I’ve been reading press releases for over 20 years, and today I came across one that has to rank in the top 10 for weirdness.
A company called RBC Life Sciences, Inc. sent out a release to say that it “announced today that it will now be able to handle calls received from our deaf and hard-of-hearing customers through Sorenson Video Relay Services (VRS).”
I read the rest of the release, which can be seen HERE, and I just can’t figure out what’s the big deal. As best I can tell, they’ve sent out a press release simply to say that they accept relay calls.
Since it is illegal to NOT accept relay calls, I have to wonder what this company has been doing up until now. Hanging up on every deaf person who calls?
And I have to wonder why Sorenson VRS is singled out. If a deaf person calls through a different VRS provider, will the company hang up?
While it may take special equipment to MAKE a relay call, to be on the receiving end simply means to answer the phone when it rings and talk with the interpreter or relay operator instead of directly with the customer.
“We are incredibly proud to now offer this free service to our deaf and hard-of-hearing customers,” said John Price, president of RBC Life Services. “We’ve finally figured out how to answer the phone!”
He didn’t say that second sentence, I made it up, but that’s how it comes across.
Relay services have been around in various shapes and forms for decades, long before Sorenson or VRS came along, and any decent business should have been accepting relay calls right from the start.
So why does RBC Life Services need to send out a news release to say that it accepts VRS calls? It’s like announcing that you pay your taxes.
Can anyone help me figure this out?
2 Comments
February 12, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Great observation, am with you on this one.
What is as puzzling is why Sorenson thought this contract was worth their time brokering. Just goes to show how much they don’t get the deaf community. As though we’d say “Oh boy, now I’m dadgum sure making all my calls through SorensonVRS!” Really baffling.
July 7, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Maybe one of their VIPS are inbred into the same family. Don’t forget the status quo in Utah and now it’s seeping throughout the rest of the United States.