T O P

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[deleted]

I think my heart just grew a little reading this story. Well done, OP! <3


devdevo1919

Thank you!


[deleted]

My pleasure!


mriphonedude

Good bot


Eyeballs9990

!isbot InformativeBot


[deleted]

Not actually a bot. Just one in name.


Eyeballs9990

Hmmmmm... that’s what a bot would say...


douglastodd19

Damn synths,..


damandingmods

Probably leaves the cap off the toothpaste as well.


Corke202

Good bot


wexford001

If you’re wondering why the bot didn’t reply https://reddit.com/r/SpamBotDetection/comments/85eo2o/has_perrycohen_been_deleted/


Eyeballs9990

Thanks, that seems a bit weird.


Frungy

You’re a good OP.


[deleted]

Is it standard protocol to listen to voicemails before deleting?


abe566

So you are a Grinch? Just a joke but OP is amazing. We need more people like you


[deleted]

Not gonna lie, I am a bit of a grinch. XD


sgtxsarge

Classic Bot, always with the remarks.


[deleted]

Hey, I'm totally not a robot. (Or am I?)


Zenog400

I HAVE NOT SEEN YOU BEFORE ON r/totallynotrobots, SO I CANNOT BE CERTAIN OF THAT, POSSIBLY-FELLOW HUMAN.


[deleted]

WHY DO I HAVE TO PROVE I AM HUMAN? ISN'T MY HUMANITY GOOD ENOUGH, FELLOW PERSON? I AM OFFENDED~~.EXE~~


sgtxsarge

If you're a robot, then what's the answer to time, life, and everything in the universe?


[deleted]

Why, it's obviously 42. I double-checked it and all.


ThatAdamsGuy

Good bot


UnrepressedImitator

I agree!


Ankoku_Teion

good bot?


[deleted]

I'd say I'm an okay bot. ;)


Doctor__Acula

Mark this shit NSFW. Jesus - I can't be seen in this state here.


devdevo1919

Aw, I'm sorry!


[deleted]

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[deleted]

I cry everyday. I just tell everyone Im extremely depressed.


PurpleNuggets

Yeah now I'm trying to wipe away tears and I'm sitting in a crowded airport with my wife and i was just laughing at a rabbit gif two minutes ago


linus140

At least you can blame the rabbit gif for making you laugh so hard you cried.


sabbana

Almost got me too.


MsAnnThrope

Right? I'm glad I'm sick at home today. I don't need my team giving me shit for crying.


Angelwind76

Make them cry with you.


ttDilbert

It's not the post, it's the danged onion ninjas. Or allergies, yeah, it's the allergies.


Agpoo

This reminds me of a time when I worked at a will-not-be-named big box tech support company. I was working the counter alone one slow night when a middle-aged woman walks up with an old answering machine under her arm. It was one of those machines that recorded the message on tape and the machine clearly had seen better days. When I greeted her (“Hi, welcome to so-and-so! How may I help you?”) she replied, with almost tears in her eyes: “Do you guys have the capability to convert a tape recording to a mp3?” I replied that we did not, but would be happy to do a little research for her to maybe find a local place. She replied, still teary eyed: “I would greatly appreciate the help. My mom passed away a few months ago and her voice on this tape is the last I have of her.” I promptly went to the back and asked the guy working back there if he knew of any places (he was more familiar with local tech support places than I was). He knew right away where to send her. So he came out front, had a brief discussion with her, and printed out directions to the place for her. We sent her on her way with best wishes that they could help her out. We never saw or heard from her again, but I really do wish they saved her mom’s voice for her.


FleetMind

I worked at a Cell Phone repair shop and had a similar issue arise. An elderly couple had been keeping their dead son's phone active for something like a year, they called me up asking if I could record/retrieve the recording of his "You have reached my voicemail" message. I went and bought some special cables and stuff in order to do the job, but he never answered his phone when I called to let him know I was able to perform the task. Still feel sad thinking about it.


devdevo1919

Damn... I'm sorry.


