David Pogue launches all-out war on canned voicemail messages
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Jul 30th 2009 1:04PM
posted Jul 30th 2009 1:04PM
At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options. To leave a callback number, press 5. (Beep)Not only is Pogue mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it about the ridiculous idea that we still need to be told how to use voicemail, it turns out those additional messages are actually costing you cold, hard cash. He estimates that Verizon, for instance, is netting around $620 million a year thanks to these little annoyances. So what's to be done? Well Pogue wants the citizens of the internet to take up virtual arms... and complain like nobody's business. He's wrangled together all the best contact points for the four largest carriers in the US (included for your convenience after the break). Let them know you know don't want to pay for voicemail instructions. And hey, while you're at it, tell them the price-gouging on text messages needs to go, too.
Verizon: Post a complaint here.
AT&T: Send e-mail to Mark Siegel, executive director of media relations: MS8460@att.com.
Sprint: Post a complaint here.
T-Mobile: Post a complaint here.
If you're calling a Sprint phone, press "1" to bypass that message (7 if you happen to know they are a visual v-mail user). I think it's "#" if you're calling an AT&T phone.
In reality, the hot button should an industry standard, like 1 or pound, and just publicized so everyone knows how to bypass.
Good luck, Mr. Pogue.
You can skip Verizon's by pressing *
There are a lot of people who can do without those instructions. But there are a lot who can not. I am in tech support and the # of people who do not know how to power their phones on/off or delete a txt message would amaze you. 30% of my calls are the most amazing simple things you would not believe. So unless their was a opt-out option this would cause a uproar. Pogue once again you fail to see outside your little box.
But the messages are pointless - I would say might even confuse some people. Simply leave a message after the beep and hang up. When it gives people options is where they start pushing buttons and getting confused.
Just use google voice and forward to that number for voicemail. There was a how to on Engadget not to long ago.
While they don't set the "no instructions" option as the default, Sprint allows you to permanently turn it off. Go into voicemail then hit 3 -> 2 -> 1 -> 3 to turn off caller instructions.
The bigger issue here is carriers charging minutes for using your voicemail. I'm assuming that where Pogue is coming up with this making money.
Forget trying to get carriers to remove this stupid message, lets get them to stop taking our minutes for calling voicemail in the first place. That would make this message a non issue.
t-mobile does not charge you minutes to call voicemail, calls placed to voicemail are free. they only charge you if you've already ran out of your minutes.
Denny that's not whole issue. This is more about when you place a call to someone else you get that, which forces everyone to use their 5 seconds of their monthly minutes to listen to this silly greeting that everyone including grandma knows how answering machines work. Leave a message after the beep.PERIOD none of the extra options. So during a connected call to your end point is wasting 5 seconds here and there, and maybe not a huge deal to one person, but rather multiplied over many calls, and then multiply that against the number of users on mobile networks results in a lot of profit from nickeled and dimed minutes off of your plan.
I'm in Canada and with Rogers. When you call me and get my voicemail, it immediately starts with "Hey, it's Nathan, bla bla" and let's you leave the message. I believe it did that with Telus as well when I was with them.
who cares about 15 seconds? charges get rounded up to whole minute increments anyway!
Sent an email to Mark Seigel at his ATT address. Received the following Autoresponse:
"Thanks for your message. I will be taking vacation time from July 29 to 31. If you are a reporter or editor on an immediate deadline, please contact Steve Schwadron on 212-453-2420."
Poor Steve. -lol *wonders how many calls this campaign will generate to Steve*
My thoughts on Pogue's article (which I read on the NYT site):
Pogue makes several additional points not covered here by Engadget, some stronger than the VM message argument. The general idea behind his article is that there are a lot of areas where the US cell carriers are gouging customers. His comparison to other country's costs and US alternatives (like Skype, Google Voice) are clear and correct, IMO. Information found in reader comments to the article paints an even worse picture of US cell carriers than Pogue does.
Engadget should include the other issues Pogue raises to give a complete picture of his campaign to improve cellular customer service and pricing.
If the person you are calling has Sprint, they can turn that off. I have and thus you don't get that message when you call and I ignore you.
If you are going to get sand in your vagina over voicemail, it should be how awful voice mail is. With Sprint I can not do last in, first out. This means I often get 3-4 minute voicemails of people describing their issues with a lot of uhhhhhs and hmmmmms only then to get to the next message that says "Disregard previous message, I rebooted and it works now."
Google Voice number portability can't come soon enough.
To mark the message as 'urgent,' press one. For standard delivery, press two. To review your message press three, to add a comment, press four, to continue in Spanish, oprima el ocho.
You have exceeded the maximum time allotted for voice mail messages.
I can't even remember why I frickin' called...
Lucky me I have visual voicemail.
Did anyone notice that recently (
The bigger picture is there shouldn't be contract lock-ins (2-years WTF??), per-minute/kb charges, carrier- or manufacturer-disabled features, voice-mail messages ad nauseam, etc. etc.
Consumers should be able to use any phone, running any app, on any network (assuming of course phone/network compatibility). Think PCs and the web; I bring the hardware and the software and the ISP supplies the network. If land-line Telco-A sucks, I call, I cancel, I switch to Telco-B. If ISP-A sucks, I call, I cancel, I switch to ISP-B. If mobile-telco A sucks I, ummm, I ahhhh, ummmm, hmmmmm, oh right, I pay for 23 more months...
Carriers/lobbyists 1, Consumers 0.
One problem with this idea. A LOT of customers want free phones and to change phones every year or whatever. That can't and won't happen with no contracts. Customers will have to pay a large price for just standard phones and they won't want to do that. Contracts aren't going anywhere and if they do... a lot less people will have cell phones because they will no longer be affordable. Plus price will go up because of the consistent churn and the porting of numbers. Lets quit complaining so much about some of these things that help keep prices down and competitive and worry more important things.
Actually prices will go down, if there is churn. Telcos will desperately try to keep you and offer a lower rate. Case in point. India. rock bottom telco rates. and government steps in from time to time to push prices lower.