Hate voicemail? Check this message...
If you haven't checked your voicemail lately, you may be in on a new trend. More people are losing their taste for the service. Beth Teitell reports on what phone companies are doing about it.
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Kai Ryssdal: What if I told you Lehman Brothers was a phone call away from being rescued last fall? And what if I told you that a private bailout never happened because Warren Buffett didn't know how to check his voicemail? That would all be true. Buffet himself said so at a conference out here in California this week.
But even when the fate of the global economy is not on the line, voicemail is a curious beast. First we all hated it because the reason we were calling in the first place was to talk to a real person. And then we all learned to love it because we didn't have to talk to a real person anymore. Then e-mail, and texting and Twitter took over, and now saying anything at all is practically obsolete.
Beth Teitell has more now on the latest effort to rekindle our love affair with what comes after the beep.
BETH TEITELL: Hate's a pretty strong word, but ask people how they feel about those voice messages clogging their inbox, and, well.
JA-NAE DUANE: I hate it. There's no deal. I prefer to either speak with someone in person, get a text, get an e-mail, whichever's quicker, but leaving me a soliloquy, and then me having to rehash that with you on the phone later on, is just not something I'm into.
That's Ja-Nea Duane. She runs her own business, near Boston, and confesses without shame that she waits weeks to retrieve some messages, and automatically deletes many others without so much as a listen. Even those from her mom.
DUANE: She's like, 'Didn't you listen to my message?' and I'll say, 'No. You know I won't.'
Cold-hearted? Perhaps. But not uncommon. A survey commissioned by Sprint found that people younger than 65 responded much faster to a text than a voicemail. In an age of instant communication, voice mail has come to feel almost as archaic as a telegram. It can't be searched, easily forwarded, or surreptitiously checked during a meeting. Then there's this...
VOICEMAIL: Listen one. Send two. Personal options...
It's no wonder were not rushing to the inbox.
SAUL EINBINDER: In a conventional voice mail system, we see that 30 percent of messages can linger for three or more days before being retrieved. About 20 percent of people won't even check their messages once a month.
That's Saul Einbinder. He's a senior vice president at uReach Technologies, a firm that designs voice-messaging systems for Verizon and other phone companies. As you'd expect, he's kind of defensive about voice mail.
EINBINDER: Frankly, I think we're missing a really important part of the story.
That would be what he calls the "rebirth" of voice mail. With hostility toward traditional voice mail growing, a number of companies are starting to offer services often for a fee that give customers more control. That's right. First they make voice mail a nuisance to use, then they charge you to simplify it.
EINBINDER: Some carriers are actually getting revenue from this, and the way they're doing it is by introducing these technologies that provide for instantaneous retrieval.
That means none of those annoying prompts. Then there are services that go even farther. They take the voice itself out of voice mail. James Siminoff is the CEO of PhoneTag. His company transcribes voice mail into text and sends it to your inbox. He says it takes a mere seven seconds to read a message that it takes 79 seconds to hear. That's a nice time savings, but won't people miss the sound of their loved ones' voices?
JAMES SIMINOFF: They're typically not leaving long voice mails about how much they love you. It's actionable information that they want you to act on, and by acting on it, you're making your loved one a lot happier than listening to her voice five to six hours after your son has been waiting at the school for you to pick him up.
And if you need help texting, your son can probably can give you some tips.
In Boston, you've reached Beth Teitell for Marketplace. After the beep, please don't leave a message.
Comments
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From Meridian, GA, 11/13/2009
It sounds like you guys should be drinking from one of our mugs. Check out the Association at IHateVoiceMail.Biz. I'm a card-carrying member.
From Bethesda, MD, 09/24/2009
If you don't like voice mail, don't even have it! Now that's a thought!
From Bethesda, MD, 09/24/2009
For people 65 and younger,you will never know the joy of a love letter. You will never know how to properly write a thank you note. All you will know is how to use computers and cell phones. I can't help but think how sad this world has become! Oh just one more thing-DON'T FORGET TO CALL YOUR MOTHER!
From Rahway, NJ, 09/22/2009
My phones, landline & cellular, are mine. If I don't want to answer them or reply to voicemail, I am not being rude. Simply because I have communication devices does not mean I have to respond to them. I also have a front door, but I hope you don't think I am obligated to answer every knock on the door. We all have the right to down time without intrusion.
