Today’s episode of the Punk CX podcast is with Joel Kellhofer, CEO of SignWow, which offers business BSL solutions, including Video Relay Service & Video Remote Interpreting, to make services accessible to Deaf customers. We talk about Joel’s background and experiences as a Deaf founder, some of the everyday communication barriers Deaf people face in public services, healthcare, hospitality, and retail, why brands often don’t design experiences that work for everyone, what they should be doing differently, and how SignWow can help. We finish off with some advice for brands looking to build standout, inclusive customer experiences, Joel’s Punk CX brand, and his very own good news story.

Note: Now, I should point out that today’s episode is a little different. Given that Joel is deaf, we are joined by his colleague, Emma McQuillan, Chief Interpreting Officer (CIO) at SignWow, who will be interpreting for us in real time. What I should also point out for those of you watching the video version of this podcast or listening to the audio version, you’ll experience some pauses after I ask my questions as Joel and Emma communicate via sign language before Emma answers the questions on Joel’s behalf. I hope that makes sense.

This interview follows on from my recent interview – From product-led innovation to a service-led experience model – Interview with Deborah Honig of Samsung UK & Ireland – and is number 571 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

Here are the highlights of my chat with Joel:

1. Accessibility Drives Customer Acquisition: Reframing accessibility as a strategy to remove barriers has a direct, positive impact on the bottom line, significantly expanding the addressable customer base and increasing revenue.
2. The ‘Multiplier Effect’ of Exclusion: A single deaf customer’s access barrier affects not just them but their entire “human network”—spouses, children, and other dependents. CX failures in this area have a severe, negative knock-on effect on multiple lives (e.g., healthcare, mortgage, caring duties).
3. Core Failure Point: Lack of Empathy and Experience: A major reason brands do not design for accessibility is an overemphasis on the “primary customer audience” and a fundamental failure by decision-makers to understand the lived experience of a deaf person.
4. Adopt the Apple Standard for Retail: The gold standard for in-store CX involves immediate, seamless access, as exemplified by Apple, which provides an iPad with a Sign Language interpreter on-screen as soon as a deaf customer enters the store.
5. Seamless Communication is Key to Conversion: Simple transactions (like buying a car or asking about a product in a food shop) can be frustrating 45-minute ordeals without communication access. Solutions like Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) cut this time down to minutes, leading to rapid customer satisfaction and conversion.
6. Accessibility as a Competitive Differentiator: Brands can list themselves in an accessibility directory (like SignWow’s community directory), signalling to the 150,000+ BSL users in the UK and their networks that they are a provider of choice.
7. The Solution: On-Demand Video Interpreting: Technology like Video Relay Service (VRS) for calls and Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) for in-person situations (via phone app or in-store QR code) provides instant, seamless communication to resolve barriers in retail, healthcare, and public services.
8. Go Beyond Compliance in Public Services: A regular failure point in essential public services (GP/Hospital) occurs when booked in-person interpreters often fail to show, leaving patients in crisis with no communication, which poses an unacceptable risk to brand trust and public safety.
9. CX Innovation Must Lead with Design: Joel’s story of his early entrepreneurship experience (selling Coca-Cola against a mandated Pepsi) highlights a lifelong focus on solving immediate consumer needs, underscoring that the greatest business innovations often stem from a deep, personal understanding of a universal barrier.
10. Joel’s best advice: Call SignWow 😉
11. Joel’s Punk CX brand: Apple.

About Joel

Joel Kellhofer MBE is the Founder and CEO of SignWow, a Deaf led accessibility and interpreting technology group operating across the UK and internationally. Based in Edinburgh, Joel is a Deaf entrepreneur and innovator focused on helping organisations deliver genuinely accessible customer and employee experiences through video relay services, remote sign language interpreting, and inclusive digital solutions.

Joel has built SignWow with a strong emphasis on practical, scalable accessibility that works for organisations while delivering real impact for the Deaf community. His work spans public services, healthcare, retail, hospitality, and enterprise environments.

In December 2024, Joel was awarded an MBE for services to the Deaf Community, recognising his contribution to entrepreneurship, innovation, and advocacy in accessibility. Alongside his commercial work, he is actively involved in international Deaf advocacy, including philanthropic work supporting deaf education and human rights initiatives.

About Emma

Emma McQuillan is the Chief Interpreting Officer (CIO) at SignWow.

Emma is passionate about making the world more accessible for deaf people by raising awareness and showing that access is achievable when the right attitude, willingness, and tools are in place.

As such, she is proud to work alongside Joel and the SignWow team to support the community and collaborate with organisations to create greater access for deaf people.

Check out SignWow, say Hi to them on X (Twitter) and Instagram @signwowUK and @signwowuk respectively, and feel free to connect with Joel and Emma on LinkedIn here and here.

Credit: Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash