Google has no customer support for people w/ disabilities

[FrankenMech]

Just a rant...

I have found out that Google fiber does not have any support for people with disabilities. They have one automated customer service number that requires keying in a 10 digit phone number associated with the account rapidly and correctly. Due to my Essential Tremor (ET) I am unable to do that so the service just hangs up on me. Most automated phone systems will either accept a keypad or voice response. Usually when those systems can't understand the response they route the call to a human operator. Google's system does not have any of those options. I complained but apparently they don't have any plans to accommodate anyone with a disability, not even a TDD system for the deaf. I find Google's attitude reprehensible, backwards, and probably against the law. If the company is big enough they don't have to obey the law though.

Most of Google's alternatives for contacting customer service require internet access! I find that an idiotic alternative when internet access is unavailable. My home phone is a VOIP phone number that runs over the internet so it is dead when the internet is down.

My ET is so bad I can't operate a 'smart' phone with the touch screen gestures etc. I am unable to dial a phone in real time. I have to enter the number and correct mistakes etc then hit the dial/send/call key. I keep most of the numbers I call frequently in a contact list. I can't even use the 'speed dial' systems. My voice warbles enough from ET and several strokes that even using voice commands or input is difficult.

For more info on ET:
www.essentialtremor.org/

I think this is a prime reason to email my senators and representatives. I should call Jerry Moran but I suck at the phone conversations.


-Rant off.

[bluegoatwoods]

Hmmmm....it's strange that someone 'modern' like Google would be negligent about something like this.

I'm gonna just make the guess that some purchasing manager went low-ball when putting the system together and that it'll be replaced when upper management gets wind of the issue.

So....somewhere out there is someone who will agitate for folks like you. I wonder who they might be?

[Corrosion]

If you have a PC, you can install Skype on it. It Can Do every thing a Phone does and much, much more. You can bring up the touch pad screen during a call. Or use the number pad on your Keyboard. You do need to buy Skype credit, too call out or to receive calls.

I have extensive Neuropathy in both hands and feet From CIDP. So I'm speaking from experience. Skype, with an external USB microphone, a large number & letter Keyboard, is an inexpensive answer to Our Problem.

[FrankenMech]

Skype, if I remember correctly uses the internet like my VOIP phone and will only work if you have internet access for your computer. My VOIP phone interface only works with a wired network or I could have found an open WiFi hotspot.

I have neuropathy also, called Hereditary Neuropathy with Pressure Palsy HN-PP all over me -no feeling... It is not symmetrical. Pressure causes localized neuropathy. When the nerves regrow sensation and motor function returns. Unfortunately the return is never 100%. It is more like 80%. Then when damaged again function only comes back to 80% of 80% etc etc. I don't have much left. Even using a condom will cause nerve damage    Three strokes have left me very weak on my left side also on top of the HN-PP and diabetic neuropathy. It is a miracle I can walk or ride a scoot. I can't ride a two wheeler but I do sorta ~OK on my reverse trike.

I use a cheapo large number backlit keyboard too. I need to repaint the keycaps since some letters are wearing off from my fingernails. Controlling a paintbrush aint easy with ET.

My problem started when my internet went down for most of a day. My outside overhead fiberoptic line was not down on the ground due to some tree branch or squirrels. My intranet was working since I could talk to the router and transfer files around. So I tried to call Google from another phone to report the service outage and get repairs. Unfortunately their customer support line is a one size fits all that won't fit a lot of people.

I have already notified the Essential Tremor foundation. I will contact my senators and representatives. I will be contacting the ADA people if I can find a real live 'person' on their phones.

[Corrosion]

Yes, to needing the internet. Sounds like you got it covered for now. Good to hear you are still motivating. I only rode about 200 miles all of last year. Used to do that in a week.

Finding a live person on the other end of the Phone is a rarity these days. I can't hold the phone long enough to get anything done on a normal call. As far as a Smart Phone, I cant feel too, operate the screen. With out Skype, I would be screwed. It frees up my hands to try and scribble down the information I called about.

Best of luck with your condition.

[FrankenMech]

Good luck to you too. It is a PITA when the old bod gets numb and appendages no longer function. It is worse than the CRS. With CRS you can't remember what is gone...

I have calls lined up to make tomorrow.

[bluegoatwoods]

Darn it all.

I have a few issues that cause me a bit of concern. Such as shaky hands and eyesight that just ain't what it used to be.

Threads like this remind me to count my blessings.

[greggkinney]

frankenmech i hate theyre giving you a hard time. also to hear about your medical conditions. failing health is no fun. it tears us down phycologically just as much as physically. does the e t ever consume your whole body? feel like a tire out of balance or doin 80 in a car with a warped rim? a peferctly timed rythem almost. anyways good luck and hang in there

[FrankenMech]

GK-

Check out that ET link. ET usually only makes you shake when you are trying to do something. I have never heard of it causing the whole body to shake. You should see a doctor about that, it could be something else. When the health fails it can get a person down. It happens to most of us when we get older though. I keep reading in the news about famous people my age dropping like flies. It does make one grateful to wake up in the morning still able to move.

I didn't make those calls today, the gymnauseum had other things planned for me like um, -nausea. I upped all my weights last Friday so today was hell. I joined Planet Fitness a few months ago to try to work on my shoulders muscles that were ripped apart in a truck accident when I was 20. PF is a nice place. They really mean it about no 'gymtimidation'. Old fogies like me don't get laughed at or anything. It is a quiet place without much chatter, just everyone working in silence or listening to their tunes.

[liftit]

Google Fiber does have a TTY line at 855-764-9300.

[FrankenMech]

Thanks for that info. Apparently their service rep didn't know that. I am not sure the service rep was an actual person either. Not that I could use a TTY unit anyway since my phone service was down due to no internet.

I was trying to work with Kancare (Medicaid in Kansas) today and their system is just as bad as Google. I had to keep calling until I finally got numbers punched in correctly. Then the connection to the representative's headset must have been bad since it dropped about every third word they said. It eventually dropped the call altogether. Then I had to go back through the whole process again. At least I could use my home VOIP phone which has bigger number buttons than the cell phone I was trying to use with 'Goofle'...