From OH, 09/21/2009
>The unrecognized opportunity here is a method that allows freedom for a message to begin one way and arrive in another<
Well, that's what PhoneTag is offering, in a limited way. Why aren't the _cell_phone_companies_ exploiting from this, instead of a 3rd party?
In defense of voice mail, I hate it when people call and DON'T leave a message, because then I don't know why they called (or how urgent it is.) I think it's even a little rude. Especially if it's a number I don't know! I'd much rather listen to a message than wonder what they wanted. Then I can get right to the point when I call them back.
From Tucson, AZ, 09/19/2009
I'm one of the people whose voicemail greeting says "please feel free to leave a detailed message" as well as "thank you".
If someone leaves a long message that's mostly hot air, I do other things -- like checking email or handling paperwork -- as I listen for the important parts. It's an efficient use of my time. It's also courteous for callers who either aren't in a place to or can't use a keyboard.
(Sarcasm ahead: As for cutting a 79-second voicemail down to 7 seconds, I think that's not enough. I want to spend a maximum of two seconds per business contact or friend, and one second would be better. How frantic can we all get??)
From Indiantown, FL, 09/19/2009
The reasons I do not despise voice-mail are:
1. I am not in business, so I do not need instantaneous contacts from customers.
2. I adhere stubbornly to an "old-fashioned land-line" phone, with a built-in answering system. I detest cellular phones, because of their obtrusiveness and because I do not want a radio transmitter pressing against my head.
Listening to messages on my phone requires pressing a single button. Advancing or backing through messages requires pressing just one more button. Very convenient.
If necessary, I can call to my phone while away and retrieve messages. Fortunately, this process is reasonably simple, but it enters into the labyrinth that so many readers find excruciating.
For the millions who are not, or choose not to be, in my position, I understand their disaffection, but I agree with previous writers that those who ignore their voice-mail are boorish, self-centered, and impolite. If they don't like the service, they should disable it.
However, having been subjected to phone-service voice-mail systems, I totally agree that many of them are ridiculously difficult and annoying to use. The people who plan and configure these systems seem to be intoxicated by the technology. They do not understand the "Apple concept": products should be as simple as possible to use, while the technology works in the background.
From Los Angeles, CA, 09/18/2009
I'm also one of the 20% of people who don't listen to voicemail. I actually say in my outgoing message that email is quicker for people if they have an urgent need. I can't pinpoint why I hate it so much. I just do.
I wish I could use google voice - I signed up for an invitation a few weeks ago and haven't heard anything yet. Is there anyone out there who can send me an invitation? I'd love to try it out. It sounds fantastic!
From philadelphia, PA, 09/18/2009
I hate voicemail, in my previous job I was constantly cold called by salesman & survey groups. If I didn't recognize the area code I didn't pick up the phone.
I learned of Phonetag.com from a friend online.(@fredwilson) So I gave it awhirl, you can forward your calls and/or a wav file to the service & they'll send you a transcribed e-mail(+ txt stating that one is coming).
I had read someplace that reading is quicker than listening...all I can say it has made my life a lot easier & less stressful.
I've heard people are now using GoogleVoice as another service as well.
From VA, 09/18/2009
I know some people who don't bother checking messages. It is extremely annoying, and can be downright rude. It basically says that the recipient doesn't care to hear what I have to say. In a business context, it says that my custom is not important. Not everyone texts. If it is important enough for me to leave a message, what does it say about the person on the other end if they don't bother to listen?
From Baltimore, MD, 09/18/2009
I love text messages because they force you to very concise and get right to the point. Voice messages can feel like they go on for days.
My biggest gripe, though, is that it takes me longer to navigate the menus to my messages than it takes to listen to them.
From McLean, VA, 09/18/2009
I have been waiting years for this story. I am a divorce lawyer, and I learned early on that a client who left an interminable voice-mail was going to make me listen to it all over again when we spoke in person. My voice-mail greeting used to say right up front, in so many words, "If you leave anything more than your name and number, I probably won't listen." Then a couple of clients told me I sounded so gruff they almost didn't hire me! So I softened my greeting a bit; it now says, "Leave a VERY BRIEF message." Now I usually skip through a message until I get to the phone number -- and often find when I get to the end that the caller didn't leave one!!
