This isn't rocket science people....

As many of you know, I am a secretary. And as a secretary, answering the phone is a major part of my work day. In my office there are 3 phones with 2 lines each. It's not unusual for all 6 lines to be ringing at any given time. Thank God for voice mail. Which brings me to my point in this blog. How to leave a message.

This is not rocket science people. All you have to do is listen to the recorded message and then follow the directions. Most voice mail prompts as you to "Leave your name and number and the nature of your call," and the person you're leaving the message for will if at all possible return your call. Simple you'd think right? Wrong! You'd be surprised at how difficult the task of leaving a message is for some people.

The first major issue is that people don't listen to the recorded message. They simply dial a number and then blurt out their message. Many times getting the wrong number. I work in the Rehab Services Department at the local hospital. If you listen to the recorded message, "You have reached the Rehab Services Department" is clearly stated. It never fails that when we check the messages (say for example after lunch hour) that there is at least 2 messages left for other departments in the hospital, another for the gift shop, and often times someone has left a message similar to ..."Bob, this is John Smith. Call me back." What's wrong with the last message you might ask? Well first off, No one named Bob works there in the department. And secondly when we call them back to find out what they wanted from said Bob, the typical response is "Rehab Services...? I was calling Bobby Brown. We play golf together on Fridays." (Insert heavy sigh from secretary here.)

Then we run into the people who get the right number, leave all the pertinent details in their message but then neglect to leave a return phone number. And when you don't call them back, they call you back all huffy mad that you didn't call them. *Note, in most offices the squeaky wheel gets oiled. If you left a message and it's been a week and no one's called you back, you might have forgotten to leave a number... Call back and we'd be happy to help you. (Insert secretary pounding their head on their desk in frustration here.)

My personal favorite messages are the ones where people don't understand that they are talking to a voice mail. (See not listening to recorded message above.) It never fails to amaze me that people will sit through the entire recorded message and then say "Hello.... Hello..I'm calling for __insert name here___..are you there? Hello..Hello!" Well duh....if we were there we'd be responding to you, not just sitting there in silence.

The truly sad thing is that this happens on our personal phones as well as work phones. And people wonder why secretaries don't like answering the phone after work hours. We've just spent the last 8 hours dealing with wrong numbers, belligerent people, and wasting hours trying to figure out what in the heck people want.