Coca-Cola Disconnects Voice Mail at Headquarters
bloomberg.com
bloomberg.com
I've noticed that the texting only generation seems to have anxiety about making or receiving phone calls and the real-time conversation that requires. I think some of the voicemail hate is just a reaction to that discomfort.
Currently iMessages are causing considerable problems with silent fails and no option to send as SMS (which they used to have - not sure why that changed). All the other messaging solutions have some fairly big flaws too.
Also: i really really fucking hate the way I'll get a notification with a partial message, and then have to open the app to read the message. Opening the app to read the message has a delay of maybe a minute before the message downloads - why? Why can they show me a preview in a notification and then take an age to give me that same text in their app? This is particularly bad with Facebook's messenger app (so bad I'm tempted to delete the app and leave different contact details on FB) but als happens on Whatsapp and others.
The reason I dislike voicemail for internal business - not sales, support, biz dev or personal calls - is because it often implies that a call wasn't planned, which means that someone wants you to make decisions on the fly or they think that your time can be interrupted whenever they feel like it. Of course there are a thousand exceptions to this - but I prefer other means of communication for internal business interactions.
Your dislike of voicemail makes no sense... Are you saying you want to get rid of phones altogether? Because that's what it sounds like.. voicemail is a fallback from a phone call.
Leaving a voicemail is a last ditch effort, that often results in some feeling of action being taken on my part, that could very well sit un-listened for weeks or forever. I try very hard to not leave voicemail without essentially transcribing what I left as an email as well.
It's a trap.
A solution may be a Google Voice type service for businesses. It would be so much easier to get voicemails in my email that are already dictated so have an idea what they are about and just "click" play if needed. One won't have to pick up the phone, type their password, and listen to each message. It's 2014 (almost 2015)!
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I can check my voicemail via my computer or an app on my phone. They also transcribe the voicemails, as well as offering blackout times, and buckets for different calling numbers. If it's from a cell phone, I can directly reply via text.
During the day, at work, I pretty much ignore my phone, and send all calls to voicemail... being able to quickly see and reply is useful (though sometimes the transcriptions are particularly bad).
There are/were other similar services to this out there, not sure what's available in the UK, but you may want to look into it.
Just send me the info in written form.
I'm 28 btw
It gives you integrated voicemail, with automated (though sometimes bad) transcription. It makes dealing with VM as easy as SMS, and if it came from a cell, you can reply with SMS right there. The hangouts integration has gotten better as well.
I've been using it since it grand central before google bought it... There are other similar services as well.
In the age of caller ID, what's the point ? I can see that you called me, and call back.
I completely understand that voicemail can be annoying. I often prefer other means as well. I'm just surprised so many would refuse to use it at all.
Telco should fix CLID.
This is a problem similar to DNS spoofing. Often a large organisation will have an 8xx number (toll-free) which they wish to appear for CLID on all outgoing calls from every line, every office.
How do you validate whether the toll-free (or whatever) CLID number passed is correspondent with the actual number of the OUTWATS trunk (or SIP trunk) used by a given caller? Trunk lines need not necessarily have a DN assigned to them if they are purely for outgoing service.
You would need to setup facilities to "sign" each originating call with a cryptographic certificate assigned to the owner of the number passed and then equipment on each terminating set to validate this.
This is an extremely non-trivial proposition.
It's much easier for them to see that they have a missed call from me, or see a text message to see what the call was about, or to read a quick email rather than listen to a voicemail.
For me, I've never liked how interruptive and demanding phone calls are. I would never barge into somebody's home and immediately insist on attention no matter what they were doing. But ringing phones are like that. So I definitely notice some politeness-related anxiety when I call people.
I also notice a little bit of stage fright with both phone calls and voicemails. Phones rob you of almost all the in-person feedback that lets you judge reaction. And they also don't allow the sort of self-checking and self-editing that text messages and email do. Once you say something dumb or get caught in an awkward pause, it's just out there.
Neither really bothers me, I happily call people and leave voicemails as needed. But I definitely notice the feelings.
I'm looking forward to the day when you can buy a SIM card from a cell carrier which offers only data and text, no voice call support.
Also, am I the only one that is mildly disappointed that Coke's headquarters isn't shaped like a huge Coke can?
Probably the largest and most sophisticated in the world.
1.7 billions coca cola beverages are consumed every single day.
Coca cola carries more than 3,500 SKUs
There are 33 non-alcoholic brands that generate over $1 billion in annual revenue. Coca-Cola owns 15 of them.
