'Absolute treasure' David is loved by customers and colleagues at our Morley store

Customers at our Morley store have been getting in touch to tell us about our colleague David Bould's fantastic service – describing him as "an absolute treasure".

David Bould at Asda Morley is much loved by customers and colleagues

David, who’s been deaf since birth, uses a notepad for customers to jot down requests – and colleagues at the store have been learning sign language too.

David – who joined the store aged 17 and is now a section leader – was given a "service superstar" award after customer Richard Neeves took the time to write in and say: "I required assistance finding a product. I approached David who was extremely friendly and helpful. I realised he was deaf when he asked me to write my request down. David then quickly and enthusiastically helped me with my request.

"David showed that even a minor communication barrier was no obstacle to giving excellent customer service. He is a credit to Asda."

David Bould at Asda Morley is popular with colleagues and customers

Another customer, Margaret Marshall, pictured below, said: "David's a brilliant lad; an absolute treasure.

"The vast majority of customers know him, and know he's deaf, so he gets his pad out and they write questions on it, and he replies. He has never let his deafness hold him back."

Margaret used to work at the store and now she's retired she comes back in regularly to do her shopping.

She said: "When David first joined he was really shy, but over the years we've seen his confidence come on leaps and bounds. He's just so helpful, and so lovely to everyone he meets."

David, who's 34, is ambient replenishment section leader and has worked at the store for 17 years.

David Bould at Asda Morley communicates with customers using a pad and sign language

He said: "I was very happy and pleased to see the great feedback about me – it made me feel my work was well done. I like to do my best all the time."

David's been fully deaf in both ears since birth and his family and friends all help him with everyday things.

He said: "The colleagues are nice, friendly and helpful and it's very good that they have been learning sign language."

Ambient section manager Natalie Atkinson said lots of David's colleagues wanted to learn sign language to show their support for David.

Colleagues at Asda Morley have been learning sign language to support deaf colleague David Bould — Natalie signs to David

She said: "David's an inspiration. He's really friendly with customers and doesn't let being deaf get in the way. Lots of customers have got to know him over the years and people understand that he can't speak or hear, but will still make the effort to help them in whatever way he can.

"Lots of us have downloaded the British Sign Language app on our phones, which shows you the basics of sign language, so we can communicate better with David.

"At first it was difficult to learn – you almost have to relearn the alphabet – but it made a real difference and I've encouraged other colleagues to download it too.

"David's really popular with everyone here so we all want to make him know how much we appreciate what he does."

Deputy store manager Tom Parker said: "David is an amazing, well-respected colleague. He's a great guy; everyone loves him to bits and he's an absolute pleasure to work with. The service superstar award was richly deserved.

"The team coming together to learn sign language is a fantastic example of the great teamwork we have here."