Mean? No. Short-sighted? Nah. Efficient? Yes.

I love the phone and I love getting and receiving VM’s. I know a lot of people like you that text or e-mail but I find it impersonal and boring. Give me your personality, your tone, your kindness in the spoken word.

Marian from Houston, TX

Absolute zero. As in -273. I never, ever listen to them. I totally ignore the icon on my phone and now they magically autodelete too without me going near the answerphone.

The really nice bit is that I get a text saying I need to listen to a message before it is deleted. It doesn’t tell me who it is from or anything to prick my conscience that I have ignored someone important. It just gives me a warm glow as I know another message is about to be obliterated in a puff of smoke. It also gives me a clear indication of just how many people ignore the call to action in my voicemail saying “email me at…. or text me”, just as yours does.

I think it should be an option from your mobile/cellphone provider. It would save untold server space for them, and hence costs, if they weren’t saving messages no-one will ever hear.

Lovely post. You are preaching to the converted here!!

Hate ‘em, and don’t even like calling people. I’d rather write something and let them respond when they are prepared and can address whatever issue I have correctly and fully.

Family or friend “just chat” calls are different, of course, but any message that requests/requires action, I’d rather handle through some kind of written communication.

I find that Google Voice takes most of the headache out of vmail for me. I do agree that we all know how to leave a vmail so it’s time we lose the instructions!

What we need is for VM’s to be converted to text and sent to the phone automatically. That way we don’t have to type either !!!

Peter, this is classic! I am adopting it as of today… and I will be mentioning you on my outgoing message. Credit where credit is due!
Hmmmpphhh though, that I was deleted from your FB friend and left as a mere fan! I’ll get over it one day.

Amen brother! I hate voicemail. Sometimes days go by where I don’t even realize i have them…yet I am lightning speed with text and email. Great post.

I almost never answer my phone at all anymore. There are very few reasons why anyone would need to talk to me – and like you said, it’s usually distracting to people around me. Text me, Tweet me, e-mail me, come find me in person, but please for the love of God don’t call me. And don’t EVER leave me a voicemail. I mention my website/email in my outgoing message for a REASON.

Funny/true stuff :)

While I understand where you are coming from, I think it’s important to recognize that the entire world is not into texting and emailing and that there should be some consideration for people not of that mindset who want to reach out to you. My father is 94 and doesn’t have a computer, I-Phone or BlackBerry, but if he needed me and left a voicemail, I’d want to get it. I can suffer the inconvenience of hitting the #7 key a few times.

On the other hand, I have zero tolerance for the sea of people I encounter talking loudly on their cellphones in public places — restaurants, planes, trains, etc., and those talking and texting in their cars. I do not want to listen to other people’s personal or business conversations, nor do I want to be the victim of some distracted driver who can’t wait a few minutes or pull over to make a call.

I love this post… I am laughing.

I usually just avoid the VM and call the person back. Although, there is a risk you’ll get put on the spot when they refer to something they were inquiring about in the voicemail – and it is always seems to be something bad … they need help moving, need a ride to the airport.

It’s true. You do really respond within minutes to e-mails!

In 1997 had a professor who’s VM message was “If you want me to return your message, email because I don’t bother to check Voice Mail”. When I started teaching I adopted the same VM message.

What do we do with the retired folks in West Texas that think touch tone dialing is new fangled and want to reach you or a child that misses you and leaves a message – does your VMLT stay less than zero for them too?

Lump all the sales calls, unknown callers and energy sucking bottom feeders in the trash but you gotta pick it up sometime. And no more vm tag just so you can say you called back but didn’t really want to…..

Hear hear (or perhaps that’s inappropriate in this case). You can add those @#$% automated voice systems that require at least a dozen keypresses before a live human can be reached. Tolerance level for all forms of voicemail: remarkably low. Bah.

I totally agree with you! I usually just avoid the VM and call the person back. Although, there is a risk you’ll get put on the spot when they refer to something they were inquiring about in the voicemail – and it is always seems to be something bad … they need help moving, need a ride to the airport.

I started using MCI mail back in 1990 because I hated voice mail so much. I guess you could call me the ORIGINAL vm hater…so I think that makes my VMLT about -666.

My VMLT is 10+!

For many of my customers technology is new and they appreciate the help I give in placing orders or using technology to take one of my classes. Reactions range from “WOW, thank you for returning my call” to “WOW thank you for answering the phone!”

I’ll always use other technology to maximize my time so I can continue to listen to every word and delight in the personal tone of the voice in this impersonal world!

My VLMT is 10. Remember boys and girls, marketing communications is about relationships. And texting, e-mailing and blogging doesn’t replace face-to-face and voice communications.

Wow. I am enlightened. And now my VLMT is a 1. Thanks, PR HERO!

I want to leave you a voicemail… just to be annoying…

Postel’s Law:

Be conservative in what you do; be liberal in what you accept from others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robustness_principle

I’m around an 8. I don’t get bent out of shape over voice mail. Who has energy for that? But, I agree that some don’t use it to its best effect. Overall, using the right method for the message is really what we should be focusing on.