-David
I do not want people having that many ways to contact (interrupt) me.
You can get these now. Get an LTE USB stick sim and add a $10 text package to it. You can add voice as well, but why bother.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-block-phone-calls...
Is this hyperbole? If you will suffer my pontifications for a moment, i would argue that :
Voice is a poor substitute for face to face communication, as great detail in body language is lost.
Further, text is a poor substitute for voice since great detail in inflection and tone is lost.
While it is true that a great majority of my conversations at work are by text/email, i would maintain that my most productive/useful ones are still face-to-face.
This principle applies even more strongly to conversations with my friends and family.
I am quite curious as to if you would fully give up voice for remote communication?
This is absolutely ridiculous. Do you expect Subway's headquarters to be shaped like a cold-cut sandwich?
In all seriousness, The Coca-Cola Company produces and distributes only their syrup concentrate to franchisees, whom bottle it for sale. Yes they have a subsidiary which oversees North American production and distribution of beverages, however that is the only one they own and operate.
And, with that in mind, their headquarters should resemble a large bag of goo instead of their trademark bottles.
What's wrong with a bit of whimsy and/or promoting a bit of esprit du corps? And in a F500 consumer company, if you can make something iconic always be used as a stock photo in articles about your business, sector, or region, it probably is a bonus.
That's not to suggest that I would want to work in a building shaped like a bottle, a can, a newspaper, toilet bowl cleaner, or anything other than a building.
Before cell phones were introduced here, almost every one in middle class had someone bring them an answering machine. When cell phones started showing up, thou, people didn't use voice mails that much.
Today, when you wanna talk to someone and they're not available, you just leave a text or a WhatsApp message. If it's not that important, they'll just see their missed calls and call you back.
This article made me remember that when I started working in the US, my boss got mad many times because I NEVER checked my voice mails so I missed meetings etc. Haha!
I had that problem too. Now, the company phone system emails voice messages left on voice mail. It's very effective, and I never miss a voice message now. I like to think they did that because of me (but probably not).
I get very few voicemails, but I don't see a point in disabling this feature entirely, in on personal line.
The right way to do it is to email people and inform them that a secure system has Very Important Information for them and that they should sign in using pre-arranged credentials to check it. Even that email can be a HIPAA violation if you do it wrong -- for example, "Hiya Jane Smith, Dr. Foo OBGYN has important information for you" has been held to be a violation since Foo should have reasonably anticipated that some patients would be living with family and sharing email with them and disclosing a non-minor's pregnancy/etc to their parents without their consent is a per se violation.
Ditto putting similar information into voicemails / SMSes / etc. Technical violations of the rules are rampant and enforcement actions are comparatively rare, particularly at smaller medical providers.
Consequently, none of my doctors have a voicemail, so I'm forced to use their app to communicate with them, even if I just want a "you and/or kids are probably ok, come in if things get worse" confirmation.
Very few have an "answering service" that has a real person transcribe and page the doctor (and advise you call 911 if it sounds like an emergency) but I imagine this is too expensive for most.
Basically, routine reminders and test results are fine over a secure site with email notifications, but for lots of other things email is less than appropriate.
A lot of my customers in the UAE and Singapore Region have switched to one of calling directly, and expecting you will always answer (Dubai), or alternatively making extensive use of Whatsapp/Whatsapp groups (Singapore).
Voicemail though? Completely dead.
Now I can see the reason for ditching voice mail if this is how some people are dodging responsibility. Seen that, where people will ignore calls and pretend to not be present. Instant messengers only work if they are mandatory, where I am you can simply leave it off so again your "not there". Many email programs can block return receipts.
So what problem are they really trying to solve?
The last job I had where I had voicemail I refused to check it. Not because I was dodging work, but because listening to long, rambling voicemails is time-consuming and irritating. I can skim through a rambling email very, very quickly to get the information I need. I can also search my old emails quickly and easily. Neither of those things is true for voicemail.
That's exactly the problem. Voice mail has the wrong kind of contract - it takes very little effort from the demanding party, and too much effort from the demanded party.
Voice mail is, like texting, an asynchronous method of communication, but it requires more hardware and mental context switching to receive and respond to voice messages.
I think the biggest hurdle to adopting something like this is going to be the different perception of voice mail (and phone calls in general) between generations.
I am imagining an AI layer which can skip over parts of video//voice messages for you, giving you the content you want.
Instead, send a very short email with the content in the title and <EOM>. You're done.
(And no, Google Voice transcription isn't good enough.)
