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What's your voice mail etiquette?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by imjustagirl2, Nov 27, 2007.

  1. imjustagirl2

    imjustagirl2 New Member

    That is to say, do you leave voice mails every time you call someone if they don't answer? Or only if you want them to call you back?


    I ask because one of my very best friends called me today. He said, "How many times do I have to call you before you call me back?" I mentioned he hadn't left a voice mail, so I assumed he had just had a spare few minutes, and I didn't want to call back when he was busy.

    No, he had called to tell me he had gotten married (!!) and didn't want to leave it as a voice mail.


    No one's at fault here...but it made me think about voice mails and what purpose they send. I generally just leave them if I want a return call, or if there's a specific time window in which I can be reached. Otherwise, I just figured I missed that person and I'll try again later.

    Is that just me?
     
  2. Big Buckin' agate_monkey

    Big Buckin' agate_monkey Active Member

    Come on, IJAG! You can't read his mind?
     
  3. Norman Stansfield

    Norman Stansfield Active Member

    I know sometimes I don't feel like leaving a voicemail, but figure that once the person sees they missed a call from me they'll call me back anyway. Saves on on the vocal cords.

    I'll do the same thing -- if I notice someone calls me but doesn't leave a message, I'll call them back.
     
  4. Dyno

    Dyno Well-Known Member

    I almost always leave a message, even if I don't need a return call right away. I don't like when people keep calling without leaving messages, so that I have 4 missed calls from them over the course of a few hours. One of my aunts does that and it drives me nuts. When I have that many missed calls, I assume it's bad news. But then I'm a pessimist.
     
  5. pallister

    pallister Guest

    I'm no fan of leaving messages, and when I see someone called, I usually call them back before I even check any message they might have left. I guess I assume, since it's what I do, that if someone sees I've called and they want to call me back, they'll do so, message or not.
     
  6. sportschick

    sportschick Active Member

    I don't call people back unless they leave a message (unless it's my youngest brother, and that's just cause I worry about him a lot). I've always figured if they don't leave a message that they don't really want me to call them back.
     
  7. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    I do not have call display at work, at home or on my cell.

    If you call and don't leave a message, you're out of luck.

    Oh, and if you're not a member of my family, please identify yourself.

    "Hi. It's me. Call me when you have a moment".
     
  8. EStreetJoe

    EStreetJoe Well-Known Member

    I'm shocked. I thought I was the only member of SportsJournalists.com nation that actually used the voice part of a phone and everyone else just texted.

    However, when I do call someone, I'll leave a message if its important and I need the person to call back. Otherwise I won't leave a message and I'll try again later.
     
  9. mike311gd

    mike311gd Active Member

    I almost always leave a message, whether I want a call-back or not. On the other side, if I notice someone called me, but didn't leave a message, I'll call them back. Usually I'll call someone back without listening to the voicemail, depending on how soon after they called I notice.
     
  10. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    I almost never call someone back if they don't leave a voicemail. I figure if it was important, they'd probably take the time to leave one.

    I understand about not wanting to leave big news on someone's voicemail, so if it's me, I'll just say "Hey, give me a call back when you get a chance/as soon as you get this/whatever."

    These are some things I generally follow and wish other people would, too.
    - keep it under a minute. Don't tell me the entire conversation you plan to have with me a 3 or 4 minute message and then have it with me again when I call back.
    - speak at a normal pace, slow down for numbers. I have a friend who says approximately three sentences in two minutes of a message. It's annoying. For some reason, he just talks really damn slowly. Other people talk too fast. Just be normal and either slow down to leave a number or repeat it.
    - Give me some indication as to the importance of the call. Don't just say, "Call me back." If I'm some place where I can't call you back immediately, I don't want to be wondering if it's bad news, good news or whatever.
     
  11. imjustagirl2

    imjustagirl2 New Member

    I generally, at least for work calls, leave my number twice.

    "Hi, this is IJAG calling from the Daily Bugle. I'm calling regarding this or that. Please call me back at 555-4444. Again, that's 5..5..5..4..4..4..4. Thanks for your time."

    I don't generally leave my numbers for personal calls, because almost everyone I call I talk to all the time so they have my cell number saved.
     
  12. buckweaver

    buckweaver Active Member

    Bingo.

    And I just automatically assume that everyone else is screening calls, too. So if it's an ordinary message, I'll leave it in the voicemail and, if it's something I want you to call me back about, I'll say so. If I'm just calling to say hi, or it's not urgent, I won't leave a voicemail and I don't expect you to call me back. I'll try again later.

    As for IJAG's situation, this is what texts are for. If he's got big news and wants to tell you in person, then he should text you and ask when he can call you. Then, y'all work out a time to talk. Pretty simple if you ask me.
     
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