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Video of Starbucks Barista Helping Deaf Customer Goes Viral

A video of a Starbucks barista helping deaf customers at a Florida drive-thru has gone viral on Facebook.
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A video of a Starbucks barista helping deaf customers at a Florida drive-thru has gone viral on Facebook.

Rebecca King, who is deaf, was surprised by an inspiring exchange she had with the barista at a Starbucks in St. Augustine, Florida, this week.

King, 28, told NBC affiliate WTLV she was stunned when the barista taking her order at a drive-thru popped up on a video screen and began using sign language to take her order.

King returned the next day to record her experience and posted the video to Facebook. By Thursday afternoon, the video has been shared more than 185,000 times and has more than 6.7 million views.

Deaf Customer, Barista in Viral Video Hope More Drive-Thrus Will Use Video Chat
Deaf Customer, Barista in Viral Video Hope More Drive-Thrus Will Use Video ChatNBC News

The video shows King and another deaf person pull up to the drive-thru at the Starbucks. When 22-year-old barista Katie Wyble realizes the customers are deaf, she turns on a digital video screen and begins signing with King.

"Starbucks! This is what I'm talking about!" King wrote alongside the video.

Wyble told WTLV she learned sign language in high school and was using the new video screen to better interact with her customers.

"I think that having the evolution screen brings customer service to a whole new level," Wyble said of the new video communication system.

At the Starbucks location, the drive-thru menu board has a two-way camera allowing baristas yo see an individual placing an order, the company said in a press release. The customer is also able to see the barista take the order.

"Wyble recognized King, a regular customer, soon after she pulled up and the two communicated the order entirely in sign language," the statement said.

The store is located near the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, according to the statement.

King said she hopes more locations will start incorporating the technology.

"It is a big deal to (the) deaf community that Starbucks has one now. Nowhere else has that!" she said. "We all want to have that at every drive-thru in the world."

For her part, Wyble said she was thrilled at the attention the video was getting.

"I'm glad that there's more awareness for deaf culture and the deaf community,” she said. “To see this come to light and actually be a part of it, I feel so blessed."