I know so many people that will only text and not hold an actual voice conversation. It's really irritating to say the least. In general if it's a short "I'm running late, eta 20 min" or "heading to the store, let me know if you need anything" I'll text (the store list is even better that way, it's written down... But anything more than that and a one-two minute conversation is better.
I've been a rabbid google voice (formerly grand central) user for several years now.. I love the voicemail transcription. The only annoyance is I have to "press 1" to answer, and that's harder to do while driving... no idea why it isn't "press one, or say 'answer' to answer". Just the same, getting rid of it altogether is ridiculous. Having GV-like integration with their desktop and phone platforms would have been a better move all around.
My two issues come down to.. A) Keeping work time and personal time separated.. and B) From the outside how are you supposed to reach anyone?
We run Asterisk, when I get a voicemail it is as an mp3 in my email. I know the caller ID, when it was left and how long it is before I choose to listen to it.
It is totally useful.
It has always boggled me that I can't choose "send audio message" from my smart phone's contacts without a third party app - a feature that I use on watsapp regularly.
My goodness, that's annoying. b^) You're certainly not the only one. At least once a week I leave someone a several-minute voicemail with specific detailed information, questions, or instructions. Then ten minutes later they call back, "what did you want?" MFW...
Keep in mind, these are people whom I would gladly send an email, if they would read their email more than occasionally.
Unfortunately people don't realize the 3rd rule of Dr. Luther Waxling: "Just because it happened to you doesn't make it interesting" (at 1:24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGfc2zZ2PQI)
The issue is that most people have no idea how to communicate and voicemail is a very painful method to be forced to endure from someone who cant get to the point.
Email generally takes more effort to produce (since its not as much of a train of "thought") and its way easier to summarize as the consumer, so you can just hunt out the golden info in the pile of crap.
1) why yes, the words "current" and "Nortel" should never be associated, but that's where we are
Emails, I see many... Some I bucket off and group delete daily.. others I have to spend half an hour a day to sift through... it's a pain. Especially reply chains... Though I'd just as soon use IRC, getting people to use slack hasn't been so bad (there are hipchat and others)... I'm not a huge fan of IM either though.
How on earth do they do that???
I highly suggest you do the same. The only person who've noticed so far is my mother.
1) There were no answering machines and no cordless phones, much less mobile. If you called someone at home, and they didn't answer, you just tried later. If you called someone at a business, everyone had a secretary who could pick up if they didn't answer. She (and it was always "she") would write your message on a message slip (they were generally pink) and put it on the person's desk. Or, for smaller businesses, you called the main number, and the operator would connect you, and take a message if no answer.
2) Home answering machines happened. They used cassette tapes, and you could rewind and replay your messages. The outgoing greeting was on a second tape. When you got home, or if you were screening your calls, you'd see a blinking light indicating "new message", then hit buttons to rewind and play your messages. When the tape got full you could put in a new tape or write over the old messages. For businesses, phone systems became smarter and could take voicemail, but this was expensive, many businesses still used the old people-intensive way for messages, and many businesses preferred this because customers liked talking to a real person to leave a message.
3) Mobile phones with SMS became available to consumers. (We are into the 90s now). I don't recall this being especially popular at first, most people still left voicemails, even on mobile phones. But SMS became more and more used over the next decade plus (before smartphones when they exploded in popularity).
4) Fast forward to today. People born after 1980 or so, I find, really don't do voicemail at all, text messaging is the thing. If you leave them a voicemail, it doesn't get listened to. The best you can expect is a callback or a text message because they saw you called, but the usual response is nothing. For businesses, some form of instant messaging (IM) is prevalent inside the company. The IM might say "Hey do you have a minute to talk OTP?" but no one just calls someone else cold, much less leaves a voicemail and expects a response.
IMO stage (1) actually worked fine, and now that we are at stage (4) that works fine too (as long as you don't pretend voicemail is a thing and use other means of communication). The intermediate stages were awkward at best.
I think Coca-Cola's action makes a ton of sense for any company. Maybe it was fear of legal discovery that prompted it, maybe it was what they said (streamlining operations), but it is a good thing, IMO.
Funny, I had the opposite response. Since it was Coca Cola HQ that ditched VM, I was guessing they didn't want those records around. (Sarbanes-Oxley requires maintaining the VMs IIRC).
As many point out, there's more verbosity to a VM than email/text, and that can work against you in bad situations, like an investigation.
Only voicemails most people get are corporations calling for whatever reason.
Land lines have gone away in the younger demographics, unless you have children and need a home phone line for emergency reasons.