DeafReview helps hard-of-hearing find friendly businesses

SEATTLE -- For many deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals, customer service isn't easy to come by.

Now, a Seattle-based website is giving the deaf a place to sound off on how they are treated and how their challenge is handled by restaurants, clothing stores and coffee shops around the city. DeafReview.com, headquartered in Seattle, started as an effort to bring awareness to deaf-friendly businesses, and corrective feedback to 'deaf-challenged' businesses.

Operating much like to a Yelp or other consumer review sites, deafReview users grade businesses based on how well they offer services catered specifically for those hard-of hearing; such as accepting automated calls, providing an ASL interpreter or just generally keeping a positive attitude and not losing patience during an exchange.

According to the Seattle Times, Melissa "echo" Greenlee, the founder of the website, spent years battling poor customer service before she started the site. She told the Times her goal is to make everyday life easier for hard-of-hearing individuals, and to bring an awareness to some of the problems nearly 11 percent of Americans face.

For more on deafReview.com, visit the website. For more on the Seattle Times article profiling Greenlee and what caused her to start the site, click here.