Go Ahead

***Warning. This post ended up being pretty long. Be warned. ***
 
This post is gonna be a little tricky...with complicated deaf lingo. Don't worry. My vocabulary is very limited and so don't fret.

TTY Relay  This is the old way that deaf people would make calls. They would use equipment similar to a typwriter that can transmit the information through a phone line. Both deafie and operator had said TTYs and the operator would be connected to both the hearing person and the deafie. Thus relalying information to both parties.

Suppose my husband wants to order pizza. After about 4 minutes of waiting to get an operator on the line and the number etc, the call would proceed as follows:

Pizza Guy: "Hello! Domino's Pizza. Where our pizza isn't that great, but we are the closest pizza place to you and you have no other options. Is this carry or delivery?
Operator: (mono-tone voice) "This is TTY relay service, operator 666. You have a relay call that is going to take all night from a deaf caller . Are you familiar with this kind of call?"
Pizza guy: "Huh? A what? Are you trying to sell us something, because we sell crappy pizza, but we don't buy anything!"
Operator: "Your caller is calling through a typing device that is totally outdated and annoying for all of us and so I will be typing your conversation. You say 'Go Ahead' when you are done and the deaf caller will do the same."
Pizza Guy: "Uhhhmmm. Oookay?"
Operator: "Hold on one moment please." (Mad typing in the background can be heard.)
Long Silence..............................................................................
Pizza Guy: "Ummmm...Hello? Are you there."
Operator: "One moment sir." (Mad typing going on again.)
Long silence...............
Operator: "Your caller says 'Yes! Hi. My name is Hubs. This will be delivery. Go Ahead."
Pizza Guy: "Oh, what? What was that...?"
silence........................................................................
Pizza Guy: "Hello?!"
Operator: "Was that Go Ahead?"
Pizza Guy: " Yes. I guess so. Go ahead"
(mad typing)
silence..........................................................
Operator: "Delivery. I would like to order........"
Pizza Guy: "I need the phone number first.....Hello.?.."
Operator: "One moment sir that was not a go ahead. You need to wait your turn. One moment."
And so the call goes...On...for.. about 15 miutes. Can you imagine? 15 minutes to order pizza!?!?


Next word:
V.R.S. (No, it isn't some type of virus.) Video Relay Service. This is the service that deaf people throughout the modern world use to call hearing people. How does this work? Both the interpreter and the deafie have a video phone that allows them to see each other on t.v. Then the interpreter is able, again, to interpret and relay the conversation for both parties. This is really cool bacause it allows deaf people to communicate with others IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE. Very cool! VERY!!

Time to order pizza: After about 10 seconds of connecting to video interpreter the call is placed.
(Ring Ring) Pizza Guy: "Hello! Domino's Pizza. Where sometimes our pizza is not recognizable, but we call it pizza. Is this carry or delivery?"
Operator: "Hi. You have a caller who uses sign language to communicate. I'm interpreter 007 so I will be interpreting your call. Your caller is saying 'Delivery please.'"
Pizza Guy: "Huh? Uh okay. Can I have your number please."
Operator; "Sure...it is....."

And so the call goes. So much faster so much easier. And a much more pleasant experience for all involved.

Who pays for this? The FCC. It allows deaf individuals to have equal access in their own language. It has made things so much better in my house and to deaf all over. The FCC pays VRS providers a certain amount of money per call. Up til now it has been the same rate no matter which company you are. The contract is now up for review and what the FCC is proposing could be devistating to both the deaf community and also to the many VRS companies nationwide.
Their proposal is a 3 tiered pay scale. Smaller companies are Tier I, medium companies Tier II and large companies (the ones who process the majority of the video relayed calls...the one that I work for and that hubs uses) are Tier III. The FCC is  proposing to pay Tier one $5.00/call, Tier II $6.00/call, and Tier III $3.40/call. Yes, that is right. I didn't make a mistake. It doesn't make sense! At least to not to me.

If this were to go through, the company that I work for and the company that most deaf callers use WILL GO BANKRUPT. We will. There is no way around it. This would leave the majority of deaf people scrounging around looking for VRS providers. No other company has the capability of supporting that many calls. And if any company did, they would be forced into a higher tier, which would, in turn, cause them to go bankrupt. And so the cycle would go. In the end, Deaf people are the ones who are really hurt. Sure, we interpreters will lose our jobs...so there is that...more unemployment. However, the real injustice is to the people we serve. People like my husband.

It is outrageous. There is a reason why companies are successful. There are reasons why Deafies prefer one company over another. And to force that company by punishing them and rewarding another for mediocrity....it just doesn't make sense. Seriously. If this does happen, it will be back to the old, inefficient TTY relay. 

There is good news, however. At this point it is just a proposal. If enough people express concern over the matter, perhaps the FCC will reconsider. I tried to post the link here, but it doesn't seem to be working all that great. So here ((866) 756-6729)  is a number you can call, and when I get the right link I will post it here. 

Make a difference. Go Ahead!