So I just called a client of ours and was regaled with a rambling, redundant message about how he is not available and that he will surely do his best to return the phone call. It may have lasted well over two minutes (in English and Spanish) and I almost forgot my reason for calling! Anyway, on other occasions, I've had to sit through three minutes worth of music (everything from rap to tejano) just to leave a voicemail. I sometimes find this entertaining but other times I find it quite annoying. My voicemail is the simple "You have reached 832-555-5555...." since I don't want torture the caller with my taste in music or explain in detail my intricate plans on calling him/her back. How is yours set up?
Mine goes like this (sung to the tune of Greatest American Hero): "Believe it or not Bob isn't at work, please leave a message at the beep. I'm must be out or I'd pick up the phone, where could I be? Believe it or not I'm not here."
"hey, obviously I didn't answer your call. Leave me a message and I'll be more likely to call you back."
Royals, I can count on my hand how many times my nephew (he's 12, but a very smart tough cookie) has "gotten me" with that one, since he changes it almost weekly. "Hey, that's no fair, tricking your uncle like that, yo... " Funny stuff. It works. That's what SHE said. " You've reached SwoLy at the SwoLy number you dialed. Please leave a short but detailed message so I can get back to you... otherwise, it wasn't important, was it?!"
You would hate my voice mail: "Thank you for calling USAA. You have reached the voice mailbox of XXX. I am sorry I am not available to take your call right now, however, if you leave your name, number, date and time you called along with a claim number and a detailed message, I will return your call in the next 4 business hours. Please note that USAA members can schedule some inspections, and check claims and payment status on USAA.com. If you have questions regarding a rental or a payment, please contact your adjuster @ 1-800-531-****. If you are a repair facility requesting a supplement, please fax that request to me @ 281-***-****. If you would like to leave feedback regarding the service I have provided, please contact ***-***-****. Thank you for calling USAA and have a wonderful day." Took me like 10 takes to get it right. I hate changing my VM when I go on vacation.
Mine is: "Hi, this is Jim. I can't get to the phone right now, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks, and have a great day." I haven't changed my voicemail greeting since 2002.
My voicemail is setup like this: Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system *Background TV noise* Is not available To page this person, press 5 now Beep
