“Caffè Eighty Nine is in Tankerton and we have lots of lovely regular customers who we know get to know first by their drink rather than their name.

 

One customer of 5 years was known to us as Cappuccino Lady.  Over the last couple of years she had become rather forgetful and wouldn’t remember if she had paid.  Recently her memory seemed to get worse; sometimes she would come in without money and would become embarrassed and agitated.

 

We realised the symptoms could be related to Dementia and decided to put something in place to help.  We were able to sensitively find out her name was Jean and contacted her family.   We’ve now put a Pre-payment System in place where her family pay money upfront; this is only when Jean forgets her money.

 

Our system has made such a difference to Jean’s visits to the Café.  If she does come in without any money, we tell her that her son has already paid and she leaves with a smile on her face rather then embarrassed.  We are very happy that we can help Jean stay independent.

 

Our simple system can be used for any customer who is living with Dementia and just works with good communication between us and their family.  Such a simple system makes a big difference for our customers.

 

Jackie, a member of our team, has recently trained as a Dementia Champion and is holding Information Session at the café for local residents and businesses who are interested in putting Dementia Friendly systems in place.”

 

Also, our contact details are:

 

Caffe Eighty Nine

89 Tankerton Road

Whitstable

Kent  CT5 2AJ

01227 277479

www.facebook.com/Caffè-Eighty-Nine-102738623157557