Voice Mail Greeting Language

[ESquared]

I cringe when I hear a lot of voicemail greetings.

"I'm either on the phone or away from my desk."

What is that? Does the callee think the caller can't figure out possible reasons for going to voicemail? The implied subtext is that the calleee always answers his phone when he is able--a lie for sure. What if he did, in fact, choose not to answer the phone or simply didn't hear it because he has headphones on? What if he got tied up by terrorists and can't move his left pinkie finger, let alone answer the phone? Or perhaps he came back from training or vacation and forgot to turn off instant-forward-to-voicemail. Now he's a liar. In any case why bother wasting time by saying silly stuff like this? How about "You've reached Joe's voicemail. Please leave a message, and I promise to call you back." Short and sweet.

"I am unable to answer your call."

No stinking duh. See the previous item. Anyway, what if the callee simply chooses not to answer even though he is able? It's quite amazing that someone is such a slave to his phone that he always answers when he is able, even with his mouth full of food or in the middle of a coughing fit or when having an important conversation with his boss.

"Hello, this is Joe. <pause> You've reached my voicemail."

Don't do that! I may think a real person answered the phone and start talking. My sister has something like this on her cell phone. I call it infrequently enough that I usually get caught and it's annoying. Try "Hello, you've reached the voicemail of Joe Blow." Because I haven't reached Joe. I've reached a recording of Joe played back by a voicemail system. Be polite and don't mislead people.

<Super long voicemail message>

If your voicemail message is really long, and there's a way to skip listening to the whole thing and go directly to leaving a message, please state this immediately after identifying whose voicemail has been reached. "Hello, you've reached the voicemail for Joe Blow. Press 7 to skip this message at any time. If you need immediate assistance during business hours, press 0. If you need ...

 

[Gooser]

...Listen carefully as our menu options have changed...

RRRGH!

--Gooser

 

[ESquared]

calleee" - nice.

 

[SantaMufasa]

First, I hate it when the outgoing message does not confirm whose voice-mail I have reached. I also like the idea of disclosing how to bypass the rest of the outgoing message, if it is tediously long, but avoid that temptation so you don't need additional instructions. We all know how to use e-mail, so keep the outgoing messages as brief as possible.

Here is my suggestion to meet all of the above objectives:

You have reached voicemail for <name>. Leave a message after the tone.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[ESquared]

I am required by company policy to say in my outgoing message how to get help if I am not available, so my message is quite long. You can be sure it's shorter than some other people's, and more carefully and succinctly worded!

 

[TouchToneTommy]

I'm either on the phone or away from my desk."

As opposed to completely out of the office today, I'll accept it.

"This is Joe Blow, and for (day), the XXth of (month), I'll be out of the office on appointments", or "This is Joe Blow, and for (day), the XXth of (month), I'm in the office but on another line or away from my desk" - those aren't so bad.

"If you need immediate assistance, press 0. In the future, to bypass this greeting and leave your message, press 1"

BUT.....They might miss information about me being out of the office, away on vacation, etc., leave a message, and get mad that I don't call them back right away.


"...Listen carefully as our menu options have changed..."
I replace the old phone system and voice mail with a totally different system - What SHOULD I say to alert callers that whatever they used to punch in without listening isn't going to work anymore? Granted, that opening rejoinder should vanish after a couple of months on the new system.

 

[ESquared]

As opposed to completely out of the office, there is no reason to be silly about it.

"This is Joe Blow's voicemail. For (day), the XXth of (month), I am in the office. Please leave a message so I may return your call promptly."

This sounds more professional and logical to me than trite, meaningless excuses for not answering the phone.

If you care about the person knowing whether you're in the office or not, it's because you want to set expectations about when you'll call back. So set the expectations. Don't beat around the bush with vague and unhelpful "on another line or away from my desk." The caller can imagine for himself a myriad of reasons you might not answer the telephone. He is qualified to do this because he has one himself which he sometimes doesn't answer!

