When Simple Tools Make a Big Difference

Jan introduced you to PhoneTag (formerly Simulscribe). I’ve been testing it since that time. It changes the voicemail game. I’m on the phone constantly with managers, reps, and customers. I miss calls. I don’t like it to happen, but it does. Having to dial in to hear voicemails, sometimes long-winded ones, can be in itself rather time-consuming.

PhoneTag is obviously great for anyone who gets email on their smartphone, allowing you to read those voicemails, as Jan stated.

What has become an equally important feature for me, though less publicized around the Web, is the free SimulSays Blackberry (or Windows Mobile) software you can install to work with PhoneTag. The software allows you to read the transcriptions in a list apart from your standard messages list, and playback the original voicemail right there on the device, without dialing into your voicemail box.

Nothing earth-shattering here, we’re just talking voicemail management, but very helpful.

I’ve got a few people who are fast talkers, and sometimes the PhoneTag transcription isn’t dead-on. (This is rare, however, as I’d estimate I’ve only really needed to hear the original voicemail maybe two or three times out of the last 100 voicemails I’ve received.) But it also comes in handy if you want to hear the caller’s tone before calling back. This software gives me that chance to go beyond transcription quickly and easily.

The only thing I’ve noticed with my installation of SimulSays is that I cannot forward voicemail audio files, as the SimulSays site says I should be able to. I don’t see me doing that ever, so it’s a moot point for me.

To validate Jan’s recommendation, you’ve got to give this a try. There are of course others besides PhoneTag that offer voicemail transcription services, but I’m impressed with this one.