Service Lets Callers Dodge Conversation

A new phone service is a hit with people who want to make a phone call without actually talking to anybody, the New York Times reports. Slydial allows users to skip directly to leaving a message on voicemail without the recipient realizing they have an incoming call. Users say the service has helped them dodge many awkward conversations.

Slydial's fans include rushed businesspeople who want to skip the chit-chat, and workers who want to call in sick without being quizzed by the boss. "I don’t want 50 questions,” said one user. "I just say, ‘I won’t be coming in; I’m under the weather.' " And of course there are the cowardly daters, who want to break it off without the painful discussion. “If it’s some jerk I went out on a couple of dates with," one woman tells the Times, "I can do without that drama.”

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