Union McDonald’s employees Quintin Mallet, Amanda Itillis andAnthony Young may not be able to talk to customers very easily, butit does not mean they cannot deliver service with a smile.
All three employees, who have been working at McDonald’s forabout two years, are deaf.
From across the room, 19-year-old Itillies flashes quick handsigns to Mallet and smiles as she wipes down a bright blue chair.She looks up from the chair at him again, giggles, then scans theroom to see if anyone is watching. She signs to him one more timeand quickly shifts to another task.
Mallet, who is picking up some leftover newspapers, gives her anod and flashes signs back as he steadily finishes his tasks.
And they continue to communicate — no matter how loud the UnionMcDonald’s can get during the peak lunch hours.
At first look, communication may seem to pose a problem forYoung, Itillis, Mallet and other workers, but supervisor ArnoldLirette said it is not a problem.
The three get along “extremely well” working at McDonald’s,Lirette said.
Lirette said out of six stores he supervises, three of thememploy workers with disabilities. He said in most cases, theworkers either are physically or mentally handicapped.
At the Union, Mallet works in the kitchen, while Young andItillis work in the restaurant dining room.
“They work harder than anybody here,” he said.
Other McDonald’s employees and customers feel the same.
One McDonald’s manager, who goes by Gerry C., said she hasworked with other handicapped employees at other store locationsand is used to it.
“I can communicate well with them,” Gerry C. said. “They reallyare sweet kids, too.”
Steven Bickham, business management junior, said he has seen acouple of the deaf employees working and he never realized theywere deaf until he saw them signing to each other.
“It would be hard if they worked as a cashier and had tocommunicate with people, but just cleaning is fine,” he said.
Bickham said he thinks it is good that McDonald’s hires peoplewith disabilities, and if he were to become a business manager inthe future, he would certainly hire deaf employees.
Kati Leboeuf, a biochemistry sophomore, said she also thinks itis good that McDonald’s hires handicapped people.
Jennie Bourgeois works specifically with deaf students for theOffice of Disability Services. She said the University employsseveral deaf staff members all over campus.
She also said the Americans with Disabilities Act has played alarge role in making it easier for people with disabilities toovercome discrimination.
“But it is still an uphill battle,” Bourgeois said.