Leave a message...

I rarely came across answering machines or recordings back home. The only time that I can recall getting a recording was when I called specific businesses. Since I have been in the US however, it seems like all I do on the phone is talk to answering machines.

Initially I used to get frustrated every time I heard a recording or got an answering machine. I dread having to make a call to my bank because I know that I will have to listen to a lengthy recording about various offers before I can get any work done. I have come to accept though that it is a business and therefore a requirement.

Personal recordings on answering machines and on cell phones in my opinion are a different story. It frustrates me to no end when I have to listen to a lengthy recording. So often I have found that the recording I have to suffer through takes more time than the message I leave for the person. I have had the misfortune of needing to call people who go to the extent of telling me where they might be and why they may not be answering the phone and speculating as to when they might be able to return my call. Please, I just want to leave a message and get on with my day!

The worst I have encountered so far are the multilingual messages - ones that seem to go on till the end of time and then repeat in two other languages! Seriously, anyone anywhere knows that a beep means leave a message! Its like the universal language of numbers - everyone gets it!