July 30th, 2009
NYT's Pogue starts revolution vs. carriers' 15-second voicemail delay
You know that monotonous introductory message that plays every time you want to leave a voicemail?
“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.”
Ever want to just skip over it…and, you know, leave a voicemail?
The New York Times‘ David Pogue does. In fact, he’s fed up with the idea that the message — which is 15 seconds long, he counted — may really be an underhanded ploy by carriers to run up your plan’s minutes.
Using some rough math, Pogue estimates that 15 seconds really adds up:
We’re PAYING for these messages. These little 15-second waits add up–bigtime. If Verizon’s 70 million customers leave or check messages twice a weekday, Verizon rakes in about $620 million a year. That’s your money. And your time: three hours of your time a year, just sitting there listening to the same message over and over again every year.
So Pogue’s starting a campaign. A “Take Back the Beep” campaign, in fact. And he says the only way to be heard is to tell carriers yourself, using the methods below:
- Verizon: Post a complaint here: http://bit.ly/FJncH.
- AT&T: Send e-mail to Mark Siegel, executive director of media relations: MS8460@att.com.
- Sprint: Post a complaint here: http://bit.ly/9CmrZ
- T-Mobile: Post a complaint here: http://bit.ly/2rKy0u.
In the meantime, Pogue’s got a little-known trick to skip the message:
STEP ONE. Press 1. If it’s Sprint, you get the beep, and you’re done. If you hear an error recording, go on:
STEP TWO. Press *. If it’s Verizon, you get the beep. If not:
STEP THREE: Push #. You get the beep for T-Mobile or Cingular.
You have to pause after each one, and you have to keep listening. But it’s one small way to fight back. Remember: One Star Pound.
What do you think of the message? Much ado about nothing, or worth calling someone about? Say your piece in TalkBack.
Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 07/30/09
