Hi guys!
I am someone who is not deaf but I have worked in special needs field all my life as well as a customer service agent since 2008 so perhaps I can give some insight in the industry and how those feel with dealing with a Relay Operator.
I know this is an old thread but I feel this is a very important and curious subject for many.
I am writing this and posting it on my iPhone so excuse the many mistakes.
I hate the relay service with a passion. It's no wonder companies hang up on you if the relay operators opens with "Hello, this is the relay operator from..."
Just that word operator makes one think of telemarketers, naturally their first instinct is to hang up.
Second biggest peeve with relay operators is their lousy spelling/typing skills. You would think, considering the good pay they get, that they would at least be qualified.
Haha, I'm sorry when I read that excuse on the FCC site about Relay calls I laughed out loud. They are lying to you the reason why someone hangs up is not because the CSR things they are a telemarketer.
In fact most job titles for Customer Service reps are still Operators but once they hear that opening line, "Hello, this is a relay operator" what passes through most Agents heads is dread and some do hang up.
Ill get into why this happens later.
I don't have anything helpful to say, but I wanted to chime in and say that I've been really frustrated with this too! When I was apartment shopping, there's a couple that I didn't even go look at because they kept hanging up on me... the one that I did go look at, I asked the lady why she kept hanging up and she goes "Oh, I don't take relay calls."
It took me four times to get through to my internet company so I could pay the bill. A restaurant here, the lady who answered kept saying "Call back when the manager is here" and hanging up... Even when I had the relay person start out with "DON'T HANG UP ON ME!"
I often want to go in to whatever business and go a little ape sh*t on them.
This post was funny and I've also been a Leasing CSR!
Like the previous post there is a reason your being hung up on most of the time when you call Call Centers.
Ill go into that more later in the post. It's important to note when you call a company to try to setup a showing the person answering often has a finical incentive to helping you.
Problem is Relay Calls are very, very difficult and again ill get into this more later.
Also going nuts over the phone through the relay operator has helped gain them infamy because often a deaf person will call in upset so naturally any Relay Call is a problem call and like any problem you like to avoid it.
Also going into a business and going nuts this has also helped the deaf community gain another major negative point with the working public that many are spoiled brats. Ill get into that more later.
Yup, the Nigerian scammers have had a great impact on the hang-ups.....
With major banks yes but overall the problems of hanging up are not because of that. Perhaps that's the excuse given to pass the buck as to why Relay Operators are being hung up on.
What I did was to tell relay operator first before I give her the ph number. I explained to her that business tend to hang up the first thing they hear you tell you're relay operator. After my "secret discussion" with VRS operator, She did exactly what I want her to. It works every time and biz didn't hang up on me.
Depending what VRS you are using. Some just let you call VRS terp first before giving phone number
If some VRS do not let you connect directly to VRS terp except type ph number you are calling to and VRS terp shows up. Tell her WAIT WAIT.. Before you dial, I need to talk to you about this company/business that tend to hang up and can you just tell them my name and explain nature of issue you want to tell them. VRS terp should do what you ask for to "get around" with "phone hanging jerks". Be sure that you don't surprise "jerk" that you were actually using relay. Sometime they asked why female voice while you're male (
happens to me once). It's none of their business, just make sure the "jerk" shut up and listen and do what you asked for.
Works like a charm!!
Catty
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I am going to get in the full reason why Relay Operators are hung up on but ill tell you one major reason now. People like you and the original poster are the reason why the deaf have so many problems its because you are a jerk over the phone and you have the relay operator repeat your verbal abuse or bad behavior to the world in which gives deaf people a reputation of being "jerks" so why would anyone want to deal with a jerk?
To make it worse your most likely being a jerk to a Customer Service Agent working in a call center who gets paid minimum wage. I can tell you those Call Center workers who work with ADA contracts in Chicago make 9.25 an hour.
Have you ever seen the movie, 'Waiting' its a comedy but it teaches you a very important lesson don't be a jerk to those preparing your food.
Its perfectly fine as I believe. Yes it works like charm. You make the VRS call, your in charge not the operator. The job description for these operators is very simple and straightforward, relay the message vice-versa, nothing more, nothing less. The operators should never take over the call that you place. Its your call not theirs!
Believe it or not this used to be a good service but a lot of people are now using this service and its starting to gain a bad reputation.
First, if you decide to use this service do not make an entire speech and expect the CSR to remember everything.
Second, your relay operator will interrupt the call center operator as he tries to respond.
The reason is these calls are coming from a client and they are giving you the info you want so as you respond back the Relay Operator stops you from responding to listen. You see when you take a break after sentence and are giving a long speech naturally someone is going to respond thinking your done talking.
Plus relay operators often take our information slowly as we speak naturally they stop us and ask us to repeat over and over again.
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As much as I thought every response here is interesting ill give you insight on why you all get hung up on.
• Rude Deaf People
1) It doesn't matter if your deaf or not Call Centers typically have their problem people who call in for no reason and just insult people call them racial and hurtful names. In most Call Centers you are not allowed to hang up even if your black and they call you the N word. Many deaf people using the Relay Services call into places and act rude and over the years created a reputation as when someone gets a relay call that the person will be rude.
It's like wearing sagging pants and assuming that person is the crook. Seeing some of the responses here on how they treat people to 'get what they want' your part of that problem. I try to treat and talk to everyone with respect. If I go to a business I expect good service but I do not treat the other person like a jerk.
Just because your deaf, or disabled does not give you liberty to treat people with disrespect.
• Call Time
1) A call center operator can be fired for being on calls for to long. Call Centers for example dealing with ADA are sometimes contracted on having a call time of no higher then two minutes per day. Between dealing with people with different accents its very hard to make that average by the end of the day. Then here comes the Relay Call and that's going to be a five or ten minute call that you can't deal with.
- Relay Calls take a significant amount of time not only because you guys are typing what is fact it's also because the relay operator is often slow. To where they are required to stay with you for at least ten minutes when it comes to call time the agent does not have it.
- Call Centers for the disabled have an insane requirement for call time of two minutes. If you want better service demand these call times are removed from contracts.
Rude / Slow Relay Operators
I am not sure if some relay operators are supposed to mimic what your trying to express such as if your being condescending if so they do a good job at it because though they require you give patience they have none for you.
And they relay information very slowly.
I love working with the disabled I deal with more people with other problems but I often encounter the deaf.
It can be challenging dealing with the deaf because of communication issues. When I was working as a Leasing Agent we had a deaf women who missed out getting an apartment because she took to long getting everything together.
She was upset eventually she came up to the office and no one would deal with her. I came out of the Call Center to help but we had a problem....
She was illiterate and she could only sign. The only person who could help her was miles away since she decided to come to HQ to be a jerk like that helped her any.
Your public officials are leading you on why people are hanging up on you. The problem is more or less the reputation built up by rude deaf people using the system and the insane call times required by calls agents.
As for calling restaurants and such you got to understand normal people don't want to deal with that if they don't have to. If you have twenty customers waiting on you and you got someone who takes forever on the phone you honestly think people should be patient for you?
They are not patient for people who hear lol Its like a people calling me to book a trip going somewhere but they don't know where they are at or where they are going and think someone will sit with them for a half hour on the phone well they get that info.
