Accessible phone service: how to talk with older, hard-of-hearing and smartphone-free customers
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
Accessible phone service means anyone can call your line and get their task done, including older customers, people with poor sight or hearing and people without a smartphone. Drop the long “press 1” menu, speak in short sentences and plain words, ask one question at a time, repeat dates, times and addresses, and never rush the caller. Don’t answer “it’s all on the website” or “message our bot”: for these people the phone is the main way in. Test your line by asking an older relative to call.
Who relies on the phone
Many businesses push customers to a Telegram bot, a website or an app. That suits younger people. But your customers also include older people, people with poor eyesight, people without a smartphone or who struggle to read and write, and drivers at the wheel. For them the phone is the only easy way to get something done. Telling them “it’s all on our website” is like closing the door.
Accessible service isn’t a separate service for them. A plain, unhurried conversation suits every customer.
Rules for clear speech
- Short sentences and one question at a time: “Which day suits you?”, then wait.
- Plain words: not “router” but “internet box”; not “order ID” but “the number on your receipt”.
- Repeat what matters: date, time, address, amount. “So, Thursday at ten.”
- Say numbers in groups: “ninety-one, twelve, thirty-four, fifty-six”.
- If the customer asks again, explain in other words and more slowly, without changing your tone.
- Don’t rush silences: the person may be thinking or looking for a piece of paper.
- If useful, send the address or time by text as well.
No menu, no queue
A “press 1 for sales” menu is the biggest obstacle for an older caller. They have to take the phone from their ear, find the key, then listen to the menu to the end again. Many hang up right there. Long hold music works the same way.
Best of all is a live voice at once, so people can say in their own words what they need. If you keep a menu, cut it to two or three options and say “0 for an operator” first.
Sample call from an older customer
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, Nur Net, Shohruh speaking.
Caller: Son, the internet at home has stopped working. I don’t really understand these things.
Sado: That’s fine, let’s look together. Are the little lights on the internet box on?
Caller: One of them is red.
Sado: I see. Then we’ll send a technician. Will you be home tomorrow at ten?
Caller: I will. Which day did you say?
Sado: Tomorrow, Thursday, at ten o’clock. The technician will call you before coming.
The operator used no technical words, asked one question, and when the customer asked again, repeated both the day and the time.
How to test your line
- Ask an older relative to call your line with an ordinary question: a price, the address or a booking.
- Count the steps before they got an answer: menus, waiting, transfers.
- Listen to ten recordings of calls with older customers: where did they get lost?
- Write a list of plain words to use instead of technical ones and give it to staff.
- Set a rule: if a caller couldn’t finish their task, who calls them back, and when.
Can an AI operator be accessible?
Sado answers incoming calls without a menu: callers speak in their own words and the operator replies in about a second, with no queue. In Uzbek or Russian, whichever the caller speaks. If they don’t understand, they can ask again in their own words: it’s a live conversation, not a recording. If they ask for a person, the call is transferred to staff by the company’s rule, and asked “Are you a robot?”, the operator never pretends to be human.
The company sets which words the operator uses: add your plain-word list and short answers to its information. More on language: Uzbek and Russian voice. Questions? See frequently asked questions. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
How should we speak with a hard-of-hearing customer?
Don’t shout: speak more clearly and slowly, in short sentences. Repeat what matters and, where possible, send it by text too.
Can a relative speak on the customer’s behalf?
For simple matters, such as a booking or delivery time, usually yes. For payments, contracts or personal data, the customer’s own consent is needed: write your company’s rule down in advance.
Should we remove the IVR menu completely?
If a live voice answers at once, you don’t need a menu. If you keep one, limit it to two or three options and give the way to an operator first.