Question and Relay Services on the Deaf end

[HisShadowX]

Hi guys!

This is my first real thread here. I have been posting and lurking around here for a couple weeks now. Just to explain who I am... I am in the customer service field so I often am on the other end of those as some of the industry would call it 'dreaded' relay calls.

So I am curious of a couple of things on your end.

I've worked with the disabled in both nursing and in a hospital setting so I've grown accustomed to many different types of disabilities out there. I've been watching this forum for awhile to see how you guys feel about the relay calls among other things. Some good, some scary like the sub group of deaf people who wish to force a child before birth and seen one post out there 'after' birth to be deaf.

I've also seem many misnomers on why Relay Calls are hung up on from everyone. Believe me the Nigerian Scammer thing is really not true it's just an excuse politicians give to off set the blame on why most companies do not want to deal with relay calls.

Anyways, I know you guys are supposed to give them info and they are to respond back verbatim everything you say.

For those who at one point used to hear and know what a sarcastic tone sounds like or someone talking to you rushing you are you able to say to your Relay Operator l, "This is how I want to sound?"

When ever I get Relay Call I always try to talk to the person on the other end like how I would talk to anyone calling me. With warmth, compassion and concern. So I am not sure if it's the relay operator who sounds like she is being sarcastic on her own of that's the tone the deaf person on the other end is trying to express.

Of if I ask, "How are you doing today?" And the relay operator reads back the message making it sound like your rushing?

Also do you all find relay operators slow and unable to give you a response that makes sense? As I am talking naturally I am asked four or five times to repeat by the relay operator?

Would you guys if you could skip the relay operator and just have an email or IM message with the company your calling?

How do you all feel about having to go through someone else like a relay operator to communicate with someone? Do you feel there a better way?

I often get deaf customers all the time and unlike relay operators who are SUPPOSED to stay on as long as possible most call centers you call the operators have limited talk time and if they do not get you off the phone fast enough are you aware they can get fired?

For those who can level their talk time do you ever try to engage in a converstation with a call center operator or respond back to one when they are being friendly?

 

[CrazyPaul]

Hi guys!

This is my first real thread here. I have been posting and lurking around here for a couple weeks now. Just to explain who I am... I am in the customer service field so I often am on the other end of those as some of the industry would call it 'dreaded' relay calls.

So I am curious of a couple of things on your end.

I've worked with the disabled in both nursing and in a hospital setting so I've grown accustomed to many different types of disabilities out there. I've been watching this forum for awhile to see how you guys feel about the relay calls among other things. Some good, some scary like the sub group of deaf people who wish to force a child before birth and seen one post out there 'after' birth to be deaf.

I've also seem many misnomers on why Relay Calls are hung up on from everyone. Believe me the Nigerian Scammer thing is really not true it's just an excuse politicians give to off set the blame on why most companies do not want to deal with relay calls.

Anyways, I know you guys are supposed to give them info and they are to respond back verbatim everything you say.

For those who at one point used to hear and know what a sarcastic tone sounds like or someone talking to you rushing you are you able to say to your Relay Operator l, "This is how I want to sound?"

When ever I get Relay Call I always try to talk to the person on the other end like how I would talk to anyone calling me. With warmth, compassion and concern. So I am not sure if it's the relay operator who sounds like she is being sarcastic on her own of that's the tone the deaf person on the other end is trying to express.

Of if I ask, "How are you doing today?" And the relay operator reads back the message making it sound like your rushing?

Also do you all find relay operators slow and unable to give you a response that makes sense? As I am talking naturally I am asked four or five times to repeat by the relay operator?

Would you guys if you could skip the relay operator and just have an email or IM message with the company your calling?

How do you all feel about having to go through someone else like a relay operator to communicate with someone? Do you feel there a better way?

I often get deaf customers all the time and unlike relay operators who are SUPPOSED to stay on as long as possible most call centers you call the operators have limited talk time and if they do not get you off the phone fast enough are you aware they can get fired?

For those who can level their talk time do you ever try to engage in a converstation with a call center operator or respond back to one when they are being friendly?

Do you want to know whether or not deaf people are happy with relay services?

 

[diehardbiker]

Crazypaul, do you really understand what the OP said?

I have heard plenty of times from hearing people about using relay service. In fact I heard rants (negatives) from hearing people that had to deal with Deafies using IPrelay especially when they (Hearing people) work at calling center for their employer*. I have NOT heard single rave about IPrelay, on other hand I do hear some raves (Positives) about Video Relay.

Don't forget I am Deaf, and I see how selfish many Deafies are when it comes to communicate with hearing people using relay service, especially with IPrelay hence this is why I use VRS than IPrelay, and TTY relay as well. All calls are made with 2 way street, don't forget that.

