RNID ‘Louder than Words’ charter
Lloyds TSB’s commitment to customers

RNID has awarded Lloyds TSB its ‘Louder than Words’ charter, recognising the commitment it is making to deaf and hard of hearing customers and staff. Under the charter, as a Lloyds TSB customer, you can expect the following from us:

• all our business banking, card and credit operations and branch staff have been trained in deaf awareness to offer you easier access to our services. Over the next few months, all our Telephony staff will receive specialised deaf awareness training,
• our ‘services for disabled customers’ leaflet provides information on the specific services available to deaf and hard of hearing customers. You can find it in all our branches,
• all Lloyds TSB leaflets and letters are written in plain English to give you clear information about our services. Our television advertisements are provided with subtitles for viewers with access to Teletext. Leaflets and letters are being updated to ensure that a textphone number is always quoted,
• Lloyds TSB accepts all calls via Typetalk and we’ve briefed all our staff on how to use the service. Call us from your textphone using the prefix 18001 before dialling our number. Staff in our call centres are receiving further specialised training over the course of 2004. You may, of course, phone one of our textphone lines directly. The choice is yours, numbers are available on our website,
• textphones are provided for customers at our main call centres. You can expect us to answer your textphone call in the same way as voice phone calls. We will only use an answerphone if voice phones are on answerphone also and we’ll call you back promptly,
• we’ve installed induction loops at all our branches on counters, in interview rooms and at welcome desks. However, if you have difficulty hearing, you can always ask to talk to staff in a quiet interview room. If we need to visit you, we can bring a portable loop with us on request. Our loops are tested regularly to check that they are working. However, if you find one that isn’t, let us know and we will make sure it is fixed,
• qualified sign language interpreters, lipspeakers and speech-to-text operators are available for meetings with deaf and hard of hearing customers. All Lloyds TSB staff are able to book communication support for you. A national shortage of interpreters however, means that this can take up to 3 weeks. If you would like communication support for a meeting, please ask when you book the appointment,
• queuing systems in the bank are visible as well as audible to let you know when it’s your turn,
• in all buildings, fire exit signs are clearly displayed and staff will escort you from the building in an emergency,
• procedures are being set up with lift companies to ensure that deaf customers who are unable to communicate through the lift telephone or intercom system are responded to. Notices are being put up in lifts advising you what to do in an emergency and how long it will take to release you,
• we conduct regular customer satisfactions surveys with a random sample of our customers. Although these are telephone based, if you are contacted and would like to participate, we will happily send you a paper copy of the survey to complete,
• we use deaf and hard of hearing people to check our services on a regular basis,
• external vacancies are advertised in local papers and a number of deaf and disability websites. Lloyds TSB is proud to hold the DWP ‘Positive about Disability two ticks’ symbol. This offers an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the vacancy. Application forms can be ordered from our National Recruitment Centre which can be contacted via textphone and Typetalk,
• we can provide a Sign Language interpreter, lipspeaker or speech to text operator for interviews when requested,
• once a deaf or hard of hearing member of staff has been recruited, we’ll provide the equipment and communication support to help them do their job. Once a member of staff has joined Lloyds TSB, support is given to ensure that they have every opportunity to progress through the organisation. Line managers and team members will be given extra training in deaf awareness to help the team work effectively.

Click here to visit the RNID website.