The antisocial omg-actual-human-contact-omg Millennial Assburger generation scores a strategic tech victory in the workplace.
QuoteCoca-Cola Disconnects Voice Mail at Headquarters
By Duane D. Stanford - Dec 22, 2014
Bloomberg
Forget about leaving a voice mail at Coca-Cola Co.'s (KO) Atlanta headquarters. Send a text instead.
Office voice mail at the world's largest soft-drink maker was shut down "to simplify the way we work and increase productivity," according to an internal memo from Chief Information Officer Ed Steinike. The change went into effect this month, and a standard outgoing message now throws up an electronic stiff arm, telling callers to try later or use "an alternative method" to contact the person.
Coca-Cola is one of the biggest companies yet to ditch its old-style voice mail, which requires users to push buttons to scroll through messages and listen to them one at a time. Landline voice mail is increasingly redundant now that smartphones are ubiquitous and texting is as routine as talking.
"Most people have it, but they don't end up using it," said Vishy Gopalakrishnan, who manages AT&T Inc. (T)'s unified communications unit. "There are ways to get around it."
The Nov. 6 memo announcing the change at Coca-Cola created a stir among some employees, who assumed it was part of a program to cut $3 billion in annual expenses by 2019. That plan, which was announced in October in response to a global sales slump, has caused growing unease inside the company over the possibility of firings.
The savings from eliminating voice mail will be less than $100,000 a year, said Amanda Rosseter, a Coke spokeswoman. The decision had more to do with simplifying work than trimming costs, she said.
Younger Workers
Techies have predicted the death of voice mail for years as smartphones co-opt much of the office work once performed by telephones and desktop computers. Younger employees who came of age texting while largely ignoring voice mail are bringing that habit into the workforce.
"People north of 40 are schizophrenic about voice mail," said Michael Schrage, a research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management's Center for Digital Business. "People under 35 scarcely ever use it."
Coca-Cola, which so far has cut voice mail at its Atlanta office complex and a nearby technology center, allowed employees to keep it if they claimed a "business critical need."
About 6 percent of workers opted to retain it, Rosseter said. Use of the office-based system had been declining, according to the memo.
"Many people in many corporations simply don't have the time or desire to spend 25 minutes plowing through a stack of 15 to 25 voice mails at the end or beginning of the day," said Schrage, who wrote in a September 2013 Harvard Business Review article that it was "time to hang up on voice mail."
Eliminating Overlap
Companies are increasingly combining telephone, e-mail, text and video systems into unified Internet-based systems that eliminate overlap, said AT&T's Gopalakrishnan.
Smartphones show a list of names next to voice mails, making it easier to choose which ones to ignore, and office phone calls can be easily transferred to those devices. Some can even convert voice-mail messages into texts that can then be sent via e-mail.
Companies may eventually choose to eliminate landlines altogether as the workforce becomes more mobile, said Craig Wigginton, who runs Deloitte & Touche's global telecommunications consulting practice.
Wigginton said he spends most of his work life traveling and only occasionally steps into his office in New York City. When his phone there rings, it goes to his computer, no matter where he is in the world.
"People can work remotely better and more flexibly than in the past," he said. "Just like you have cord-cuttings at home, I would call this a little bit of a cord-cutting in the corporate environment as well."
Why do you hate progress? :(
Can't do this at my work place, unless the phone system is changed to allow texting. Hmm, maybe it does allow texting, never tried it. :hmm:
Good riddance. There are far more efficient ways to get in touch with someone these days.
QuoteCompanies may eventually choose to eliminate landlines altogether as the workforce becomes more mobile
We'll not get phones in our project rooms next year as everybody has a corporate mobile phone anyway. Maybe one of those spider things for having conference calls with multiple participants. I guess the VOIP phones we have might be cheaper when calling overseas, but that's about the only reason I can think of to keep them.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 10:34:13 AM
The antisocial omg-actual-human-contact-omg Millennial Assburger generation scores a strategic tech victory in the workplace.
It isn't anti social, it is more efficient. If you get a voicemail, you have to pull out a notepad and write down the key points (like call back number), then avoid losing the paper. I usually ended up having to replay a rambling message several times. You know there is a system where the caller can do the transcription for you and put it in a place the message won't be lost? It is called email. No human contact is being lost--there isn't anything about taking away phones, and talking to a machine isn't more social than writing an email.
You also don't have the hastle of updating a voicemail message for when you are out of the office for an afternoon.
