the right blind
Lifestyle
University Dally Kansan / Thursday, October 26, 1989
9
At the sound of the tone, please leave your message
Many people know that the first words transmitted by telephone were those of an injured Alexander Graham Bell, calling to his assistant for help: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you!"
Less celebrated in the annals of history, however, is what Bell heard in reply: "This is Mr. Watson. Sorry I am not here to take your call. Please wait for the beep."
Well, maybe not. But if the two telephone pioneers were alive today, and if they were to buy telephone answering machines, they would have plenty of company. Two in five homes have at least one answering machine, according to a Consumer Reports study.
John Webb, manager of Radio Shack, 711 W. 23rd St., said that there was no typical answering machine buyer.
"We've got anyone from farmers to business people who purchase them." he said.
Students also buy the machines. Returning KU students have caused an increase in sales, Webb said. Whereas his store sold three answering machines a week two months ago, it now sells one a day, he said.
Radio Shack sells seven models, ranging in price from $59 to $200. Webb said. The most expensive machine features a personal memo file that is kept separate from phone messages, a security code that allows the owner to retrieve messages from another phone and an artificial voice that stamps messages with the date and time of the call.
Jim Hutchison, assistant manager of Wal-Mart, 2127 Iowa St., said that sales at his store had increased during the past two or three years, and have grown to a greater diversity of people who use the machines.
"For a long time, it was the professional people ... But we're finding more and more people — students, young singles — just more and
Hutchison said that Wal-Mart sold about seven answering machine models, ranging in cost from $30 to $100.
He said that the chestper machines were popular among students. One popular model caused problems for those living on campus because the machines incompatible with the University's phone network.
The University network also causes problems for Jeff Goldman, Edmond, Oka., sophomore, and his roommate, Tim Rogers, Cambridge, England, junior. Goldman said that their machine substituted a friendly "You have a call" for the standard ringer, but that the double ring from an incoming off-campus call made the machine cut itself off.
Their recent recorded greeting mimics a hightech doctor's office: "If you are a continuing patient, please dial one. If you need to leave some samples, please dial two . . . Our opening hours are Monday through Friday, after the bars close."
Rogers said that a former greeting, meant to mislead callers, simply said "hello," repeatedly. Then they would become confused and hang up that the two had no messages for about a week.
more people are buying them," he said.
"We tried to be a bit too clever, and it didn't work." Roers said.
"We've had a lot of them returned." Hutchison said, adding that a warning sign had been placed with the store's display.
Goldman said that he and Rogers usually left the machine on to screen calls while they were in the
"It says, 'You have . . . You have,'" he said.
The machine's artificial voice also notifies them of waiting messages and speaks out the date and time of each.
John Harvey, Emporia senior, said his answer- machine usually remained on while he was in the room, but not to avoid callers.
"I leave it on just so I don't forget to turn it on when I leave," he said. "I think it's inconsiderate to screen calls like that."
One of Harvey's answering machine pet peeves is callers listening to the greeting, then hanging up without leaving a message, he said. That was more of a problem last year because his old machine record thirty seconds of blank tape. His new machine simply resets when callers leave no message.
Harvey said that he kept his greeting simple and conservative to keep from embarrassing himself when potential employers tried to phone.
"Yo, dudes! . . . You don't want that," he said. "You don't want to irritate someone who's trying to call you for a phone interview."
"I recorded it once and basically kept it," he said.
Harvey said he did not change the greeting on his machine.
One of Harvey's friends had a phone number similar to that of a McDonald's restaurant, he said. The friend sometimes left recorded greetings telling callers that they had reached a residence, not a hamburger place.
Jeff Stone, Marceline, Mo., graduate, said that he and his roommate had a phone number similar to that of a fire station, and that they had returned to find that callers had left messages obviously not meant for them.
"They'll leave a message as though they're talking to the fire department." Stone said.
He said one message was a call from a fireman, saying that he was sick and would not report to work that day.
Stone said he was surprised that people did not realize their mistake after listening to the usually humorous greetings, such as the current Jack inspection, that he and his roommate left.
"It's kind of amazing," he said.
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BUSCH GARDENS/ THE OLD COUNTRY AUDITIONS THE STARS ARE OUT ALL DAY!
America's premier theme park in Williamsburg, Va. is conducting auditions for over 250 singers dancers, musicians, variety artists, actors, technicians, and supervisors. You could be part of the magic that truly makes Busch Gardens an entertainment "experience." So get your act together and 'shine' at our 1990 auditions.
Auditions: 2 to $1 \frac{1}{2}$ mins. For additional info.
Audition Dates:
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MISSOURI
Thursday, Nov. 2, 1989
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
UMKC
University Center
Pierson Hall
ST. LOUIS
1-800-253-3302
ST.LOUIS MISSOURI
MISSOURI
Friday, Nov. 3, 1989
5:00-8:00 p.m.
Embassy Suites
Ballroom
901 N. 1st. Street
BUSCH
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Scholarship Search information is available between 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Monday through Friday in Room 26, Strong Hall.
Search application fee is $12.00
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