Voice Mail: Press # or Not to Press #?

[Jinx]

Why does voicemail sometimes ask you press #, and then (within the SAME voicemail sequence of selections), it'll sometimes NOT ask you to press #? Is this just to confuse the end-user? At least, when I press #, I feel like I have made an active, positive entry as opposed to, let's say, a non-positive passive data entry

How annoying when they keep switching the rules! What's the deal? Press # to answer, no wait! Don't press #...er,um press #!

Confidentially, we don't need no stinkin' # button!
- Jinx

[friedo]

What are you asking exactly? Different voicemail systems have different interfaces. The one at the old office never required pressing # for anything; the one at the new office does. Quite annoying actually.

[deathawk]

You may be experiencing a shift between an voicemail tree (which most likely will not require a #) and an IVR system (which likely will require it). The IVR system is using the # as confirmation of input. The Voicemail tree normally will have a cancel key (in many cases *) to back up, so confirmation is not usually required. Although as friedo notes, YMMV depending on the VM system.

As an utterly irrelevant aside, I used a UM product that allowed the user to select different prompt styles (US english, British English, etc). I loved how the British prompts called # "hash" instead of "pound".

[friedo]

But it's really an octothorp.