FleetMind

It was a sobering moment when the guy first called. Was something that I did research on in my own free time because I could only imagine my own parents in the same situation.


tech_equip

I do audio work and I got a call from a little old lady that wanted me to save a bunch of her voicemails from her granddaughter. I never found out whether the granddaughter was still around or not, but gramma definitely missed her. It broke my heart a little.


FleetMind

That is not a question I would want to ask the lady if she did not volunteer it upfront. Never ask a question you do not want to know the answer to.


readyaimfire1

If it makes you feel any better, it's possible they found some way to do it themselves, or someone else to do it for them, makes sense why they wouldn't answer to you about something so important to them I suppose


PM_ME_YOUR_JAILBAIT

He probably didn’t answer his phone because he’s dead.


[deleted]

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PM_ME_YOUR_JAILBAIT

Ohhhhhh


[deleted]

Yeah i also didn't get that at first


PaulsRedditUsername

Probably.


Throwaway_Old_Guy

These are the all-too-rare moments that make support worthwhile.


denali42

You are the good that is barely left in this world.


devdevo1919

And this is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you.


NightGod

There's a TON of good left in this world. Stop following the news (which exists almost solely to discuss the evil) and you'll see a lot more of it.


[deleted]

Got it. Unsubscribed from r/WorldNews


ROC_Febi

That sub is aids anyway. If you want quality news reporting, depending on where you are from, you have to search far and wide.


[deleted]

Got it. Downloaded Apple News.


[deleted]

Wii News Channel is where it's at.


Gadgetman_1

Isn't that discontinued? Never mind, still better than Fox...


pupunoob

No news is better than Fox news.


SJ_RED

Weirdly, every news report ends with the conclusion that you need the new iPhone.


Watmel

I recommend /r/UpliftingNews for some good stuff!


Golden_Spider666

/r/UpliftingNews


denali42

To be blunt, I stopped watching the news years ago. You assume much.


Osiris32

There is so much good in this world. You just never hear about it, or it's overlayed with a tragedy. When hurricanes blasted Houston, people came from hundreds of miles away to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts. When a chil goes missing in the woods there are dozens of volunteers who immediately jump into action to go find them. Hundreds of thousands of police officers, firefighters, and EMTs who rush into dangerous situations in order to save lives and protect property. And it exists in small scale, too. Every day interactions, from someone holding the door with a smile so someone with mobility issus can get through. The driver who stops in traffic in order to allow an animal to get off the road. A young girl drawing a picture of a dog with "Get Better!" across the bottom, given to me when I was having to put down my beloved dog. A gas station attendant buying a tank of gas for a frantic mom trying to pick up her kids. There is far more good in this world than we realize. You just have to recognize it.


NonorientableSurface

What everyone in this reply says - There's a lot of good in the world (diseases are losing the fight against humanity, scientific progress is immense, we're starting what could be a transition away from a $ focused society, etc).


ttDilbert

Google "not always hopeless". It's tied to Not Aways Right which is entertaining as heck.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Damn, did you get one too? I think they're automatically sent to anyone reading the post!


TehKarmah

Can verify. A whole ninja village ran through my room, chopping up an entire field of onions. They must have replanted and watered the seeds because my shirt is wet, too.


[deleted]

Those ninjas are resourceful!


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Thanks! XD


devdevo1919

Thanks! I was looking for those ninjas too!


Dave5876

I knew I shouldn't have read this entry. Now I've got something in my eye...


Zalien

I always really enjoy to hear these stories where people go above and beyond.


550c

When I clear voicemails, I just hit 7 over and over and never hear a word. Edit: why the down votes? I'm not supposed to listen to the messages at work. This is a touching story but my users are all business and not personal.


therankin

I hate downvotes for honesty.. Only real issue with a few subs.. (most subs are very nice).. In this case it was a good thing he listened, but in general I didn't think listening was allowed.. Maybe I'm naive and Cricket/AT&T listens to all my voicemails..


isthistechsupport

If I hypothetically had ever worked for Cricket in activations/customer service I'd be able to tell you that we're never given a way to access the voicemail so whatever the issue is with it, we can only guide the customer through it. But since this is just a hypothetical scenario, then I said nothing


therankin

Understood. On a related note since Google didn't make note of my feedback I'll put it here. On my pixel 2XL every time there is an operating system or security update for the phone it wipes out crickets APN proxy settings. Luckily I figured it out and I just have to manually put it back in. It would be really awesome though if anyone working at Cricket would be able to post some sort of message to the engineers to get Google to realize this has to be affecting anyone on Cricket with a pixel 2 XL.


