an SC Relay call?

[Mara-chan]

Here it's called the Florida Relay, but I think it's called TTD elsewhere. Basically, an operator calls your store and they're having a text chat with a deaf customer. You say "go ahead" (like "over" on walkie talkies) and they'll type what you say to the customer and then say back what you type. It can be VERY slow if the deaf person is a slow typist or if they have a lot to say.

I was running customer service and I get the call...

<me> Thank you for calling <city> Staples, this is <me> how can I help you?
<relay> Hello, this is a Florida Relay call, have you taken a relay call before?
<me> yes. Go Ahead.
*tapping of keys as the relay person... well... relays. This takes a few seconds*
<relay> Do you fix copiers? Go ahead.
<me> No, we don't. Go ahead.
*typetypetype again*
<relay> It's a Cannon ##### copier. You don't fix them? Go ahead.
<me> No, we don't. Sorry. Go ahead.
*typetypetype*
<relay> Do you know anyone who fixes copiers? Go ahead.
<me> No, I don't. Sorry. Go ahead.
*type type type* By this time I have customers in line. Luckily they work retail and they too have gotten relay calls
*LONG pause, which means the person on the other end is typing out something long*
<Relay> Is there anyone there who can fix my copier. It doesn't do it all the time but it only prints part of the page and then it jams. Go ahead.
<me> No, no one here knows how to fix copiers, I'm sorry. Go ahead.
*typetype*
<Relay> Customer has ended the call. Thank you for using Florida Relay.

I was getting a little frustrated. It doesn't matter what the model is, once we say we don't fix copiers you'd think they'd get it.

But then I thought about it... That poor relay person! Not only do they have to deal with SC's, but they also have to deal with the store people... and if the employees get pissed, they could be in the middle of an SC sandwich!

So next time I get a relay call, I'll have a little more compassion for the relay operator... even if he's relaying an SC.

[Enjis]

edited because of a double post...

[Enjis]

That has got to be a hard job. The relay person has to be very uninvolved, I'm sure, by their job standards.
It must be especially hard when they know a LOT of their clients are actually overseas scammers who use stolen credit info to order merchandise and have it sent all over the world. (at least, all of the relay calls I ever got were scams.)

[JLRodgers]

I wonder how many people relaying a call were staring at the horrible things they had to say to the poor employee (or other way around as the case may be) and tried to say it without feeling bad guilty, or just without wanting to say "It's not me saying this! Really! I'm so sorry!"

[edible_hat]

Well the only difference between Deaf people and Hearing people is that the Deaf can't hear and so communicate mostly visually. There's nothing saying Deaf people can't be SCs too!

Suckiness is an equal opportunity employer.

[Cat]

a bit OT, but I was on a TTD call with my friend once....she could speak, so the operator just has to type what I said....well, I would forget the operator was there, say too much at once, and either myself or my friend said something really funny, the operator laughed. It was very awsome

[calulu]

Oh yeah! I had a SC relay call not too different than that one, but it ended with cursing. I felt bad for the relay operator having to type out those things.

Used to be a special relay phone at one place I worked and no one ever wanted to pick up the phone because it was almost always a SC.

[Sandman]

I was the relay call taker when I worked at Staples. When ever a call came on, I would get paged to call the service desk and the would say "There's a relay call on line x" and I would take it. It was fun when I had to put the relay operator on hold because I didn't know how to tell the operator to tell the customer I was going to put them on hold.

[tollbaby]

Three words: Relay Phone Sex.

Yes, I have had the unfortunate experience of having to explain to a customer on a phone sex line via a relay operator that we didn't accept relay calls. Poor relay operator was quite dismayed when she realized where the customer had made her phone!

[Mikkel]

Three words: Relay Phone Sex.!

Wouldn't it make more sense to join a chat, not that I know for certain but there must be chats for that purpose.

[Chromatix]

Yes, at the very least there are "webcam chat" sites. For-pay, of course, but so are phone sex lines.

[trinnyg]

TTY Calls ???

yep TDD Telephone Device for the Deaf.

Remember to many times working text support and you get a Teletext call gee it is hard enough doing tech support when the person can hear you. You have to be very very concise with were you need to be. The best relay call was the following. Relayed through one user to another. Not phone thankfully.
given to me as the tech right beside me was working on it.
Blind (computer Geek) , Partially sighted Wife.

Installing windows . Type in your password and press enter. As soon as the Partially sighted wife pressed enter by chance the power supply blew causing white dust to come out of the computer and a pop. " Oh God there is smoke coming out of it. The Blind computer geek. Don't worry dear the power supply just went.

Good hearing and troubleshooting thou how does he know what a blown power supply sounded like.

The joke was cool we found the Self Destruct button for Microsoft

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