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u/hangmansboots Aug 20 '26
And I say it slowly enough that they can write it down.
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u/CurvyChristina Aug 20 '26
I do this exact same thing, because in my head, I’m picturing them writing down the actual number lol
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u/Kinkajou1015 Aug 20 '26
First time say it normally, then second time, "that was..." and be sure to enunciate each digit.
You have no idea how infuriating it is when someone gives me their number and it's like for example 810-555-7944 and they say it, "eight ten, three fives, seventy-nine, two fours." Like were you born in a barn, say each number separately to ensure clarity.
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u/ANONA44G Aug 20 '26
My name is a mouthful, I say it, spell it using the military alphabet, then say it again.
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u/EGOfoodie Aug 20 '26
Eighth hundred and ten. Five hundred fifty five. Seven thousand nine hundred and forty four.
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u/viola_monkey Aug 21 '26
You reminded me of this lol https://youtu.be/Jk-2bQO1Ry4 Pobrecita Consuela!
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u/AadeeMoien Aug 20 '26
I think it's fine to deliver the last 4 as a pair of numbers. Twelve thirty-four is understandable as 1234. Don't mix and match though, either two double digit numbers (including O 1-9) or four numbers.
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u/Kinkajou1015 Aug 20 '26
Nah you do not break the cadence. Digit digit digit, pause, digit digit digit, pause, digit digit, pause, digit digit.
There is an order to this, it is natural law. I had one person give me the number digit digit pause digit digit digit pause digit digit digit digit pause digit. I was like the fuck you say?
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u/ImportanceConnect470 Aug 21 '26
My first voicemail on my cell phone was my dad, and I couldn't answer it because I was in class.
The voicemail went something like this "Hey, it's your dad, just calling to see how the phones working out. I'm on my lunch now at Jason's Deli. I got the Reuben. It was ok. Ok, well I gotta get going, talk to you at home. It's your dad in case you were wondering"
Lol
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u/marthajanepundlekit Aug 20 '26
I get way to many voicemail at work that are unnecessarily long and slow until the caller gets to leaving their return contact and then they blast through the number. Then I have to sit through the entire message again to make sure I got the phone number correct and its insane to me how clueless people can be
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u/LiteralMangina Aug 20 '26
That’s why I start with my name and number, then my message, then repeat the number again
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u/gingasaurusrexx Aug 20 '26
At my university, my work study job was basically listening to voice mails and writing down who called, their number, what they needed, and calling them back if I had the info they needed or passing it to the department head who did.
That job forever changed how I leave messages. It's crazy how people slur through their name and number and how much irrelevant chattering they do. I start with my name, some brief context about my call, and then say name and number. If I don't feel like I said it clearly enough, I'll even add "again, name is X, number is Y" because fuck making someone have to listen to this shit more than once.
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u/RowansRys Aug 20 '26
I had a potential client call me once. Everything in her message was slow and clear as a bell… except for the name of the person who referred her to me, her name (which was long and Slavic), and two numbers in her phone number. And her caller ID was private. I did eventually figure out who she was by extensive Googling around what her name sounded like, but I never called her and she never tried again.
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u/reddit4946 Aug 20 '26
I actually say my phone number (or any number) in an '80s or '90s-style "computer" voice. Since we're all so used to automated voices now, it's always easier for others to understand by doing it that way lol
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u/nothumbs78 Aug 20 '26
I say my name and my phone number at the beginning and end of the message. Sometimes people want to be called on a different number.
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u/Formal-Thing-2888 Aug 20 '26
its like an outro when I end the message "once again, my number is 555-5555, thank you"
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u/EdricStorm Aug 20 '26
I always do it first thing, too, so they don't have to listen to the entire VM twice in case they missed it. Had a customer do that for me once and I was like "this is wonderful and I'm doing it every time"
"Hi, this is <me>. My number is <phone number>. I'm calling for this reason. Again, this is <me> and my number is <phone number>"
But only for businesses. I don't leave VM for family. They get no VM and a text saying "Hey, I was calling for <reason>, hit me up when you can"
Friends get a text and only a text lol
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u/CanadianDinosaur Aug 20 '26
Always end a message with "again, my phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX" !! Some habits are impossible to drop.
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u/Cuckdreams1190 Aug 20 '26
"My number is 1234567890, again, that number is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0."
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u/moreofajordan Aug 20 '26
Crisply and slowly the first time, then “again, that’s…” but a little faster because maybe you only needed to confirm one number I GUESS?
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u/Mysterious-Tie7039 Aug 20 '26
Me too. Nothing more frustrating than someone who says it so fast you can’t make it out.
