I hate checking voicemail. Maybe as much as I hate going to the ATM or stopping to get gas. One of the things I hate about checking voicemail is the whole surprise factor. I never know who the heck I’m going to have to listen ramble on. Call me crazy, but it’s just one of the simple tasks I just truly hate to do. In my mind I’ve been wanting visual voicemail since I acquired my very first cell phone. I also wish I had this feature at work. Checking my work voicemail is the WORST - it’s like daggers in the eyes… (hint hint to all capable developers - this would be AWESOME)..
In one of my many web surfing journeys I ran across a service called YouMail. YouMail is a FREE visual voicemail service and they say they intend on keeping this basic service free (you go YouMail creators). So I’ve been using it for one week now and I really like it. Here are some of the YouMail features.
1. You sign up for YouMail (very easy process) and the calls you don’t answer get forwarded to your YouMail account instead of your wireless carrier voicemail system. It’s honestly that simple.
2. You can retrieve your email via dialing the voicemail number, or by going online to youmail.com or via your smartphone. You can also have your voicemails sent to you via email and/or text message. I have my voicemails sent via email and I click on the play message button (certain numbers of my mom’s mobile number have been oranged out).
3. You can even share your voicemail, which I think is pretty cool.
4. They have a feature called “Ditchmail”, which ditches unwanted callers. Ditchmail hangs up on unwanted callers before they can even leave a voicemail (I LOVE IT!!!). I think we’ve all had the experience of giving our number to someone (an ex- boyfriend, old friend, sales rep, etc) we truly wish we hadn’t. I recently did. I made the stupid stupid stupid mistake of giving my mobile number to a car dealership, but thanks to Ditchmail; I no longer have to be bothered by their unwanted phone calls (in your face Infinity of Tysons).
5. You can also set up different greetings for different callers. So your friends can hear a different greeting than your family and your boss and/or clients can also have their own greeting.
For this to be a FREE service, I think you get a lot AND if you hate the checking voicemail task as much as I do; you’ll find YouMail to be a pleasant relief to that daunting task.
