David Pogue started a campaign to get rid of the ridiculously long informational messages that cellular carriers force people to listen to when they hit a voicemail box. The purpose of these messages is to increase call charges.

Most carriers have made at least token movements to respond to the campaign.

Except Verizon. Verizon spokesperson Tom Pica said that Verizon lets customers turn off these messages.

Pogue, in response, said that Pica was lying.

Pica then claimed he was misquoted, and that he’s right because you don’t get the message if you completely disable your voicemail box.

What he said was that you can turn off *voicemail altogether* if you don’t like the 15-second instructions.Well, O.K., but…huh?
Isn’t that like saying, “My son bites his nails, so let’s chop off his hands”?

It’s just amazing how awful U.S. cellular companies are. Meanwhile, domestic cellular tech lags way behind other developed nations’, but we’re charged more for service.

‘Take Back the Beep’ Campaign: An Update [Pogue’s Posts]

Photo: FutureOfTheBook