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u/Blueberry_Rabbit Aug 20 '26
And spell out my last name
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u/hangmansboots Aug 20 '26
Yes, always for me as well because my family name uses a slightly less common spelling.
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u/MorleyDotes Aug 20 '26
I say it at the beginning so that if they didn't get it they don't have to listen to the entire message again just to get the phone number.
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u/TheScrote1 Aug 20 '26
I say it in the beginning too and if it is a particularly long message again at the end
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u/caustictoast Aug 20 '26
lol same. Slowly and twice, gotta make sure they get it (they have caller id)
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u/Embarrassed_Jerk Aug 20 '26
If you are leaving a voicemail then you are already showing your age
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u/WiggingOutOverHere Aug 20 '26
I leave lots of voicemails for work and personal administrative duties. Not like…my friends.
But I also don’t call my friends in general, we just text all Willy Nilly. Haha.
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u/CurvyChristina Aug 20 '26
I also text my friends a lot too, but I also call them a lot because sometimes it’s just nice to hear their voice and have a conversation. :)
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u/Calisky Aug 20 '26
I can't remember the last time I've used my phone to call my friends.
The only time I actually use it as a phone is to pay my mortgage, and if my sister calls me which is still very rare.
Otherwise it's texts, discord, or whatsapp.
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u/MangoMambo Aug 20 '26
I'm absolutely not calling you back if you don't leave a voicemail If I don't know why you called I'm not calling back to find out.
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u/Embarrassed_Jerk Aug 20 '26
There's this thing that these young people use, that might be helpful to you... Text messages
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u/SecondIntermission Aug 20 '26
I only do this at work, where it still makes sense.
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u/Kilane Aug 20 '26
If it makes sense for work then it makes sense for anyone who doesn’t have you listed as a contact.
Any voicemail worth leaving gets my name and number at the start and my number again at the end of the
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u/smokeweedNgarden Aug 20 '26
I mean, my number stays on private. So I need to leave the number. Because they can't see it.
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u/NickDanger3di Aug 20 '26
Or when calling someone at any business, because often the recipient's phone does not display the number of a caller. This is like saying only people from the 1930's needed to turn their heads to back up their car, because every car in the world now has a backup cam.
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u/jazzieberry Aug 20 '26
I hardly bother to answer voicemails now because it's either "I sent you an email but..." or they don't leave thier contact. My call history is just "unknown" on my work phone.
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u/Somethingisshadysir Aug 20 '26
Lots of places still don't have caller ID. My workplace, for instance.
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u/lawragatajar Aug 20 '26
Caller ID wouldn't even help if I'm calling from work. The number that shows up is not the number that called. I have to leave my number if I want the other person to call me back.
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u/W2Sun Aug 24 '26
That and whether people have text transcriptions of their voicemails and/or a time slider it's still just more convenient to hear it twice. For a while I opened my voicemails with my number so they could just replay and it was the first thing, but I went back to saying it twice lol.
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u/GailynStarfire Aug 20 '26
Say your name, your number, the message, your number again, and then goodbye.
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u/old-tennis-shoes Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
Hi, it's [name], calling at [date] [time].
Tried to reach you about [subject].
Please if you could call back or email me, that would be greatly appreciated.
Number is [number]. That's [number].
Email is [email], that's [email].
Thanks -- [name], [date] [time]
Taught this way years ago and while a lot of it is unnecessary today, the information is complete and self-contained and I always get told I leave the "most professional voicemails".
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u/LegateShepard Aug 20 '26
I'm mildly turned on by the efficiency of this protocol.
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u/old-tennis-shoes Aug 20 '26
You're not alone -- when I heard my FD leave a voicemail like that, I was in awe. I've been doing it since.
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u/Sanchastayswoke Sep 05 '26
This is fun until you have a work email that is your first and last name separated by a dot…but your first name is 7 letters long and your last name is 8 letters long. I’m not repeating that, they’ll just have to replay it to get it right lol
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u/Sufficient_Prompt888 Aug 20 '26
The time and date you called
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u/09jtherrien Aug 20 '26
This is more of a boomer thing. My dad would do this all the time when i was younger.
It was something like: "Hi, it's your dad. It's [time] on [day][date]. I'm calling for [reason]. Give me a call back. Love ya. Bye." He wouldn't leave his number, obv because he's my dad.
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u/SellWitty522 Aug 20 '26
Came here to comment this 🤣😂 My mom and MIL: Hi. It’s mom. It’s Saturday at 6:42 am and I’m calling to….
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u/LowKeyCurmudgeon Aug 20 '26
That’s what the second time is for. The first time is so you don’t need to listen to the whole message just to get back to the number if you missed it.