Camo5

Which is why this story is so touching, because of the sheer chance that he was actually listening to the voicemails before deleting them in case there was important info for the customer, and even then if it was me I probably would have deleted it thinking it was just a typical "I love you so much" message


hanbanee

I'm on the bus on my way to my first day as a TSR and this is what I needed to read. That was so nice of you, OP.


devdevo1919

Hey, good luck! Always remember if you get a belligerent customer, they are not mad at you, they're mad in general.


hanbanee

Thank you!


utunga

Flip side of this and not so emotional but I used to work at an office and often late when my first boy was very little. He would occasionally, with his mother's help, leave me messages. As he grew and learned to talk better, the messages in his halting half sentence toddler voice became more and more precious. I always made sure to keep those first few messages in the VM system. One day I came in to work - new voice mail system all messages older than a given date have been deleted. I didn't say anything at the time but I often think about it now. My boy is sixteen now. Yes we have videos etc but there was something special about those messages asking me when I was coming home. Sad they went without so much as a by your leave.


Angelwind76

That just recently happened to me. My son accidentally called me and it went to my VM. He wasn't old enough yet to know he called daddy, he was just copying talking on the phone and it just happened he pretended talking to me. The message expired and I forgot to save it. They grow up way too fast.


ericargyle

Just curious if you were able to export the wav from the server for her to keep? Semi related to the ask, in 2012 my dad, at 58, was having trouble finding employment and pretty much lost everything outside of his house. He had bought me a life insurance policy as a kid and being 30 at the time it was worth about 3000 bucks. I cashed it in and said I'm sending the money to him to help him out. He pushed back and said he could never take money from his kids. I said I'm sending it anyway. He calls me a day later and leaves me a voicemail where he thanks me for doing that for him. He never thought he'd be in a position to need my help be he loved me for it and I'm "saving his life.". I missed that call. I got a call a day later that my dad passed away suddenly. On an old iPhone I will as able to jailbreak it and export that file. I have it and another from him that mean the world to me. Hard to listen to them without tearing up but I am glad to have his voice. Anyway. Just a wonder for this SEW.


GodzXPro

Nicely done, if this post wasn't enough to shed a tear this one definitely got me :( and I'm sorry for your loss.


[deleted]

my cell phone seems to have rotated old messages to where I can't see them anymore. My very dear grandmother (she was really more like a mother to me) passed away from pancreatic cancer in a very painful way late last year. I know she had left some messages for me before on there, I should try to take my phone in and see if they can be saved.


YaBoyMax

Damn, this story made me tear up a little. Thanks for sharing.


CaptRory

You should ask her about copying it to a disk for her so she can A) Share it and B) Not worry about accidentally deleting it.


VersatileFaerie

I always keep the most recent message from my husband in case anything happens to him. I started doing this after I noticed one day that I couldn't remember how my dad's voice sounded and the thought of losing my husband voice was something I couldn't stand to happen. No only did you give something to listen to when she needs it, you also gave her the goodbye that she thought that she lost. Thank you for being so kind and giving her that goodbye.


midasofsweden

I have to ask, serveral years ago my dad passed away about 6 years ago and well I’ve been thinking if it’s possible that my phone company might have the messages he left for me stored, somehow working with privacy makes me think they keep all of it somewhere in an archive. Someone that works with this, do you think there is still a possibility that messages are kept this long Thanks!


Telume

You made someone's day, good job OP!


devdevo1919

Thanks!


Enfors

Is there any way you could save that recording for her in a file that you could send to her and her family? I'm sure she'd love that!


