Outgoing cell phone message?

[Guest]

You sound high maintenance.

I just would like to be treated the way I treat others. I wouldn't call someone, even a friend, without starting the call with "Hi, it's Unicorn." What's up with asking to speak with someone without identifying yourself? I consider that rude, and have no interest in talking with rude people. Do you call people you don't know and start the call with "Hi, can I speak with Unicorn?"?

Edited March 8, 2020 by Unicorn

[+ poolboy48220]

I used to open with "Hi, this is Poolboy, is Unicorn there?", back in the days of household land lines and a family sharing it. Often got snagged by that when Unicorn actually answered the phone, I'm horrible at recognizing voices. These days of one phone/one person, and nearly universal caller ID, I still start with "Hi, it's Poolboy", and some friends respond with "I know". :-)

[+ poolboy48220]

another point - I find any long greeting frustrating. I can tell you're not available or on the phone. And the automated "To leave a message, begin speaking at the tone", yada yada yada. I figured that out too.

 

For a while, my greeting was just "This is poolboy. You know what to do" <click>. I changed it to something a bit less brusque when I was job hunting :-)

[RM]

My phone beeps all the time, including when I get a text. I often miss the text. I don't want the aggravation of checking texts and phone calls, too. Please just call me.

[Guest]

My phone beeps all the time, including when I get a text. I often miss the text. I don't want the aggravation of checking texts and phone calls, too. Please just call me.

Texts can be checked at one's leisure. A call interrupts what you're doing right that second (if one answers it).

[HotWhiteThirties]

Similar topic, but I’d MUCH rather a standard and reliable auto reply for text messages for when I’m unavailable to respond - especially when the phone is off completely - during vacation, air travel, extended meetings, etc. There is no such reliable mechanism that I have found that would provide the same feature that voicemail does....if you don’t answer or the phone is off, it always goes to voicemail.

 

In my experience and work, people expect near instantaneous responses to texts - more so than they do missed calls and voicemails; and they get agitated or draw the wrong conclusions sometimes when their text message does not receive what they have determined is a timely reply. That’s not always possible, obviously. It would seem service providers would have provided this remedy long before now.

 

I have a Verizon account and they have a useless app that is supposed to provide this feature. It only works when the phone is on and even then it only successfully sends the auto reply about 5% of the time. Useless. Similarly, on iPhone, there is a feature for auto-response while driving. Again, the phone has to be on for it to function. The time when I need it most is when I don’t have my phone on. ??‍♂️

 

I’ve asked technology geeks if they know of such a feature that’s reliable and they all think it “must” be out there somewhere cause it seems so obviously needed, and they’ve all returned with, “I’m sorry. Apparently there is no solution to what you’re asking.”

 

So, I can only conclude that I must be the only one to desire such a feature?

Edited March 8, 2020 by HotWhiteThirties

[LookingAround]

On iMessage if the recipients phone isn’t turned on and I send a text, it shows green and doesn’t say delivered. Using an iPhone makes it clear they haven’t received the text.

[Islesguy]

Similar topic, but I’d MUCH rather a standard and reliable auto reply for text messages for when I’m unavailable to respond - especially when the phone is off completely - during vacation, air travel, extended meetings, etc. There is no such reliable mechanism that I have found that would provide the same feature that voicemail does....if you don’t answer or the phone is off, it always goes to voicemail.

 

In my experience and work, people expect near instantaneous responses to texts - more so than they do missed calls and voicemails; and they get agitated or draw the wrong conclusions sometimes when their text message does not receive what they have determined is a timely reply. That’s not always possible, obviously. It would seem service providers would have provided this remedy long before now.

 

I have a Verizon account and they have a useless app that is supposed to provide this feature. It only works when the phone is on and even then it only successfully sends the auto reply about 5% of the time. Useless. Similarly, on iPhone, there is a feature for auto-response while driving. Again, the phone has to be on for it to function. The time when I need it most is when I don’t have my phone on. ??‍♂️

 

I’ve asked technology geeks if they know of such a feature that’s reliable and they all think it “must” be out there somewhere cause it seems so obviously needed, and they’ve all returned with, “I’m sorry. Apparently there is no solution to what you’re asking.”

