Why callers don't leave voicemails, and what they do instead

The beep is where calls go to die

Most small business owners know the feeling. You finish a job, check your phone and see three missed calls from numbers you don't recognise. No messages. Were they customers? Sales calls? Wrong numbers? You will probably never know.

Research over the last decade explains why. People who ring a business want to speak to someone, and very few are willing to talk to a beep.

Only 6% would rather leave a message

In June 2026, YouGov surveyed 2,046 UK adults for the call-answering company Answer4u. The question was how long they would wait on the phone to a business before deciding to contact a competitor instead.

The answers are stark:

• 37% would abandon the call within 60 seconds. That includes 14% who would give up within 11 to 30 seconds, and 18% within 31 to 60 seconds.
• Only 26% would wait longer than a minute.
• 24% would switch to another way of getting in touch.
• Just 6% would leave a voicemail rather than wait.

There was a difference between men and women, too. Women were more likely to switch to another contact method (28%, against 20% of men), and slightly more likely to leave a voicemail (8%, against 4%).

Half won't leave one at all

A separate survey, carried out by Censuswide for Moneypenny among 2,000 consumers in the UK and the US in June 2023, found 54% of people won't leave a voicemail if they can't get through. 35% said they hate calls not being answered, and 38% said they would go elsewhere after a poor call experience.

That survey also showed why the phone still matters. When people's needs were urgent, the phone was their top choice (42%). The same was true for complicated queries (34%) and sensitive ones (25%). These are often your most valuable enquiries: the burst pipe, the urgent legal question, the job that needs talking through.

The 2016 picture was the same

This isn't a new trend. A 2016 report by Moneypenny, based on a survey of 300 UK micro businesses and its own call data, found 69% of callers who reached a voicemail hung up rather than leave a message. In the same report, 54% of the small businesses surveyed relied on their network's standard voicemail greeting, and only 33% used a tailored message.

So, ten years ago, most callers hung up on voicemail. Today, most callers won't even wait a minute.

What callers do instead

Put these studies together and the caller's journey looks like this. They search, find a few businesses, and ring the first one. If nobody answers, a small minority leave a message. A larger group try email or a web form. Many simply ring the next name on the list.

You can't see any of this from your side. A missed call with no voicemail looks exactly like a wrong number.

Giving callers a better option

Voicemail asks the caller to do the work: wait for the tone, leave their name and number clearly, and explain what they want, all without knowing if anyone will listen. A few things make it easier for them:

• Answer more calls live. Look at when you miss the most calls and see if anyone can cover those hours.
• Use a personal greeting. If you keep voicemail, record a short message in your business name that says when you'll ring back.
• Let something talk to them. An AI receptionist answers in a natural, clear voice, asks what they need and takes their details. Callers who prefer to leave a straightforward voicemail still can. You get an email with a summary straight away, then the recording and transcript.

To set it up, you divert your existing number when you don't answer. Our call divert guides show how on EE, Vodafone, giffgaff, Sky Mobile and other networks.

Sources

• Answer4u / YouGov, "How long will customers wait on the phone?". 2,046 UK adults, nationally representative, fieldwork 5 to 8 June 2026. Commissioned by Answer4u, a call-answering company.
• Moneypenny / Censuswide, "New research reveals phone pet peeves costing business", 7 February 2024. 2,000 consumers in the UK and US, 1 to 6 June 2023. Commissioned by Moneypenny, a call-answering company. Includes US respondents.
• Moneypenny, "Small business call report", 21 November 2016. Survey of 300 UK micro businesses plus call data. Commissioned by Moneypenny.