employment opportunities to the differently abled persons. What are the 3 biggest benefits of employing the speech and hearing impaired?
- Smile
- Focus
- Intuition
What are some of the challenges you have faced setting up this unique venture?
Convincing the parents, gaining their trust.
By employing the hearing and speech impaired, Mirchi and Mime is also sensitizing customers. What has been the customer response so far?
Our customers have been wonderful. Our endeavour is to make this mainstream within our industry, hence we are not looking for sympathy rather empathy is desirable.
What your plans for the future?
We aim to open 21 such restaurants offering employment to over 500 SHI staff.
