My number one piece of advice to sighted people: ask, don’t assume. We’re all different, and there’s no one-size-fits-all accessibility solution.

For example, Braille is great, but most blind and low vision people don’t use it. So it helps a subset of the blind community, but not all of us. Likewise, someone like Molly Burke isn’t exactly a spokesman; she can speak to her own experience, and probably give some general tips, but does not speak for all blind people. i.e. an adaptation or way of doing thing that Molly uses may or may not be something that I use.

Hence, ask; don’t assume. Ask what you can do to help. Maybe the person needs help with the seasonal menu, maybe they don’t. Maybe they prefer you help them find a seat, or bring them their drink, maybe they don’t. Maybe they need to take your elbow (and there isn’t really such a thing as physical distanced sighted guide, by definition), maybe they prefer to follow you. Ask, and let the person tell you what their specific needs and adaptations are.

I can’t tell you how many quick-service establishments I’ve been to that don’t have a paper menu. I can’t read the menu on the wall, not even with assistive devices, but I can read a paper menu with a magnifier. Having a paper menu available is great for people with low vision.

My last visit to a Starbucks, the barista asked if I wanted to wait at a table for my order. She helped with finding a table & brought my order when it was ready. I can say it was much easier receiving my order this way than having to locate it from a counter.

You know what I would find immensely helpful? Please call out the names on the drinks when you put them on the bar! I can't read the labels, and I definitely don't want to be touching people's drinks or food. Also, please know where your braille and large-print menus are if I ask to see them. It's sometimes hard to tell if someone is VI or not. We all don't have canes, so we might say something like, "I don't see very well. What kind of pastries do you have today? I can't see the menu from here; you have a large print menu, right?" Thank you for asking. I know how hard you all have it now, so knowing you are trying to make my visit easier is a very nice thing to do. Cheers!

Thanks for asking this question. It's appreciated!

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There are already some great suggestions here so I'll just add one.

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I just turned 40 recently so I'm not sure how useful this would be to younger blind/visually impaired people, but, I find it very useful to get a quick orientation to where things are using the numbers on the face of an analog clock.

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For example: Your shrimp cocktail is at 10 o'clock, your Champaign is at 2 o'clock, on your plate, the Chilean seabass is at 4 o'clock... You get the idea.

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Now in the context of a coffee shop, it'd be useful to hear "Your espresso is at 12 o'clock and your orange cranberry muffin is at 6 o'clock." for example.

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This can be useful for finding the door and finding the counter as well as long as the place isn't huge. If somebody says "Hey, the exit is at 3 o'clock." that gives me a decent idea of where I need to head to.

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Again, while I find this useful, I'm not sure how relevant it is today. (That being said, every child should learn the analog clock face whether they are sighted or blind.)

Molly isn't a spokesperson, she's just a youtuber, as I suspect other people will have said!

If I look lost, say hey, can I help you out at all there? Do not grab, ask, and I'll grab you. All these places are laid out differently and they are full of chairs and busy people. Obviously if it's a choice of a starbucks I don't know or a costa (in the UK) or a coffee bean and tea leaf or a tim hortons or a hudsons or whatever I do know, then I will go to the place I know just to save everyone's effort and time. I do have a coffee habit to feed though and if it comes to it, I will happily turn up at your door and look lost until someone helps. I need to know where to order and where to pick up. Tell me direction and distance.

Ideally put the drink in my hand. I can't see at all, so when you call out "latte for Jan" if you put it on the countertop I will have to feel for it, which takes ages, risks me grabbing the wrong thing, and pisses off the other customers as I fondle their drinks and snacks. I'll stick my hand out and if you need me to lean in so you can reach, just say so, but stick it in my hand. This won't apply to everyone, you've got to be pretty blind not to be able to see a whacking great white coffee cup on a wooden counter top, but if someone is holding a white stick and sticks out their hand in a grasping motion, hand it to them.

Must go now, I need a coffee. Twitch.