*For example Deaf calling ACME bank regard to their account issue, and the person that took this Deaf caller will have to deal with their supervisor scrutiny for being on call too long, and supervisor would think this employee is abusing their time on their clock, hence that's why they tend to hang up on relay call, sometimes they make up excuses for unable to take relay calls. IP relay call generally makes employees much more nervous with their employer with the mind of potential losing their job.

 

[HisShadowX]

Crazypaul, do you really understand what the OP said?

I have heard plenty of times from hearing people about using relay service. In fact I heard rants (negatives) from hearing people that had to deal with Deafies using IPrelay especially when they (Hearing people) work at calling center for their employer*. I have NOT heard single rave about IPrelay, on other hand I do hear some raves (Positives) about Video Relay.

Don't forget I am Deaf, and I see how selfish many Deafies are when it comes to communicate with hearing people using relay service, especially with IPrelay hence this is why I use VRS than IPrelay, and TTY relay as well. All calls are made with 2 way street, don't forget that.

*For example Deaf calling ACME bank regard to their account issue, and the person that took this Deaf caller will have to deal with their supervisor scrutiny for being on call too long, and supervisor would think this employee is abusing their time on their clock, hence that's why they tend to hang up on relay call, sometimes they make up excuses for unable to take relay calls. IP relay call generally makes employees much more nervous with their employer with the mind of potential losing their job.

Me personally I'd rather be communicating directly with the deaf whether it's instant messaging or emailing each other. I dislike having a middle man intrupt what I am saying or not properly translating what I am saying to that person or if they insert their own tones.

Cause it makes the other person sound rude or like they are rushing you.

 

[Bottesini]

Me personally I'd rather be communicating directly with the deaf whether it's instant messaging or emailing each other. I dislike having a middle man intrupt what I am saying or not properly translating what I am saying to that person or if they insert their own tones.

Cause it makes the other person sound rude or like they are rushing you.

You as a hearing person can't communicate with someone who is primary ASL. You need the relay.

And I don't mean just in sign, I mean you wouldn't be able to do it by email or text.

 

[HisShadowX]

You as a hearing person can't communicate with someone who is primary ASL. You need the relay.

And I don't mean just in sign, I mean you wouldn't be able to do it by email or text.

Problem is when a relay operator is translating what your saying I don't know if you know but they often use a 'snotty tone' or a tone where they are trying to rush what your saying.

Also I worry when I am talking through a relay operator that they do not give the information or what I am saying fully to a deaf person.

They often tell me to stop, repeat and sometimes the responses given have nothing to do what I've said. Working with relay operator the issue is not that they take forever and kill our talk time I fully don't trust them cause of my experiences with them and how they act over the phone.

As for signing you are correct.

We actually had a person who was illiterate come to HQ at one of my old jobs and we had no one who signed. Sadly it was a pain to work with this person and it took awhile but we got the job done with smiles on our faces cause we truly wished to help her. I really want a solution in the market place to better deal with the deaf.

With new tech like Kinect I would love a service if your signing for example that it sends a voice response and a system that recognizes a voice and translates what I am saying via a computer model

 

[ambrosia]

I have to us an IPrelay service because I don't know enough sign. I avoid it all costs though and would prefer email. I imagine VRS would be faster. Because the opetator has to type what you said, then I have to type my answer back. I don't get any "tone" because everything is in text. The first time I used it it was a disaster, the person I called hung up because the operator typed slower than a 7 year old. I can talk, I'm late deafened, I really wish I had the option of speaking my answer back. That would cut the call time in half.

 

[tuatara]

We actually had a person who was illiterate come to HQ at one of my old jobs and we had no one who signed. Sadly it was a pain to work with this person and it took awhile but we got the job done with smiles on our faces cause we truly wished to help her. **

With new tech like Kinect I would love a service if your signing for example that it sends a voice response and a system that recognizes a voice and translates what I am saying via a computer model

Do you understand that it's not an issue of being able to read? That even if you could take each hand shape/position/movement and convert it into an english letter or word or phrase, this wouldn't work if the person was using deep asl?

It really is not the same language as English. And those technologies can only translate whatever is in their database. Letters, fine. Words, maybe. Phrases, maybe. But the signer is going to actually use their language: not just string together a bunch of phrases that the program has in its database. They're going to do things that are unexpected. They're going to use their language in a unique way to express their specific message. A program isn't going to be able to handle that. Otherwise google translate (or babbelfish or whatever) would always make sense. (Note: this situation is even more extreme, because the differences between natural signed languages and spoken languages are greater than the differences between distinct spoken languages.)

