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If you’re going to be out of the office on holidays or vacations, make that known in your voicemail so customers don’t think they’re getting ignored. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than when they can’t reach you and assume you’re ignoring them.
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1. Limit Background Noise. If you’re recording your greeting from the back of a New York City cab with the windows down, it’s gonna be pretty obvious to your callers.
Repeat your phone number twice. People seem to forget that the receiver of their message has to write the number as you say it. Don’t rush through it. Even when you say it slowly, it’s hard to get down the first time. So repeat it again, so they can check to be sure they got it down right.
“Hey there! This is [name] at [XYZ company]. Thank you for calling. I can’t take your call right now but if you leave your name, contact info and reason for calling, I’ll call you back right away. Take care and speak with you soon!”
Thank you for calling. You have reached (Your Name) at (Your Business). Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.
A robot? Seriously, a robot? Are you that lazy that you can’t set up a stinking voice mail greeting?
“Good afternoon. You have reached the office of [your name]. I will be out of the office beginning on [date] and will be returning on [date]. Please leave a brief message with your contact information, and I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as I return on [date]. If this is an emergency or you need to speak with someone before I return, please contact [name of colleague/supervisor], [their job title], at [their phone number].”
Like, right before you recorded this greeting you realized how dumb it would be to leave instructions. But you still wanted me to know how dumb it would be for you to leave instructions, so you wasted 20 seconds of my time telling me that you already knew I would know how to do it.
#6 [automated robot] “The number you have reached, 717-555-9406, is not available. Please leave a message at the beep.” [/automated robot]
2. It should only take 8 seconds to connect me with your phone, and no longer. So if I have to listen to 15 seconds of your crappy music, it means you’ve prolonged the connection process just to expose me to your musical tastes. How dare you.
In the case that your business is closed due to an emergency, it's only worth it to go into detail if the problem is affecting everyone in the area. Otherwise, stick to your Company Wide Voicemail Greeting, but remove the stated hours and tell callers that you're currently closed. Thank you for calling Cutlass Technology. Our store is currently closed. Please leave your name and phone number so that someone from our team can follow up with you. For more information, please visit www.cutlasstechnology.com
With all of these things to think about for a short 20-second voicemail, you might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed. We promise it’s actually is much simpler than it sounds.
– Driving to the day care center to pick up Tracy. Leave a message if it is urgent or I shall return your call in a little while.
The above eight rules of engagement for voicemail greetings may sound easy enough, but they’ll require some practice to get just right. Let’s look at some examples to provide some context in how to apply the rules to various types of greetings and situations.
The NHS *shouldn't* leave voicemail. At least, the bit where I used to work had a policy that one does not leave voicemail, since you don't know who will listen to it and thus you can't ensure confidentiality.[1]
In the former, the voicemail message shall be delivered to callers from within your company i.e. for communication exclusively for office employees. In the second case, the voicemail will be received by people calling from outside the company. Hi. You’ve reached Martha Johnson in Human Resource department. Unfortunately, I cannot attend the call now. You can leave your message after the beep. Hello. You’ve reached Martha Johnson in Human Resource department. You can either record your message after the beep or contact my secretary Henry Smith at extension 5556. I shall get back to you soon.