If your caller gets mad that he didn't listen to enough of your message to know that you are out of the office, it is his own fault. If it matters that much to you, you can adjust your message to get the idea across right near the beginning:

"You've reached the in-office voicemail for Joe Blow at XYZ Company. To skip this message, press 1. For immediate assistance during business hours, press 0 ..."

"This is Joe Blow's out-of-office voicemail. I will be out of the office starting Monday, Month XXth, returning on Tuesday, Month XXth when I will be returning calls (or, and I will check messages and return calls once a day while out). To skip this message, press 1. For immediate assistance during business hours ..."

I can see the part about saying the menus have changed. But ordering the person to listen carefully is a bit much. Especially after many months. So just say what you mean.

"Welcome to XYZ Company automated service desk. Our menus have recently changed. For sales, press 1. For service, press 2 ..."

-----------

This reminds me of another problem with some voicemail systems. Always say what the option is BEFORE saying the number to press to select it:

For sales, press 1.
For service, press 2.

This way, I can listen for the thing I want--service, perhaps--and when I hear it, pay attention to the number and then press it. I'm just recognizing what I want when it goes by.

Press 1 for sales.
Press 2 for service.

This way, you have to listen to and remember each number in case it corresponds to the item you want. By the time you get to option 9, you've had to hold on to and recall nine different numbers! There are professional voicemail systems that cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars that force you to arrange your options like this. Ludicrous.

With a systems like this, at least once, I've forgotten what the number was because I started focusing on what I was listening for. Then I had to wait until the end of the menu, press the button to start over, and start recalling numbers again.

Of course, this applies just as much to your own announcements as the official voicemail system. "Press 1 for a department secretary" sucks. "For a department secretary, press 1" is right.

 

[ESquared]

In fact, my own initial post broke this last rule. I should say

To skip this message, press 7 at any time

not

Press 7 to skip this message at any time

I will check my voicemail script to see what I actually have. Yes, I use a script of my own writing. It saves time, makes me smoother, and avoids mistakes like this.

 

[TouchToneTommy]

OK, I like the "I am in the office. Please leave a message so I may return your call promptly." - it's to the point.

I always structure menus with the department before what you press to get there - I cringe when I see scripts that say:

For Sales, press 1 now
For Service, press 2 now
For Something Else, press 3 now
For Even More Options, press 4 now
......


"Our menus have recently changed.".... yes, this is a "kindler, gentler" way to say it, I think I'll try it in the future, but again, after a couple of months it has to go away until the next time the selections get revamped.

 

[moonguppie]

There used to be a comany out there that one of their phone menu options said, "If you'd like to hear a duck quack, press 7." and then you would hear a duck quack if you pressed 7.

A little knowledge is dangerous.

 

[SF0751]

Our menus have recently changed."....

We try NEVER to do this, but when we have, I put in the date of the change. ("Our menu has changed as of January 2nd, 2007."). If it's a repeat caller (and most of them are) then they aren't thinking to themselves "It changed AGAIN!?!". I'll leave the "menu has changed" message out there for 2-3 weeks, tops.

Susan
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison

 

[ESquared]

You're right that changing the mensu is probably something to avoid as much as possible.

Another way to handle it is to change the initial message enough that the person recognizes something is different and listens more carefully.

 

[philhege]

You've reached the voice mailbox of Phil Hegedusich. If you are not a salesperson making a cold call, please leave a message and I will return your call as soon as possible. If you are a cold-calling salesperson, don't waste your breath or my mailbox space, because I'm not returning your call.

"Have a nice day."

Sorry I didn't include the skip shortcut, because I want these bloodsucking vampires to hear the whole message.

Phil Hegedusich
Senior Programmer/Analyst
IIMAK

http://www.iimak.com

-----------
I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa.

 

[jrbarnett]

My work voicemail is particularly long, but I hope its clear enough:

"Hello, you have reached the voicemail of <my name>, <job title> at <organisation>. I'm not able to take your call at the moment but if you would like to leave your name, telephone number and a short message I will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you."

