I’m starting to realize that not everyone considers e-mail a credible way of doing business. This was dramatically brought home to me today because of an issue (involving the scheduling of a meeting) that I thought had been settled by e-mail.
One of the other parties involved was apparently waiting for a phone call to make the decision “official.”
It then occurred to me that there are other people I know who, if I send them an e-mail will respond by calling me (long distance even!) rather than answer the question by replying to the e-mail.
Has anyone else noticed this?
Posted by eslaine (Member # 5433) on :
Wow. People tend to take my e-mails seriously, and don't ask for a phone confirmation.
But, this is California. We are crazy, you know....
Posted by Lost Ashes (Member # 6745) on :
I'm beginning to think e-mail is more akin to posty-notes or passed notes than it is to "official" communications.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
In my experience, e-mail counts 100% for business communication.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Maybe it depends on the field you're in. Or the age/tech awarness of the people involved. Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
I hate calling people on the phone, I’m always afraid I’m interrupting them. I love doing stuff by e-mail, since everyone can answer it at their own convenience. I’d never assume that something was settled just because I sent an e-mail, but since I got a response, I assumed it was. Bad assumption, apparently. Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Most people I hang out with prefer e-mails for business because they can more easily multi-task, it doesn't depend on someone on the other end being there to pick up, and it's instantaneous.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
I can't rely on e-mail too much at work because there are only two computers in the office that have e-mail availability. (the division I am in has over 100 people in it. Big division, small office. no sense.) However, it is used as the official way to get the message out to a lot of people at the same time in the higher ranks. It also allows them to print it out so they don't forget. My senior chief just tells me what the heck is going on for the day and expects me to be his schedule tracker. I tell him to eat it...sometimes. Of course, I told a lieutenant commander to pack sand yesterday. Good thing I was joking.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
dkw, We had a big presentation with an educational lawyer before school started to discuss this issue. IOf we email parents, which is convenient and effective for me, anyway, we have to save every email as parent contact and put it in the student's file. Most of us were scared off. I have started doing it again, because it is so much easier than using all my prep time to make calls. Parents like it as well.
So, it sure is a real thing for teachers. I think it depends on the business as well as the computer comfort level of the people you are working with.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I agree with previous comments about the level of computer-ese of the people you're dealing with. I worked as an accountant up until a year ago, and I dealt with everything that I could by email, and so did all of my clients. Who has time to make phone call after phone call after phone call to deal with something that takes 30 seconds on the computer? Plus it cut costs, which I, the accountant, am very quick to point out. So, it worked very well for me.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
In my university e-mail is the main method of communication. We rarely use phones to set up meetings. Even dealing with students, I tell them the best way of getting ahold of me is through email. If people waited for me to call and confirm something that I had set up through e-mail, they would be waiting for a very long time
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
Email is definitely the norm for getting things done at my company. If for some reason you don't get on your email, you miss much of the essential communications.
One reason email is so handy is that you can deliver the same message to multiple people simultaneously. Another reason is that you can send files with your email.
Often, I get phone calls telling me about an email that was sent to me. The phone is more immediate, but email is more substantial.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
E-mail, for me, is much more binding than phone calls -- because then I have it in writing from that person!
I'm a person who has terrible trouble remembering things I have been told auditorilly (sp). I mean, you could tell me your name 50 times, and I'm likely to forget it. But wear a nametag where I can see it written, and I will remember it after the first introduction.
So I personally prefer e-mail over phone any time. With e-mail, I can set it up as a reminder, put it on my calendar, or print it out and carry in my day planner to help follow-through. You can't do that with phone calls.
I can't understand that person's need to have a phone call to make it "official", Dana. That just seems weird to me.
Farmgirl
Posted by TMedina (Member # 6649) on :
I'll second (third? also confirm?) the "email is an official channel for business communication."
There are exceptions as people have already pointed out - some businesses are not technologically involved, nor do they see any need to be at this point.
Some people are not technologically advanced, nor do they see any real need to be.
-Trevor
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
"E-mail, for me, is much more binding than phone calls"
Yes, and email trails have led to proof of serious harrassment in work settings. It is as if people still think they are on the phone, yet every word is tracked. It is a strange form of communication, really. We went from writing letters to talking on the phone, and now we are going back to writing letters, but treating them like phone calls.
Posted by Alucard... (Member # 4924) on :
quote: In my experience, e-mail counts 100% for business communication.
I saw a funny comic and I may parapharase it a bit incorrectly, but it went something like this:
[Boss walks into an employee's office]
What are you doing here? I fired you 2 weeks ago! Didn't you get the email?
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Email is unreliable and insecure (compared to telephones). I still prefer email to telephones for arranging business stuff -- you've got all of the details written down automatically, there's the convenience factor -- but as far as making plans is concerned I'm usually one to finalize everything with a phone call (like, lay the plans via email and then call to deliver a status update close to the time of plan initiation).
[ October 23, 2004, 03:47 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
It's been my experience in dealing with volunteer participation - board members, organizing, etc. - that phone calls are essential.
Commitments that are "add-ons" to daily lives, such as committee and board participation, are often easy to shrug off for some people who originally signed on with the best of intentions. A phone call involves an acknowlegment of the value of their participation and generally decreases the chance that something will "come up" to get in the way of the commitment.
This doesn't apply to everyone - people who use email as their primary communication tool AND have these commitments as a top priority respond well to email. I think the trick is remembering who needs what.
And if you're uncertain, call them.
[ October 23, 2004, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: sndrake ]
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I'm recalling a line from Prince Caspian where they are remarking on being sucked into Narnia from Earth whenever someone blows Susan's horn. And Peter says something about their father complaining about life at the mercy of the telephone.
The element email lacks, and written mail for that matter, is confirmation that your message has been received. There is an immediacy to talking to someone on the phone that is very different. Email is also very good, as you mention you don't have to worry about waking or interrupting someone, and if they just aren't home you are stuck in that pursuit. I'm not saying telephone is better or worse, it just fills a different need.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
Actually, some e-mail programs have that. Microsoft Outlook has a "thingy" that it e-mails you back when they respond or something like that. There are other things dealing w/ MO that I can't think of right now.
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