Phone relay service plea: Don't hang up on us!

From: WSTM-TV - Syracuse,NY,USA - Aug 9, 2005

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. The operators of a phone relay service for the deaf say too many people are hanging up when they're called. The New York Relay Service is trying to change that.

Spokeswoman Mary Beth Mothersell says a public awareness campaign has been launched to let people know that they should stay on the line if they receive a call from the New York Relay.

Mothersell says the free service helps people who use a text telephone connect with those who use regular voice phone connections.

But these days, a lot of folks who pick up the phone and hear the words "New York Relay Service" are hanging up -- assuming it's some kind of sales pitch. That can be frustrating for the person placing a call through the relay service.

The New York Relay Service handles more than two (m) million calls a year. In addition to helping deaf and hard-of-hearing New Yorkers place and receive calls, the service also assists speech-impaired people.

(Bob Joseph, WNBF, Binghamton)

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.