I run a business. I set an expectation that I will respond to customer emails within 24 hours. I view email as a legitimate form of communication, up there with phone calls and face to face meetings. It seems some businesses don’t view email as a legitimate form of communication. Irrespective of the fact they have an email address and web presence, they seem not to care for it in the same way they do a potential client knocking on their door or calling them on the phone. They seem unaware of the fact that the emailing market has an expectation and threshold for how long they will tolerate for a response. Interestingly, I have found it to be vendors of big ticket items – real estate and cars – that are the most apathetic. Widget peddlers, in my experience, are better at responding to email.
Perhaps when times are good and customers are lining up at the door you could field the easy enquires or the ones that come in through your preferred means only. Not great customer service but perhaps necessary when time is limited. But when times are bad, and you’re struggling to get a buyer, why be so aloof? I refer to many of the real estate agents I have been trying to deal with, as you may have guessed. It’s as bad as vendors hastily dismissing vendor finance. Actually, it’s worst – vendor finance is the unknown for many people. I’m talking about a sales person effectively turning their back on the person madly knocking on their door, cash falling out of their pockets, as they stress at their desk wondering how they are going to sell the property. Why would you do that?
Sorry about the rant.
A Desirable World 