What to do if CA is unfamiliar with 2LVCO

• One approach: offer to walk CA through process. This goes faster than having CA look up the data, and ensures that CA does it your way. (Recommended, because it enlarges pool of available 2LVCO CAs)
• Other option: ask for supervisor
• Third option: hang up and try again

Delay

• We talk around 200-250 wpm. Delay is inevitable.
• Use conversational strategies such as "ok," "right," "hmmm" but not so loud as to confuse CA
• If you can't hear the voice, learn to anticipate the end of a sentence. Usually you can tell what the person is going to say (we do that when we lipread anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard); then start your response before the CA finishes typing. This may confuse the occasional CA. Their problem!
• When phone is ringing, listen (if you can) and watch the screen. Some CAs have the habit of listening to a whole phrase before typing. Drives me crazy. Learn to say "hi!" as soon as possible to minimize delay. Then you can wait to see if it's live or a recording.

Accuracy. I'm an advocate for speed over accuracy. Misspellings, missed words, etc., are less of a concern. If you didn't understand something, simply say "I'm sorry, I missed that, could you please repeat?" Hearing people do that all the time!

Answering machines. An advantage of 2LVCO is you can leave a message on the current call, rather than requiring the CA to redial and prompt you for the message. However, the standard relay protocol for introducing answering machines seems inadequate for the time-intensive demands of 2LVCO. I have yet to see a satisfactory standard established.

• If CA starts by entering "(ans mach)" the delay may prevent the CA's ability to enter enough of the message to confirm that you dialed the right number before leaving a message on that call.
• Some ops even enter the full phrase, "(answering machine)." What actually happens seems to depend on the particular TRS system and even the individual op. I use every opportunity to stress that I want them to simply be my ears; don't try to interpret.
• I prefer that they enter no descriptive information - the fact that it is an answering machine is usually self-evident. However, other users may not agree with me.
• In the event that some sort of notice is required, possible (faster) standards include: Begin the transcription with a parenthesis "(." Use the one-word "(rec)" instead of "(ans mach)."
• Some relay supervisors have insisted that simply entering "(F) . (answering machine) ga" is an appropriate protocol. But that is no help since we may have dialed a wrong number.

Fast talkers. In conventional VCO, the CA tells the 3rd party to slow down. I have been told that in some cases, the CAs have to continue doing that during the call when, for some reason, the 3rd party may not pay much attention to such entreaties. In 2LVCO, that becomes your responsibility. If CA can't keep up, he or she should enter "?" or "…" to indicate missed portions. Some CAs waste valuable time by typing long phrases to you such as "Person is talking too fast. Please ask him to slow down." Of course, by that time, the talker is a couple of paragraphs ahead and you're steaming through the ears. Such CAs get a polite (sometimes) lecture from me after the call.)

Finally: 2LVCO is a wonderful tool. With it, my life has been so much smoother, more effective, and full of more opportunities (jobs, socially, and romantically and anything else you'd care to think of). When a good op comes on, whipping through the words so fast the cursor moves past your eyeballs, that person is worth gold. He or she will probably quit next week to go to work as a marketing consultant. So when you're finished with your calls, please be sure to thank the person and effusively tell the CA how much you appreciate what a good job he or she did. Then maybe he or she will stay on another week at for the lousy $8 per.