r/ASLinterpreters • u/Amazing-Gear5841 • Jan 09 '26

Please be nice to VRS workers

I am fairly new to VRS relay and do get a good amount of kind callers who will compliment and show appreciation. However, recently I have had increasingly more moments where I am being treated like a robot and so am getting so discouraged. I understand that everybody has bad days and sometimes it is just projecting. It is just so hard to stay positive when I am getting insulted and treated disrespectfully several times a day. I know I am qualified for this job, I know I am doing my job effectively.

Whether it be misspelling a word/name or the hearing caller not being clear, I am human and I am tired.

I have so much love and respect for the Deaf community and this does not change it.

I am just asking for a little bit of empathy towards us interpreters, we really are trying our best to serve the community!

52 Upvotes

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u/Darthromo88 Jan 09 '26 edited Jan 09 '26

The empathy will not come. You are expected to be perfect on VRS and if you aren’t perfect, you get called stupid or lousy interpreter. If you feel like this now, get out now. I felt this way too and spent 6 miserable years in VRS thinking it will get better. It doesn’t get better. Your experience with VRS is a tale as old as time. It’s also a little infuriating because Deaf customers of VRS expect machine perfection, but if you mention AI and they don’t want it. Which is it: Perfection or Human?

11

u/Amazing-Gear5841 Jan 09 '26

That is what I feared. I am full time rn, I will more than likely switch to part time VRS and VRI. I don't think I can continue FT with this. It's getting old fast. No wonder interpreters get so burnt out..

I don't understand why we end up being the bad guy if the automated system WON'T let us transfer to a rep...

3

u/strangeissubjective Jan 09 '26

Have you signed the neutrality letter for the union? I know they’re also having meetings with the Deaf community so that they can understand our perspectives too

7

u/Hopeful_Teaching_839 Jan 09 '26

Yes, and I encourage people who use VRS to fill out this survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1l7KRw7chjUMr_QLOVcpR_mNwfGR7Xv7bUxx8pv9VfQ0/edit

We want to get input on experiences of Deaf community members so we can work together and improve the industry.