Dear Mr. Shankman,

I like a good documented message via text or email, just like everyone. However, voicemails are essential at least for myself, when I need to leave a message, especially while driving. Have you ever tried texting while driving? Not safe of course! Now, I at least try not to drain the airwaves with a long an drawn out message. My VMTL is an 8.

Peter,

What if someone wants to speak with you instead of text you? Wouldn’t they end up on your Voice Mail if you didn’t answer? And, if you didn’t answer and they wanted to speak with you instead of text you, what would you recommend? They hang up and call again? If so, couldn’t you simply say so on your outgoing Voice Mail message?

Sometimes, Voice Mail has nothing to do with space-age technology but simple human qualities that need or want to speak instead of text. Yes?

Om, peace.

I signed up for Google Voice recently- but hadn’t really used it. This morning, I had a voicemail from someone dialing a wrong number. It was beautiful, I didn’t have to listen to it at all…. Google had transcribed it for me! Perhaps VMLT is soon to be a thing of the past.

People have lowered their standards and accept lousy customer service as the norm. Many if not all businesses have designed and blindly placed impenetrable voice mail and an automated phone system in the way of so-called good customer service. The reason for all the “voice-mail hell” is organizations ignorantly think it is less expensive than paying a person to answer the phone-they are wrong. What it does it creates is a huge demilitarized zone between the organization and the customer. Furthermore, creating the appearance of a cold and indifferent organization alienating, frustrating, not to mention playing phone tag a real time waster, and driving customers and their money search of more approachable source of satisfaction. And to add insult to injury the voice mail informs me the conversation may be recorded for training purposes. Excuse me is everyone a new hire on training including senior management? Where are we going here? Nothing beats a real, hope fully after the second ring an old-fashioned, friendly human being on the other end of a telephone.

I love my voicemails. I have a handful of friends and family around the world that leave me two minute streams of consciousness, meandering through their days, their moods, their lunches or the details of a movie scene they’re watching that they know I’ve seen 50 times anyway.

They don’t call with an agenda. They just call.

However preoccupied I become with life and its stresses, I can always stop to listen to those messages and, for two minutes, my entire world makes sense.

I tell people I have voicemail at home so that folks on the PTA feel like they have accomplished something by leaving a message and voicemail at work for people in the workforce who dont know me.
I travel 45 out of 52 weeks a year, I even know if there is a phone on my desk at the office. VMT? ZERO!
You wanna talk to me? Hit me with a text! OK – I’ll admit it…OR facebook me.

My voice mail tolerance is VERY low. I rarely listen to all my voicemails, I see who called and then I call them back… it’s that simple. if you need to tell me something specific, email me or text me. I’m too lazy to sit there for a minute and a half to listen to you ramble.

GREAT post!

VM’s are stupid. This might come across as anti-social, but seriously anyone that likes VM has way too much time to spend on the phone. If I can’t multi-task while I am either on the phone, e-mailing, or txting then I am certainly overly involved in the current video game I am playing. I mean seriously consider my needs of getting a cross-map head shot.

To be honest if you leave me a VM I (a) either delete it the second I receive it, (b) ignore it until my mailbox is full so no other idiots can leave one, or (c) curse your name and your stupidity as you spend the next 60 sec – 5 min explaining your useless existence and why it is so inevitable that I call you back. SERIOUSLY hang up and call back a second time so I know that last head-shot to end my perfect CoD streak is worth giving up for something actually important. Maybe if you called back 3 times I would actually get out of the shower to answer your phone call.

After all this, just know my phone is only on vibrate so I always have the 1/2 truth of “Oh! I didn’t hear my phone!…Weird”. I challenge anyone to send me a VM that really truly persuades me to call you back with out listening. You can tell it is a Friday since I am taking this much time to rant on the VM topic.

DON’T SXT, OR TXT AND DRIVE!
PEACE!

I loved your post because I thought I was the only one. I have been known to ignore the Red Voicemail Indicator of Doom on my office (!) phone for weeks. Possibly over a month. It’s a shame I liken to living out of my clean laundry basket until there is nothing left to put away.

And now I’ve outed myself. How embarrassing.

But what I was *going* to say was how I had a similar outgoing VM message because for some time my phone wouldn’t let me call my voicemail. But “some time” was technically four days, and I left the message up for several months — long enough for people to follow directions and send me a darned email.

Love your stuff, Peter!

Yes, but as someone who spends HUGE amounts of time driving, I need VM. With bluetooth, I can answer the phone, listen to msgs, call people back, all safely through my steering wheel. Texts won’t get read or answered for hours!
If only other drivers would do the same – seriously tired of almost being hit by as***le drivers texting!!

I hear you Peter. I have been using Simulscribe for over a year now and have checked my voicemail maybe once in over a year. It is amazing how much time is wasted listening to voicemails. This service just transcribes the message and emails it to you so you can read it. Significantly easier and I highly recommend it!! Thank you to Tim Ferriss and the Four Hour work week for recommending it.