How many times have you tried leaving a message and get the lengthy “the number you have dialed is not available” greeting? You know the one. In fact, you can probably recite the whole thing word for word and not even know it!
Sometimes this robot message comes after your friend’s personal greeting: “Hi, this is Tammy. I can’t take your call at this time, but if you leave your name and number, I’ll return your call. Thanks!” Then it’s followed by a robot with basically the same message: “The number you have dialed is not available. Please leave your message after the tone. To leave a callback number, press 5 now. When you are finished recording your message, hang up or press 1 for more options.” Really?! Who doesn’t know what to do after the beep at this point in human history?
Of course, one can bypass the message by dialing a secret number. But of course, that number is different with each person you call. Dialing 1 will work if you’re calling a Verizon customer, but is useless if you’re calling someone with T-Mobile. If you try to bypass the message but use the wrong number, you will undoubtedly extend the message with something like “We’re sorry. That is not an option,” followed by more nonsense.
I know it’s unlike me to complain about voicemail greetings. I admit it’s kind of pathetic, but it’s been a while since my last post and just had to share this little diatribe.
But maybe it’s more than that. Maybe I dislike the robot message because it’s so long that callers can often wait well over a minute simply waiting for the stupid tone at the end. Call me paranoid but I think it may also be a strategy for the phone companies to “cut” or “steal” some of customers’ minutes.
How often do you go over your minutes each month? Maybe I should ask how many of you check your statements each month. Does anyone actually call people anymore, or is it all texting now?