I've never used my voice mail. Always annoys me when people whine at me for not getting a message they supposidely left on it. Good move
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 10:50:00 AM
Good riddance. There are far more efficient ways to get in touch with someone these days.
Yeah, like getting up, going to your office, and then making your goofy self-isolating ass even more uncomfortable than using the fucking phone. I can do that.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 11:14:45 AM
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 10:50:00 AM
Good riddance. There are far more efficient ways to get in touch with someone these days.
Yeah, like getting up, going to your office, and then making your goofy self-isolating ass even more uncomfortable than using the fucking phone. I can do that.
:hmm: I'll just text security to escort you out.
CdM would have attributed the replacement of the Pony Express by the telegraph to anti social assburgers too.
The one downside IMO is the extra work created for the caller.
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 11:33:16 AM
:hmm: I'll just text security to escort you out.
Not if I am security, numbnuts. Now come with me and get an updated ID photo, because you've been dodging me for 2 months.
Quote from: Tyr on December 24, 2014, 11:13:41 AM
I've never used my voice mail. Always annoys me when people whine at me for not getting a message they supposidely left on it. Good move
Same. It's just pointless.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 24, 2014, 11:38:44 AM
CdM would have attributed the replacement of the Pony Express by the telegraph to anti social assburgers too.
Increasingly insulated and isolated workplaces filled by Millennial ass twats with more fucking social anxiety disorders than you can shake a stick at lose the ability to discern in email what one can otherwise interpret in a telephone conversation, and even voice mail. But by all means, keep eliminating the avenues to interact with other human beings effectively. That will do wonders for everybody involved.
Let's all waste time writing unnecessary emails back and forth, misinterpreting intentions with your "A is A" lack of nuance, when it can all be resolved by a conversation--even a one-way conversation like voice mail.
I so rarely get voicemail that when I actually do, it's been so long that I have to change my password before hearing the message, every damn time and that message will be my father saying "It's me, call back.".
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 24, 2014, 11:48:27 AM
Quote from: Tyr on December 24, 2014, 11:13:41 AM
I've never used my voice mail. Always annoys me when people whine at me for not getting a message they supposidely left on it. Good move
Same. It's just pointless.
Et tu, Shiv? I expected it from Sir Sourpuss-upon-Avon, but not you. Disappointing.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 11:57:33 AM
Quote from: alfred russel on December 24, 2014, 11:38:44 AM
CdM would have attributed the replacement of the Pony Express by the telegraph to anti social assburgers too.
Increasingly insulated and isolated workplaces filled by Millennial ass twats with more fucking social anxiety disorders than you can shake a stick at lose the ability to discern in email what one can otherwise interpret in a telephone conversation, and even voice mail. But by all means, keep eliminating the avenues to interact with other human beings effectively. That will do wonders for everybody involved.
Let's all waste time writing unnecessary emails back and forth, misinterpreting intentions with your "A is A" lack of nuance, when it can all be resolved by a conversation--even a one-way conversation like voice mail.
I think miscommunication is less likely in an email than a voicemail, but that aside, the trend in workpaces isn't insulation and isolation: the cube is increasingly being retired to go to open workspaces, and even where it is being retained the walls are being lowered so that you can see people from all angles when standing. Office spaces are being designed in ways to facilitate discussions between different levels of the organization and different teams in common spaces.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 11:57:33 AM
Increasingly insulated and isolated workplaces filled by Millennial ass twats with more fucking social anxiety disorders than you can shake a stick at lose the ability to discern in email what one can otherwise interpret in a telephone conversation, and even voice mail. But by all means, keep eliminating the avenues to interact with other human beings effectively. That will do wonders for everybody involved.
Let's all waste time writing unnecessary emails back and forth, misinterpreting intentions with your "A is A" lack of nuance, when it can all be resolved by a conversation--even a one-way conversation like voice mail.
The whole point of a mobile phone is that you are mobile and not tied to your desk. That allows you to actually meet your co-workers to talk and still be available for others via the phone.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 24, 2014, 12:04:38 PM
I think miscommunication is less likely in an email than a voicemail,
You're making the dangerous assumption that individuals possess the ability to convey their message cogently and lucidly in writing. That is becoming a dying art form with the modern workforce, and that is why you are wrong.
Quotebut that aside, the trend in workpaces isn't insulation and isolation: the cube is increasingly being retired to go to open workspaces, and even where it is being retained the walls are being lowered so that you can see people from all angles when standing. Office spaces are being designed in ways to facilitate discussions between different levels of the organization and different teams in common spaces.