 

So, I can only conclude that I must be the only one to desire such a feature?

What about instead of turning your phone off, you silence it completely to all notices and turn of the vibration? You should be able to leave it on without anyone knowing and those auto-messages should work. May not at times unconnected to any service. Worth a shot.

[+ poolboy48220]

So, I can only conclude that I must be the only one to desire such a feature?

I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't find this particular feature that useful because in my circle of contacts, nobody expects an instant response to a text; if we want to communicate now we call. But I can think of a handful of things that are obvious features that nobody's implemented:

• on the phone, send all calls not from your contacts to voice mail. I know that's available on my iPhone but it's buried so deep in the menus that I always have trouble finding it.
  
• on my work Outlook Calendar, a one-step notification that I'll be out of the office, that marks MY time as away/busy but doesn't mark the recipient's time as busy. I have to do TWO notifications for the same time, one for me that's "Busy/Away", the one for my co-workers that shows time as free.
  

[Guest]

...

In my experience and work, people expect near instantaneous responses to texts ...

I usually answer my texts unless I'm (1) driving, (2) at the gym, (3) sleeping, (4) having a meal with others, or (5) at the theater or movies. If I'm at work, I respond after I finish with my patient or after the meeting if I'm in a meeting. How long do you take to respond at work? The benefit of texting is that it's unobtrusive and quick. Doesn't have to be instantaneous, but I do wonder why some people won't respond to texts for hours during the day. How long do you take to respond to texts while at work?

[HotWhiteThirties]

On iMessage if the recipients phone isn’t turned on and I send a text, it shows green and doesn’t say delivered. Using an iPhone makes it clear they haven’t received the text.

 

Yeah. That’s better than nothing, but unfortunately not everyone is on iMessage, so like the other solutions I’ve investigated it works for some situations (and also requires the sender to pay attention). It also prevents a courtesy reply similar to an out of office to suggest when a response might be expected in the future.

 

 

I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't find this particular feature that useful because in my circle of contacts, nobody expects an instant response to a text; if we want to communicate now we call. But I can think of a handful of things that are obvious features that nobody's implemented:

• on the phone, send all calls not from your contacts to voice mail. I know that's available on my iPhone but it's buried so deep in the menus that I always have trouble finding it.
  
• on my work Outlook Calendar, a one-step notification that I'll be out of the office, that marks MY time as away/busy but doesn't mark the recipient's time as busy. I have to do TWO notifications for the same time, one for me that's "Busy/Away", the one for my co-workers that shows time as free.
  

 

Right. In some professions - sales in particular - there is, for better or worseno perceived “down time,” by the potential customers. The out of office in Gmail and outlook works for email communication, and for co-workers, but isn’t effective to the thousands of other contacts which originate elsewhere.

What about instead of turning your phone off, you silence it completely to all notices and turn of the vibration? You should be able to leave it on without anyone knowing and those auto-messages should work. May not at times unconnected to any service. Worth a shot.

 

Sure. That’s a good solution so long as you have service and actually want the phone on. I’m not interested in service on airplanes and cruises. I want it off - and in many cases - service isn’t available. It’s those instances that a feature just like one like the auto-reply in my email, or the voicemail that I can customize for calls, would be applicable for texts. I’ve done this as much as possible, but there are sometimes when it being completely off is the only way I can actually disconnect from the device. Or at least it’s the best way for me. People understand that if you tell them in the message, but if they don’t receive responses within a few hours they get annoyed. Like @Unicorn details regarding his expectations:

 

I usually answer my texts unless I'm (1) driving, (2) at the gym, (3) sleeping, (4) having a meal with others, or (5) at the theater or movies. If I'm at work, I respond after I finish with my patient or after the meeting if I'm in a meeting. How long do you take to respond at work? The benefit of texting is that it's unobtrusive and quick. Doesn't have to be instantaneous, but I do wonder why some people won't respond to texts for hours during the day. How long do you take to respond to texts while at work?