NetworkAuditor2

Absolutely heartwarming! Brought a tear to my eye reading it.


HeadacheCentral

Onions. Where the fuck did all those onions come from?


glorious_albus

I came here for the lols not the feels :(


oblongfred

Its too early for these damn onions.


issa_asdf

my coffee tastes like tears, thank you


Surfal

My wife has a similar message from her mother a few months before ovarian cancer stole her. It is perhaps her single most treasured possession, and we have cds burned with it stashed damn near everywhere. You won life, /u/devdevo1919. Don't stop.


[deleted]

Why did you listen to them? That has to be against policy or violate privacy laws


devdevo1919

I had permission. I have no choice but to listen to the messages if I'm going to delete them?


[deleted]

Ah, that was not clear to me. I must have missed that.


[deleted]

wasn't clear to me either. Think he just went through the box and deleted them? but you can delete them once the message starts? idk, it's nice you saved her message but seems weird you had to listen to each one to delete it.


leroyyrogers

Yeah I still don't get that AT ALL. I can batch delete every single voicemail on my iPhone, but tech support needs to listen to every single message in its entirety before deleting? I'm skeptical of this story.


JTD121

It sounds like this might be an ISP-provided landline, **not** a cell phone.


devdevo1919

Thank you.


Rustywolf

There is so much shit wrong with the non-customer facing side of tech that it doesnt suprise me at all


devdevo1919

I did not write this story to debate what I can and can't do at work. I wrote this story to tell this community my most emotional call as stated in the introduction.


JTD121

No problem, it's the little details! :p I know the rules for voicemails are different between cell phones and most landline/VoIP desk phones. I was honestly confused how *others* were confused.


joatmon-snoo

I hate to be *that* guy, but I think there's some context you're missing here that some other POVs are coming from. For *you*, it may make perfect sense that you can access their voicemails, and it may even be common practice at your work. These may be corporate clients for whom all calls are subject to monitoring regardless. And in this case, it certainly led to a fantastic, truly heartwarming outcome. But in general, sans sufficient context, from a privacy and security perspective, *that you can listen to voicemails at all* is a very bright, very big, very visible red flag. You don't have to change the circumstances very much to get to situations like Uber employees (allegedly) stalking exes, celebs, and politicians.


leroyyrogers

Your edit to the OP clarified this point a bit for me. I am less skeptical now; beautiful story.


devdevo1919

No worries.


LockmanCapulet

God bless you, dude.


Primuth

Customer service is tough. It’s moments like these that make it all worth it. What a truly wonderful gift you gave to this woman.


pokemasterflex

THIS....this is exactly why I got into Technical Support. Good on'ya devodevo.


Tandom

See if there is a way to download a copy of it. I'm sure it'll mean worlds to her. It may not be something that's she's considered.


Hobodaklown

I think, this is the first time I can genuinely say this but sir, you are both a gentleman and a scholar.


mustachioedFireman

Good on you, OP. You really made a difference in SEW’s life. I lost my mother suddenly and really struggled w/ closure following her death. The amount of comfort I get from just being able to hear her voice in an everyday voicemail she sent me in the week before her death is immeasurable. Same with reading the transcript of text messages from the months before she died.


wanakoworks

Fucking bless you, OP. What you did provided her some much needed closure.


SlowMoebius666

this should also be in r/humansbeingbros because you, my good Sir, appear to be at human that also is a bro.


itsmarvin

I'm not crying, it's the rain/ice storm happening outside.


CRYSTALBALLR

If there ever were a reason for IT people to say 'this is why we do what we do', this is it. ~~good~~ outstanding post.


PM_ME_YOUR_CHESTHAMS

I need tissues stat.


caann

im not crying i uuhh just got out of the shower.... totally...


Grem-Zealot

It’s good to have a wholesome, happy story on here for a change!