That would depend on the industry and the particular workplace, now wouldn't it?
I'll have my secretary take the message. I'm busy.
Seedy ranting about other people with social anxiety disorders is OSSUM.
Quote from: Berkut on December 24, 2014, 12:37:54 PM
Seedy ranting about other people with social anxiety disorders is OSSUM.
That's because I have none. A foul disposition is not a disorder. That's kind of like confusing Tourette's with a bad attitude.
Keep on fighting the good fight against these Assburgers Seedy.
So what, is it just going to ring and ring now?
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 10:50:00 AM
Good riddance. There are far more efficient ways to get in touch with someone these days.
No shit. Hope this helps thin out those who can't adapt.
Derspicy hates Seedy.
God, I hope I never get that old.
Quote from: 11B4V on December 24, 2014, 01:39:07 PM
So what, is it just going to ring and ring now?
Apparently the conduct and commerce of business between human beings is going to be optional.
Quote from: derspiess on December 24, 2014, 01:44:06 PM
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 10:50:00 AM
Good riddance. There are far more efficient ways to get in touch with someone these days.
No shit. Hope this helps thin out those who can't adapt.
Enjoy spending 40 minutes texting a conversation that could be over in 40 seconds.
You know, not having voice mail doesn't mean that you cannot call someone...
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 02:00:21 PM
Quote from: derspiess on December 24, 2014, 01:44:06 PM
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 10:50:00 AM
Good riddance. There are far more efficient ways to get in touch with someone these days.
No shit. Hope this helps thin out those who can't adapt.
Enjoy spending 40 minutes texting a conversation that could be over in 40 seconds.
+1
Customer service goes in the crapper. So much for just talking to people.
Quote from: katmai on December 24, 2014, 01:46:39 PM
Derspicy hates Seedy.
No, I just want him to adapt. #toughlove
Not that it isn't often vastly easier to talk to somebody (note talking, and not recording an audio message on antiquated technology) a huge advantage of written official communication is that it's written. As in, serves as evidence of what was told and understood.
Also a huge disadvantage.
The wiretaps will level this field.
To be honest I don't remember the last time anyone has ever left me voice mail message at work or I left a message on anyone's voice mail. It is much more efficient to send an e-mail.
In fact, people should be discouraged from using phone as it is much more disruptive.
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 03:09:44 PM
To be honest I don't remember the last time anyone has ever left me voice mail message at work or I left a message on anyone's voice mail. It is much more efficient to send an e-mail.
In fact, people should be discouraged from using phone as it is much more disruptive.
:yes: Calling someone forces them to interrupt what they're doing, right there and then.
But see, that's the great thing about voice mail, for all you anti-social fruitcakes: you don't even have to talk to me, just listen. I can address each and every question you posed in your email directly, succinctly and efficiently, without spending the time to compose a lengthy email--with the added bonus that you don't even have to call me back! See how that works? Your cloistered goofy-ass work environment is nice and secure from having to deal with another human!
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 03:25:58 PM
:yes: Calling someone forces them to interrupt what they're doing, right there and then.
Unless you're a 911 operator, you're not required to answer the phone. But I can see how you Assburgers would feel compelled to press the lever for your treat. And you people call me old-fashioned: at least I know where the DND button is on the fucking phone.
You're becoming increasingly unhinged. I say this because I'm on your side.
Quote from: Ideologue on December 24, 2014, 03:33:12 PM
You're becoming increasingly unhinged. I say this because I'm on your side.
Reducing or eliminating the available means of communication in the workplace is not a good idea.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 03:29:38 PM
But see, that's the great thing about voice mail, for all you anti-social fruitcakes: you don't even have to talk to me, just listen. I can address each and every question you posed in your email directly, succinctly and efficiently, without spending the time to compose a lengthy email--with the added bonus that you don't even have to call me back! See how that works? Your cloistered goofy-ass work environment is nice and secure from having to deal with another human!
:huh: You answer e-mails by voice mail? Seriously? And you can do that more efficiently than by e-mail? Sounds like the problem is with your writing skills rather than with the voice communication skills of the more fresh humans.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 03:41:43 PM
Reducing or eliminating the available means of communication in the workplace is not a good idea.
But I don't think anyone else uses voicemail for communication as opposed to, say, leaving a message saying 'sorry I missed you, call me back' :mellow:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 03:41:43 PM
Quote from: Ideologue on December 24, 2014, 03:33:12 PM
You're becoming increasingly unhinged. I say this because I'm on your side.
