Making contact easy for deaf and hard-of-hearing customers

A bigger group than most firms assume

Trade businesses run on the phone, so hearing loss can quietly shut people out. The numbers are large. RNID, the national charity for people who are deaf or have hearing loss, estimates that over 18 million people in the UK are deaf, have hearing loss or tinnitus, about one in three people, including 55% of people over 50 and almost 80% of people aged 70 or over^[1]. RNID also estimates that 2.4 million people have hearing loss at a level where they would struggle to hear most conversational speech^[1].

Many of these customers are homeowners who book servicing, repairs and cleaning every year. Some will manage a phone call with effort; others will avoid calling altogether and either go to a firm that offers text, or ask a relative to ring for them. Making contact easy is good service and good business at the same time.

What the Equality Act expects

The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments. That includes changing a provision, criterion or practice that puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage compared with non-disabled people, and providing an auxiliary aid where one is needed. Section 20 also says that a business subject to the duty is not entitled to make the disabled person pay its costs of complying^[3].

In practice, "phone only" booking, a doorbell-only arrival and verbal-only explanations are all practices that can disadvantage a deaf customer. The adjustments that fix them are usually cheap: a text number, an email address that is actually monitored, and the habit of writing things down.

Contact routes to offer

Say which routes you offer on your website, booking confirmations and van livery, for example "Call or text" rather than just a number. Customers who cannot use the phone need to know before they try.

How Relay UK works for a business

Relay UK is the national service that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired make and receive phone calls through a relay assistant who types or reads out each side of the conversation. A business does not need any special or costly equipment to take part^[2]. Some users have a TextNumber: numbers starting 07777 connect to someone using the Relay UK app on a mobile, and numbers starting 03306 to a textphone or app user on a landline. If a customer has no TextNumber, you can reach them by dialling 18002 in front of their full phone number^[2].

1. 01

   Do not hang up on the announcement

   A relay call starts with a short message saying it is a Relay UK call. Office staff who are not expecting it sometimes assume it is a recorded sales call.

2. 02

   Talk to the customer

   Say "Could you tell me the address?" rather than "Ask her for the address". The relay assistant passes on your words as you say them.

3. 03

   Pause between points

   Typing takes time. Ask one question, then wait for the reply before moving on.

4. 04

   Signal when you have finished

   Relay calls often use "go ahead" to show it is the other person's turn. It feels odd at first and quickly becomes normal.

5. 05

   Confirm in writing

   Follow up with a text or email confirming the booking, as you would for any call.

Arrival and the visit itself

The doorbell is the first barrier on the day. Agree how the customer wants you to announce yourself: a text when you park, a text when you are at the door, or a flashing doorbell if they have one. Give an arrival window in writing and send an on-the-way message so they can watch for the van.

• Face the customer when you talk, in good light, and keep your mouth visible; many people with hearing loss lip-read to some degree.
• Turn off noisy tools and vacuums before explaining anything.
• Use a notepad or the notes app on your phone for prices, part names and next steps.
• Show rather than tell: point to the valve, the fuse or the damaged tile, and take a photo for them to keep.
• Leave a short written summary of what you did, what to watch for and how to contact you.

Quotes, problems and changes in writing

The moments that go wrong for deaf customers are usually the unplanned ones: the engineer finds a bigger fault, a part has to be ordered, the price changes or the second visit moves. These are the conversations that normally happen quickly and verbally at the door or by phone. For a customer who cannot follow speech easily, that is where misunderstandings, disputes and lost trust begin.

• Put every quote, and every change to a quote, in writing before the work goes ahead, and ask the customer to confirm by text or email.
• When a visit has to move, send the new time in writing and wait for a reply rather than assuming a voicemail was heard.
• If something unsafe is found, write down what it is, what you have done (for example, capped or isolated it) and what the customer must not use.
• Keep the written record with the job, so anyone in the office can see exactly what was agreed.

These habits protect you as much as the customer. A clear written trail settles most disagreements before they start, whoever the customer is.

Safety equipment that actually alerts them

93% of households in England reported having at least one working smoke alarm in 2024-25^[4], but a standard sounder may not wake someone who removes hearing aids at night. Electricians fitting or replacing alarms can ask whether anyone in the home has hearing loss and, if so, talk about alarms with strobe lights or vibrating pads linked to the system. The same question applies to carbon monoxide alarms, which heating engineers often recommend after a service; only 62% of dwellings in England had one in 2024^[5].

Do not sell a product the customer does not need, but do ask. Many fire and rescue services run home safety visits and can advise on specialist alarms, so a referral can be as helpful as a sale.

Recording preferences respectfully

Record the communication preference, not the diagnosis. A note such as "Contact by text only; text on arrival" tells the office and engineer what to do without storing health details you do not need. Ask the customer before recording it, and check the note when they next book in case anything has changed.

1. Add a preferred contact field to your customer record and booking form.
2. Make it visible on the engineer's job sheet, not hidden in the office system.
3. Set reminders and confirmations to follow the preferred channel automatically.
4. Review the wording of your standard texts so they make sense without a follow-up call.

Example: one change that brought back a customer

Example (fictional). A heating firm in Northampton keeps getting voicemails from a customer that end abruptly, and assumes they are wrong numbers. It later learns that the caller is a long-standing service customer who has lost much of her hearing and can no longer follow a phone call. Her son has been booking for her, and when he moved away, the service lapsed.

The firm adds "Call or text" to its website and confirmations, sets texts as her preferred route, and asks engineers to text on arrival. Her next service is booked by text in a few minutes. The change helps other customers too: several people who simply prefer text start using it for routine bookings.