Survey results show surprising habits of UK telephone users

Bristol-based 24-hour telephone answering company, Office Response Ltd, have revealed unexpected results from an online survey that challenged perceptions on how people use voicemail and answering machines in the UK.

88% of people will leave a message on voicemail providing it is someone they know.

The survey results reveal that:

• When calling a business during office hours in response to an advert for their services more than half of people will not leave a message on voicemail
• 83% of people are comfortable leaving voicemail messages on mobile phones
• Nearly two-thirds of people will not leave a message on voicemail if they are calling to make a complaint
• The majority of people expect to be called back the same day if they leave a voicemail message
• 88% of people will leave a message on voicemail if they personally know the individual they are calling
• More than half of people leave less than 5 voicemail messages per week
• 79% of people will not leave a message on voicemail if they are calling to place an order for a product or service
• More than three-quarters of people think that voicemail has a place in today’s fast-moving business world

Office Response had been aware of a research statement used within the call centre industry that “80% of callers won’t leave a message on voicemail” but, from their experience of operating a successful telephone-answering service, they felt this statement did not recognise a number of important factors. The purpose of the survey was to gain feedback from a wide range of telephone users on whether they left messages on voicemail and answering machines depending on the nature of their call.

“The survey took into consideration why the person was calling, who they trying to contact and what their relationship was with the recipient of the call”, explained Steve West, Marketing & Business Development Manager with Office Response. “We had recognised for a while that people viewed voicemail differently depending on what their needs were and this has been highlighted in the survey results. We hope that any organisation that uses voicemail or answerphone technology as an option for their callers can use the results to understand when callers will leave a message. If people aren’t going to leave a message then it may be worth looking at alternatives to ensure calls are answered.”

Over 500 unique survey respondents from a wide demographic of UK telephone business and consumer telephone users completed the online 10-question survey between April and June 2010.

“The survey has shown some quite surprising results, especially regarding how many of the respondents are happy to use voicemail when contacting someone they personally know and the high acceptability of leaving messages on mobile phones”, explained Mr West. “Whilst we appreciate that voicemail is hugely useful as a communication tool, the survey has also highlighted obvious disadvantages for any organisation that relies on people leaving messages”.

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