The time I helped a deaf person over the phone.

I posted a story from my days at what was then a very large (maybe the largest?), now not so large

but still in existence ISP on Reddit and it got some love, so I thought I'd put it here too.

The Story:
Back in 2002 I worked at BIG COMPANY doing phone support. We had 2 terrible call flow/troubleshooting facilities called Merlin and Sherlock. As in many call centers, BIG COMPANY hired slightly higher than average intelligence monkeys (Myself and a select few excluded), stuck them in front of a computer, and called them Tech Support.

Couple this with the advertising BIG COMPANY had at the time (Call us! We'll help you! Here's an 800 number!, which encouraged users to call if they couldn't get online) and you get a lot of calls for support because a black screen means you are unable to go online and you should call BIG COMPANY.

The call: I've never had a relay call (Where a deaf person makes phone calls using a teletype device and an operator reads the typed text to the non-deaf person on the other end of the call), so I was in foreign territory with this one.



Ring!
Me: Thank you for choosing BIG COMPANY, My name is Austin. Before we begin I need to get some information from you, what is your name?
Operator: Hello, this is the Florida relay service calling on behalf of a deaf caller. We've (the operator and the user) been calling all day and no-one seems to be able to help.

Looking at the call history I see several tickets with no resolution, all citing different problems and ending the calls with "suggested user call manufacturer".

Me: Okay, what is happening?

Operator: Now speaking the typed text of the user: "I've already restarted my computer. Please don't ask me to do that. I see a black screen with lots of words and symbols on it".

Me: Okay, so it doesn't sound like your having trouble with BIG COMPANY, but with your computer booting, is that correct?

Operator: "Yes, but please don't ask me to contact HP. I've been calling them all day too".

Me: Feeling bad for the poor deaf person at this point "Okay, I'll see if I can help. Can you tell me if there is an error code or a device name listed?"

Operator: "Yes. It says While initilizing device VKD: Windows Protection Error."

Me: Oh, okay, that's a problem with the keyboard. Can you make sure your keyboard is plugged in properly by unplugging it, then plugging it back in?

Operator after a couple of minutes: Yes, I have done that.

Me: Now, try to restart your computer

Operator after a couple of minutes: It is still saying it. I'm desperate, please don't go.

At this point I remember the last time I saw that error in practice

Me: This will sound silly, but please check if you have a stuck key...

A minute or so passes

Operator (Still reading the typed text to me): THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Do I have to read the rest of these?

Me: No, tell them I'm glad it worked.

I ended the call and took a break, smirking as I walked by all of the other 'techs' who couldn't or wouldn't take the time to help a deaf person figure out that they had a stuck key.

So the poor deaf guy couldn't hear the constant screaming of the system speaker because something was holding down a single key. After several hours of sitting on a tty device with a relay operator he/she ended up with me. It felt pretty good.

TL;DR - A deaf person spent a whole day calling his ISP and his PC Manufacturer for support only to find out that he had a stuck key because he couldn't hear the PC speaker beeping.