Leave a F***ing message

[evilhomer]

I know that SC's aren't alway hip to new technology but answering machines / voice mail has been around for over three decades now. You'd think they'd catch on. Wonderful inventions these things, you're not able to reach someone, you record the purpose of your call and that person can get the message at their earliest convenience. Oh no, that's me and my crazy talk going again; here's the much better way to handle it.

Scenario: 7:50 am with an 8:00 am start, me on loading dock, 1 bar on my cell - enough to make it ring, not enough to hear speaking

7:50:00 - *ring* Hello? - dead air - hang up
7:50:15 - *ring* Hello? - dead air - hang up
7:50:45 - *ring* let it go to VM - get a clue
7:51:00 - *ring* repeat
7:51:30 - *ring* repeat
7:52:00 - *ring* repeat
7:52:30 - at elevator - 2 bars - *ring* Hello? - crackling voice - Me: "I'm on my way" - doors close - dead air - hang up
7:52:45 - in elevator - *ring* Hello? - dead air - hang up
7:53:00 - in elevator - doors open for other people - *ring* Hello? - doors close - dead air - hang up
7:53:30 - out of elevator - open up phone to call customer - phone rings microseconds before I hit the "contacts" button and it switches over to "ignore" incoming call
7:53:45 - *ring*

Me: Hello?
Boss: What's going on?!? Julia just called me saying that you're not answering your phone.
Me: I've been on the dock.
Boss: So!?
Me: So you know I don't have a signal down there... well that's her on the other line.
Boss: You've got to take her calls.
Me: Uh yeah, kind of what I just said.
Boss: I don't need that attitude!
Me: I don't need that attitue either... you want to continue this or should I take her call... eh too late anyways. Should I call her or can it wait the thirty seconds it's going to take me to get to her desk.
Boss: Whatever, just go see her.
Me: Yep - hang up.

7:55:00 - *ring* - do the disconnect thing again
7:55:15 - *ring* - Hello?... yeah, I'm standing behind you right now

So what was so important that it warranted 10 phone calls in the span of 5 minutes? Oh, she just wanted to make sure I was there and knew what to do. Yeah, because 100 out of the last 100 times I've been on time and the routine of what needs to be done has been the same understanding 100 of the last 100 times. And of course this was all so important that I had zero messages when I checked my phone later (actually not true, I had three hang ups).

[Blade_Raver]

Don't expect corporate management to understand the concept of signal strength. They have a hard enough time getting their shoes on the right feet in the morning.

[EricKei]

Corporate or otherwise, it has always been my policy -- for both personal calls and work-related ones -- that, if it's not important enough for you to leave a message about, it's not important enough to require my attention/a callback.

[aurelemsrealm]

I wish they'd invest in an answering machine for our phone at work. It's especially annoying when I'm running the store by myself, have a line of customers I'm trying to get out the door, and then the phone rings. Usually, the call is either for one of the coworkers who is not there, is in regards to some issue that the manager will have to handle later, or is in regards to some issue that I don't have time to deal with because I'm ringing up customers.

[mattm04]

I wish we had VM at my work. Only the Store Manager has a VM box I believe. The problem is when a customer calls looking for a Dept Manager who is not in we have to tell them to call back. Many people are accustomed to the option of leaving a VM for someone at a large corporation and get pissed.

Also out payroll person only works PT and usually early AM or late at night. So if you have a problem with you check you spend days calling asking it they are in and of so they are on the phone often. If it is a corp call they usually last about 10 minutes, of which I will not wait on hold for. So you call back and try until get them. The if they need to look up some info they will usually call you back. If you let me leave VM at any time I could tell you the issue and they you can call be back and tell me the answer/solution. Grrrrrr.

[evilhomer]

Tell your managers to get VM, it is a godsend. The few customers I have who possess the intelligence to use it make my life so much easier. Given that nobody ever answers their phone, it's so much better to call back and say "got your message, I'm on it", than the continuous tag game of "I saw you called, what did you want?"


An amusing add on to this story. I was with Julia today when my boss called. I'm in a meeting, leave a message. Oh no, can't do that. After the second ignored call, he calls my partner who like an idiot answers and tries to pass it on to me. He gets a clue and comes over to tell me that the boss wants me to call him when I'm free. I look at Julia and say "Geez, doesn't this guy know what voice mail is for?" Instead of catching on, she just agrees with me.

Typical SC behaviour, they know it's the wrong thing to do but they have a special reason for doing it so it's allright.