 

I usually respond within a few moments, unless like you, I am with someone or driving (I try dictation when possible there using Bluetooth), etc. My profession require it for the most part by virtue of expectations created within my industry. Obviously that’s not always possible. Most days I may be fielding over a thousand text messages. Not including other messaging services, emails, etc. Simply can’t afford to shut it off very often, but when I do, I’d like for those who continue to send the messages to be directed to a colleague or provide a time when they can try back and receive a response. I do leave those instructions in voicemail when I’m planning to be out on the chance that if their text is unanswered and they happen to call, that they find out that way.

 

Still not a perfect solution. These responses are good suggestions. They also underscore a need that is not currently met, even with all our technologies.

Edited March 8, 2020 by HotWhiteThirties

[LookingAround]

With respect.....might you be overthinking this just a bit?

[HotWhiteThirties]

With respect.....might you be overthinking this just a bit?

 

No. I wish I were. Folks who don’t deal with similar communication expectations attached to work might think so, or who don’t suffer professionally with complaints of non-responsiveness from those they serve. It’s hard to explain or comprehend if it’s not something that’s crucial to the way you work. Anyhow, my main point is honestly that we put a man on the moon 50 years ago, and that there is a seemingly simple technological solution to the issue, and yet it doesn’t exist. That’s really the main point. Shouldn’t even be a discussion item, given the environment in which we communicate. I promise I’m not losing sleep over it. I just continue looking for work arounds. The topic of the OP and this thread just made me think of the need for a better solution. That’s all. ?

[instudiocity]

On iMessage if the recipients phone isn’t turned on and I send a text, it shows green and doesn’t say delivered. Using an iPhone makes it clear they haven’t received the text.

Green bubbles indicate texts with non-Messages addresses. Blue indicates the message stays within the Messages server environment.

[LookingAround]

Green bubbles indicate texts with non-Messages addresses. Blue indicates the message stays within the Messages server environment.

Green also indicated an iPhone user with its phone turned off.

[instudiocity]

Green also indicated an iPhone user with its phone turned off.

Messages with green bubbles are normal SMS text messages. Message with blue bubbles are sent via the "iMessage instant messaging protocol—a messaging platform specific to Apple devices. If you’re communicating between two Apple devices with iMessage enabled, you’ll see blue messages. If you’re communicating with any device that doesn’t use iMessage—like an Android phone, or an iPhone that doesn’t have iMessage turned on—you’ll see green messages."

 

FROM: https://www.howtogeek.com/214560/why-are-some-iphone-messages-green-and-some-blue-does-it-matter/

 

Also, "…By using data instead of SMS, iMessage has a lot more features than basic text messaging. For example, iMessage supports delivery status indicators. Underneath your messages, you can see text indicating when the messages was delivered or read. You’ll also see a message bubble with an active ellipse when someone is typing a new message to you. These features rely on the fact that your data connection is always on.

 

And, "…If you’re using an Apple device and communicating with someone that also uses an Apple device, but you still don’t see messages in blue, it likely means that one of you doesn’t have iMessage turned on. To activate it, navigate to Settings > Messages."

 

You're probably doing this: "

"However there is a setting under Messaging which says “Send as SMS”. If you have this setting enabled then when an iMessage is not delivered your phone will cancel the original iMessage, and instead send it as an SMS (green bubble). This is useful if you message people who do not pay for data plans. You can iMessage them when they have Wi-Fi, but your messages will continue to send if they leave that coverage, just as SMS messages instead. On the other side of the coin, if you message people internationally using iMessage, this feature could cost you by sending your SMS to an international number. I know my carrier charges something like $1 per international SMS message sent…"

 

Which if you are sending as SMS as an alternative, you're giving up end-to-end encryption of your messages for the sake of expediency on your part.

 

From: https://www.quora.com/What-happens-to-iMessages-sent-to-an-iPhone-that-is-off?share=1

GREEN MEANS SMS MESSAGING/BLUE MEANS iMESSAGING. There is no message receipt function in SMS messaging.

[+ poolboy48220]

I turned off iMessages for good after a bug (years ago) made it fail to deliver an important message, but not give me any indication it'd failed. The person I was sending to had just switched from an iPhone to an Android.