Instead of the Americano coffee you ordered, you are handed a latte. Change of NT$48 is due, but the clerk gives you back $38. Even such shoddy service does not irk the customers, because in this case the people doing the serving are a group of gray-haired “elderly interns.”

This is the scene from a “What Time Is It Cafe” event at the Xindaye 7-Eleven convenience store outlet in Chiayi County.

Every Thursday between 10 and 11 a.m., a group of elderly people comes here to learn how to handle such tasks as brewing coffee and helping people check out at the register, to help flex their brain muscles and offset memory loss. Due to the unusual nature of the activity, some people deliberately patronize the store while the grandmas and grandpas are working there, to order a coffee and chat with them.

This seemingly simple action is especially meaningful to these seniors. Today’s society places attention on care for the elderly and those suffering from dementia, yet few realize that Taiwan lacks venues for the elderly to socialize freely. The 7-Eleven convenience store chain modeled its What Time Is It Cafe after outreach efforts in Sweden and Japan to citizens with dementia.

In addition, 7-Eleven conceived public service events for outlets in different regions, such as providing a comfortable waiting environment for elderly people at one store inside a bus terminal to help boost their interest in going out and being active. Other efforts include inviting elderly citizens suffering from dementia who possess unique artistic skill to hold classes at outlets for people to learn about local traditional arts.

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Leveraging Advantages to Go the Last Mile in Public Service

Seven-Eleven’s past public service activities did not just target seniors. In fact, many disadvantaged groups, such as children in remote areas, natural disaster victims, and aging old shops have been the beneficiaries of 7-Eleven aid.

In 2014 7-Eleven realized that there were still many elderly citizens in remote areas lacking in social and medical care resources beyond the reach of policies and charity organizations. With this in mind, the company resolved to make use of store outlets all around Taiwan to go that last mile in public service.

Nevertheless, rapidly and accurately disseminating information to individual outlets, so that the outlets are willing to the spend time necessary to take part in public service events, is extremely difficult. With this knowledge, in addition to helping 7-Eleven establish an internal interactive service network to facilitate the impartation of experience between branch outlets, cooperation with public service groups and local operations effectively disseminates the content of services via counterparties’ resources and brings about greater citizen participation.

“Taiwan is the most rapidly aging country in the world, making involvement in elderly issues an urgent imperative,” relates Lin Li-li, president of public services at 7-Eleven, in hopes of motivating young people to take elderly citizens’ issues seriously.

7-Eleven in Taiwan at a Glance

• 2018 CommonWealth Excellence in Corporate Responsibility: Large Enterprise Category #25.
• Chairman: Luo Chih-hsien
• President: Huang Jui-tien
• Employees in Taiwan: ~40,100
• 2017 annual revenue: NT$221.13 billion
• CSR Mission: Apply core strengths to help resolve society’s most urgent issues.

Translated by David Toman
Edited by Sharon Tseng