Reducing or eliminating the available means of communication in the workplace is not a good idea.
It is a good idea if it forces old stubborn fossils to learn how to communicate more effectively.
I think Languish should go to an all-voicemail basis.
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 03:47:17 PM
:huh: You answer e-mails by voice mail? Seriously? And you can do that more efficiently than by e-mail? Sounds like the problem is with your writing skills rather than with the voice communication skills of the more fresh humans.
If I can address someone's issue or answer their questions in the quickest way possible, I will do so--even if that means by leaving a voice mail. Some of us have had responsibilities that carry us beyond our desks, and get too goddamned many emails as it is.
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 24, 2014, 03:50:55 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 03:41:43 PM
Reducing or eliminating the available means of communication in the workplace is not a good idea.
But I don't think anyone else uses voicemail for communication as opposed to, say, leaving a message saying 'sorry I missed you, call me back' :mellow:
or leaving you a message telling you they're going to email you.
Quote from: Ideologue on December 24, 2014, 03:54:44 PM
I think Languish should go to an all-voicemail basis.
I disagree; we should print out all posts, wrap them around bricks, and bludgeon the living fuck out of each other. I get to go first.
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 03:25:58 PM
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 03:09:44 PM
To be honest I don't remember the last time anyone has ever left me voice mail message at work or I left a message on anyone's voice mail. It is much more efficient to send an e-mail.
In fact, people should be discouraged from using phone as it is much more disruptive.
:yes: Calling someone forces them to interrupt what they're doing, right there and then.
Exactly. Sure there are cases when a phone call is more efficient (although even then, in most cases you could just send an e-mail asking for a call back). But in 9 cases out of 10, someone calling you could more efficiently communicate with you via e-mjail and they are simply prioritising their laziness over your time.
If I get a voicemail that is more than 5 seconds long I delete it and hang up and text or email asking them to get back to me.
Phone is superior to email when there are follow up questions or back and forth involved.
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 24, 2014, 03:50:55 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 03:41:43 PM
Reducing or eliminating the available means of communication in the workplace is not a good idea.
But I don't think anyone else uses voicemail for communication as opposed to, say, leaving a message saying 'sorry I missed you, call me back' :mellow:
Which is redundant in the day and age of caller ID. So the only people who need to use voicemail for this purpose are assholes who hide their caller ID.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 24, 2014, 03:59:38 PM
Phone is superior to email when there are follow up questions or back and forth involved.
True, but instant messaging is superiorer in that case.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 24, 2014, 03:59:38 PM
Phone is superior to email when there are follow up questions or back and forth involved.
Yeah but I already addressed it in my post - the common courtesy demands that you send someone an e-mail asking when they are free to talk and explaining what you would like to talk about so they are prepared.
This thread is not about whether phones should be abolished but whether voicemail is needed or useful - and all comments are made in that context. Once again you demonstrate your inability or unwillingness to interpret posts in the context they are made. I don't know whether this is some intellectual failing or another reason on your part.
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 04:01:00 PM
Which is redundant in the day and age of caller ID. So the only people who need to use voicemail for this purpose are assholes who hide their caller ID.
And office messengers.
I generally used phone a lot but that was because my colleagues and higher-ups did.
The CdM method of leaving voicemails of questions seems an odd combination of the least efficient and most irksome for the other person :mellow:
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 04:02:44 PM
Yeah but I already addressed it in my post - the common courtesy demands that you send someone an e-mail asking when they are free to talk and explaining what you would like to talk about so they are prepared.
I don't know anyone else who thinks etiquette requires the setting of phone dates. :lol:
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 24, 2014, 04:04:01 PM
The CdM method of leaving voicemails of questions seems an odd combination of the least efficient and most irksome for the other person :mellow:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 24, 2014, 03:55:12 PM
If I can address someone's issue or answer their questions in the quickest way possible, I will do so--even if that means by leaving a voice mail.
S: it's just like a text that you can barely comprehend, and that's why it's so much more efficient.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 24, 2014, 04:06:42 PM
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 04:02:44 PM
Yeah but I already addressed it in my post - the common courtesy demands that you send someone an e-mail asking when they are free to talk and explaining what you would like to talk about so they are prepared.
I don't know anyone else who thinks etiquette requires the setting of phone dates. :lol:
Lawyers do: every conversation is a potential trap subject to discovery.
