David Pogue, the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times is hopping mad. Why? It’s those annoying little messages you have to listen to before you can leave voice-mail for a cell-phone user. You know:
“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)”
Turns out these things are only there for one reason (after all, we all know what to do, right?): they keep you on the air for a few seconds longer. By doing so, they generate revenue, and plenty of it. Mr. Pogue calculates:
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.
These guys sure have a lot of moxie. David Pogue thinks we don’t have to put up with it. Learn more here.
2 Comments
I’m sorry this never gained any traction, funny thing is it never really bothered me before but now every time I hear one of these message it drives me crazy. They don’t make filing a complaint easy at these sites either. If David Pogue’s clout can’t change it… not sure what will.
Yes, this still raises my blood pressure every time.