About which I really know nothing...
I’ve worked with a number of people who make it a point to change their voicemail every day.
Hi, this is Tom’s voicemail for Wednesday, October 12th. Today I’ll be in the office all day. If you’ve reached this recording, I’m on another call or away from the phone. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
To me, this seems like a huge waste of time, unless you’re in an occupation (ie, sales) where you want every caller feel certain they’re going to get a call back the same day.
For everyone else, why take on that overhead? You know people that meticulous are going to be perfectionists about their voice message, too, and take eleven tries to get it just right.
Besides, I’ve listened to an awful lot of out-of-date daily voicemails that make me think maybe the person had died or been in an awful car accident and was now in a coma in a small out-of-the-way hospital with the staff desperately trying to locate next-of-kin so they can harvest his organs. Or something.
I’m really not sure what the point of this post was, but the I’m pretty sure the idea was better in the planning than in the execution.
posted by Rob @ 10:42:00 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I think recording your outgoing messages is GREAT subject matter that we can all relate to.
Some people make it look so easy. I’m always envious of those multi task people (usually females) They could be typing, eating a snack, motioning to someone across the room who to give a letter to that they just t handed them, cleaning their contact lenses looking in the mirror to make sure they look presentable and end up leaving a perfect outgoing message with no hint that they were doing a hundred things at once.
And then there are others that have to have complete silence, close their door, listen and redo it again and again and again until the “ums”, pregnant pauses, and sounding geek -like have been overcome.
I kind of fall in the second category.
i'm always a fan of the voicemail message which includes obvious problems with flow, stuttering, or inclusion of random background noises. Like, "hey bob, can you take a look at--oh sorry i didn't know you were recording..."
"hold on a second jim--so anyway yeah this is bob, leave a message and i'll get back to you as soon as possible. thanks. what was that jim?"
And then they leave it at that, like, "sounds good enough to me." kind of a "first take" attitude. i admire that. :-)
I'm considering one that just says "Not here. Talk."
I only update the message when the company changes name due to mergers, spinoffs, being sold, etc. So far have only had to update the message six times in 28 years.
Only eleven times? Took me at least 36. If you have an outgoing message that has to be in two languages, it's impossible to do in less than 20 takes. And if you share an office, someone is bound to walk in a screech an expletive just as your wrapping up the best one. So no, I can't imagine doing that every day. I'd have never had time for lunch.
I like a message on a phone recorder I heard once: "Speak."
I tried it for awhile but people started making noises like dogs, so I erased it.
totally get this post! (unlike some of your others... -- just kidding!) there are people here that change their msg daily and others that change weekly -- too much stress for me. we're generally required to record an out-of-office greeting but i have to admit, i'm not so good about changing it back when i return. so i'm one you'd conclude would be dead or something -- oh wait, that would be making the BIG assumption you were to actually call me... (you knew i couldn't help myself!) ;)
and jay aitch: funny!
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