Damart, the over-50s fashion retailer based in Bingley, has committed to supporting customers living with dementia, while also donating thousands of pounds to the Alzheimer’s Society charity.
150 Damart colleagues have undertaken a training course with the charity organisation Alzheimer’s Society to learn how best to support customers living with dementia. The business committed to the training when it became apparent that its customer base was regularly in need of support and understanding when speaking to Damart customer service colleagues.
Michelle Rhodes, who has worked at Damart’s head office in Bingley for 12 years was one of the colleagues who took part in the training. She said: “Our average customer is 74 years old, so we do talk to some vulnerable people and supporting them is something we are very passionate about.”
Eve Martin, a member of Damart’s customer credit team who also took part in the training, said: “We started to recognise more signs of vulnerability with customers and wanted to ensure that we could all help them with sensitivity.
“We had amazing feedback from the colleagues who attended and people found it helpful with their day-to-day interactions. Hearing them open up about their own experiences with dementia showed that not only did the course provide guidance and support for when they were dealing with vulnerable customers, it also helped our colleagues on a personal level.”
As well as Damart improving its support for customers affected by dementia, the business also donated £5,000 to Alzheimer’s Society earlier this year. The donation went towards supporting the charity’s West Yorkshire Side by Side service, which pairs those living with dementia with volunteers who enable them to carry on doing the things that they enjoy.
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For more information, please contact MCG. Email carys.barker@mcg.agency or katy.meehan@mcg.agency or call 0113 307 0113.
