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01/06/03 - Quick Survey for TTY Users

Happy New Year!

Do you use TTY or relay service for telephone calls to businesses and organizations?

In the past year, have you tried to call an organization and encountered a phone menu ("Press 1 for this, press 2 for that")?

If so, please answer the following survey and return to me by Friday, January 10, 2003.

TDI and NAD have received a request from the Alliance of Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) on behalf of the IVR Forum - a consumer/industry coalition seeking to address accessibility issues about Interactive Voice Response Menu Systems (IVR Systems) to distribute and gather responses to a short survey for our members and subscribers who use a TTY and have experienced using IVR Systems within the past year.

IVR Systems are typically found in businesses, government agencies, and other organizations, where callers are directed according to responses to a "telephone menu" (or voice menu). Some menus require the use of the telephone touchtone pad (e.g., "If you need technical support, please press 1.") while others may require that the caller speak a response (e.g., "Please enter or say your account number.") TDI and NAD are both aware that the majority of the systems in use by banks, doctor's offices, technical support often pose barriers to callers using the TTY or the relay.

If you are a TTY user and have experienced contacting a business with an IVR System, please answer the questions and reply to me at jimhouse@tdi-online.org no later than Friday, January 10, 2003. If you did not encounter an IVR menu system, you do not have to respond.

The responses (not your name or e-mail address) will be shared at the next IVR Forum meeting on Monday January 13, 2003. The answers will be used to guide the IVR Forum in developing improved standards for future IVR systems for customers and clients who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind.

1. If a business or organization has a TTY number, do you use it to call on TTY directly?

a. Always
b. Sometimes
c. Never
Comments:

2. When you make phone calls to businesses, do you use TRS (Relay Services)?

a. Always
b. Sometimes
c. Never

3. How many times in the past year have you encountered a phone menu system?

a. Ten or more
b. Five to nine
c. One to four
d. None (You do not need to complete the rest of this survey)

4. In general, how do you feel about your contacts with IVR systems?

a. Very Satisfied
b. Somewhat Satisfied
c. Neutral
d. Somewhat Dissatisfied
e. Very Dissatisfied
Comments:

5. What are the reason(s) for calling businesses? (Check as many as applicable)

a. Making an appointment
b. Account inquiry or changes
c. Ask about a product (availability, return, repair, etc.)
d. Get information (hours of operation, driving directions, etc.)
e. Try to call back someone in the organization
f. Looking for a job
g. Other - Explain

6. In your most recent experience with a phone menu system, what was the type of business you were calling?

a. Medical (Clinic, Hospital, Lab)
b. Technical Support (Computer, Products, Repairs)
c. Retail (Stores, Online Services)
d. Financial (Brokerages, Banks)
e. Government
f. Other - Explain

7. How did you contact this business (in your most recent experience)?

a. TTY direct call (to a TTY number that had a TTY phone menu)
b. Relay Service (via TTY or IP)
c. Video Relay
d. Interpreter
e. Friend
f. Other (explain)

8. In your most recent experience, ...

a. Did the system tell you to choose by pressing a key on your touchtone
    phone? (ex: For technical support, press one)
    Yes or no?

a. Did the system tell you to speak/say your choice?
    (ex: For technical support, say one <or a different word>)
    Yes or no?

c. Did the system tell you to type your choice on your TTY?
    (ex: For technical support, type 1)
    Yes or no?
    Don't know

9. As you were receiving the menu options, did the relay have to dial back to the organization?

a. No
b.Yes, the relay did dial back.  If so, how many times?:
                               I. One time
                               II. Two times
                               III. 3-5 times
                               IV. More than 5 times

10. How long was your most recent IVR call?

a. Less than 1 minute
b. 1 minute - 3 minutes
c. 4 minutes - 10 minutes
d. 11 - 15 minutes
e. 15 - 29 minutes
f. 30 minutes or more

11. Did you reach a live person on your most recent call?

a. Yes (answer 11A)
b. No (skip to 12)

11A. How difficult was it for you to reach a live person?

a. Not difficult
b. A little difficult
c. Difficult
d. Very difficult

12. Did the company offer you ...

a. A TTY number
b. A fax number
c. A web address
d. An e-mail address
e. None of the above

13. Did the business offer you tips on how to call next time by giving you menu options ahead of time?

a. Yes
b. No

14. If an IVR menu system had TTY capabilities, how long would you be willing to wait until you were connected to an automatic TTY IVR (not a live person)?

a. 15 seconds
b. 30 seconds
c. 1 minute
d. I would not want to use an automatic TTY IVR.
Comments:

15. Which state do you live in?

16. If you wish, you may add other comments about interactive voice response menu systems below.

Thank you for your time! If you have any questions about this e-mail or
TDI-L eNotes, please contact me at jimhouse@tdi-online.org.

Sincerely,
Jim House, Director
TDI Member Services & Public Relations
8630 Fenton St., #604
Silver Spring, MD 20910
jimhouse@tdi-online.org
TTY 301-589-3006
Voice 301-589-3786
FAX 301-589-3797
AOL IM haus7hill
For more info: www.tdi-online.org

"Promoting Equal Access to Telecommunications and Media for People
Who are Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard-of-Hearing or Deaf-Blind"