When pharmacist Emily Roberts serves a customer who doesn’t speak English as a first language, it can be difficult to be sure they understand her crucial instructions.
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Using an interpreter means she can be sure she has relayed correctly important medical information.
Businesses often lack confidence dealing with customers for whom English is a second language.
An upcoming forum, run as part of Refugee Week, aims to provide banks, legal services, pharmacists and real estate agents with the resources they need to meet their clients’ needs.
For businesses, actions as simple as advertising that they have an interpreter available can make a huge difference.
This is what Ms Roberts found when she began advertising phone-interpreting services at her pharmacy.
The service has meant she is able to convey medical information clearly and accurately to customers.
“It lets us be confident we are doing a good and thorough job with all of our customers even if there is a language barrier,” she said.
“I don’t have to rely on their family members to convey what I’m trying to say, because the interpreter service repeats exactly what I’m trying to say, rather than relying on a third person who might filter it.”
Ms Roberts frequently uses the phone service with customers from a Karen background, and has used it with Persian and Arabic speakers as well.
Rural Australians for Refugees committee member Marie Bonne sees not just refugees, but many migrants from all over the world come to Bendigo.
“People are moving from a capital city to buy a house, but they don’t necessarily have the language skills to do that,” Ms Bonne said.
“[The forum] is about helping people really feel confident that they’ve achieved these things in their transactions with refugee people.”
The forum will focus on helping businesses feel confident that they can clearly communicate with refugees.
The RAR has identified banks, legal services, pharmacies and real estate agents, as particularly in need of support in communicating, because of the detailed and binding nature of much of their work.
Sometimes, businesses may feel as though they have been clear, but people who speak English as a second language may not have understood.
When it comes to complex and important legal or medical matters, this can become critical.
Because of this, Ms Roberts wants to see interpreting services become the norm.
If more Bendigo businesses can advertise they offer the service, the more comfortable those who aren’t fluent in English will feel asking for it.
“The more people that use the interpreter service, the more likely people who need it are to use it,” Ms Roberts said.
“Because sometimes they might feel embarrassed, or they don’t want you to extra trouble, or take up your time.”
- ‘Reach New Markets’ will be held at the City of Greater Bendigo council offices in Lyttleton Terrace from 6-7:30pm on Wednesday June 27, rsvp by June 25 at bit.ly/2JXJ2hx