I’m moving this week and had to call the Holy Trinity of service companies – the phone company, the utilities company and the cable company. All three offer TTY numbers but none of them answered their TTY numbers properly. And I am not the least bit surprised.
This is nothing new. Everyone seems to think it is okay to establish a special TTY number and then ignore all the calls that come in to that number.
First I tried Time Warner. They publicize their TTY number (585-756-1685) in the phone book and on their website. When I called, nothing happened. I called back through relay and the operator said the phone rang once and someone answered and hung up without saying anything. Same old … it’s the same thing they did when I called a couple years ago.
Then I tried Frontier Telephone. They give a TTY number for customer service (585-325-7692) in the front of the phone book. I called and nothing happened. After a few more tries with the same results, I called back through relay. The operator typed: “Please use text telephone or dial relay .. TTY tone.” So I called back directly and again, nothing happened. (Actually, I received the letter “Y” on each attempt, but that’s all I got.)
Then I tried Rochester Gas & Electric (RG&E). They list a TTY number (1-800-962-3293) in the phone book. I was amazed that the phone was actually answered by a TTY. I was thanked for calling RG&E and told “a representative will be with you momentarily.” After being prompted to type my name and account number, I was told, “Transferring call to call center representatives, please hold.” But five seconds later, I got this message: “Your call was not answered. Would you like to leave a message? Type yes or no GA.” I typed yes and got a recorded apology stating that all representatives were helping others. “Please provide your name and number, we will call you back shortly.” It’s been over an hour and no one has called back.
There is no law that requires these companies to offer TTY numbers. Why do they bother to provide such numbers and then refuse to deal properly with the calls they receive? It seems like nothing more than a cruel hoax. After all my fuss and bother, I haven’t achieved anything and will now have to call all three companies through the relay service. If they didn’t pretend to offer TTY numbers, I would have done that in the first place.
Some people like to say that we deaf people are always angry and always complaining. I would have loved to have written a blog entry commending all three companies for answering their TTY numbers professionally. Alas, I can’t do that … and whose fault is that?
10 Comments
November 27, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Been there, done that…TTY is no longer considered a main artery of communication for the Deaf as we tend to choose using videophone relay and other devices rather than TTY. Actually, my TTY disappeared in my household since I have no valid reasons to rely on it. (in case of emergency, I am able to call 911 through vp just fine).
Since deaf consumers may identify more with videophone relay and other relay services today, TTY calls are believed not to happen quite often that may cause customer service to be lax in answering TTYs.
You are right…. why bother offering TTY phone numbers if it is not put in use by the customer service? Hence, they are just making themselves “accessible” to draw deaf customers but we are not that dumb.
So tell me which one would you prefer to use; TTY or VP relay to contact such companies? If most of you say VP, then it explains why the customer service quality is not as polished as it used to be.
November 27, 2006 at 5:53 pm
This doesn’t surprise me. It had been going on for decades, long before VRS was established.
November 27, 2006 at 8:18 pm
I am not surprised. I used to call TTY hotline all the times from TDI book such as American Airlines, car rental, or telephone company. It was like 10 years ago.
Now with relay services widely available, I simply stopped using this unique service. If there’s any TTY service line out there, they are probably have some of its advantage like no waiting or have to go thru horrible automated system to get someone.
Do you really still use TTY? Just wonder…
gwlj
November 27, 2006 at 9:10 pm
I think it’s great that we have so many options nowadays. As for me, I haven’t really warmed up to video relay yet. I’m a writer and I type fast and I went deaf later in life so signing wasn’t my first language. As a result, I feel more comfortable typing my words, either on TTY or through IP relay. It still feels kind of weird having a stranger staring out at me from my TV, and it’s kind of awkward when we’re on hold for 10 minutes. With the TTY, I can keep busy doing other things while we’re on hold. Also, it’s nice to be able to deal with people directly without having to go through a third party. In any case, I’m looking forward to January when captioned telephone service will begin in New York. For the first time in more than 25 years, I’ll be able to pick up the phone when it rings and say “Hello?”
November 27, 2006 at 9:47 pm
Make sense.
Yes, you are right. That’s why I still use relay service thru AIM more frequently than VRS itself.
gwlj
November 28, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Tom,
I chuckled when you said, “It still feels kind of weird having a stranger staring out at me from my TV.” I know what you mean. I feel especially uncomfortable when I talk to my hearing wife via VP relay. Occasionally, I’d get a VP interpreter, who is either a male or a middle-aged lady, making a pass at me: “I miss you. I long to be with you. I love you.” It really creeps me out. I frequently replied awkwardly, “Um…that’s sweet……. thanks….me, too.”
I wonder if the ADA covers our right to make phone calls to Pay-Per-Call Sex Phone Services through VP relay.
November 28, 2006 at 1:13 pm
It’s nothing new, been like this for years–way before the VRS! Most businesses and corporations purchase TTYs, announce they’re ready to serve the “hearing impaired” and then either totally ignore incoming TTY calls or are terribly inefficient. And they also expect us to leave name and number with promises of calling back “shortly” or “within 24 hours”–as if we have nothing better to do with our lives. And when you grouch, they claim they’re complying with the ADA. Hey, even the police department in my county did the same thing!
November 28, 2006 at 9:25 pm
Welcome to a club! I had the same problem several years ago. Since some family members and friends who made calls for me were told by the businesses or corperations that I would have to call them by myself with their tty numbers, I had to make them call them pretending they were me that worked.
I had been hung up when I called them by using the relay service through AIM and when making the call to the same persons who hung up on me. I would have to tell the relay operator to tell them not to hang on me so they stay on line. I don’t like using the VRS either because if I use it I would have to sit still staring at the stranger while we are put on hold.
December 1, 2006 at 9:52 am
Why won’t they do emails??
September 16, 2007 at 8:32 am
Wow. That’s interesting. What horrible customer service. I’d definitely file a complaint through their customer service address and probably to the state Better Business Bureau. And probably the state utilities commission.
In my own experiments recently as a newly deafened adult, I’m actually pleasantly surprised at how well the regular customer service agents are at dealing with a relay call. They seem to all handle it with a aplomb. Although I’m sure I’m in for a surprise the first time someone doesn’t handle it well.
Much better, all around, then the first time I asked my partner to call someone — the credit card company — because I was not going to be able to make the call. That call was a mess. And required at least three different calls and several different customer service agents.
Of course when I was hearing, just last year, I’d had equally bad customer service experiences, somehow it just seems worse. Bad customer service is still bad customer service. No matter what is the root cause.