At the tone, leave a message...

Automation. It has quickly become a way of the world, unfortunately for some they have yet to catch on.

The automated messaging service is everywhere. The human voice at the end of a phone line is becoming less and less common. This being said, I am pressed to figure out why some people freak when faced with the challenge of leaving a name, phone number, location and how many are attending.

Part of my job this week is checking the automated answering service that is taking RSVP's for a special program. The program spans three cities and is set to have over 400 individuals. If I had 100 calls coming to my desk I would get nothing accomplished, let alone 400. So we leave it to the nice recording - which is the boss's voice - for folks to leave their RSVP.

Here are some of the best messages I've heard to date:

- -"Uh, I thought I was RSVPing to this John Deere deal." Then silence. "Oh, my name is 'John Doe' and I'm going to be there."
Thanks for that. I guess I will just mark you down at all three, it will kind of be like roulette for us.

- -"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP...BEEEPPPPPPP...SCRAAAAATCH...DIIIINNGGG"
This is a real phone line. You cannot fax in your RSVP.

- -"My phone number is 123-3456 and I'm going to be there."
Thanks for the area code. Again, three cities and six area codes to try and pull up that unique seven digit number. Your name would have been even better.

- -"My card code is PO567985094933960 and my ID is i49948t99983e5. Oh, and this is 'John Doe' and I'll be at the Amarillo location my number is 123-456-7890."
Thanks for listening to the directions, you were so close. "Please leave your name, PHONE number, location and number attending."