Problem is I can't think of a suitable substitute. Having to read this stuff in a long e-mail would be worse, and I certainly don't want people flooding my cell phone with text messages, or to have my cell number, for that matter!
From Anchorage, AK, 09/17/2009
I guess I'm one of those 20% who lets voicemails languish for weeks and months. It's not always because accessing those messages aren't important or because I'm lazy, either.
Dialing up to retrieve voicemail eats into my monthly minute allotment, for starters. The convoluted "...or stay on the line for more options..." menu is another.
But one major thing is how voicemail doesn't work the same in all places. My Verizon plan notifies me right away when I'm in, say, Portland OR or Melbourne FL but when I'm in non-Verizon zones, like Anchorage AK or Cutbank, MT I can go for weeks without being told someone has left me a message that my mom is hospitalized.
How rude is that, anyway?
From Boston, MA, 09/17/2009
Google voice offer a free voicemail service (like any other Google product... still in beta). It looks like most visual voicemails that are out there today, with one big difference. The message is automatically deciphered into text and you can read and listen to the message at the same time. Too bad Apple didn't approve that app.
From Chicago, IL, 09/17/2009
I started using Google Voice for my work line when it went public about a month ago. It is the best solution I have seen. It transcribes the voicemail and sends it to me as a text, for free. It even allows you to tag certain callers as spam, and they go straight to VM, and no text. Works great for salesman that call too often at the office.
As soon as I can port my number to them, it is game over for regular phones and voicemail. If any one from Google is reading this, I really want to be a beta for the port option.
From Oak Harbor, WA, 09/17/2009
As a one-man-show, small business owner who travels a lot to sell I depend on voice mail to be my secretary. I have a diverse customer base. Voice mail, email, text, whatever it takes. A missed contact may mean lost income. I don't *love* voice mail. To me it is a useful, functional tool. I even have an answering machine at home. Oh, how backwards! you might say but again, a missed contact means missed income for me.
From Excelsior, MN, 09/17/2009
I definitely prefer email to voicemail, not only for speed and ease of getting the whole message, but because I'm less likely to lose the information, or just forget about it. Also, having dumped my landline a couple of years ago, I fall behind on voicemails when I forget i've left the phone in the car, or leave the sound turned off for a couple of days, and get a false sense of peace and quiet. ;-)
I was hoping this story would address one of the mysteries of cell voicemail-- how certain messages apparently hide out somewhere in the ether, before appearing in a voicemail inbox several DAYS LATER. That's happened to both messages I've left and those left for me. Pretty strange to see a "new" message, and find that it was left a week ago, but just made it to me!
From MD, 09/17/2009
Too busy to listen to voice mail?????? Talk about misguided self importance!!! WTF?????
From West Paris, ME, 09/17/2009
Where do you find these people? Ja-Nae Duane is not "cold-hearted" as you pose, she's just a rude, self-centered ... well, let's leave it at that.
She is also clueless. If she won't reply or even listen to voice messages, THEN DISABLE THE DAMN THING! Providing a means of communication for people to contact her and then ignoring it demonstrates a lack of common sense and respect.
You can be sure if I ever had need to contact this person, I simply wouldn't bother with her. Contacting boorish people "is just not something I'm into."
From washington dc, DC, 09/17/2009
Thank you for bringing this issue up. I abhor listening to voicemail. I actually have had several dilemmas about ettiquette around asking people not to leave me voicemails anymore. In fact, my mother misinterpreted my request and never left me any messages at all. When I never called her back the guilt ensued. I wish there was just a no voicemail movement. I guess there kind of is.
From Washington, DC, 09/17/2009
I thought this story was cute, but it missed the marketplace mark. When I worked for wireless manufacturers in the mid- to late 90s, our focus was on the 3G customers enjoy today. At that time, there was technology that allowed the *user* to choose how they wished to receive a message. The concept is simple, you have information that you want to convey...and you favor certain methods. The person you are sending information to also has preferred ways to receive and send information. The unrecognized opportunity here is a method that allows freedom for a message to begin one way and arrive in another as quickly and accurately as possible. That's a service people would pay for--at least until people begin to miss the personal touch of in-person conversation.
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