"If this call is urgent ..."
So my office voicemail message specifies that if your call is urgent and you need to reach me right away, to call my cell number.
It's intended to give people with a legitimate need to reach me another way to do so that will, in all likelihood, get my attention. Say, the administration of my childrens' schools, for example, or someone who might have my work number listed as an emergency contact for a friend or relative.
Unfortunately, the PR hacks I work with seem to think that this means them. It doesn't. I'm regularly called on my cell phone to be reminded of a press release they sent my by e-mail, or to find out if I'm interested in speaking with their client or their employer about a new product release.
99 times out of 100, I'm not. I find it intrusive. It irritates me to no end that they think it's okay to do so, but I don't want to get snarky about it, especially in my voicemail message. Any suggestions?
Comments
Perhaps change it to "if you have an emergency, please call..."? That's what my boss does on his office line.
Posted by: Rufo Sanchez | July 25, 2005 11:48 AM
For a little while I worked with University students at a student paper. they had my number in case of a any problems.
they thought that this included not knowing where the paper for the printer was (I got 3 calls from 3 different idiots one night).
Like Rufo suggests I changed it from troubles/problems to Emergencies. I finally got the editors together and explained what I meant by EMERGENCIES. {Fires, free beer, melting computers, problems with computers that were not fixed by turning the fucker off for a second etc)...
The term emergency has a fairly specific meaning in most people's mind and I'd guess that most of the PR folks would get that.
Posted by: Cameron | July 25, 2005 07:40 PM
For a little while I worked with University students at a student paper. they had my number in case of a any problems.
they thought that this included not knowing where the paper for the printer was (I got 3 calls from 3 different idiots one night).
Like Rufo suggests I changed it from troubles/problems to Emergencies. I finally got the editors together and explained what I meant by EMERGENCIES. {Fires, free beer, melting computers, problems with computers that were not fixed by turning the fucker off for a second etc)...
The term emergency has a fairly specific meaning in most people's mind and I'd guess that most of the PR folks would get that.
Posted by: Cameron | July 25, 2005 07:40 PM
OMG DOUBLE POST.. SORRY.
Posted by: Cameron | July 26, 2005 08:38 AM
Yeah say in the "event of an emergency"...
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge | July 27, 2005 10:32 AM
first post from a psp!
Posted by: utterer | July 27, 2005 11:53 AM
Utterer is a show off.
Posted by: Cameron | July 27, 2005 02:02 PM
You could always blog about it, and hope the PR hacks read about it. Or, when they call, you can politely explain to them that your cell phone is not for PR hacks but for emergencies in the Boston metro area. Hell. that would make a good outgoing message admendment.
Posted by: Jason Whong | July 27, 2005 08:22 PM