How do you use voicemail?!
By mommyboo
@mommyboo (13174)
United States
July 31, 2008 9:14pm CST
No everybody, I am not asking for voicemail pointers. This is what a customer actually said to me once when I was working for a bank. She had called in (her name is not listed to protect her identity) and asked me if she could speak with Mr. T. I put her on hold and rang his extension as I was supposed to before patching her through. Unfortunately Mr. T didn't answer so I went back to her call and informed her that I would have to put her through to his voicemail. This is when she asked me how to use it!Have you ever come across somebody who doesn't know how to use voicemail? I told her that she'd just wait until the recording answered, then after the beep she would leave her name and phone number and a message for him. She asked me how I was sure he would get it!*smack forehead*
1 person likes this
4 responses
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
1 Aug 08
Some people lead sheltered lives I guess. I'll be the poor woman doesn't have a tv or a computer either.
Come to think of it - does she even have a bank account? LOL
Times like that boo, you just have to laugh and count your lucky stars.
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
2 Aug 08
Good thing she was a nice old lady, she didn't seem shocked that *I* sounded shocked, and she didn't get mad when I kind of had to keep repeating myself. I think she asked me about three times how I was sure Mr. T would get her message. I told her that voicemail was like a personal answering machine box and only he could retrieve the message and that he would for certain call her back and it wouldn't be somebody else who didn't know who she was.
Makes me wonder if she had gotten bad customer service somewhere before multiple times.
1 person likes this
@sparkofinsanity (20471)
• Regina, Saskatchewan
2 Aug 08
LOL, or she lives in a time warp and still has to crank up her phone to get connected! Poor thing. I'm sure you put her mind at rest though. Patience is the key when dealing with the customer base. Good for you.
1 person likes this
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
1 Aug 08
Voicemail is scary! I hate it, if the phone goes on to voicemail I hang up. I always make a total hash of the message or I freeze and cannot speak!
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
3 Aug 08
Hehehe... I used to feel that way. My best friend sometimes screens her calls though, and I now enjoy talking to her on the machine for a few to see if she's just chasing a kid and picks it up. I also do that if I know her husband is home because he hates the phone and he rarely answers. If she hears me talking on the machine, she'll go answer it.
@arkaf61 (10881)
• Canada
1 Aug 08
LOL that is funny. But it's funny mostly because we're so used to voice mail that we tend to have trouble understanding how one would not know how to use it.
I remember when I first got it I had to explain to my mom how to use it step by step. Of course it's important to keep in mind that my mom is 86 years old, and does not speak English, she couldn't even understand what I was saying.
At first she was intimidated by it and wouldn't leave a message, but with time she became the master :)
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
2 Aug 08
I used to HATE how I sounded on recordings and leaving messages or voicemail freaked me out. It hasn't bothered me in a long time, I'm talking like back when I was around 12 or 13. I have always used it though, but I'm relatively young compared to somebody who is 86 lol. Technology can be hard for people who lived most of their lives before inventions like cordless phones and 4 different voice mail boxes, cell phones with internet and cameras not to mention hi-speed internet and HD tvs.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
1 Aug 08
Oh mommyboo, I am lmao! That is too funny! How
could anyone in this day and age not know how to use voicemail.
Did she live in a cave or under a rock? That is one scary
woman! I'll bet that left you reeling for a long time! I
used to answer phones at quite a few jobs that I had and I'm
sure I could tell a few good stories, but that one is a gem!
1 person likes this
@mommyboo (13174)
• United States
2 Aug 08
It's been my funniest phone customer service call to date! I have not encountered one funnier since. I think she was an older lady, at least she sounded older to me. I think that people that may be my grandma's generation or older might have a hard time with advancing technology lol.
