Labor of Love
It's been a while since I've made a relay call, but I had a couple to make today. If I need verification for later (such as a call to the IRS or some similar gummint agency), I use the trusty ol' TTY (TDD for those of you that are sticklers for that term!), with its printer paper. If I'm out and about, sometimes I'll use the IP Relay function through AIM on my Sidekick. But usually I'll use a web-based IP Relay; infamous among various reporters and newspapers as the communication mode of choice for Nigerian scammers and con artists, sad to say (here's an interesting link to a bulletin board discussion populated by relay agents themselves discussing the topic). I know there are options for saving/printing those conversations as well, so either way I'm covered.
Today I decided to use the web, as I was already online taking care of personal business, and made my calls. Usually in the past, when I've had problems with an operator, I've either tried to correct the situation on the spot, or in extreme cases, asked for a supervisor. Sometimes I've just let it slide, though, as I know others may need an operator's services. Often on a relay service's website, there's a survey or feedback form, but I've often wondered if there's a better way of obtaining customer feedback and prompting telecommunications companies running relay systems to do a better job.
Such a way now exists, thanks to Relay Review, a new website that allows us deaf consumers to record our experiences and rate relay operators. At this site, users have the opportunity not only to rate the relay agents handling their calls, but also to see which companies are the most highly rated, and what a particular agent's feedback rating is. While people may be tempted to just provide feedback on poor experiences, it's important to also offer praise. So far the ratings seem to be a mix of that: comments range from "fast typist" to "had to repeat spelling more than twice." Some users simply offer a point-based rating, resulting in 4 or 5 stars, while others enter more specific commentary. Overall, though, it allows people to better assess a company's service, the quality of their employees, and the opportunity to provide feedback. For the companies, it allows their customer base a chance to holler back, and gives managers another form of measuring their employee's productivity, skills, and effectiveness. I think it offers a happy medium all around, and welcome the chance to provide my own feedback. That doesn't mean I'll pick and choose individual relay operators though; I don't have the time or inclination to keep track of every single number, and then try to get a different operator if I see a number with a bad rating. Besides, often I'm just calling for a pizza or making a call for some other similarly mundane reason.
But when I'm making a Very Important Call, like receiving or returning a call concerning a potential job or something equally Important, I'd like to have a good operator. I think it's probably more of a concern for VideoPhone calls, where comprehension and smooth interpreting is essential. Still, I know that many of the VP companies take pains to hire the best interpreters possible, and it's been reflected in the community at wide: most of the "good ones" are now working for Sorenson and the like, leaving shortages in other areas, such as higher education.
So while I don't see Relay Review as a way to nitpick or try to cherry-pick to obtain the best agent possible for all calls, I do see it as a way to give a voice to the customer, and another avenue for the companies and services to evaluate their workers and overall performance.
So far what I'm seeing is good-- most comments are productive, and there's quite a bit of praise. Of course, there'll be the occasional comment or rating that perhaps doesn't jibe, but hopefully this site will be used and not abused.
I'm not sure at this time, since the site is so new, if any of the middle managers at places like Sprint, Sorenson, or HOVRS have spotted Relay Review or taken advantage of it. Hopefully they will, and the site will benefit everyone all around. Relay Review was started by Tayler Mayer, whose name may be familiar to some of you. While Tayler's day job is at Crave Online, he owns his own company, TaylerInfoMedia, where he also offers sites for the deaf community. His earlier effort was a fun one, focusing on the location of deaf community members, through Frappr! This latest offering is far more useful and beneficial to the Deaf World at large.
Relay Review is a free site; it also doesn't currently have any advertising or visible means of support. Tayler worked on this, fine-tuned it, and opened it up to the public on his own dime and with his own time. Some websites, publications, businesses, and the like that deaf and Deaf people work on are for-profit enterprises, and show the ambition, creativity, and versatility within our community. I applaud these efforts. But there are also projects that are labors of love, done with only a sense of altruism behind the initial idea. Relay Review is one of them.
[full disclosure: Tayler is a good friend of mine. That doesn't mean he put me up to this, though. *grin* It's all my own writing, my own opinion, etc., ad nauseam, ad infinitum...]
Today I decided to use the web, as I was already online taking care of personal business, and made my calls. Usually in the past, when I've had problems with an operator, I've either tried to correct the situation on the spot, or in extreme cases, asked for a supervisor. Sometimes I've just let it slide, though, as I know others may need an operator's services. Often on a relay service's website, there's a survey or feedback form, but I've often wondered if there's a better way of obtaining customer feedback and prompting telecommunications companies running relay systems to do a better job.
Such a way now exists, thanks to Relay Review, a new website that allows us deaf consumers to record our experiences and rate relay operators. At this site, users have the opportunity not only to rate the relay agents handling their calls, but also to see which companies are the most highly rated, and what a particular agent's feedback rating is. While people may be tempted to just provide feedback on poor experiences, it's important to also offer praise. So far the ratings seem to be a mix of that: comments range from "fast typist" to "had to repeat spelling more than twice." Some users simply offer a point-based rating, resulting in 4 or 5 stars, while others enter more specific commentary. Overall, though, it allows people to better assess a company's service, the quality of their employees, and the opportunity to provide feedback. For the companies, it allows their customer base a chance to holler back, and gives managers another form of measuring their employee's productivity, skills, and effectiveness. I think it offers a happy medium all around, and welcome the chance to provide my own feedback. That doesn't mean I'll pick and choose individual relay operators though; I don't have the time or inclination to keep track of every single number, and then try to get a different operator if I see a number with a bad rating. Besides, often I'm just calling for a pizza or making a call for some other similarly mundane reason.
But when I'm making a Very Important Call, like receiving or returning a call concerning a potential job or something equally Important, I'd like to have a good operator. I think it's probably more of a concern for VideoPhone calls, where comprehension and smooth interpreting is essential. Still, I know that many of the VP companies take pains to hire the best interpreters possible, and it's been reflected in the community at wide: most of the "good ones" are now working for Sorenson and the like, leaving shortages in other areas, such as higher education.
So while I don't see Relay Review as a way to nitpick or try to cherry-pick to obtain the best agent possible for all calls, I do see it as a way to give a voice to the customer, and another avenue for the companies and services to evaluate their workers and overall performance.
So far what I'm seeing is good-- most comments are productive, and there's quite a bit of praise. Of course, there'll be the occasional comment or rating that perhaps doesn't jibe, but hopefully this site will be used and not abused.
I'm not sure at this time, since the site is so new, if any of the middle managers at places like Sprint, Sorenson, or HOVRS have spotted Relay Review or taken advantage of it. Hopefully they will, and the site will benefit everyone all around. Relay Review was started by Tayler Mayer, whose name may be familiar to some of you. While Tayler's day job is at Crave Online, he owns his own company, TaylerInfoMedia, where he also offers sites for the deaf community. His earlier effort was a fun one, focusing on the location of deaf community members, through Frappr! This latest offering is far more useful and beneficial to the Deaf World at large.
Relay Review is a free site; it also doesn't currently have any advertising or visible means of support. Tayler worked on this, fine-tuned it, and opened it up to the public on his own dime and with his own time. Some websites, publications, businesses, and the like that deaf and Deaf people work on are for-profit enterprises, and show the ambition, creativity, and versatility within our community. I applaud these efforts. But there are also projects that are labors of love, done with only a sense of altruism behind the initial idea. Relay Review is one of them.
[full disclosure: Tayler is a good friend of mine. That doesn't mean he put me up to this, though. *grin* It's all my own writing, my own opinion, etc., ad nauseam, ad infinitum...]
posted by Mr. Sandman | 9:10 PM
<< Home