AIBU to expect callers, to leave a voicemail if I am unavailable?

[NeedToTakeTimeToChill]

AIBU to think, if you have called me and I didn't answer, LEAVE A VOICEMAIL MESSAGE.

Back in the day, if I called someone up, and they didn't answer, I responded to their answer machine message with "Hi this is NeedToTake, please give me a call back on XXXXX XXXXXX", or maybe a bit more detailed if a work call.

Why do people no longer do this? Why do I have to play the - who has called me game? or call the number and say "someone from this number called me" only to be told they haven't a clue what I am talking about.

So, I had a hospital appointment last week and had to have a biopsy. I'm waiting for the results. So last night at 6.30pm I got a call from a hospital I've never been to (not the one I went to, so it is a bit mysterious). It went to voicemail but left no message. So I called the number back and no one had a clue what I was talking about.

And so, I spent the whole of last night stressed out. Why are they calling me up? Is it about my results?

This morning I called it again and no one has a clue. So I have to play the waiting game again and I have spent the whole morning with my phone in my pocket at work.

AIBU to think this is what voicemail is for, and leaving a basic voicemail message if you have called someone is just basic manners.

I work in a hospital. We are instructed never to leave a voicemail, as we don’t know who might pick it up, potentially breaching confidentiality.

I get a fair number of spam calls and I never answer a call from someone not in my contacts. That means that I can miss a valid call. My voicemail message states that I will only return missed calls if the caller leaves me a message

I think a lot has to do with GDPR. They do not know who might pick up the voicemail. I can understand why you are annoyed though.

OK, I see the point then.

Still stressed out though!

@nocoolnamesleftyou may have a point but as most hospitals calling have ‘no caller id’ many may not pick it up. You could just say ‘this is for Jane Doe. Please call Mary Smith on ….’ You don’t have to say Dr or where you are calling from.

NHS is generally pretty dysfunctional, not only regarding voicemails

Most hospitals can't leave voicemails as it's considered a potential privacy breach. Annoying though!

I've noticed this too. I never leave voicemails anymore as I don't expect people to listen to them.

Let’s be honest would you know a consultant’s name off the back of your hand without saying he’s from hospital ?

I work in a hospital and often leave voicemails. Very basic information though so as not to identify anything but the amount of people who do not listen to their voicemails is unbelievable! We often say ‘ we left a voicemail’ and they reply with ‘ oh I never check them!’

Can’t bloody win

The GDPR thing is interesting. Surely if I give you my number, I’m inviting you to share information with me? Just a thought. But I guess there is a risk and some circumstances where somebody else might attempt to access my voicemail.

I don’t return calls unless I get a voicemail and I don’t answer numbers I’m not familiar with.

Why not ring the hospital that you had the tests done at to see if the results are back?

Wrong number, sales call, spam ?

I FEEL YOUR PAIN! As has been said though, with medical things they don't like to leave messages because of privacy and data protection etc,... It is annoying though, especially when it's the GP or hospital or clinic.

My GP Practice has this annoying habit of phoning at about 5.45pm on a Friday, and if I miss the call (because my phone was in another room/on the patio table outside/if I was in the shower etc,) I can't find out who it is who was phoning or what they wanted because as you say, they don't leave a message!

Sometimes I don't notice they have phoned until about 6.15 to 6.30pm, but I can never manage to get through to them even if they ring at 5.45pm to 5.50pm, (and I don't get to the phone in time.) Because even if I just miss them and ring back within 1 minute, I'm oten between No 5 and 9 in the queue at 5.49pm, and they often close before my call goes through. As soon as it hits 6pm, the pre-recorded message switches from 'sorry to keep you waiting, you are 6th/5th/4th in the queue' to 'we are sorry we are now closed, please ring 999 if it's an emergency etc etc....'

Then when I DO speak to them on the Monday, no-one has a fucking clue why anyone rang me! There's nothing on my file. NOTHING! About 10 days later I get a letter saying I need to come in for a medicine review, or make an appointment with a GP because of the result from my bloods or something. So it emerges that this is what they wanted, but they took over a week to send me a letter! Sometimes it NEVER emerges what they rang for! Highly annoying!

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I have the voicemail disabled on my phone so no one can leave a message. If it's that important they'll phone back.

The OP doesn't want to disable her voicemail though, she wants people to leave a message, and not just ring with no message, because she's frustrated because she doesn't know why they have phoned. Then when she rings them back, the person she speaks to in the company or NHS department who have rung her have no clue who rung her or what they wanted.

I've noticed that doctors/community teams/hospitals calls all have a display number which is the same regardless of where they call from.

I've added that to my address book so at least I know it's the NHS that have called and it's not an entire mystery.

Wrong number, sales call, spam.....

If you Google the number, there are sites such as WhoCalledMe? which will tell you if the number has been associated with spam or scam calls.

I trust that if they need to leave a message, they will. Or if it's urgent and they can't leave a message for whatever reason they will call back (or send an email or a text).

I think a message that just says "hello, I called you, please call me back" is completely pointless tbh. I know you called me. I can see your missed call! If you're going to leave a message at least make it informative as to why you called!

I agree with the first poster re confidentiality, buy also IME no one listens to voicemail.

You leave a detailed message but still get a call saying someone called me from this number.

Aside from businesses, hospitals etc who may be thinking about GDPR, the correct etiquette for friends, family etc is to hang up and leave a WhatsApp/ text message that the person can read.

i have a few appts with various NHS professionals, they generally leave a message like this: ‘hello it’s XXX calling from OOOO department. Please can you call me on OXOXOXOXOX at your earliest convince.’ They dont use my name (assume because the wrong person could pick it, so potentially if the wrong person did pick it up the patient could deny they are under xxx department and say it must be a wrong number). But, it gives me the name and direct number of the HCP I need to talk to, it also means I’ll recognise the number the next time they call.

We leave the briefest of voicemails and people ring back without listening to them. Absolutely frustrating as you've passed the message on twice.

Friends-no. Think it's been that way for a long time, over a decade ago people joked about how only texts should be left.
Businesses/hospital etc, yes. Because it's so hard to get through to them! Yes data protection, but why not let us all select that messages may (or may not) be left? They send us texts, occasional actual letters and emails with info that could potentially be read by anyone else, or is as likely to be as a voice mail, so what is the difference?

I leave an basic voice mail working in the nhs if I have tried a few time and not got through. But depending on what phone I am calling from it shows a general hospital number outgoing not specific phone I am call from or I call from my mobile which is with held numbers. It's to stop issues when patients call us and leave an urgent and very important message but on a phone thay is say in a clinic room that is only used once a month or used by multiple different departments.