It is not a black hole in the universe...it's voicemail.

If you work in an office, you most likely have a voicemail system.
What is the purpose of voicemail?

THAT’S RIGHT... it is to TAKE MESSAGES.

And whyyyyyyyyy do we use voicemail to take messages?
Yes! Correct again!
So we do not have to run all over the office with a message which may be written down wrong, interpreted incorrectly or worse, completely misplaced and/or forgotten.

Why is this concept so difficult?
What is the fear of voicemail?

Are there voicemail systems in other offices that shock the message leaver?
Have people been burned, beaten or otherwise abused by voicemail?

When our receptionist goes to lunch or all the lines are ringing, we give her a hand by grabbing the phones.

Nine times out of ten, it sounds like this:

Me: "Good Afternoon, Blah Blah & Blah Blah"
Client: "Uh, I was in there and spoke to a girl and I she wanted some papers from me.."

Me: "Yes sir"
Client: "I have some papers with some numbers on them.."

Me: "Yes sir"
Client: "I’m not sure if they are the right numbers"

Me: "Sir, who did you speak to?"
Client: "I don’t know"

Me: "Sir, who is your attorney"
Client: "I don’t know, um... (this is where the client tosses out the name of the FIRM like it is a person)"

Me: "Okay sir, Mr. Blah is at lunch, I can put you to his voicemail and he will return your call as soon as he gets back"
Client: "Well, my number is 555-066..."

Me: "Sir, can I just put you through to voicemail?"
Client: "Can you just tell him Mr. Johnson called and that I have the paper work, but the title on the paperwork is har..."

Me: "Sir, if you will simply leave your message on Mr. Blah’s voicemail, he will return your call when he gets back from lunch."
Client: "Can you just give him the message? I have the numbers from the gr..."

*I am polite yet firm.
(which is a feat considering)

Me: "I will not likely see him when he gets back."
Client: "Um, okay, voicemail then"


I have just killed 7 minutes trying to get a man to go to voicemail.


~You don’t know who you talked to;
~ you don’t know the name of your own attorney and;
~you are unsure of what you want to get across.

NOW you want to perpetuate this circus act by asking me to scribble your ramblings on some yellow sticky note and have me run from my office to this other office where YOU ALREADY KNOW THERE IS NOBODY TO GIVE THE MESSAGE TO, and hope that it is found upon their return or I can call Mr. Blah myself and leave him the voicemail you were so reluctant to do yourself.

That is how it works.

I am in an office...unless I remember to bring my super-dee-duper x-ray vision goggles to work, I will not know who comes and goes from their offices.

If you are one of the people wracked with fear when facing the terrifying ordeal of voicemail...please just hang up and call back AFTER LUNCH.

*which reminds me...when you ask for ONE person at 12:15pm, and are told they are at lunch, you can damn skippy be fairly certain that the OTHER 6 people you ask for are ALSO at lunch.

so what I'm sayin' is...

please

just go to voicemail.