From another angle, an interpreter isn't just translating words and phrases. She is taking in what the signer has expressed, taking in the **concepts** expressed, and then expressing those concepts in the verbal language. And then doing the same thing in the other direction. She should stay true to intended meaning, but it's not verbatim in the sense that ASL and English do not have a one-to-one relationship between spoken words and signed words, etc.

I'm sorry to hear that you've had bad experiences when using interpreters, but the work they're doing is so much more complicated than what you seem to be imagining from this description. A program isn't going to be able to replace that work. If the signers are using signed English, yes. ASL, no.

**

I really want a solution in the market place to better deal with the deaf.

They're called ASL classes. And as an added benefit, they'll teach you how to properly rewrite that last sentence.

 

[CrazyPaul]

Problem is when a relay operator is translating what your saying I don't know if you know but they often use a 'snotty tone' or a tone where they are trying to rush what your saying.

Also I worry when I am talking through a relay operator that they do not give the information or what I am saying fully to a deaf person.

They often tell me to stop, repeat and sometimes the responses given have nothing to do what I've said. Working with relay operator the issue is not that they take forever and kill our talk time I fully don't trust them cause of my experiences with them and how they act over the phone.

As for signing you are correct.

We actually had a person who was illiterate come to HQ at one of my old jobs and we had no one who signed. Sadly it was a pain to work with this person and it took awhile but we got the job done with smiles on our faces cause we truly wished to help her. I really want a solution in the market place to better deal with the deaf.

With new tech like Kinect I would love a service if your signing for example that it sends a voice response and a system that recognizes a voice and translates what I am saying via a computer model

OK, yes, that's true that some interpreters at VRS have bad attitudes toward a hearing person like you. I can tell by looking at their face expressions. However I can't tell that a TRS operator has a bad attitude. Only you and hearing people at the other end know.

So that's what this thread is about. As you may know, there are three different relay services. VRS (Video Relay Service), TRS (Telephone Relay service) and Iprelay (Internet Relay Service).

To tell you the truth, MOST of deaf people prefer VRS which can easily interpret ASL into English and vice versa. That also means they don't like to email or text to hearing people either due to their poor English grammar. There's nothing you can do about it. It's their rights.

If I were you, I'd ask for his/her employee ID number during the conversation if he/she doesn't tell you that at the beginning. If you have a complaint about the relay operator or interpreter, call back and ask for a manager as long as you know the relay phone number.

If your point of this thread is that their services are unprofessional sometimes, I agree with you.

 

[MangaReader]

I have to us an IPrelay service because I don't know enough sign. I avoid it all costs though and would prefer email. I imagine VRS would be faster. Because the opetator has to type what you said, then I have to type my answer back. I don't get any "tone" because everything is in text. The first time I used it it was a disaster, the person I called hung up because the operator typed slower than a 7 year old. I can talk, I'm late deafened, I really wish I had the option of speaking my answer back. That would cut the call time in half.

Since you can talk, Captel would be perfect for you. You talk to the caller directly and then you read in text what the caller is saying to you.

 

[MangaReader]

The companies that I call to often start with, "this call may be monitored for quality purposes", therefore the employee cannot get fired for being on the phone too long with an IP Relay call.

 

[ambrosia]

Since you can talk, Captel would be perfect for you. You talk to the caller directly and then you read in text what the caller is saying to you.

Ooooh!!! Thanks

 

[BecLak]

IM is a good communication tool. It's more direct real time. It's more accessible to both deaf and hearing alike. But, one downside - there is no universal one. MSN used to be widely used but has now dwindled. Online chat features on business websites are a good solution, because you don't need to download the feature and join up to use them. I hope that they will become more and more commonplace now and in the near future.

 

[Frisky Feline]

Some hearing people are uncomfortable with relay service. I can understand that I often tell hearing a people if they want to contact me either text or email. If it's an emergency then I can give the phone number and instruct them. I prefer text or email or instant message.

 

[HisShadowX]

OK, yes, that's true that some interpreters at VRS have bad attitudes toward a hearing person like you. I can tell by looking at their face expressions. However I can't tell that a TRS operator has a bad attitude. Only you and hearing people at the other end know.

So that's what this thread is about. As you may know, there are three different relay services. VRS (Video Relay Service), TRS (Telephone Relay service) and Iprelay (Internet Relay Service).

To tell you the truth, MOST of deaf people prefer VRS which can easily interpret ASL into English and vice versa. That also means they don't like to email or text to hearing people either due to their poor English grammar. There's nothing you can do about it. It's their rights.

