Deaf Consumers Aided

AT&T; says it’s helping hearing-impaired people accomplish something they’ve always wanted to do: order pizzas by phone.

The California Relay Service, based in Woodland Hills, enables deaf consumers to make the phone calls that hearing people take for granted, such as doctor’s appointments, business calls and food orders. It is the only facility of its kind in the country to function 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to AT&T.;

Operational only since the first of this year, the system uses a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD)--a typewriter-like machine that connects to the phone. The user types a message, which is sent to one of the specially trained operators at the relay center. They, in turn, call the pizza store or other designated number and read the typed message aloud. The response is typed by the operator and sent back to the TDD user.

“On the first day of service, one of the most frequently heard comments was: ‘Now we can order pizzas by phone!’ ” said AT&T; spokeswoman Linda McDougall. There’s no extra cost for the service. Calls, limited to within California, are charged at regular rates (the initial call to the relay center is toll free), and the TDDs are free to certified deaf persons, McDougall said. For information, TDD users can call 1-800-342-5966; non-TDD users can call 1-800-342-5833.

Originally, AT&T; expected 1,900 calls per day, but Phyllis Shapiro, manager of the Woodland Hills facility, said the operators are receiving “more like 3,600 to 4,000” calls.

“The only drawback right now . . . is that we don’t have interstate service yet,” said McDougall, adding that the problem should be resolved sometime this year.