I could hear my phone ringing in the other room.
Ring
Almost there.
Ring
Got it. No! Dropped it! Got it again.
Hello? Hello?
Just missed it. And now comes the part I hate. I could see it was a call from a supplier. I even know what it’s about. He needs updated numbers for our latest build out. I have them right here next to the phone waiting for his call. He’s right now leaving me a message. And now I’m waiting for the Voicemail Icon.
There it is.
Now, I’m dailing my Voicemail, because even though I know it was him, I can’t stand it when the icon is on my phone.
You have. . .one new message. Message received. . .today. . .at 7:05. . .am. . .from phone number. . . 8. . .0. . 1. . .5. . .5. . .5. . .1. . .2. . .1. . .2.
Hey Rodney, this is Dave, just calling to get those build out numbers. Give me a call back.
At least Dave didn’t make me sit through him giving me his phone number. As it was, it took 30 seconds to get through a message because I was 2 seconds too late to answer the phone. I like Dave. Dave’s a nice guy. The problem is not Dave. The problem is that we misuse voicemail.
I remember the olden days, before smartphones. Before mobile phones, even. You had a dumb phone that was chained to the wall. When someone called, you didn’t know that you missed a call until you dialed into voicemail. And then, you didn’t know who it was until you listened to the message. You had to leave a lot of “This is me. Please call me.”
We don’t live in the 20th Century anymore. We all have smartphones. My phone does a great job of telling me that someone called. It also tells me who called. And I’m smart enough to know that if you called me, you probably wanted to talk to me.
My best friend has a cell phone. He’s had the same number for 10 years or so. When I call him and he doesn’t answer I get a message.
The person you are trying to call has a mailbox that has not been setup yet.
Ten years and he hasn’t gotten around to setting up voicemail. Smart guy.
My family knows that if they call me and I don’t answer, they don’t need to leave a message. I’ll call them back when I get a chance, or right away if I just missed the call by a second.
I just need to get Dave to learn that.
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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