If I were you, I'd ask for his/her employee ID number during the conversation if he/she doesn't tell you that at the beginning. If you have a complaint about the relay operator or interpreter, call back and ask for a manager as long as you know the relay phone number.

If your point of this thread is that their services are unprofessional sometimes, I agree with you.

I want to say the thousands of calls I've taken I've only had one Relay Service actually inform me the company they work for. Typically the call is begun "This is relay call", "or "This is a Relay Call have you ever had a Relay Call before?"

And all we hear from them personally is "hold on" x20, "Repeat 20x", "Don't respond to me but tell me what you said again"

We have one older lady who lost her hearing she calls the relay line records a message by voice and sends it over. Lately I am guessing she is asking an Relay Agent not reveal herself because she always get hung up on. Call Centers are prob hanging up on her because the voice over relay's are the most annoying because a person literally tells a story on what she wants among other things that honestly we don't need to begin with.

So we end up having to ask her questions and she starts a whole other story. Then every time a person starts talking to respond cause the person takes a long pause and we don't know the Relay Operator chides us and tells us to wait till she is finished.

I know other reps hang up on her I don't but gosh

IM is a good communication tool. It's more direct real time. It's more accessible to both deaf and hearing alike. But, one downside - there is no universal one. MSN used to be widely used but has now dwindled. Online chat features on business websites are a good solution, because you don't need to download the feature and join up to use them. I hope that they will become more and more commonplace now and in the near future.

MSN is sadly dead and replaced with Skype. I like Skype on my phone but on my Alienware rig it was a resource hog.

Google talk is an excellent service

Ooooh!!! Thanks

If used correctly it can reduce hang ups but if you use it please do not give long winded stories or 10 important things at once when calling someone. I'd recommend going step by step using it. If used correctly no one would never know there was a relay operator.

The companies that I call to often start with, "this call may be monitored for quality purposes", therefore the employee cannot get fired for being on the phone too long with an IP Relay call.

When calling a Call Center just because they use, "this call may be monitored for quality purposes" means nothing except they are warning you the call is being recorded due to wiretapping laws that differ from state to state.

Most Call Center Reps are punished or fired if their metrics are looking bad meaning they went over the established Call Center time. All Call Centers have this some call centers you have to average 5 minutes a call since the economic downturn it has gone lower seeing more people need jobs.

Pace in Illionis what has the Federal ADA Contract to bus around the disabled and also contracts it's Call Centers requires in their contracts that the call time should be no more then 2 minutes.

So where your Relay Operator is required to stay with you on the phone as long as possible most call centers you call punish their agents for being on the phone to long.

 

[diehardbiker]

There is no time limit for relay operator to stay on. It is entirely up to the caller on both ends decide when to hang up.

 

[Secretblend]

There is no time limit for relay operator to stay on. It is entirely up to the caller on both ends decide when to hang up.

That is true. If I remember correctly, once I was on a phone call that was so long that 3 different relay operator was used!

 

[HisShadowX]

There is no time limit for relay operator to stay on. It is entirely up to the caller on both ends decide when to hang up.

No I am not talking about the Relay Agent. If you were to use a Relay Agent to call Chase, Allstate any call center those agents are required to get you off the phone as soon as possible.

Unlike you Relay Agent who is REQUIRED to stay on the phone with you as long as possible when you call a call center those agents can get fired for being on the phone for to long.

So I noticed the excuse people give you guys why Call Centers hang up on relay operators is because they think its a Nigerian Scammer that is not the reason. It's because Relay calls kill a reps 'Call time'

 

[CrazyPaul]

No I am not talking about the Relay Agent. If you were to use a Relay Agent to call Chase, Allstate any call center those agents are required to get you off the phone as soon as possible.

Unlike you Relay Agent who is REQUIRED to stay on the phone with you as long as possible when you call a call center those agents can get fired for being on the phone for to long.

So I noticed the excuse people give you guys why Call Centers hang up on relay operators is because they think its a Nigerian Scammer that is not the reason. It's because Relay calls kill a reps 'Call time'

Call centre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Call centre staff are often organised into a multi-tier support system for more efficient handling of calls. The first tier consists of operators, who initially answer calls and provide general information. If a caller requires more assistance, the call is forwarded to the second tier (in the appropriate department depending on the nature of the call). In some cases, there are three or more tiers of support staff. Typically the third tier of support is formed of product engineers/developers or highly skilled technical support staff for the product.

 

[ambrosia]

Call centre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Those tiers don't really have anything to do with relay calls. It's not like you're going to get a certain tier because you're using relay. They have to do with the reason why you're calling, not how you're calling. This is what happens when you call, ask a question and then they put you on hold to connect you with someone that can help you with your problem better.