Is Voicemail a Thing of the Past?

Since I work in a doctor's office, a lot of my time is spent on the phone. We're constantly calling patients to remind them about appointments and to let them know that their contact lenses or glasses have come in.

Most people ask us to call them on their cell phone. As you can imagine, we get their voicemail a lot of the time. We always leave a quick message to confirm their appointment or inform them  about their order.

Either 15 seconds, or a couple of HOURS, after we call them, we get this call:

*Ring. Ring*

Me: "Hello, Dr. G's office.

Patient: "Hi, I missed a call from this number."

Me: "Yes, this is the eye doctor. We left you a message."

Patient: "Oh, I didn't listen to it."

Me: (Thinking, but not saying) "Well, go listen to it fool and you'll unravel the mystery of why we called you."

Me: (Saying instead) "We're confirming for tomorrow at 9:00 am"

Patient: "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I can't make it."

Me: (Thinking, not saying). "Go eff yourself."


How about you? Do you listen to your voicemail or just call back the number that you missed a call from?