In a perfect world...

[smileyeagle1021]

As I mentioned in another thread, I am rapidly approaching burnout.

So, I need to vent.

Let's start
Deaf people not living in reality
a few vents on our deaf users.
1. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, redialing repeatedly DOES NOT WORK. I've been doing this for 18 months and I can still count on my fingers how often it has worked. All you are doing is tying up a line that could be used by someone else (someone else who by the way may actually make a successful call that we can get reimbursed for... the company doesn't get paid for making calls, only for completing them).
2. A variation of number one, but I am getting to the point that I honestly hope that one of these line hoggers will end up having to hold for an interpreter to call 911 because other line hoggers are tying up all the interpreters, would serve them right, because that is the risk they are putting the legit users in every time they waste our time.
3. Technology is not perfect. Yes in a perfect world every single time you entered a number into our system you will be transferred to us and the system will automatically start dialing immediately. We don't live in a perfect world however, and sometimes it doesn't work and we have to ask you to verify the number you want to dial. That doesn't make your interpreter stupid, it just means that shit happens.
4. I know you don't speak spanish or any other language (and that if you did I couldn't interpret for you anyway), I still have to inform you that a menu has given you the option to switch to that language. It is not my place to be determining what is important for your call, why, because it's your fucking call.
5. Automated menus are not a conspiracy to keep you from talking to a live representative, rather it is a system to make sure that you are transferred to the correct representative (if you are having problems with your modem not working and needing to set up an appointment for a tech to come out is not going to be solved by connecting to someone in the sales department).
6. We only relay the content of the call, we do not speculate, we do not analyze, we do not guess... if it did not happen, we do not send it... likewise, if we did not send it, it did not happen. Don't ask me why someone hung up or why someone isn't answering or why the answering machine is full... we are interpreters, not clairvoyants.

hearing users aren't much better
1. I've said this before, but we are not telemarketers, we are not selling anything, do not treat us as such, if you aren't willing to listen to us, guess what, you are a bigot as far as I'm concerned. I don't know why you don't want to communicate with a deaf person, but at the end of the day, you are refusing to communicate with someone because they are deaf.
2. Our explanation is a bit long winded, but it is very straight forward. There is no reason why after we explain how it works why, short of being legally retarded, someone shouldn't be able to continue with the call (and actually, I've had legally retarded people who have done better than the average first time hearing user working in customer service).
3. No, you don't need to check with your manager whether or not you can take this call. I don't give a fuck what you think your company policy is, federal law is that refusal to take a relay call is discrimination, and guess what, federal law trumps whatever your dimwitted boss says.
4. No, they can't just call back themselves to talk to you directly... if they could they wouldn't have used our service in the first place.
5. When I say you are talking to fast, no, I'm not just being lazy. I can keep up with someone speaking up to roughly 220 words per minute (260 if I don't have to worry about punctuation, but as that is somewhat important...), for comparison, used car salesmen talk at 190 words per minute and your average automated menu is about 200 words per minute. If I can't keep up with you, then you are talking too fast anyway and should slow down for professionalism anyway.
6. If I ask you to repeat something, once again, not lazy... no matter how hard of a worker I am, if you are on the subway, or the mall, or somewhere else with low reception and a lot of background noise, I'm going to have trouble hearing you over the background noises... hell, anyone you talk to will have problems understanding you.
7. Asking me every 15 seconds if I am still here gets tiring, especially when I've already told you three times that the caller is still typing their response. Getting pissy with me isn't going to earn any points either. I have no control over how fast the caller types. The only thing I have control over is the caller's time limit to respond (which is three minutes).

coworkers revisited
1. Just because I have a ring doesn't mean I'm straight, deal with it.
2. please clean up the cubicle when you leave... we don't have assigned private cubicles, someone will be using it after you, so for the love of God, don't leave it a mess.
3. Along the same lines, if you have made some major changes to the cubicle (moving the monitor to a different area etc), please return it to it's normal configuration. It makes it a lot easier to start my shift when I'm not having to undo your feng shua

[MoonCat]

The only thing I have control over is the caller's time limit to respond (which is three minutes).

I guess every company that processes relay calls has different rules about this...? I had a scammer on the line at work once who kept totally silent (typed nothing) for five minutes, at which point I politely told the relay operator that I couldn't keep my line open any longer, and released the call. I wish you guys didn't have to deal with the scammers.

[smileyeagle1021]

Moon, the rules do vary by relay company... even with us the three minutes is a soft limit, either party (though usually it is the deaf party) can request a longer time limit and if the other party agrees we will wait for as long as the non-requesting party is willing (so, deaf person asks for more time and hearing user agrees, we'll wait for as long as the hearing user is willing to wait).
Granted this is most common for calls where the deaf user will need to be away from the computer or will have to perform some task (such as troubleshooting), not so much for just slow responses in general.

[MoonCat]

Moon, the rules do vary by relay company... even with us the three minutes is a soft limit, either party (though usually it is the deaf party) can request a longer time limit and if the other party agrees we will wait for as long as the non-requesting party is willing (so, deaf person asks for more time and hearing user agrees, we'll wait for as long as the hearing user is willing to wait).
Granted this is most common for calls where the deaf user will need to be away from the computer or will have to perform some task (such as troubleshooting), not so much for just slow responses in general.

