A SURVEY by a Kent tele-receptionist company shows that seven out of 10 people don't leave messages on company answer phones. Most still want to talk to a human being.

The survey of 250 businesses across the south-east showed four out of 10 people would not bother to ring back if they got an engaged tone when calling a commercial number.

The research was carried out by AnsaCom, of St Johns Road, Tunbridge Wells. Managing director Claire Burroughs, said: "The engaged tone is the biggest killer of business. It's closely followed by an unfriendly or incomprehensible answer phone message.

"People still prefer a human voice and want the confidence that their inquiry is being handled and hasn't been lost in the course of a busy day."

There was suspicion that people often hid behind their voicemail to avoid taking a call, and nearly 45 per cent of respondents said they would rather leave a message with a colleague.

AnsaCom uses a team of tele-secretaries to answer calls on behalf of businesses of any size, based anywhere in the UK. They respond exactly as the company would if it were taking the call itself, so callers don't know they are talking to a third party.

Messages are passed to the appropriate person via e-mail, text messages, fax or mobile phone. Claire Burroughs said: "We are so confident of our service that we offer prospective clients a one week free trial."