You Can Lead ‘Em To Your Voicemail, But You Can’t Make ‘Em Think

I had worked for an office for about two years, and I was finally getting a weeklong vacation. I was going on a cruise with my family. It was a pretty slow season, and we weren’t getting many phone calls in my department, so I set up my voicemail on my office phone to let callers know that I was out of the office. (We did not use our personal cell phones for business, and we did not have office cell phones.)

My Voicemail: “Hello, you have reached [My Name] at [Company]. I will be out of the office starting May 1 through May 6; I will return on May 7. I will not have access to any voicemails or emails during this time. I will return all calls and emails on May 7. If you need immediate assistance, please call [number] to be connected to my coworker, [Coworker].”

I returned back to work on May 7, and I had two voicemails from the same woman.

The first voicemail was left on May 2.

Woman: “Hello, [My Name], this is [Woman], and I need to speak to you. It’s urgent; can you call me back today by five o’clock?”

The second voicemail was left on May 4.

Woman: “Hello, [My Name], I left you a message and I didn’t hear back from you. Your voicemail says that you are out of the office and will be returning on May 7. I know you say you don’t have access to voicemails or emails, but I really need you to give me a call back by the end of today.”

I did not call her back. What part of “out of the office, don’t have access to voicemails or emails, and all calls will be returned on May 7” did she not get? If it was urgent, she could have called the alternative number. 

I found out that she finally called [Coworker], and she wanted to know why I wasn’t returning calls. [Coworker] told her that I was on vacation in another country. The woman said, “Well, she still should be returning calls.”

This woman wasn’t even calling for me; it was for someone else who worked in our office.