I would stay on the line as long as they need me, but sadly, we haven't gotten even one legitimate relay call in many years. All we get now are the bozos who are trying to pretend they're deaf so we can't tell they're calling from Nigeria or somewhere, pulling a scam. It's sad, but then, I have to assume that the actual deaf persons who want to do business with us are doing it all online.

[bacchinalus]

3. No, you don't need to check with your manager whether or not you can take this call. I don't give a fuck what you think your company policy is, federal law is that refusal to take a relay call is discrimination, and guess what, federal law trumps whatever your dimwitted boss says.

hate to be a bitch, but regardless of federal law, i agree with the 'ask the manager first' policy. although to be fair, it wasn't because they didn't know if they were "allowed" to take the call, there was more to it:

when i worked at my old store (bookstore), there was not 1 single legitimate relay call that we got. everyone in the store (and the one i was at before i transferred there as well) was told to just get a manager on the line for the relay calls, because inevitably they'd have to explain that NO, you can't order something with a credit card over the phone when we have no way to verify that the order is being done with YOUR card.

i fully sympathize with any true deaf user who has to go through the process just to get someone on the phone, but i've never been fortunate enough to actually get a REAL deal person on a relay call.

[taurinejunkie]

Since I'm also a relay operator, let me add to one of your points regarding deaf users:

5a. I have to type all menu options unless you specify what you want before calling (e.g. "hi pls dial 1 800 LOL ROFL and ask for sales"). However that is rather time-consuming, which sucks since some companies have a timer on the menu which drops the call if no selection is made. Therefore, when I'm done typing and send GA ("Go Ahead", meaning "it's your turn to type", for readers who may be unaware), I do not want a wall-o-text describing your problem. I do not want you to write about something that the menu did not mention. All I want, all you have to do, is to hit one of the number keys, that's the top row on your keyboard, and then to hit the "GA" button. As quickly as possible because, as I previously mentioned, time is of the essence.

I could probably write a lot more but I'm trying to enjoy a day off and thinking of work-related stuff tends to be counterproductive in such cases.

[smileyeagle1021]

Taurinejunkie, you may want to talk to your management about being allowed to use a recorder to record the automated menu and then just relay off the recording. That's what we do, record it, relay the recording and then call back into the system which buys us a lot of time.

Though what you said kind of leads me to a 5b- yes, I know you don't speak spanish, I know that you don't need that option, but guess what, I still have to inform you that it is there. Likewise, even if you tell me what option you want, I have to relay everything that choosing that option gives... if you say dial 888-CARD-BAL and select the option to check balance, if selecting that option comes back and says "please enter your card number, or if your card is lost, damaged, or stolen, press 1" I have to relay that whole thing... I know your card isn't lost or stolen, but following your instructions, that is what the menu told me, so it's what I have to tell you.

Also, you bring up another pet peeve of mine to add to both hearing users and deaf users. The company I work for doesn't require Go Ahead, with the deaf user we'll relay as soon as they hit send and the hearing user we'll relay as soon as they stop speaking, and automated menu we'll ask what option they want to select when it's done. However, if the user requests that we use Go Ahead we are more than happy to use it, but for the love of God, if you are going to request that we use it, use it properly. GA is not a replacement for a period, it is to indicate you are done typing, if you ask me to use Go Ahead, stop fusking interrupting my talking before you start your reply. You went out of your way to request that we use this protocol and then don't use it

All this is really making me want to transfer to the closed caption calling department (better pay and no having to relay... all I'd have to do is dictate what the hearing person is saying).

[PepperElf]

smiley - i have to say thank you for the posts about TTY services.

now that im in a retail job (eek) i know it's a possibility. i haven't had one yet but... having read your posts about it, i know what to do if i get such a call. :-)

[Mr Hero]

smiley - i have to say thank you for the posts about TTY services.

now that im in a retail job (eek) i know it's a possibility. i haven't had one yet but... having read your posts about it, i know what to do if i get such a call. :-)

And I think you just hit on one of the personal reasons I use cs.com. I get to hear how it's like from jobs I don't have a lot of experience with, be able to learn common pet peeves, then avoid doing them.

[fma_fanatic]

I don't mind the TTY. What I do mind are the operators who apparently don't like it when I tell them they'll have to call another number for supplies. We're just equipment sales in my office. We have no stock and our supply department just takes incoming calls from existing customers. New customers and those asking for pricing have to call our call center.

I've been told that I have to help the customer...and I know we can get into trouble if I hang up. Saying we're just equipment sales does no good either.

[barainga]

I took a couple of those calls when I was at the call center for Death Star/Borg Sphere cell phones, and was impressed by the professionalism of the TTY ops. I had to get a bit more detailed for them to help them explain to the customer what to do, but it wasnt difficult.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I took a relay call once at the call center, when I was in another department, and it was really confusing but somehow the call disconnected before business was finished and they didn't call me back. (I swear I didn't hang up on them, I can get fired for hanging up on just about anyone!!)

[Rapscallion]

Took my first relay call for a deaf person a couple of weeks back. Thanks to Smiley's posts, I had enough preparation to get through without fluffing it. Thanks mate.

Rapscallion

[hartlock10]

When i was a bill collector (the horror) i had to deal with quite a few relay calls. i always felt bad for them because inevitably the customer would not like my response and they would have to relay a nasty message to me

[Peppergirl]

Took my first relay call for a deaf person a couple of weeks back. Thanks to Smiley's posts, I had enough preparation to get through without fluffing it. Thanks mate.

Rapscallion

Hmmm... over here in the US, the term 'fluffing' has a much different meaning.