MUSINGS and other writing by Mark Kolke

. . . . . . there is no edge to openness

TODAY'S MUSINGS

FEEDBACK / COMMENTS

MARK SPEAKS

MARK'S SPEAKING TIPS

ARCHIVED COLUMNS

ARCHIVE WINTER 2020-21

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2020

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2020

ARCHIVE SPRING 2020

ARCHIVE WINTER 2019-20

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2019

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2019

ARCHIVE SPRING 2019

ARCHIVE WINTER 2018-19

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2018

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2018

ARCHIVE SPRING 2018

ARCHIVE WINTER 2017-18

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2017

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2017

ARCHIVE SPRING 2017

ARCHIVE WINTER 2016/17

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2016

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2016

ARCHIVE SPRING 2016

ARCHIVE WINTER 2015/16

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2015

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2015

ARCHIVE SPRING 2015

ARCHIVE WINTER 2014/15

ARCHIVE AUTUMN 2014

ARCHIVE SUMMER 2014

ARCHIVE SPRING 2014

ARCHIVE WINTER 2013/14

CONTACT

MY REAL ESTATE LIFE

WHY I WRITE MUSINGS

SHORT STORY PROJECT

POETRY PROJECT

SELECTED OTHER WORK

SERVICE TRUTH (?)

Saturday Jan. 19, 2019

Changing routines (or should I properly label them habits?) is difficult for me.

I don’t even like mine disrupted a tiny bit.

I can control them to some degree with technology – no need to answer phones or reply immediately to text or email messages.

Yet I often do …

As much as I hate my routines/habits being disrupted, I grind my teeth a bit when I have unreturned calls or messages – because I feel a duty to respond promptly.

I long time ago I found I was using my in-box and voice-mail as mini-filing-cabinets – so I stopped.

… all of which leads me to my pet-peeve du jour:

People with voice-mail messages which say some variation of: “Please leave a message – I promise to get back to you by the end of the day”, or within one hour or one day … etc.

Some companies won’t let you call them – they insist you leave your query, however urgent, on their website or submit by email which generates an auto-reply saying they will get back within the next business day. I had such a situation recently – on a time-sensitive website problem. My hosting service  is in a different time zone. My call was ‘after hours’. I left a voice mail, sent an email and opened two ‘tickets’ on their website with urgent messages to call me, regardless of the time, because I had an urgent problem to solve. Yes, in case you wondered, they charge me money every month for website hosting services which include ‘service’. I solved the problem myself the next day but chose not to advise them – I wanted to see if/when and how they respond. In response to the first ‘ticket’ I opened, I got an email two days later telling they are available 24/7, but it came with a list of departments and ‘office hours’ for each. A call to numbers given after hours got only a recording advising of their office hours but without the possibility of leaving a message. Regarding the second ‘ticket’, no response. To the email and voice-mail, no response. It’s been more than ten days so I doubt I’ll ever hear from them.

I realize I’m tilting at some windmill here, but really?

I wonder if companies like that one could calculate the cost of lost clients and lost future business because of those tactics, if their shareholders and directors would be happy????


SIGN UP TO GET MUSINGS BY e-mail: CLICK HERE

SIGN UP TO GET MUSINGS BY e-mail: CLICK HERE

sign up to get Musings free daily


Comments are always welcome - please contribute to the discussion.  Reply to: kolke@markkolke.com

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn. This site is updated daily, each column is retained in the archive when the next day's column is loaded ...  


Copyright - all rights reserved - Mark Kolke, © 2003-2021