Quote from: Sheilbh on December 24, 2014, 04:04:01 PM
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 04:01:00 PM
Which is redundant in the day and age of caller ID. So the only people who need to use voicemail for this purpose are assholes who hide their caller ID.
And office messengers.
I generally used phone a lot but that was because my colleagues and higher-ups did.
The CdM method of leaving voicemails of questions seems an odd combination of the least efficient and most irksome for the other person :mellow:
Yeah. I think phone are useful if you get a question/request by e-mail from someone else and then the answer requires a chat as opposed to a simple e-mail - then you call the person back and discuss. But I find someone calling me out of blue to ask a simple question (where I am usually in the middle of something, cannot answer the question on the spot etc.) very irksome and annoying. As I said already, what aggravates this is that usually the person calling is simply too lazy to write a short e-mail with the request and they are effectively disrupting my work because of that laziness.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 24, 2014, 04:06:42 PM
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 04:02:44 PM
Yeah but I already addressed it in my post - the common courtesy demands that you send someone an e-mail asking when they are free to talk and explaining what you would like to talk about so they are prepared.
I don't know anyone else who thinks etiquette requires the setting of phone dates. :lol:
At my work, anything other than a quick call is usually pre-planned by e-mail.
For the record, as I work in a British law firm, 99% of people I work with (and I do it too) usually send e-mails like "are you free to talk?", "can I call you in the next couple of hours?", "when would you be able to chat?" etc.
It's those uncouth fucks from American law firms who usually call out of blue, usually without having any prior contact with you for weeks, months or at all.
What does CdM care what happens in the workplace?
Too low?
Quote from: DGuller on December 24, 2014, 04:10:20 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 24, 2014, 04:06:42 PM
Quote from: Martinus on December 24, 2014, 04:02:44 PM
Yeah but I already addressed it in my post - the common courtesy demands that you send someone an e-mail asking when they are free to talk and explaining what you would like to talk about so they are prepared.
I don't know anyone else who thinks etiquette requires the setting of phone dates. :lol:
At my work, anything other than a quick call is usually pre-planned by e-mail.
Yeah, most multinationals work this way.
Quote from: The Brain on December 24, 2014, 04:14:55 PM
What does CdM care what happens in the workplace?
Too low?
For you? Par for the course.
Quote from: The Brain on December 24, 2014, 04:14:55 PM
What does CdM care what happens in the workplace?
Too low?
:D
Hope they don't leave those HIV results on voicemail then, cum dumpster.
If I ran a business, I'd eliminate voice-mail too--by having a receptionist to answer the damn phone.
I'd outlaw Mondays!
prawnd :lol:
I'm really mad at MB for fucking up my joke at dps' dumbassed yet real suggestion.
Quote from: Ideologue on December 24, 2014, 06:45:30 PM
I'm really mad at MB for fucking up my joke at dps' dumbassed yet real suggestion.
for once someone is advocating people taking jobs away from machines and you turn on them :(
Quote from: Ideologue on December 24, 2014, 06:45:30 PM
I'm really mad at MB for fucking up my joke at dps' dumbassed yet real suggestion.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2F6%2F6a%2FThe_Grinch_%28That_Stole_Christmas%29.jpg&hash=a844964aca2045863d49efcdf1c90ca8c3596f9b)
If your heart grows any more sizes this day, you might want to see a specialist.
Haven't used voice mail at the office in, oh, over ten years. Hell, at my current job, it's been broken for the last two years without the VOIP company or hardware provide being able to fix it. No one's missing it.
The problem with voice mail is that in many cases I would have to write an email afterwards, anyways, to confirm the contents of the discussion, because a lot of things I do require a paper trail.
I think a big part of the disagreement here is that most of you seem to be thinking in terms of internal communications, while Seedy and I are thinking in terms of communications with customers. News flash to Ide--it's not a dumbass idea to hire someone to answer the phone; customers want to be able to make a call and get to talk to a real, live person instead of a machine, and they sure as hell don't want to send e-mails.
How a company handles internal correspondence is a different story. In general, nobody outside of the company gives a rat's ass how that's done.
Meh, I think it has a lot to do with the environment as well; DGoofball gives me shit about responding to emails with vociemail, and Martinus with his uncouth fucks, but a whole lot of uncouth fucking nurse managers or bucket truck linemen arent always in front of their computers for long after their first cup of coffee.
How many nurse managers and bucket truck linemen work for Coca-Cola?
