Delivery of voice mail can hit some snags at times

The message on my voice mail that started with, “You have reached Karina Bland …” made my friend Maren crazy.

“I have NOT reached Karina Bland!” she would respond. (Every. Single. Time.) “I have reached Karina Bland’s voicemail!” Eventually I changed it to “You have reached the voicemail of Karina Bland …” I mean, she was right.

So, I could relate to reader Lori Rubin Williamson when she asked me to write about how people regularly say on voicemail messages, “I will call you at my earliest convenience.”

It makes her crazy.

She understands it is probably influenced by the phrase, “Please call me at your earliest convenience.” However,

your earliest convenience is polite, while my earliest convenience is not.

I agree. It sounds like I won’t be high on your priority list, which is fine if I’m calling about happy hour but not if it’s

important.

And listen, there are a few other things about voicemail that bother me. “I’m not available to take your call

right now.” Yeah, I know. That’s why it went to voicemail.

“You know what to do.” Yes, I know what to do. It’s 2019. We’ve been doing this for years.

My friend Lisa doesn’t leave voicemails but assumes you’ll notice the missed call and call back. (I assume you butt-dialed me.)

If you leave a voicemail, keep it short (my friend Lori once left me a 41⁄2-minute voicemail) and give a hint as to why you’re calling.

If I leave you a voicemail, listen to it. That’s what voicemail is for.

“No one listens to voicemail,” Maren’s daughter Sonnet, who’s 39, said. It’s true of many young people.

Instead I get a return call from the person. “Hi. You called?” I did.

“What’s up?” I said what’s up in my voicemail. Did you listen to it?

“No, I thought this would be quicker.” Are you trying to make me crazy?

Reach Karina Bland at 602-444-8614 or karina.bland@arizonarepublic.com.