Thursday, October 11, 2012

Simply Pink Part II

Sarah says:

The wine is just as good the second night - glad I purchased this bottle.  Good for both my research as well as the Breast Cancer Foundation.  That is a win win!

I usually try to somehow incorporate the wine name into my thoughts for the day - but today there is something on my mind and I just have to vent about it!  It has nothing to do with Simple or Pink.

It has to do with email.  Our world has pretty much allowed email to replace other forms of communication - which is fine by me.  I've never been a fan of the phone.  I will generally email unless it's a total emergency.  The question I have is: is there a timeline for the appropriate amount of time allowed to respond to an email?  I generally go with the 1 business day rule.  You have 1 business day to either respond with an answer or respond with an "I don't know the answer, but I'm looking into it".  And honestly - in today's world where we are all mostly attached to a computer or phone with email - I think 1 business day is being pretty generous... since you probably received my email right after I sent it.  It's not like it was 10 years ago when people might not have checked their email but once a day or so.

So, I've sent a few emails recently that have gone unanswered.  First, let me explain, that both of these people have said before "Please feel free to email me if you have any questions".  Ok, don't say that unless you are actually going to respond to the email of questions!  

I sent my realtor an email 2 1/2 days ago - it was fairly important.  I attached a document, then asked several questions about that document.  I'd love to know that he got the document - and more importantly - the answers to my questions!

The other situation that is bothering me right now - I emailed someone (I'll allow her to remain anonymous for now) about a month ago.  I asked one main question - but then said, oh and by the way - one more question.  I never got a response.  The first main question sort of resolved itself, so I'm not that worried about it.  And the second question was really just sort of a "since I have your attention - how about this?" not quite as important question.  Still - I would have expected a response to 1) ensure that question one really was resolved, and 2) to answer my second less important question!  Now - here it is a month later - and I have another question for said individual.  I emailed her around 10 am today, and I haven't heard back yet.  It's 8:30 pm now, so technically, she hasn't gone over my 24 hour rule - but I'm already annoyed by the lack of response the first time - so I'm really annoyed that she hasn't responded yet this time.

So, what is the appropriate response time?  Am I expecting too much?  Furthermore - what is the appropriate amount of time to wait for the follow up "Hello?  Did you get my email, email?!"  Depending on the urgency - I've been known to wait anywhere from 3-4 days to weeks.  No matter what - I'm annoyed that the follow up email is even necessary.

I used to work with someone who sent  an email response to every single email I sent him.  No matter what I put in the email or who the email was addressed to (he was often just cc'ed), he ALWAYS responded with "Sarah, thank you".  This annoyed me sometimes because it just filled up my inbox, or I'd get excited about getting an email, but it was just him.  But at the same time - it was awesome!  I always knew if and when he received the email!  Maybe we all need to start responding to every single email - regardless of if a response is needed - maybe it will clear up some communication issues that plague us sometimes.  

Maybe I need to go have another glass of wine to relax!

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