Re the elbow thing, I've found it handy to have a pack of disposable gloves to offer those I guide if they want them. Most refuse, although I did have one guy once ask if I could sort of wrap one around my elbow, so he wasn't touching my clothing. Given that I was physically handling equipment he was paying me for with physical cash, it seemed a bit odd, but each to their own.

When I lost my vision last year my local Starbucks was a part of my process in learning to be blind. Every other day I would accompany my daughter to her dance class and sit at a nearby bench. Over the course of time I worked up my courage to walk up and down the sidewalk, then around the block, and finally across the street. That’s where Starbucks was located. It became a landmark as I made my way around. Soon it was a habit for me to go in for a drink. At first, I would fumble my way around and apologize profusely that I couldn’t see so well and that I needed help. I was really embarrassed to use my cane at the time so I would just pull it out quickly in hopes that the barista would understand. Of course they were helpful once they realized and after enough times they recognized me when I visited. One time one of the barista’s offered me a Braille menu however I don’t read Braille so it wouldn’t help. But the fact that she took the time beforehand to dig up the menu so that the next I visited she would present it to me was really thoughtful. It’s actually a small neighborhood so I don’t imagine there are too many blind people around. I eventually asked them if they would announce their names when I reached the counter. It was great because now I would know who I was talking to. It definitely made me feel more like a regular.

Anyway, aside from telling me who you are, the suggestion about providing a digital menu whether it’s the website or the app is a pretty great idea. Also, you could recommend people to order their drinks through the app if they wanted to avoid the hassle of being in line or fumbling around with their credit cards. I’ve used it before but I like ordering directly to have a quick chat with my friends on the other side of the counter. Thanks for thinking about us.

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Hi, the menu can be found on-line. They are mostly accessible. I'd need help finding out what the different drinks are... I don't go often because I've ordered items that sounded delicious but I didn't like.

A lot has been added here, but here are a few things. I know some you can’t do but good to keep in mind in case management is amenable.

1. Don’t have a lot of little displays everywhere that has things that can be easily knocked off or broken. Blind or low vision, everyone has tripped on or ran into things that were on display. Having s clear and straight path to the counter is helpful. If you do have displays scattered around, don’t modify their layout. I have mental maps of so many places (like where that broken bit of sidewalk on that one block that I tripped on 5 times until I memorized it for example). I get used to how things are and when they change I’m gonna get a little disoriented.

2. If you have regulars, tell them your name and learn theirs. When they walk in, you can call out to them and say, “Hey X, it’s Y, how are you?” They then know who they’re communicating with (we aren’t all good at recognizing people by voice and I hate feeling awkward not knowing if I know someone).Also, calling out to VI people you don’t know and asking how you can help them can help orient them to the counter since Starbucks cafes tend to not always make sense where the counter starts.

3. Never push someone who is VI to rush or feel like they’re holding everyone up. I always feel stressed out when it takes me longer to do things because I feel like everyone is getting annoyed at me for making them wait for me. Just having someone reassure me that I can take my time and there’s no rush is appreciated.

4. Already said, but just ask! Don’t sssime what someone needs as it may be different from person to person. Some people appreciate the extra help of finding a table and bringing their drink to them, some people may find that patronizing or don’t need it. I hate when people assume I need help and then just grab me. NEVER grab a VI person unless they ask you to!

There’s been some great advice here already like other people said just ask the person what kind of help they need if you have blind regulars try to learn their names in order to address them when they come up to the counter so they know that it is their turn to order I have gone to Starbucks with my orientation and mobility instructor and the barista did not address me so I thought there was nobody at the counter and another thing would be when you were serving the drinks put the lid on the drink first and maybe offer if they want a straw or anything just so it can save them the trouble of feeling around and touching all the lids these are just my personal preference is everybody else might be different but one thing that I feel everybody would appreciate would just be you addressing them by name so they know when it is their turn to order thank you very much for being considerate enough to ask