Please leave a message after the tone...
By Cahaya
@cahaya1983 (11121)
Malaysia
December 19, 2017 2:08am CST
I just realized that in my country people don't really use voicemail anymore. Many people I know have even deactivated the voice mail option on their mobile.
I guess it might have to do with the fact that there's email and SMS and also messaging apps like WhatsApp, Viber and whatnot, so most people prefer to just leave text messages instead of using voicemail. If you've used WhatsApp you would know that you can leave a voice message there as well. I personally find it much more convenient, plus it's free. I can count with fingers how many times I've actually left a message in the voicemail, either on mobile or landline.
What do you do when you can't reach the person you're calling? Do you just hang up and call back later, leave a text message or wait until you reach the voicemail?
29 people like this
33 responses
@LadyDuck (458976)
• Switzerland
19 Dec 17
@cahaya1983 It's so quickly done to leave a voice mail.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
@LadyDuck Yeah I guess it does take less effort than typing a text message. 
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 17
Oh okay so you still use the voice mail occasionally. I hardly use it, I just leave a text message.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Yeah I think there it's pretty common. Here most people choose to deactivate their voicemail on mobile because they're charged to retrieve the messages. We also don't use voicemail for our house phone.
1 person likes this
@m_audrey6788 (58482)
• Germany
19 Dec 17
I still do leave a short message if there`s a voice mail
4 people like this
Oh! I hope you`ll not hang up on me 
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
I usually hang up right after hearing "The person you're trying to call is not available." 
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
19 Dec 17
Since a few years, some providers are offering subscriptions without any call/voice, only SMS/MMS. I still use voicemail. I have an unlimited subscription for calls to my country, while using an email or whatsapp uses data, which is always limited. Besides, it is impossible to leave a text message to a landline.
4 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 17
Yeah I think it's useful when you make call to offices and need to reach certain people. But I've also realized quite many offices here don't have their voicemail set up, so in that case I just leave a message with another employee or contact them via email.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 17
Same here. If I don't have their mobile number and I'm calling a landline I would usually just call back unless there's another person who could take a message.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
I think there it's very common to have a voicemail system at home too. Do you use it on your landline?
2 people like this
@DianneN (247191)
• United States
22 Dec 17
@cahaya1983 Yes, we use it on the landline, too.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71663)
• United States
20 Dec 17
@cahaya1983 if I don’t check it then the darn notification won’t get off my phone and it drives me nuts
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Oh okay I've always thought text messaging is easier because they might not check their voicemail timely or even forget to check it at all.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
22 Dec 17
@shaggin Oh yeah I can imagine how annoying that is.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
WhatsApp is pretty big here too, that's what I use to communicate most of the time. Do you use the voice messaging feature often?
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
22 Dec 17
@bluesa Yeah me too, sometimes when I need to explain something and I'm lazy to type everything I just send a voice message.
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15023)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
21 Dec 17
@cahaya1983 , I do, especially talking to my sister at work throughout the day Do you use that feature?
Do you use that feature?1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 17
Me too, I can't even remember the last time I left a message on anyone's voicemail.
2 people like this
@magallon (19280)
• Philippines
20 Dec 17
@cahaya1983
I remember i used it one time. i just told my sister to call me once she's home
.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
I don't even have mine set up, haven't used it for many years now.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (34405)
•
20 Dec 17
I call the person or leave voicemail if they are not answering. What annoys me with voicemail is you never know when they will call you back. I usually wind up playing phone tag which is so annoying 
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Oh yes that's why I just hang up once I get to their voicemail and call back later. Some people never return my calls (and probably don't even bother checking their voicemail)! And playing phone tag sure isn't fun.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
That's funny. Why didn't they understand you though?
Why didn't they understand you though?1 person likes this
@fly802 (1383)
•
21 Dec 17
@cahaya1983 May they are in hurry and in the mood to hear the voice.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
22 Dec 17
@natalie88 No I just use text messaging. I don't have voicemail set up on my phone either.
@ddnj2006 (652)
• Philippines
20 Dec 17
Same here in our country, coz people dont usually do. Probably because voicemail is costly than text. Or you need internet data for accessibility. And seldom here has free connection. There has a package on some certain postpaid line but we find text sms a more big easy.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Yeah a few years back mobile phone users here were a bit upset about the voicemail charges (both leaving and retrieving messages). That's why most users now prefer to just deactivate the system, no one really uses it anymore.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Yes here too. Our Internet package comes with a free house phone and landline, that's the only reason we have it now. I hardly use it to make calls though, except to other landlines because it's free.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Oh never? I think I've used it less than 5 times. I prefer to leave a text message as well, or just call back later.
I prefer to leave a text message as well, or just call back later.2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
19 Dec 17
That's what I do too, most of the time. I think messaging apps have made it much more convenient these days.
2 people like this
@holdoors (2487)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
@cahaya1983 Yeah. Nowadays, we try not to call unless necessary even for work purposes.
1 person likes this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
20 Dec 17
I use it sometimes, but usually I will just text for a callback.
2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
That's what I do, too. I myself find it more convenient to read text messages than go through messages on the voicemail.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11121)
• Malaysia
20 Dec 17
Same here. Most people don't even set up a voicemail system even for landlines.
1 person likes this
