One day early in this month, I received an email from Home Depot requesting I call a certain number to set up for a job interview (I had applied online). I called the number via the Sprint Internet Relay, and went through the process. We eventually set up the interview for August 16th, and I was really looking forward to this interview!
Fast forward to the morning of Aug. 16. I quickly checked my emails, and noticed I had an email from Home Depot. Oh no! Oh wait... They wanted to reschedule my interview so they could have an interpreter on hand. Really? I didn't even request an interpreter. I guess because I called using the relay, they decided they should go ahead and call for an interpreter. Ok, props to them. I appreciate their efforts! But I was disappointed that the interview had been postponed. I called the local Home Depot number and told them I appreciated their efforts, but I would be absolutely fine to do an interview without an interpreter on site. The person I spoke with said she would inform HR and that HR would take it from there.
Yesterday, I received another email, from HR. Apparently they were still trying to get a hold of an interpreter, and asked if I could wait until a later date, when this out of state interpreter would be available. I responded and said I would be happy with this date, but again, I do not need an interpreter. I explained that I have bilateral cochlear implants and get by without needing an interpreter. I mean, I do still struggle with the phone (it's more of a me issue, I.E. "did I hear this person right? huh?" and anxiety). When making phone calls, I still prefer to use the relay... it's handy to be able to read what is being said, and also be able to save the transcript after the call has ended, if needed. I know there are captioning apps (CapTel, InnoCaption), but it requires actually using my phone and then I would be paying extra on my cell bill (I only have the text and data plan, no voice plan added).
But seriously, kudos to Home Depot for going that extra step! All the other potential job interviews I've gone to in the past has never gone out of their way to accommodate me just for an interview. Normally, if I absolutely feel like I need interpreting or accommodations of some sort, I will request it, which is pretty rare for me to do outside of classes. I really absolutely do appreciate Home Depot's efforts though.
Showing posts with label relay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label relay. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Purple VRS
And I am now an owner of a Purple VRS phone number. Whaaaaat? I didn’t even know you could download the P3 software to any computer with a webcam and use it to make relay calls or video calls (I knew they had their own Purple Netbooks they were offering/selling). Cool! Don’t have a webcam on the desktop, only on the netbook. A deaf friend suggested I download P3, as she needed to ask me something about photo but she couldn’t explain it. But hey, at least it’s free so why not. So I have an i711 Relay personal number (which I’ve had for 2-3 years now), and now a Purple VRS phone number (and you can make IP-Relay calls through the P3 software too!). Hm! So now I've got 2 different options for making relay calls.
Oh and I just now discovered the Blackberry has applications to make relay calls with too. Usually I just use AIM instant messenger to make my calls with i711. At least with AIM, my AIM name is connected to my i711.com account, so I can just say "audiology" and they'll dial the number for audiology and connect me, I don't have to type in a number! I couldn't do that with the i711 relay application on the Sidekicks. Don't know how it will work on the Blackberry but couldn't hurt to try it out I guess.... maybe. Gotta read the reviews of the apps first.
Oh and I just now discovered the Blackberry has applications to make relay calls with too. Usually I just use AIM instant messenger to make my calls with i711. At least with AIM, my AIM name is connected to my i711.com account, so I can just say "audiology" and they'll dial the number for audiology and connect me, I don't have to type in a number! I couldn't do that with the i711 relay application on the Sidekicks. Don't know how it will work on the Blackberry but couldn't hurt to try it out I guess.... maybe. Gotta read the reviews of the apps first.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Phone call frustrations!
Oh how frustrating is this! The Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance guy called back the other day, and left a message on the machine. I have played the message a couple of times but I cannot understand the message. I couldn't catch his name or the number he left, or anything else he said. So frustrating! And I'm the only one at home until the 19th. Right now, I'm on a relay call with the BCBC of Wyoming, and they're going to try to get me in touch with the representative that has been researching affordable plans that covers cochlear implants, but blah. The call got rerouted a few times and I ended up with someone from the Cheyenne office. Oy! So incredibly frustrating. I hate that I can't make sense of the message, I hate that I'm making this Cheyenne representative do "extra work" just because I couldn't get a name of the representative doing the research. I'm surprised the Relay Operator is still handling this call haha. It's been over half an hour now, and I'm on hold yet again while the Cheyenne representative calls the local office.
