David Pogue:

These messages are outrageous for two reasons. First, they waste your time. Good heavens: it’s 2009. WE KNOW WHAT TO DO AT THE BEEP.

Do we really need to be told to hang up when we’re finished!? Would anyone, ever, want to “send a numeric page?” Who still carries a pager, for heaven’s sake? Or what about “leave a callback number?” We can SEE the callback number right on our phones!

Second, we’re PAYING for these messages. These little 15-second waits add up–bigtime. If Verizon’s 70 million customers leave or check messages twice a weekday, Verizon rakes in about $620 million a year. That’s your money. And your time: three hours of your time a year, just sitting there listening to the same message over and over again every year.

Please keep ranting David! I have expressed my frustration countless times to those who know me on this very issue. It’s absurd that I’m still listening to such instructional messages every time I call someone in 2009. This is a very good example of the telecommunications companies following one another around like sheep instead of thinking for themselves.

All it takes is one person to stand up in a meeting and say, “Why in the world do we still have those silly messages whenever someone calls one of our customers?” (Via John Gruber.)