I Don’t Get It – Voice Messaging Systems

Has this ever happened to you. After placing a call to a business, you hear … ‘Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system … 376 398-4008 is not available. At the tone, please leave a message … ‘

I don’t get why businesses do that to callers. When we get a recording, we really only want to know two things – ‘Did I get the right place?’ and ‘When will someone get back to me? ‘The message above doesn’t do either. But it does suggest that the business-owner is (select all that apply):

__ Lazy    __ Lame    __ Inconsiderate    __ Unprofessional    __ Not worth your business

How much more caller-friendly would it have been to simply record … ‘Hi … this is Tony Palermo with Techmatic Systems. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you within 24 hours. Thanks.’

I do get this version – short, clear, informative. Not lame, lazy or unprofessional. Works for me. How about you?