If I could at least get the stupid Cap-Tel phone to work at home, I'd try using that to make phone calls. But no, ever since the Qwest phone company came over to the house 2 years or so ago and did something, none of MY phones have worked. I've tried plugging them into different phone outlets throughout the house and nothing. I don't know why. I have two different phones that are for the deaf (the Captel, and one from PlanetAble), and they both don't work. Most certainly isn't the phones, it has to be the phone line. I've mentioned this to mom and stepdad several times in the last few years but nothing has been done.
Well, at least I finally got our home number removed from Omaha Steak's call list. They have been calling our house at least 2 times a day on a daily basis. No one in the house ever answer their calls (we just pick up then immediately hang up on them). I went online to the Omaha Steaks website, and found an email address. Shot off an email and requested they stop calling us! They removed the number from their list, finally. No more obnoxious calls from them.
Oh, off hold. She's telling me I can stop by the local office and talk to them. Ok. I'm not exactly sure where this street is, but I can look it up, no problem. Oy. Will have to look up the address online, and try swinging by sometime before going to work tomorrow or the next day. Maybe I can get them to start emailing me information from now on, instead of leaving messages on the phone. That would be so much easier for me. Golly!
Well, that relay call lasted almost an entire hour. That's the one thing I don't like about relay calls, they take longer.
If I could at least get the stupid Cap-Tel phone to work at home, I'd try using that to make phone calls. But no, ever since the Qwest phone company came over to the house 2 years or so ago and did something, none of MY phones have worked. I've tried plugging them into different phone outlets throughout the house and nothing. I don't know why. I have two different phones that are for the deaf (the Captel, and one from PlanetAble), and they both don't work. Most certainly isn't the phones, it has to be the phone line. I've mentioned this to mom and stepdad several times in the last few years but nothing has been done.
Well, at least I finally got our home number removed from Omaha Steak's call list. They have been calling our house at least 2 times a day on a daily basis. No one in the house ever answer their calls (we just pick up then immediately hang up on them). I went online to the Omaha Steaks website, and found an email address. Shot off an email and requested they stop calling us! They removed the number from their list, finally. No more obnoxious calls from them.
Oh, off hold. She's telling me I can stop by the local office and talk to them. Ok. I'm not exactly sure where this street is, but I can look it up, no problem. Oy. Will have to look up the address online, and try swinging by sometime before going to work tomorrow or the next day. Maybe I can get them to start emailing me information from now on, instead of leaving messages on the phone. That would be so much easier for me. Golly!
Well, that relay call lasted almost an entire hour. That's the one thing I don't like about relay calls, they take longer.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Oy!
The receptionists at the audiologiy's office are just so difficult. I've made several relay calls to them over the last few months using i711.com relay, and they are still uncomfortable with taking my relay calls. It's really not that difficult! I am not using the phone when I make these calls, I am on the internet, typing out my message to the operator, and the operater is relaying my message to the receptionist. Then the receptionist responds to the operator, operator types the message and sends it to me. Oy!
Hearing aid is much better. He took the bass-boost off. Good! Got the proper FM shoe for the hearing aid, so will play with the FM at home. But there's no telecoil setting on my hearing aid. Somehow it got switched with the music setting. I don't even know how the music setting works. I don't use headphones or blast music from a speaker. I use the telecoil setting with the Hatis Epic ear hook to listen to music, or to DVDs on my portable DVD player. Hm. I want to get it switched back to Telecoil, and switch the FM+Mic setting to just FM only. And there is no way I can wait until May 19 for further adjustments. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes really, to just switch out the 2 programs to 2 other programs, and plug the remote into the computer so that it is updated to have the right programming options. I am not going to wait 2 weeks just for a simple little thing. That's just ridiculous.
Meh. I hate dealing with receptionists at times, especially when they are so clueless. I'm not asking for a whole half-hour appointment session. Just a mere 5 minutes to make the switches and that's it. No increasing the volume or messing with the bass levels, etc. The volume and bass adjustments can be done on another day, after I've gone a few days with the current adjustments so I can get a feel for it and figure out what further adjustments need to be made.
It's times like this, where I wish we could somehow adjust the hearing aids on our own computers, just simple adjustments. They should have a program for digital HA users to load onto their computer, and they can make their own simple tweaks, like switching out programmings and adjusting the volume a bit (with the program having a limit on the volume so some users don't go too crazy). Just little simple stuff like that. Then we wouldn't have to worry about making appointments. Just see the audie if there is a big enough issue with the hearing aid or for MAJOR adjustments, but not little itty bitty ones.