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u/Isakk86 Aug 20 '26
You do the number first, in case they need to listen to it again to get the number. That way they don't have to listen to a 5 minute message again before getting it
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u/SistaChans Aug 21 '26
who is out there leaving 5 minute voicemails? Usually it's just "hey this is x, just wanted to touch base about x if you could give me a call back at xx."
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u/SalleighG Aug 20 '26
Works fine until you hit the message length limit, or get accidentally disconnected during the call.
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u/Bitter-Ad5890 Aug 20 '26
If your voicemail hits the message length cap, it should have been an email
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u/slopschili Aug 20 '26
It made sense on old answering machines so you don’t have to listen to the entire message a second time to get the phone number
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u/GailynStarfire Aug 20 '26
I bet you are the type of person that writes dates in the DD/MM/YYYY format.
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u/logitaunt Aug 20 '26
Yeah I'm not writing down the number unless it's something worth calling back for
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u/DCgeist Aug 20 '26
I like the number first cause its typically the only thing I normally need repeated. So if you need to restart the message for it you will get there sooner instead of waiting for all the other info.
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u/StudioExtreme8658 Aug 20 '26
Oh my god this just occurred to me that I don’t have to do that. Like why would I have to do that anymore? Why did I keep doing it this entire time? I always say it twice and slowly enough for them to write it down. Gahhhhhh
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u/funkhero Aug 20 '26
Because sometimes the number doesn't match the caller id, usually in professional settings. Like getting a call from a vendor and it shows their main line instead of which extension.
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u/I_am_so_lost_again Aug 20 '26
My work doesn't catch numbers and I still have to write them down.
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u/Nut_Butter_Fun Aug 20 '26
If you are calling someone you know you aren't doing this. If you are calling someone who doesn't know you, it still makes sense to, just so they know for sure how to reach you back. Almost every place I call to make an appointment with, still asks for my number, doesn't offer to just copy what they should have in front of them. I don't know why, but clearly this isn't as outdated as the OP would try to imply.
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u/Due-Survey9829 Aug 20 '26
My Dad does a version of this when he leaves me a message. “Hi [daughter] it’s your dad. [Message]. Okay, this is your father. Goodbye”
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u/Harlockarcadia Aug 20 '26
Oh damn, I totally left my phone number on a voicemail the other day unconsciously, because, of course it’s still the 90s
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u/Spyrogirl12 Aug 20 '26
I do it because I fucking hate having to listen to the whole fucking voicemail again to catch the number someone rattles off at the end. I'm trying to save the people I call that pain.
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u/peedubb Aug 20 '26
I feel seen by this. I say my number and repeat it slowly only to never receive a callback.
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u/FallenReaper360 Aug 20 '26
You leave voicemails? I just hang up if I get forwarded and just send a message lol
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u/rubey419 Aug 20 '26
I do that for people I know.
If it’s for work or services, the receiving end may not be a cell phone.
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u/socks4dobby Aug 20 '26
I always state my phone number twice and I say it slowly so they can write it down.
How do I know if they got me on caller ID? If I’m leaving a voicemail, I’m probably not calling a mobile phone. It’s probably a business with wired handset hooked up to VoIP or landline. Who knows. But I’m going to make damn sure they got my phone number so they can call me back. I’m not taking any chances, especially after I invested time in leaving that voicemail.
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u/originalcinner Aug 20 '26
We have two mobile phones each (because reception is horrible where we live, and two carriers gives us more chance of at least one bar in an emergency) plus a landline. I can see who is calling, on the landline phone, but it doesn't record the number once they hang up. I need people to actually speak their number when leaving a message.
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u/ScavengerRavager Aug 20 '26
Sometimes I forget my name and my number so I awkwardly restart the whole message as if nothing had happened.
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u/kawarazu Aug 20 '26
If I say it out loud, and they check their caller ID, and it matches, then they know I'm lucid enough to ask for a callback.
If I'm not saying it correctly, perhaps, do not call me back. On either number.
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u/MaximumTurtleSpeed Aug 20 '26
100%, every single time.
I usually have a soft end start with my name, number and sometimes when I called, followed by the meat of the message. Then pull it all back together to remind them “again, first/last name, 123-456-7890”
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u/carryon4threedays Aug 20 '26
If I’m leaving a voicemail it’s on a landline where they may or not have my info. The person listening is likely at a desk.
If it’s a cell number, they get a text.
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u/NeroFMX Aug 20 '26
But do you say it first thing, then leave message, and then close with it.
I do it for mechanics or places that definitely are using the landline still.
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