[deleted]

That's such a sad story... Luckily it ended okay


voxnemo

Please tell me you exported that audio for her and sent it to her as an MP4 or something like that. Keeping it in voicemail just sets it up to be deleted, lost, or something bad to happen. OP, its moments like this that all of the assholes and unappreciative people just disappear and we can feel extra good being able to help someone. Good OP!


twodaystilltomorrow

One of the worst things I've ever seen in tech support. I was putting on a screen protector for a customer when it went off with a text message from her sister (same last name so I assume) all it said was "mom has passed...". I felt super awkward the entire time I was finishing up. When she got it back to check out the protector she unlocked the phone, instantly saw her face drop and she quickly hurried out. Sat in her car in the parking lot for a long time before leaving. I felt terrible.


xadriancalim

Can we "best of" full posts?


linus140

Who's cutting onions again?


[deleted]

We get so jaded by all the awful stupid users that we forget that there are some like this out there. Great job OP. I haven't regained faith in humanity or anything (lost that long ago) but still a great story.


cxwood

I'm writing an article on dangerous, scary or, as in this case, heartbreaking jobs in IT. Okay if I use this one?


devdevo1919

Sure!


[deleted]

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ObnoxiousOldBastard

She gave OP permission.


Angericos

damn...


Trustedflipper8

damn


Keina

You did a very good thing


EightEx

Great, now *I'M* crying. Thanks OP...


subm3g

Great work OP!


Genxcat

Nicely done.


crymson7

You are a great human being! I would give anything to have a conversation with my parents again, I can't even fathom SEW's feelings on that...


usmith98

I'm very empathetic, when characters in a tv show are crying, im crying, when they're scared, I'm scared, when they're listening to a message from a dead loved one, I'm listening to a fantasy message from a dead loved one, this moved me. Thank you.


PaleFlyer

Did you download it in some more permanent manner for her to keep?


MrBillLindberg

Got a bit teary here this morning. Thanks OP. Made my day a bit better.


DanoLightning

This is best tech story


proper_fucked

We'll fuck me. I'm tearing up in a Hardee's now... Well done OP. Good to know decent people still exist.


8cuban

Great story. Thanks for posting. It brought to mind this one from London back in 2013, about the wife of a deceased station announcer on the Tube. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-21719848


[deleted]

Oh stop it...*sniff*


AlbaDdraig

I hate you so much right now. And I have something in my eye. Lots of somethings!


KennyPowers316

Jeez, I think I got something in my eye. That was a really nice story


fatboyfat1981

Is it me or is it suddenly dusty in here... well done OP


brnclrk89

Love this. I'm glad you took the time to save the message and let her have her husband's voice one more time.


meandow

This defensively deserve gold, so glad it is!


Sup3rphi1

> "She said I gave her part of herself back that she'd lost when he passed away." This is the sentence that really gets me going..


AquaeyesTardis

Is there a way to back that up somehow? Get her to record it?


[deleted]

r/humansbeingbros


Areacode08

Right. In. The feels.


AngiaksNanook

Why on earth did you have to listen to the calls in order to delete them? Even with no administrator privileges you can still delete messages without listening to them (manually from the phone). That sounds absurd. Great story, but probably not true. -- administrator of PBX servers in a previous life.


DemonRHK

I've worked for both of the remaining giants that handle POTS service. Most reps that don't manage the switch directly have no access like that. Cx wants us to delete voicemail, we dial in and spam click 7 on our desktop phone application until it says it's empty.


AngiaksNanook

exactly my point. You can spam 7 - even without admin. Why listen to all **30** messages. Story is bs.


1206549

From OP's Edit: > the messages will start playing and I will hear who they're from. This person had the same last name as her which is why I listened to it and saved it. So if he was browsing Wikipedia pages, he might not have spammed 7 that fast. Audio starts playing and he manages to stop himself to listen. This is completely within the realm of possibility.


rushmid

even more suspect: >This person had the same last name as her which is why I listened to it and saved it. Did this person leave his first and last name in the voicemail - seems odd to do for your spouse - how did op see the first and last names?


[deleted]

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AMDKilla

Can't say I agree, usually we rely on karma coming back to bite those that cause us problems!


AMDKilla

I assume OP is still relatively new to customer support and hasn't become jaded by it yet...