Quote from: CountDeMoney on December 25, 2014, 11:29:56 AM
Meh, I think it has a lot to do with the environment as well; DGoofball gives me shit about responding to emails with vociemail, and Martinus with his uncouth fucks, but a whole lot of uncouth fucking nurse managers or bucket truck linemen arent always in front of their computers for long after their first cup of coffee.
But they are in front of their office landline phone checking their voicemail?
Nobody uses fucking voicemail, certainly not on office (non-cellular) phones. It is a dead technology. I am sure somewhere someone can find some reason why it would be useful, but for most of the world, that is simply not an effective means of leaving someone a message when you cannot talk to them directly at that particular moment.
This really isn't even an interesting topic. It is blindingly obvious to all of us. The only thing slightly amusing about it is to watch fossils try to pretend like their angst has some bearing in something other than simple bitchiness.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.someecards.com%2Fsomeecards%2Fusercards%2F1335984355218_2311207.png&hash=54b3ac96a7045f15f001ed1e750f05eb3b3e6784)
Quote from: dps on December 25, 2014, 10:23:03 AM
customers want to be able to make a call and get to talk to a real, live person instead of a machine, and they sure as hell don't want to send e-mails.
How a company handles internal correspondence is a different story. In general, nobody outside of the company gives a rat's ass how that's done.
I much prefer emailing to phoning a company. Hate it when companies don't give you that option
Quote from: Berkut on December 25, 2014, 12:29:57 PM
This really isn't even an interesting topic. It is blindingly obvious to all of us. The only thing slightly amusing about it is to watch fossils try to pretend like their angst has some bearing in something other than simple bitchiness.
Go fuck yourself sideways. But since you only need Caller ID, 212-FUCK-YOU
Quote from: dps on December 25, 2014, 10:23:03 AM
I think a big part of the disagreement here is that most of you seem to be thinking in terms of internal communications, while Seedy and I are thinking in terms of communications with customers. News flash to Ide--it's not a dumbass idea to hire someone to answer the phone; customers want to be able to make a call and get to talk to a real, live person instead of a machine, and they sure as hell don't want to send e-mails.
Heh. We must be in very different lines of business. Discussing anything with the customer without leaving a paper trail is a cardinal sin.
Customers? OK, maybe that's worth the $5k a year the Indian contractor gets.
I don't think that's what Money's talking about anyway. Maybe I was wrong.
Quote from: dps on December 25, 2014, 10:23:03 AM
I think a big part of the disagreement here is that most of you seem to be thinking in terms of internal communications, while Seedy and I are thinking in terms of communications with customers. News flash to Ide--it's not a dumbass idea to hire someone to answer the phone; customers want to be able to make a call and get to talk to a real, live person instead of a machine, and they sure as hell don't want to send e-mails.
How a company handles internal correspondence is a different story. In general, nobody outside of the company gives a rat's ass how that's done.
People have an opportunity to keep their voicemail if they think it helps connect with customers. 6% of employees are opting to do so.
Quote from: alfred russel on December 25, 2014, 03:12:56 PM
Quote from: dps on December 25, 2014, 10:23:03 AM
I think a big part of the disagreement here is that most of you seem to be thinking in terms of internal communications, while Seedy and I are thinking in terms of communications with customers. News flash to Ide--it's not a dumbass idea to hire someone to answer the phone; customers want to be able to make a call and get to talk to a real, live person instead of a machine, and they sure as hell don't want to send e-mails.
How a company handles internal correspondence is a different story. In general, nobody outside of the company gives a rat's ass how that's done.
People have an opportunity to keep their voicemail if they think it helps connect with customers. 6% of employees are opting to do so.
Well, I wasn't arguing in favor of voicemail--I was arguing that somebody should actually answer the phone when it rings.
Quote from: dps on December 25, 2014, 07:29:30 PM
Quote from: alfred russel on December 25, 2014, 03:12:56 PM
Quote from: dps on December 25, 2014, 10:23:03 AM
I think a big part of the disagreement here is that most of you seem to be thinking in terms of internal communications, while Seedy and I are thinking in terms of communications with customers. News flash to Ide--it's not a dumbass idea to hire someone to answer the phone; customers want to be able to make a call and get to talk to a real, live person instead of a machine, and they sure as hell don't want to send e-mails.
How a company handles internal correspondence is a different story. In general, nobody outside of the company gives a rat's ass how that's done.
People have an opportunity to keep their voicemail if they think it helps connect with customers. 6% of employees are opting to do so.
Well, I wasn't arguing in favor of voicemail--I was arguing that somebody should actually answer the phone when it rings.
What a concept, eh. :P