In 2012, Melissa “echo” Greenlee had an ambitious idea - to crowdsource all deaf consumer experiences on a public review platform. This month, we celebrate the 10-year mark of this entrepreneurial journey. The spark? An Indian restaurant hung up on her video relay call before she could even finish signing “naan”. The [...]
Over 48 million people in the U.S. live with hearing loss- and they are far from a monolithic group. We live in an era that celebrates sign language and Deaf Culture on a scale that previous generations never imagined. Deaf artists share the Super Bowl halftime spotlight. Deaf actor Troy Kotsur (CODA) [...]
Good customer service is the defining factor of any good business – especially important is the first point of contact. As Deaf consumers, we frequent a variety of businesses daily such as retail establishments, grocery stores, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and many more. If we experience bad customer service, chances are, all [...]
The unknown can be scary. Imagine that you’re doing business as usual, when a customer emails you a request you’ve never gotten before: sign language interpreting services. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed, awkward, and downright unsure how to take the first step. After all, interacting with deaf and hard of hearing people [...]
Twelve percent of the US population is twice as likely to leave positive reviews: Deaf and hard of hearing customers. It’s a stark contrast to a recent Salesforce study: Consumers (in the general population) are twice as likely to share bad customer service experiences than good ones. Last month, deaffriendly.com - a [...]
If you operate a business that is open to the public in Washington State and has forward-facing TV’s in your establishment, you will want to be aware of a new state captioning law that went into effect last month (July 2021). Washington State is the first state to mandate closed captioning in public [...]
Signed into law on July 26, 1990, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is considered the most significant law that protects Americans with disabilities from discrimination and ensures they have access to employment, transportation, health care, education, communications, and places of public accommodation. Access barriers experienced by deaf and hard-of-hearing people are [...]
Sign language interpreters are having another moment in the spotlight as high profile public officials across the country are using in-screen interpreters for online press briefings, raising the visibility of sign language access for deaf and hard of hearing consumers on a never-seen-before scale. Even the current administration at the White House [...]
Feeling accessibility-stuck? Don’t have time for a full-blown American Sign Language course, but want to better serve deaf and hard of hearing people? Skill up on seamless communication with deaf and hard of hearing customers, in just one hour or less. Launching February 1st, deaffriendly Consulting’s on-line course, “Deaf-Friendly BASICS” is a [...]