Waiting for a sign?

We recently had a Citibase first – a viewing conducted completely in British Sign Language.

Welfare and Standards Coordinator, Victoria Murley, who is fluent in sign language saved the day by going the extra mile for a customer on a recent viewing.

A viewing was booked for an office space of 6 workstations at our Palace Street centre, and in the viewing notes, Victoria spotted that the customer was deaf.  As a child of two hard of hearing parents, Victoria is very used to using sign language to communicate so knew she could rise to the occasion.

When the customer arrived with an interpreter, Victoria introduced herself in sign language, and was able to communicate directly to the customer. This meant the interpreter could relax during the viewing, and acted more as an advisor than a communicator during the viewing. This meant the viewing could be conducted in a really relaxed, friendly and smooth way

The customer had many questions, and he was glad there was no communication barrier. He explained how he has found finding an office very difficult as he often feels that he’s intruding with staff on viewings and often feels other companies have rushed the viewing along – which was happily not the case at Citibase.

Victoria, who conducted the viewing, commented “We discussed different ways of going around his deafness and deaf students that may come to the building, and I explained I’m always around to help and we have kept in contact so that any further questions he has, I can video call him to discuss using Brisith Sign Language rather than confusion over email. We even spoke about my parents and how I found it growing up with deaf adults as he doesn’t come across them often.”

This next level of personal service is a first for Citibase and we’re thrilled that Victoria has been able to use her skills to go above and beyond in her role. And even better, the customer; Teach Me Sign LTD has taken an office with us!