cental34 said:This is one area, I will defend MCI on. The scripts MCI uses are perfectly clear about what relay is, what it is intended for, and how it works. We cannot make people willing to take the time to let us explain them. Yes, a good majority of people are just stupid, yes, they are inconsiderate, no relay is not rocket science. It is our job to educate businesses, but we cannot force them to listen.
The sad fact is, most hearing people do not really hear and comprehend every word that you speak over the phone. They hear what they want and expect to hear. Oh, the ears work fine, but the brain works like a filter and can distort the incoming msg. Some hearies catch the word "service" in your script and then their brain starts thinking, "uh, oh, someone wants me to pay for something." That is not what you said but that is what their brain "hears".cental34 said:So you're thinking an advertising campaign is the way to go? I disagree. When we place a call, we clearly state "this is a service for the deaf, hard of hearing, and speech disabled. the person calling you is using a computer/tty. that person will be typing and I will voice the conversation to you." After that, there shouldn't be anything esle needed to say. I can't help it if some pimple faced punk gets so nervous on the other line, or still thinks its a telemarketing call. Like I said, we can educate all we can, but it won't do a bit of good until people are more receptive.
Dennis said:Actually, yes, I do believe a marketing and advertisment campaign is the way to go. No one automatically "gets" the idea behind relay services. They have to relate to it in some way -- and the first thing they think of is telemarketing. As long as we have telemarketing, businesses will always do what they're told to do when faced with what they believe is telemarketing -- HANG UP.
Until companies are aware of relay services and actually train their companies to recognize them, we will continue to be hung up on. Educating them is the first step. Relay companies need to do that instead of relying solely on the possiblility that an operator script will work. That just smacks of being lazy and profiting off of repeated calls.
Reba said:The sad fact is, most hearing people do not really hear and comprehend every word that you speak over the phone. They hear what they want and expect to hear. Oh, the ears work fine, but the brain works like a filter and can distort the incoming msg. Some hearies catch the word "service" in your script and then their brain starts thinking, "uh, oh, someone wants me to pay for something." That is not what you said but that is what their brain "hears".
Also, just curious, have the Relay providers done test marketing research with their script presentations? It would be interesting to get some feedback from hearies to find out their reactions to Relay scripts. There may be ways to improve the scripts. Scripting is more than proper grammar. Effective scripting depends on the psychology of words.
CoolieFroggie said:I dont' know if this a re-post then put it up with me!
so tell me your experience with any place with relay hung up on u.
cental34 said:When we place a call, we clearly state "this is a service for the deaf, hard of hearing, and speech disabled. the person calling you is using a computer/tty. that person will be typing and I will voice the conversation to you." .
Reba said:Also, just curious, have the Relay providers done test marketing research with their script presentations?
Cheri said:I like that statement better! Ohio Relay do not say that, They would say to the other caller "Are you familiar with Ohio Relay?" and the caller would respond much as "Huh?", "What?" or "I don't have time right now because I'm really busy here, Call back later."
I don't like how they ask the callers this, I would rather to have Ohio Relay to tell the other callers that "This is Ohio Relay service with a call from a hearing impaired person or a deaf person." That makes it a lot easier than asking "Are you familiar with Ohio Relay?"
cental34 said:Operators' accents are not a problem. Ask you family and friends that you call through relay. See what they tell you. And are you suggesting that people your relay call is a Nigerian because they hear an accent on the operator? Again, I don't follow. I've been on all ends of relay, as the voice, the text, and the operator, and have never heard of this problem.
AlleyCat said:Sorry, but I beg to differ. I think there are a good number of relay operators hired that do have an accent. Case in point -- we moved last month and due to a delay in connecting our phone service, I had to make all calls via the internet for 2 weeks (I used both IP Relay and Sprint Relay). Several of the calls I made were to my parents, and the next time I saw them in person (and after our phone service was connected and able to use the Captel instead) Mom commented, "I am so glad you don't have to call us through the relay. Every single call you made to us was from operators with heavy accents, I could barely understand what they were saying." Mom is an open-minded person and non-discriminating, so I know she wasn't discriminating against those operators with an accent -- I just found it interesting that she said that about EVERY single relay call she got from me during that 2 week period. **I am not saying all relay operators have an accent, in fact, most probably don't, but I do think there are a number who do.**