Georgia Relay Welcomes Air Care Travelers as Newest Georgia Relay Partner

Originally published in the North Fulton Herald

Georgia Relay, the free public service that enables people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or have difficulty speaking to place and receive telephone calls, welcomes Air Care Travelers as the newest Georgia Relay Partner. Staff at Air Care Travelers completed their Georgia Relay Partner training earlier this year, and are now equipped to place and receive calls from Georgia Relay users.

Based in Atlanta, Air Care Travelers is a service for air travelers who need support during their trips. The service offers companions to fly with the traveler, helping them to navigate the airport, transfer between flights, and reach their destination with door-to-door accommodations.

The Georgia Relay Partner program seeks to improve communication between local businesses and residents who use Georgia Relay to place telephone calls. Georgia Relay Partners receive free training and materials to learn to answer and place Relay calls with confidence, making it easier to serve customers who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or who have difficulty speaking. Georgia Relay Partners also receive marketing materials to let Georgia Relay users know the company is Relay friendly.

“When a Relay user makes a call to a customer service representative, it is common that the representative may accidently hang up on a current or potential customer because they don’t understand how Relay works,” said Brendan Underwood, Georgia Relay outreach coordinator. “This is defeating to the business and frustrating for the caller. The goal of Georgia Relay Partner is to eliminate these missed connections. Now, Air Care Travelers is better prepared to serve more customers, and Relay users can be assured that a representative will be equipped to answer their calls.”

“I’m so happy to have been introduced to Georgia Relay Partner,” says Sonny Smith, owner and CEO of Air Care Travelers. “We at Air Care Travelers take pride in being all inclusive, so having the opportunity to expand our capabilities to better reach Georgia Relay users is very rewarding for us.”

To date, more than 200 local companies have become Georgia Relay Partners. To view a current list, or to request Georgia Relay Partner training for your business, please visit https://georgiarelay.org/relay-partner-program/.