Hearing aid is much better. He took the bass-boost off. Good! Got the proper FM shoe for the hearing aid, so will play with the FM at home. But there's no telecoil setting on my hearing aid. Somehow it got switched with the music setting. I don't even know how the music setting works. I don't use headphones or blast music from a speaker. I use the telecoil setting with the Hatis Epic ear hook to listen to music, or to DVDs on my portable DVD player. Hm. I want to get it switched back to Telecoil, and switch the FM+Mic setting to just FM only. And there is no way I can wait until May 19 for further adjustments. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes really, to just switch out the 2 programs to 2 other programs, and plug the remote into the computer so that it is updated to have the right programming options. I am not going to wait 2 weeks just for a simple little thing. That's just ridiculous.
Meh. I hate dealing with receptionists at times, especially when they are so clueless. I'm not asking for a whole half-hour appointment session. Just a mere 5 minutes to make the switches and that's it. No increasing the volume or messing with the bass levels, etc. The volume and bass adjustments can be done on another day, after I've gone a few days with the current adjustments so I can get a feel for it and figure out what further adjustments need to be made.
It's times like this, where I wish we could somehow adjust the hearing aids on our own computers, just simple adjustments. They should have a program for digital HA users to load onto their computer, and they can make their own simple tweaks, like switching out programmings and adjusting the volume a bit (with the program having a limit on the volume so some users don't go too crazy). Just little simple stuff like that. Then we wouldn't have to worry about making appointments. Just see the audie if there is a big enough issue with the hearing aid or for MAJOR adjustments, but not little itty bitty ones.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Hamilton Relay presentation
Hamilton Relay did a presentation last night at the old Holiday Inn... DVR sent me the announcement about it in the mail, which arrived yesterday. So of course, I went. And I dragged Mom along. Thought she might be interested and all. And she was!
We had dinner at Johnny J's before we went to the presentation. Again, got to see some deaf friends (a lot of them went to the SignStage performace the other night). So I got to be around some deaf people. I didn't really learn anything new, same stuff that was covered by some Hamilton Relay people at the last WYHI. Yeah. Mom and I then got to talking about the SideKickII and Blackberry stuff... I told her how much I wanted one... We talked to our friend Heather, as she had a SideKickII. Said she got hers from Fusewireless.com. She also says there's not as much coverage in Casper alone for the sidekick.. Some areas of town the SideKick works very well, some areas there's no signal, like up close to the mall and stuff. Says there's more area coverage for the Blackberry.
SideKick's pretty cool. Blackberry is too. I just wanna see if Blackberry has the whole AIM thing in it like the Sidekick. I read on the Fusewireless website that the Blackberry can have AIM on it too... But I wanna see how it works. Blah blah. Mom and I are gonna talk to a friend of Mom's who works for Verizon. See if we can try the Blackberry... We don't know if there's any places here in town that could help us out with the Sidekick.. and as much as I want the Sidekick2, theres barely any coverage in Wyoming for it to work... The Blackberry might be better to use; especially considering I do want to drive to Sheridan myself for the Family Reunion in July, the Blackberry might work better than the Sidekick. Who knows though. Need to do some research and such.
We had dinner at Johnny J's before we went to the presentation. Again, got to see some deaf friends (a lot of them went to the SignStage performace the other night). So I got to be around some deaf people. I didn't really learn anything new, same stuff that was covered by some Hamilton Relay people at the last WYHI. Yeah. Mom and I then got to talking about the SideKickII and Blackberry stuff... I told her how much I wanted one... We talked to our friend Heather, as she had a SideKickII. Said she got hers from Fusewireless.com. She also says there's not as much coverage in Casper alone for the sidekick.. Some areas of town the SideKick works very well, some areas there's no signal, like up close to the mall and stuff. Says there's more area coverage for the Blackberry.
SideKick's pretty cool. Blackberry is too. I just wanna see if Blackberry has the whole AIM thing in it like the Sidekick. I read on the Fusewireless website that the Blackberry can have AIM on it too... But I wanna see how it works. Blah blah. Mom and I are gonna talk to a friend of Mom's who works for Verizon. See if we can try the Blackberry... We don't know if there's any places here in town that could help us out with the Sidekick.. and as much as I want the Sidekick2, theres barely any coverage in Wyoming for it to work... The Blackberry might be better to use; especially considering I do want to drive to Sheridan myself for the Family Reunion in July, the Blackberry might work better than the Sidekick. Who knows though. Need to do some research and such.
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