Pushing people over, fighting in the queue, swearing at all the other lousy drivers. All bad manners in themselves but I want to talk about the one that really grates with me…ignoring emails.
When did it become ok to do this? Obviously ignore spam but the others? Would you do the same if I were talking to you face to face? And don’t say you don’t have the time. Even a “thanks for the email it has been gratefully received” is better than nothing. How long did that take to write? Three seconds…I type slowly!
For example:
Application forms. I’m sure (at least once) we have all taken time, care and a lot of effort into applying for a job. To send it to the prospective employer and then hear nothing at all. To me that’s not right. Don’t say you get too many applications, you can still only type one email and send it to the all the unsuccessful people. Believe me it makes a difference. Show you appreciate the efforts people have gone to in making the application. They have tried their best and you want to acknowledge this. Encourage them even to keep on trying. How many applications will someone make when all they get is silence? It saps the spirit. I know. I ‘ve been there.
Another example from the business world. This has happened to me recently. I was at a breakfast meeting and met one particular person, got chatting and he suggested we could certainly do business together. He sometimes got clients who wanted websites created or updated that he could not provide but I could. For an agreed price I could take on the project.
“Send me some examples of you work” he said
“No problem, I’ll send them later today”
True to my word I did. With the message “please let me have your comments good or bad”
I got a message back, “thanks Doug I’ll look at them later”.
And then nothing. Not a word to say he didn’t like them, or that it wasn’t the style he was looking for. Wrong coding language even. Nothing.
IS IT SO HARD TO HAVE THE MANNERS TO CONFRIM IF HE LIKES THEM OR NOT. IT’S NOT HARD!
A clue it could start, “Thanks Doug I think the websites are …. ” for all I know he may love the websites (a lot of people do) and will call me when something comes up. I honestly have no idea.
Yes I have emailed him again. Surprise surprise no response. Is this how he treats all potential business leads? It’s a wonder he still has any to be honest.
I don’t think he has anything against me or has even thinks anything is wrong. This is how common this has become. To me it’s plain manners.
So a plea: Please respond to emails. You never know what may happen down the road. I may have a lot of work to send this person’s way. I won’t. If he ignores their emails (like mine) then it will reflect extremely badly for my business.
Replying to loads of emails may take some time but it is worth it. You never know what a single reply might generate. The email doesn’t have to be a stellar piece of prose but respond, even if it is negative news.
I promise to respond each and every email or comment I receive (unless of course it is spam)
Am I wrong? What are you thoughts?
