Customer service calls and hearing loss are often challenging.
This customer service call incident I experienced is the reason why I avoid phone calls and relish those chat features!
The problem
I tried to access my Kaiser account to refill a prescription but I could not log in. I’ve had the same password for years. However, for some reason, this particular day it didn’t work. So I requested a new password be sent via email. An email never arrived. Feeling frustrated, I let it go for a few days.
About three days later I try logging in again with my old password. A notice promptly pops up stating that a new password request has not been completed. I look for a chat feature. There is none. So now I must make a customer service call to fix the problem. I put on my headset, take a deep breath, and call.
The Call
I’m on the phone with this young customer serviceman and I explain what happened. Apparently the Kaiser system was down that fateful day, which is why my password did not work. Their automatic email response to a request for a new password was down as well. That is why I never received an email.
“No problem,” said the customer serviceman, “…but I do need to verify your identity by asking you the security questions.”
“OK” I replied.
This is where it got tough. The first security question he asked, a security question I opted to answer eons ago – was an unusual one; “What did you grandfather do for a living?”
No Memory Connection to the Security Question Answer
In my books and in previous posts, I make it clear that to help a hard-of-hearing person to comprehend what you are saying, you MUST make the topic of the conversation clear right from the get-go. All of us, unconsciously, rely on the topic of a conversation to help the mind understand what is being said.
The example I like to use in my talks is to imagine you are standing in line at a check-out counter and the person in front of you starts chatting excitedly to you about something. The person has a strong accent, so you are having a difficult time understanding what he’s talking about. Then you believe you hear the words, “Magic Kingdom.” Once you recognize those two words, you are then able to understand most of what the visitor is talking about – his recent visit to Disneyland.
I basically HAD no grandparents. I never knew my dad’s parents, and my mom’s parents were very old by the time I came along (mom was almost 40 when she had me.) Additionally, they lived in Wisconsin and we lived in Southern California. I had VERY little interaction with them.
And that damn security question was one I answered years and years and years ago.
Shouting Doesn’t Help
Now fast forward to the day of this phone call. The customer service man is asking me this question, “What did your grandfather do for a living?” All I could understand was “grandfather.” There was little “grandfather” in my memory to tap into to comprehend what this man was asking me.
After two repeats I told him I am hearing impaired so if he could slow down that would be helpful. So he amps up his voice considerably, and repeats, with about 2-second pauses in between each word, “WHAT – DID—YOUR—GRAND-FATHER—DO-FOR-A-LIVING.?” My mind raced to all the other family-related security questions I’ve answered in the past, and none of them seemed to connect with this question. But I threw them out anyway, desperate. With each wrong answer, the man came back, louder and slower: “WHAT – DID – YOUR – GRAND – FATHER -DO – FOR – A – LIVING?”
Rephrase, please.
After five failed attempts I asked him to rephrase the question for me in the hope this painful exercise could end. Did he do that? No. He simply spelled out the last word – still shouting, “L-I-V-I-N-G!!!!!.” “Oh,” I responded, “none of my parents or grandparents are living anymore.”
Wrong answer.
The customer service man presses on, not rephrasing the question, which might have sounded something like, “Work. Money. What did your grandfather do to make money?” I probably would have understood the question if he had rephrased it. Instead, he asked the same damn question a couple more times: “WHAT – DID – YOUR – GRAND – FATHER -DO – FOR – A – LIVING?” FINALLY, thankfully, I understood the question.
“OHHHHHH!” I exclaimed. “My grandfather was a logger.” I laughed. He did not. He proceeded with the other two questions, in the same volume and pacing as the initial question. I listened intently. Well, it turns out the other two questions were easy because they were connected to a huge memory bank of information – “What city did you get married in?” and, “What was your favorite place to visit as a child?” No problem there!
The Temporary Password
Now, that’s not the end of it. The customer service man now must give me an eight-digit temporary password. I’m nervous because the numbers “1” and “9” sound similar to me, as do the numbers “2” and “3.” More problematic, letters of the alphabet can really mess me up. The letters “b, c, d, e, g, p, v, z” all sound the same to me. Remember, I’m only hearing pieces of an entire sound. If not connected to a topic of conversation, it is very difficult to comprehend what is being said. Obviously, a temporary password is not connected to any topic.
He is shouting again and continuing with long gaps between the numbers and letters. Fortunately for both of us, I was able to discern all the numbers and letters except for the letter “D.” Many people say “D” as in “dog.” That’s not helpful because it could be “G” as in “GOD” or “B” as in “BOG.” They all sound the same. It is best to use a word that sounds totally different from the letter – and two syllables are better than one. I clarified by asking, “D as in donut?” I was correct.
Phonetics Chart
Below is a table of letter phonetics that might be handy if you find yourself on a phone with someone who is hearing impaired. Another way it can be helpful is for you to read back what you believe you heard. It is all too easy, especially with cell phones where connectivity is often a crapshoot, to misunderstand those similar-sounding words and numbers. PDF of this document can be downloaded here.
| Letter | Good | Not Good |
| A | apple, alphabet | |
| B | boy, bottle | bog |
| C | charley, cow, cat | clog |
| D | David, donut | dog |
| E | Edward, elephant | |
| F | Frank, fabulous, funny | |
| G | George, gopher, glad | God |
| H | Harry | |
| I | impossible | |
| J | Jack, jump | |
| K | kangaroo | |
| L | Larry, lemon | |
| M | Mary | |
| N | Nancy | nod |
| O | open, opportunity | |
| P | Peter, pumpkin | pod |
| Q | question | |
| U | uncle, underwear | |
| R | Robert | |
| S | stupid | |
| T | Thomas, tulip | three |
| U | underwear | |
| V | victory | |
| W | watermelon | |
| X | xray | |
| Y | yellow | |
| Z | zebra, zoo | |
So, in conclusion, I finally got into the Kaiser system, changed my password, and did my thing. I wondered how the customer service man felt after that painful call. Was he as exhausted as me? Probably! For this reason, a chat feature for ease in communication – especially with those like me who are hearing impaired, is a huge customer service perk. Additionally, it wouldn’t hurt to have customer service folks trained on how to communicate with a person who is hearing impaired. After all, customer service calls and hearing loss are a recipe for difficulty and dissatisfaction.
