Deaf-mute deliveryman moves many, giving hope to disabled seeking jobs

China’s food-delivery industry is booming, and customers’ complaints never ends. However, this week, one customer from Hangzhou, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, apologized online after getting mad at a food deliveryman.

“I continuously got phone calls but no one talked on the other side,” netizen @heyniaichiqingjiaoma wrote online. “I god mad at the deliveryman but then I received a text from him.”

The text reads “sorry I am a deaf-mute deliveryman. To remind you that your order is ready to pick up, I will call you and hang up afterwards as a reminder.”

This text was retweeted more than 20,000 times and many agreed to start appreciating these people - and this formed the beginning of the public attention that special food deliveryman got.

“It was very hard for me to find a job,” Yu Yahui, the deaf-mute food deliveryman said when speaking to the Hangzhou Metropolitan News. “But I still want to earn a living by myself.”

As they have difficulties in communicating with customers, they will text them before they start delivering. And they have to call the phone and hang up, to remind the customer to pick up the food at door.

“We used to have lots of complaints as customers didn't read the text in time and accused us for being late,” said Yu. “We love this job. Thank you all for your generosity and understanding. Many thanks.”

There are more and more handicapped people joining food delivery teams. According to Hebei Youth News, earlier this July, the first deaf-mute food delivery team with 11 members was set up in Baoding, a city in northern China’s Hebei province.

“We want to prove that we can work, and earn more chances for others like us and inspire others,” Sun Hui, a member in the deaf-mute delivery team, said to Hebei Youth News.