Truly dumb people

senior chef

senior chef

Senior Member
I swear, some people are unbelievably dumb.

Today, I had to go to the bank and I required assistance from one of the people who work at the desk area.
She motioned me over to her desk and I immediately said, " I am deaf ". I then proceeded to tell her what I needed.
She spoke to me. Again, I told her, "I am deaf". She kept talking. For the 3rd time I said, "I am deaf".
You would be surprised at how often I have gone through the exact same thing with customer service reps.
Finally, I grew frustrated and I said, "Stop talking ! I am deaf. Pls write down what you are saying".

She FINALLY got it and then proceeded to write down what she was saying.

This happens quite often. I just don't understand how so many people can be so stupid.
 

IMO it all sounds a bit passive-aggressive.

After you announced that you were deaf you could have immediately followed by asking the person to write the responses instead of continuing to announce the fact that you are deaf and waiting for them to decide how best to communicate with you.

If this is a recurring situation you might consider the possibility of a cellphone-based translator app that converts the spoken word to text.

Good luck!
 
I wonder if the poor thing was so taken aback by an occurrence so far outside her experience that she just kept defaulting to the only thing she knew.

Honestly if someone told me they were deaf but yet they were in front of me trying to have a conversation, I may not continue talking but it might take me a minute to figure out how to navigate a conversation with a deaf person who’s trying to talk to me when I don’t sign.
 
Chet said:
I don't know if it applies to you, but when someone is born deaf and then learns to speak, their pronunciation of words may not be familiar to what the average person hears and she may have not understood what you said. Anyway, you have a right to be frustrated.
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I have not been deaf my whole life, only since about 14-16 years ago.
 
This unfortunately is common .....
it is not only an obstacle of being deaf many deal with English as a second language etc. assessing the BEST way to proceed in conversation should have been job 1 for customer service person.... if it is writing it down or other accommodations

i had the task of taking some checks to the bank for husband and while in line as an avid people watcher
i was amazed at the disconnect in MOST of the transactions.
the ONLY teller was in a confusing conversation with a couple one who was loosely translating to other person what was being said and it was like a rendition of "who is on first skit"
turned out the non english speaking man had a credit card " you may already be approved " letter from another bank/ card issuer entirely ...............and wanted teller to give him his credit card.....

this all took up to 1/2 hour before someone appeared from the back and opened another window.......
one lady was at her desk in lobby playing on her phone with a sign saying next teller ....... i think break / lunch time should be spent elsewhere

The other man at a desk best suited for conversation and dealing with item was actually talking with a customer about what restaurants he visited nearby...........

Clearly no one was concerned how rude/ or bad at their job they were being.
 
Chet said:
I don't know if it applies to you, but when someone is born deaf and then learns to speak, their pronunciation of words may not be familiar to what the average person hears and she may have not understood what you said. Anyway, you have a right to be frustrated.
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I think Chet is on to something. You spoke. Maybe since you said something, it may be an indication to others that you might have some hearing? Also, it may be force of habit. The vast majority of people can hear. It's the same thing when your power goes out for your area. And you try another outlet because this one doesn't work. You're so used to having electricity, it "should" work.
Maybe the card thing is a better avenue to tell others you're deaf. It's a much more impressive way to indicate to others your deafness.
 
Some people will say that they are deaf when they’re hearing impaired. Often they just need someone to speak slower and a bit louder. Maybe this is what the clerk though she was dealing with.
 
OP needs to take responsibility for what facilitates communication. Whenever dealing with someone else, it is your job to tell them what would work for you. A deaf or hard of hearing person may want one thing and the next prefers something else.

You could download a voice-to-text transcription app on your cell phone making it easy to read what the other person is saying. However, if you prefer written communication, why not carry a small pad and pen with you? Let's say you were on a long flight where food and drinks would be served. When it's your turn, you would tell the flight attendant that you are deaf and hand her the pad and pen to get the choices for you to select. So much easier than repeating: I am deaf, I am deaf! Less frustration for both you and the other person.
 
@senior chef That really makes me mad and I had a similar experience with my stepfather. He's completely deaf now. I took him to the orthopedic office for a follow up after his fracture. An attractive young woman working there literally comes out to me in the large waiting room and states "how do I communicate with him?" I was literally enraged. I said (as controlled as I could) He can read and he can speak. Write it down."

One of the reasons things like this make me so mad, is I never had an easy time finding jobs. Wasn't pretty enough, did have the look they wanted but they hire someone this stupid.

When my mother was in the hospital before she died I spoke to someone there (can't remember if it was a so called nurse or what) and they said regarding my stepfather "we can't keep writing everything down" I replied "yes you can" Seriously WTF is with people. Sorry you encountered such incompetence!
 
I had a highly accomplished friend who was deaf so her daughter went to doctor appointments with her to help out although she was an excellent lip reader. The hospital started hiring less qualified personnel who apparently had their own communication skill problems but knew how to mock someone with a real disability. The "doctor" made faces behind my friend's back while making multiple insulting remarks to her apparently forgetting that her daughter was a witness. My friend was dying of cancer and didn't have the energy to file a well deserved complaint but I wish she had so people like that cannot harm others.
 
This is not Senior Chef's fault! He told the air head he was deaf. Maybe then she spoke louder and slower, but then he repeated "I am deaf" so she should have known that whatever she was doing wasn't working and tried some other form of communication, you know, like writing!

My husband is only slightly hard of hearing so the louder and slower thing would work but usually when he tells her (always a her) she repeats it at exactly the same mousey volume she did the first time, it can go on and on.

When I worked in the Pentagon credit union I had lots of deaf customers. The Pentagon employs 10,000 people and the Civil Service is good about hiring people with disabilities. Soon all the hearing impaired people were signing in for me because I loved waiting on them, we might have struggled a little with communication but with patience and a sense of humor on both sides it can be fun. I'm darn good at Pictionary!

There's no excuse for the sort of thing that happened to Remy's step father or Happy Hearts friend.
 
Della said:
This is not Senior Chef's fault! He told the air head he was deaf. Maybe then she spoke louder and slower, but then he repeated "I am deaf" so she should have known that whatever she was doing wasn't working and tried some other form of communication, you know, like writing!

My husband is only slightly hard of hearing so the louder and slower thing would work but usually when he tells her (always a her) she repeats it at exactly the same mousey volume she did the first time, it can go on and on.

When I worked in the Pentagon credit union I had lots of deaf customers. The Pentagon employs 10,000 people and the Civil Service is good about hiring people with disabilities. Soon all the hearing impaired people were signing in for me because I loved waiting on them, we might have struggled a little with communication but with patience and a sense of humor on both sides it can be fun. I'm darn good at Pictionary!

There's no excuse for the sort of thing that happened to Remy's step father or Happy Hearts friend.
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Thank you. We really need to hire based on mulitple skills, not just someone who can pass a test but can't find their own backside.
I remember a time when people in the store would hand me a card that read: I am deaf, please donate.
 

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