Abstract: A method for receiving and delivering voice messages responds to the inability of a caller to complete a call from a calling station to a called station to automatically cause the calling station to default to a voice message center. If the caller desires to leave a voice message to be delivered to the called station, the caller is prompted to store the voice message. Thereafter, the voice message center initiates an outdial routine which makes a predetermined number of attempts to deliver the voice message to the called station at predetermined time intervals. In the preferred embodiment, the method is incorporated in a multiple user station telephone system in either a "shared tenant services" or "on-campus" configuration.