HELOISE Tips given for leaving messages on machine

Dear Heloise: I know talking to an answering machine can be intimidating. I don't like it myself. But, as a secretary, I have also been on the end of trying to retrieve badly given messages. So I'd like to offer a few tips to people when leaving messages:
Make your message short and to the point. Please try not to ramble on and on. Speak slowly, especially when giving a telephone number, and give the area code first -- some person is trying to write it down! Then repeat the number. With the increasing use of cell phones, messages often are broken up. On one particular message in our office, we were able to identify the first three digits, the last four digits, and the first of the middle digits -- no callback to this person!
Leave your name! It is embarrassing to try to figure out whom you are supposed to be talking to on a return call. If your call is not returned by the person you called, do not assume you are being shunned. Your message might not have gone through, like the one I mentioned. The number might have been written down wrong. You might even have given it wrong!
Give it another try, perhaps at a better hour, after you feel sufficient time has passed. Texas Secretary, Via E-mail
All very good hints! Also, please listen to the outgoing message -- I can't tell you the number of personal messages left for "Aunt Louise" or "Uncle Bill" on business machines, with no callback number! Heloise
Fast facts: Laundry baskets can come in handy for lots of things besides clothes. Here are just a few ideas:
UTwo of them tied together, one on top of the other, make a good pet carrier.
UUse in the trunk of a car for grocery bags.
UUse to put children's toys in.
UPut a soft towel in one and use it for a small pet's bed.
UThey are handy when moving -- store items in them to take in the car.
Dear Heloise: Recently, I went on a monthlong trip, and my car didn't get used while I was gone. The first time I drove it, the "Check Engine" light came on. Well, after paying a hefty amount to run it through the computer, the result was that the gas cap wasn't on tightly.
With the new sensor lights on cars being so touchy, I thought I might save someone else the problem by mentioning the gas cap. Rose Eisele, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Dear Heloise: Have you ever driven down a two-lane road doing the speed limit and someone makes sure he or she passes you, only to then do 20 miles under the speed limit?
I can't understand why people do this. Please, if you want to go really slowly, stay behind traffic, not in front. L.N., Via E-mail
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate