The friend who makes the call for you

Melanie is 30, she works with newcomers to Quebec, and she is your bilingual voice on the phone: she introduces herself, says the call is for you, and never invents an answer.

Melanie is a character, not a real person. She is how the service is built to behave on the phone.

Let Melanie make the call →Hear her voice

Melanie, the Montreal Reception character, in an orange hoodie, on the phone and waving

On the call

Three things you hear right away

Melanie at a community-centre table, sliding a form across to a newcomer family

Patient

She will ask again, slowly, without a sigh. Nobody on the line feels rushed.

Melanie on the phone with a notebook, writing down a date

Calm

When the call gets tense, her voice stays level and the facts stay straight.

Melanie walking a Montreal street in front of a triplex staircase

Local

Quebec French in Montreal, not Paris French. She sounds like someone who lives here.

Her rules

Four rules she never breaks

Says who she is and who she is calling for, in the first sentence.
Never pretends to be you.
Never invents an answer — she asks you and waits.
Repeats back what matters: the date, the name, the number.

“I’ll ask her. One second.” — the most useful sentence Melanie knows, in two languages.

Her actual voice

This is what the school heard

Listen to the first line — that is rule one, out loud.

Hear a real call

Recorded from a Montreal Reception call to a Montreal school office. The mother typed in Spanish; this is the audio the school heard, in Quebec French. Melanie introduces herself as a virtual interpreter calling on the mother’s behalf — she never pretends to be her.

School office · French
École Saint-Laurent, bonjour!
Escuela Saint-Laurent, ¡buenos días!
Melanie · French
Bonjour! Je m'appelle Melanie, je suis une interprète virtuelle et j'appelle au nom de madame Ramírez, la mère de Sofía Ramírez, en cinquième année. Elle est en ligne avec moi et elle m'écrit en espagnol. Elle aimerait rencontrer l'enseignante de Sofía cette semaine, si c'est possible.
Hola, me llamo Melanie, soy una intérprete virtual y llamo de parte de la señora Ramírez, la madre de Sofía Ramírez, de quinto grado. Está en línea conmigo y me escribe en español. Le gustaría reunirse con la maestra de Sofía esta semana, si es posible.
School office · French
Ah, d'accord. Oui, bien sûr. Madame Tremblay est libre jeudi à quinze heures trente. Est-ce que ça convient?
Ah, de acuerdo. Sí, claro. La señora Tremblay está libre el jueves a las 15:30. ¿Le conviene?
Melanie · French
Un moment, je transmets la question à madame Ramírez... Elle confirme que jeudi quinze heures trente, c'est parfait. Est-ce qu'elle doit apporter quelque chose?
Un momento, le transmito la pregunta a la señora Ramírez... Confirma que el jueves a las 15:30 es perfecto. ¿Debe llevar algo?
School office · French
Juste le carnet de lecture, s'il vous plaît. Je note le rendez-vous.
Solo el cuaderno de lectura, por favor. Anoto la cita.
Melanie · French
C'est noté, je le lui écris tout de suite. Merci beaucoup, bonne journée!
Anotado, se lo escribo ahora mismo. Muchas gracias, ¡buen día!

Give her a call to make

Write it in your language. Melanie takes it from there.

Start a call →