By Barb Nadeau –
How difficult we make the world for our older brothers and sisters.
Everyone can relate to the frustration of calling in to a service line only to hear an almost endless stream of automated prompts. We have to listen carefully to try to discern which prompt most closely resembles our individual problem or concern.
Now imagine that you are hard of hearing, have a limited ability to either speak or understand the English language. For many of our senior citizens just simply making a phone call can become a major inconvenience, a tremendous cause for anxiety, or even a financial disaster.
Senior citizens need to make a lot of phone calls, for doctor’s appointments, for information or assistance in handling water and electric bills, managing Medicare, insurance and healthcare issues, transportation needs, caregiving needs, and emergencies.
Our world is increasingly automated, and we expect everyone to be computer literate. We are becoming more impatient, and less mannerly in dealing with others.
I have a great dislike for automated answering systems and am sure many others do too. So here’s my strategy: I hit zero, and then I hit zero, and then I hit zero, again and again. Sometimes it can take several attempts for the computer to realize you need to be routed to an actual human being. Sometimes the automated system refuses to respond to your request for an operator, and it disengages your call. Until you receive a human on the line, it’s often difficult to fit into the prescribed protocol needed.
Making senior citizens manage computers to access necessary services is confusing, obstructionist, and keeps them away from services they are entitled to receive. Deadlines and red tape may help the government, but halts the very individuals it was made to assist.
Growing older is not for the faint of heart. Automated phone calls are just one example of insulting ways we treat our older neighbors. From seeking low income heating and air conditioning (LIHEAP), to driver’s license sticker discounts, to homestead exemptions, seniors must navigate a confusing maze of government programs and deadlines. Solicitors may show up at their door offering confusing new programs to save them money. Fictitious grandkids can call for emergency funds. Seniors have had to fend off them all!
We owe our seniors patience and consideration. We owe them the time it takes to hear their concerns, to listen to their questions. They deserve nothing less.
Here are a few tips to help manage important calls:
• Have all documents available at your fingertips.
• Have a pen and a pad of paper ready.
• Keep files with dates of conversations and notes.
• Ask the name of the person on the other end, and if you miss it, ask again. Write their names on your notes, tell them your name, and use their names in the conversation. If you are transferred to another person, make a note of the new name, and tell them the person you spoke with earlier. Even weeks later it can be helpful to say, “I talked with “So-and-So”.
• Never give your personal, financial, or identity information to a caller. Remember this rule: If they call you they do not deserve to know your personal information. If you called them for help, it’s okay to share. Many government agencies cannot help you without knowing your Social Security number or Medicare number. The scammers are calling you, but if you initiate the call to a reputable agency, you can trust them to help you.
Barb Nadeau works for Senior Services Associates of Kane, Kendall, and McHenry Counties as a Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) & Transportation Coordinator. She is a freelance writer and television host. She can be reached at bnadeau@seniorservicesassoc.org.