Mystery Caller

Can you access voice mail without getting charged? Some CSRs say no — others share some cost-saving techniques.

Amica Wireless
Total Hold Time: 3 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 1

CSR: Good afternoon. Amica Wireless. How may I help you?

WR: When I retrieve voice-mail messages using my wireless phone, is there a charge for that?

CSR: You will be charged airtime when you check your voice mail.

WR: Is there a way to check without using any monthly minutes?

CSR: You can call from a landline phone or a number other than your mobile phone.

WR: With call waiting, if you’re talking to someone on both lines, do you rack up minutes for both calls? Is it at the same rate for both, like so many cents per minute, or will there be a discount for one of the calls?

CSR: No. Say I was talking to you on the phone now, and you were getting billed 20¢ a minute for the airtime. If someone else called in, and you talked to them for a minute and said, ‘I’ll call you right back. I’m on the other line,’ you’d get billed 20¢ for that one minute you talked to them, and you’d get billed 20¢ for that same minute that you were on the call with me until you came back to continue your call.

WR: Is there a limit to how long you can keep a caller on hold?

CSR: Not that I’m aware of — until one party or the other disconnects the call is what I’m aware of.

Cellular One — Chicago
Total Hold Time: 5 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 3

CSR: Thanks for calling Cellular One. My name is (name).

WR: When I use my phone to get my voice-mail messages, will I be charged for that time?

CSR: If you hit the #44, it will deduct minutes from your plan.

WR: Is there a way to check voice mail without using any minutes?

CSR: If you want to call from your home, you can. There’s also a little trick you can do from your cellular phone. If you get a plan that has the Digital EDGE, if you dialed your own cellular number from your cellular phone, it’s going to pick up like you’re dialing another Cellular One customer and the call is going to be free.

WR: Really? Wow! What about when someone leaves me voice-mail messages? Does that count toward my minutes?

CSR: No, because you’re not picking up your phone.

WR: If I use call waiting, am I charged minutes for both lines at the same rate?

CSR: No. You don’t get any discount. We bill you just like the other call.

First Cellular
Total Hold Time: 0 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 1

CSR: First Cellular customer care. WR: Is there a charge against my minutes if I use my phone to check voice-mail messages?

CSR: When you use your cellular phone, it does come out of your minutes because it’s like you’re making a call from your phone. If you use your home phone, it won’t because it’s going right into our voice-mail system.

WR: Is there a way to check without using minutes?

SR: No, there’s not. The only way to do it is the *86.

WR: If I have call waiting, and both lines are occupied, am I charged for both calls at the same time or just one at a time?

CSR: You’ll have airtime running on both.

Southwestern Bell Wireless
Total Hold Time: 4 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 2

CSR: Thank you for choosing Southwestern Bell.

WR: Is retrieving voice mail on a wireless phone a free service?

CSR: It uses up your minutes if you call from your wireless phone.

WR: Is there another way to access messages without using any minutes?

CSR: Calling from a landline phone won’t use your minutes up.

WR: When voice mail is left for me, does that eat up my minutes?

CSR: No, it doesn’t.

WR: What about with call waiting? Is there a consecutive charge if both lines are occupied, like 10¢ a minute for both calls?

CSR: Even if you put one on hold while speaking to the other one, they’ll both be using up your airtime.

WR: Oh. I thought it might stop counting minutes while the one line was on hold.

CSR: No, because you’re using up radio space in the system that sends out the call, so you are billed airtime for that.