VRS Interpreters

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interpreter

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Any vrs interpreters here? I am starting training next week and would like some feedback about the job.

Thanks!:ty:
 
I'd contribute something 'cept I might get called snotty, wrong, etc, etc. Lol....
 
Oh, boy...something went on here today! LOL

However, I'd like to hear about vrs interpreting. :)
 
Oh, sorry...I just found this website this evening. Would love to get to know other terps. :)
 
Yes, I am a VRS terp. I am pretty new at it myself so I am still learning the ropes but it is a nice change after 5 years of community interpreting. The most important thing I have learned so far is: If the communication was successful, you did your job. Meaning that if the person making the phone call got what they wanted, you did a good job. Don't worry about not interpreting perfectly. The people don't know who you are, and once a call is over you can forget all about it. If you mess up, life goes on. You can always call a team if you need it. But remember to focus on getting the message across. VRS is about functional equivalency. If the person calling for pizza used a bunch of strange signs for mushrooms and onions and extra cheese, and you had to ask for clarification a million times, but the delivery guy showed up with a mushrooms, onions, and extra cheese pizza...then you did a good job! :)
 
Thank you!

What do you do if the called is being mean to you? Have you ever had someone do something inappropriate on camera?
 
There are definitely mean callers. You just have to smile and place their call. It's almost never personal, they're just mad at a previous negative experience. If they are making it personal and about you, you just sweetly offer to transfer them to another interpreter. (I am pretty sure all VRS companies have that option for the terp.) If the person is truly abusive, you should usually file a report just so you have yourself covered in case they want to complain to your company.

Recently I had someone call in, and when they came up on my screen, they gave me the finger and immediately disconnected. I just had to laugh, shrug it off, and go on to the next call.

I've never had anything inappropriate, but it does happen. People are often in their homes when they call, and we are basically looking into their homes. Sometimes they are just in their underwear (which is allowed, just weird) but sometimes they flash the terp - which is not okay, and you file a report for that. If somebody tries to pick you up, asks for your phone number, etc. you just have to say "sorry, I can't give out that information."
 
Etoile said:
There are definitely mean callers. You just have to smile and place their call. It's almost never personal, they're just mad at a previous negative experience. If they are making it personal and about you, you just sweetly offer to transfer them to another interpreter. (I am pretty sure all VRS companies have that option for the terp.) If the person is truly abusive, you should usually file a report just so you have yourself covered in case they want to complain to your company.

Recently I had someone call in, and when they came up on my screen, they gave me the finger and immediately disconnected. I just had to laugh, shrug it off, and go on to the next call.

I've never had anything inappropriate, but it does happen. People are often in their homes when they call, and we are basically looking into their homes. Sometimes they are just in their underwear (which is allowed, just weird) but sometimes they flash the terp - which is not okay, and you file a report for that. If somebody tries to pick you up, asks for your phone number, etc. you just have to say "sorry, I can't give out that information."
Click to expand...

yup, that does happen sometimes. my wife told me like sometimes some deafies hangs up on her for no reason even through they never meet each other and she keeps moving on. maybe her red hair freaks some of deaf callers out cuz she is too strong irish gal for them ? ;D
 
Love to hear more...I just got hires and will start on VRS...thanks for the information MORE MORE MORE....

~Peace
 
Whenever somebody calls in with a really good connection, I think "yay, I can see you!" Whenever somebody calls in with a bad connection, slow and choppy, I think "oh no, this is going to suck."

You spend a lot of time on hold for various companies...the cable company, tech support, the phone company, etc.
 
yeah on IP-Relay.... a relay opr said, "oh I know you, smile."

She remember my name, and other personal information...
and she knew who I wanted to call, cause she got familiar with the phone
number I gave her.
 
What do you do if you witness something awful such as murder or abusive activity occurring? Do you still report even though you are swore not to tell (I am not sure if they are supposed to keep conversation a secret).
 
you are to report abuse if you see it happen before or after the call, but not during. If you do see it happening during, you are to call for another terp for a second pair of eyes to witness it. Or you call the manager to help.
 
Also, on the terp software program that we use, there is a place for us to mark if abuse was witnessed. So there is already a way for us to report it if we see it. And yes, I would definitely call a team over to witness it with me. Same with a 911 call, if a deaf person calls 911, you call a team terp over immediately.
 
Like most Deafies, I'm a big fan of VRS. I also use VCO while making calls. How do VRS interpreters like handling VCO calls? Easier? Harder? Is it a nice break not having to do voice reversing?
 
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