If I'm away, I will change it to include dates I'm away and alternative contact details to something like:

"You have reached the voicemail of <my name>, <job title> at <organisation>. I am away from <start date> to <end date>. If you need assistance with any of the systems during that time please contact <colleague name> on <telephone number> or email <email address>. Otherwise I will deal with your call upon my return. Thank you."

John

 

[ESquared]

John, I think your message is superior to many that I hear. For your first version, what if you left out "I'm not able to take your call at the moment?"

It works just as well that way, in my opinion!

May I suggest that "deal with your call" seems unflattering to your callers--like it is a problem instead of a regretted, missed connection.

 

[jrbarnett]

Point taken eSquared, its just that the nature of my work = and I'm sure many people can empathise - very few calls come in saying "Everything is working properly, well done on a good service. I've not needed to call you for 6 weeks."

Virtually the only non work related calls I get are invitations to go to lunch or a coffee break with a colleague or other IT people in a different department.

John

 

[ESquared]

I always appreciate it when, as a customer (whether I work for the same company as the person serving me or not) I get treated with special care.

For example, when I worked in presales at HP for printers and computers, I learned to say "I will connect you now" instead of "I will transfer you." When I say it, it feels better. When I hear it, it feels better.

Little touches like that make a big difference! Connect is positive. It is something it's okay to do TO another person. We all like to be connected because it's our goal: we want connection with what will supply the desire that prompted us to call.

Transferring is cold and clinical. It sounds like you're going to physical move the person. Technically, you will transfer the person's call, not the person, anyway.

John, even if the truth is that you deal mostly with problems, by your word choice I think you are still implying that you don't welcome the call.

The longer I work in IT, the more I am convinced that what separates the superstars from the crowd is not one's technical ability (although you have to have that to be a superstar) but one's interpersonal skills. One has to be a really super genius to get by on technical ability alone (there are people who do this, but they are extremely rare).

And if that's not enough incentive to make people pay more attention to how they interact with others including in voicemail messages, consider that the more people trust you, the more you will be able to do your job, and the more power you will have!

Yes, you can surely earn trust with technical skill, but if that's all you have, it will be begrudgingly and slowly earned. I find trust is earned faster with both: technical skills and people skills. By cultivating warm relationships with the people you work with and the people you serve, you maximize your personal power. Things that used to take longer or that you would not have had leeway in or even permission to do, you now get better results with. Your reputation gets spread throughout the organization, and even if you aren't doing anything special, just routine things, you eventually find that barriers are coming down you didn't even know existed! It saves you time, and makes you more valuable to the company. This translates into personal pleasure in a lot of ways. Even monetary ones.

So may I offer, John, that no matter what the reality is of why people call you, it might be to your benefit to say something more friendly than "deal with your call." In fact, given what you've said about problems, I might even say something more than "return your call" like "I will contact you as soon as possible to make available my services.

 

[Welshbird]

I'd add one small thing to your thoughts ESquared. If I am really busy I try and block out everything around me, but if I am not I try and pick up other calls for colleagues rather than allow them to go to voicemail. I know I would much rather leave a message with a human than a machine. Of course, this isn't always possibly, but when it is I think its important.

Its also true that you generally know when its an external call - so maybe its even more important to do it then!

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[MeGustaXL]

I heard this on TV many, many years ago:

You got the mike...What's your beef?

Never had the nerve to put it on my office voicemail though, just my mobile!

P.S. It might've been The Fresh Prince

Chris

When his pin is pulled, Mr Grenade is not our friend - USMC Infantry Manual

 

[BJCooperIT]

Why does the voicemail of every company I have called in the past 18 months begin with "...Listen carefully as our menu options have changed..."? Do they all really change that often? Or, once changed, does no one ever go back and remove that?

I have a very long message on my answering machine at home. I do this so that the people who want to clean my carpets, lend me money, sell me magazines or have me donate money r-e-a-l-l-y have to want to leave a message. My outgoing message ends with: "Please be aware, we do not answer blocked calls!". Of course, my family and friends know to press 1.


[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
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