CAMPBELL, Calif. — ReVae Arnaud-Jensen is not a confrontational woman. She describes herself as a hardworking, responsible, single mother of three.
But, when she tried to order at a Jack in the Box in the Northern California city of Campbell on Aug. 31 and the man behind the counter refused her service, as captured on video, she knew she had to stand her ground.
Arnaud-Jensen is profoundly deaf, no hearing at all. She was born that way. While she can read lips, she could not hear the voice over the speaker.
When she proceeded to the next window to explain, the employee was angry that she was not responding. She stayed for two hours and never got her order.
"I was just fed up, the constant, you know, telling us to go, to go, when it should be equal access," she said.
There are approximately 40 million people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the United States. Arnaud-Jensen says she is fighting for the entire community. It's one of the reasons why she posted the video on Facebook.
"I don't like confrontation, but I fight for equal access," she said.
Arnaud-Jensen says she spoke to the manager of the store and was told the employee was fired. But, she is standing her ground and even pursuing legal action for this reason.
"Things done to us, not okay, I will stand and fight for that, for everyone in the community, it's for you guys, the community, not me but for them, so there will be no more suffering for the deaf community."
She says this kind of discrimination happens to her almost every day and it needs to stop. Arnaud-Jensen says she is demanding, at the very least, that Jack In The Box train their employees, including the CEO to understand deaf culture.
Eyewitness News' sister station in the Bay Area reached out to Jack in the Box.
In a statement, they sent this response:
"We have been informed of the incident that took place between an employee and hearing-impaired guest, in the drive-thru at a Campbell, CA restaurant on August 31st. We do not tolerate the mistreatment of any customers and expect employees to follow all training procedures, be respectful, courteous and accommodating to all guests. After a thorough investigation of the incident and direct contact with the local franchise owner, we understand the employee in the video has been terminated."
