Voice mail transcription is a growing industry. There are several advantages to using voice mail transcription services instead of using the voice mail service that comes with one's cell phone plan.
Reading Is Faster than Listening
Listening to voice mail is a slightly inconvenient when compared to the ease of a text message. Listening to voice mail takes longer than reading a message, and if there is information that needs to be written down, the process is even less efficient.
Services that turn voice mail into text are growing in popularity, because smart phones make text messaging and emails easier than finding a quiet area to listen check messages.
Transcription Offers Permanence
Messages that have been transcribed and sent to email are forever (or as long as one keeps the email); traditional voice mail services delete the messages after a set amount of time. Additionally, most services that provide transcriptions will allow customers to save voice message as mp3 or wav files.
Speech-To-Text Voicemail is Socially Acceptable
Cell phones interruptions are so prevalent that many meetings start with warnings to silence cell-phones. It would be disruptive and rude to take a call while with company, at a meeting, or in a restaurant or theater.
However, taking a quick peek at text messages can be done unobtrusively. Transcribed email allows people who are waiting for important calls to get the information needed without having to disrupt others by answering phones or leaving to check messages.
Message Quality
Quality among the different services varies. Some companies have people transcribing messages, which means some of the "fillers" in speech are edited out, such as "um" and "uh". If messages are transcribed by voice recognitions services, fillers are left in, and sometimes garble the message.
Voice recognition is a difficult technology to master; transcription is often muddled by accents, voice inflections, slang, and proper nouns. Even though there is room for improvement, there is also evidence of improvement, and it is possible to read voice mail and decipher the few muddled words that occasionally occur. If extremely accurate transcription is needed, users should find voice mail that is transcribed by live human beings rather than speech recognition software.
Companies Offering Voicemail to Text Services
Most companies that turn voice mail into emails and text messages charge a monthly fee, and many offer free trial periods. These companies include:
- Phonetag.com (which uses speech-to-text transcription)
- Phonewire.com (which uses human transcription)
- SimulScribe.com (which uses speech-to-text transcription)
- SpinVox.com (which uses speech-to-text transcription)
- Youmail.com (which uses human transcription as well as speech-to-text transcription).
Having voice mail messages as emails makes them searchable, permanent, and easy to access. Having a permanent voice mail as an audio file makes it easier to store important messages, whether they are significant for sentimental reasons or logistic reasons. Reading voice mail is not a contradiction; it is the future.
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