Published:

• 2002  ProgramBusiness.com

• 2002  "My View"- Buffalo News

• 2002  Professional Insurance Agents Magazine, New Jersey Edition

• 2003  Cincom's Expert Access

• 2003  IIABA Virtual University Newsletter

• 2003  IMMS

Technologically Rude? ©2002

“Opportunity paged me, beeped me, linked me, e-mailed me, faxed me, and spammed me.  But I was expecting it to knock!”
– Cartoonist Randy Glasbergen

The difference between “the old days” and modern times is the boom in communications electronics.  However, for many, it just allows more ways to be rude.  Besides in person, how many ways were there to bother or ignore (my pet peeve) someone before the Internet?  The telephone, US mail, fax machine, or perhaps hand gestures in traffic were the weapons available, and were utilized proficiently.  Remember the junk mail list fiascos in the eighties? If we had only known how much worse it could get.

At least advertising that comes in the mail can be good for something.  I always use them for packing, and sometimes for making fire logs in the summer.  But none of that was porn, and it was easy to discard without reading.  None of this applies to today’s junk mail.  I was actually amazed this morning when I realized that out of 15 messages (aka “spam”) in my Hotmail Junk Mail folder, all of which I received overnight, only one included dirty pictures.  The rest wanted me to work at home (hey, we already do on our ASP servers), borrow money, graduate from college or just plain shop. (Note: in Dec. 2003 I'm now getting over 100 spams a night...)

Electronically, there is no safe haven.  I have seen spam, the common term for unwanted or un-solicited messages, on cell phones that include messaging and even on text-based pagers.  It’s only a matter of time before telemarketers use your pager to have you call them.

However, this isn’t an article about spam, but about rudeness, something that has increased along with our methods of communication.  It seems that many people are comfortable in being rude or disrespectful when they are not face to face.  There is no immediate accountability with electronic rudeness, no raised voices to be wary of, indeed, no imminent danger of retaliation of any kind.

Business suffers greatly due to the loss of respect that has permeated the Internet.  Staff may think nothing of blowing off steam in an email to a business partner or client.  That lack of accountability is an illusion in corporate America and clients and partners are lost every day by a disrespectful reply or request.  People who wouldn’t dream of telling a client in person to “get a life” or “go away” routinely do so via email.

As I mentioned, I do have an irritation that affects me on a daily basis at work.  Those who ignore my email or voice mail messages cause me great anxiety.  That includes vendors, partners and clients.  I don’t necessarily need answers to my questions or solutions to my problems in the few minutes after I send them off.  What I desperately need is acknowledgement.  I want them to tell me they got my message and understand what I wrote or left them.  If they don’t understand, they need to let me know so I can re-phrase or add more information.  If they do understand, I would like to know that too, for I am ready to move on to my next issue.  I’ll gladly leave this one and return to it when appropriate.

Let me give an example.  A client calls and asks if a particular program that we host can be updated.  It’s a question I can’t immediately answer, so I call the vendor and leave a voice mail asking the question.  I get no response within a couple of hours, so I call back and am told that person is indeed in the office.  I ask for a different person, and then leave another voice mail.  No return call, so I email both of them and wait for the reply.  Not only do I not get a reply, but not even a “delivery receipt” telling me that they actually got the messages.  This means they probably have the auto-response manually turned off.  I get back to my client and let them know I’m still trying.  The next day, I actually talked to a staffer who knew the answer, which was no, and I ask her if the other two ever got my messages.  “Oh, yes,” she told me.  “I guess they didn’t know.”

A return call or email from either of the employees telling me they didn’t have a clue would have done me a greater service than ignoring me completely.  I lost approximately four hours in two days just doing follow-ups.  Eventually that vendor became an ex-vendor, in no small part due to the lack of respect in their lower ranks.

I am sure there are cases similar to this in most businesses.  Employers need to re-develop an environment of respect and relationship nurturing.  Even though we are in a computer dominated society, the same business manners that worked for companies in 1930 work in the 21^st century as well.

Here’s a short list of my favorite rules:

• Acknowledge your messages.  Whether you receive an email, voice mail, fax, instant message, letter, FedEx, page or loud speaker announcement, the person who sent it would like to know you received it and understand what they have said.

• Don’t burn bridges.  Even in a heated email exchange, always show a respect for the other party.  You may not be allies in this issue, but you never know when their next big deal might include you.  Re-read emails before hitting the send button.  In an especially heated or intense debate, have another party review messages before they go out. 

• Be available, at least electronically.  No one can expect business people to be sitting at their desks waiting to take phone calls.  But many people will even prefer contacting you via email or voice message if they know you’ll respond quickly.  Instant messaging can be the ultimate in tool in availability, if employees can be trusted to keep it to business.  If your fax machine is always busy, add another.

• Don’t waste people’s time.  I don’t necessarily believe in anti-advertising rules, but a company or salesperson shouldn’t keep bothering people who don’t want to talk to them.  The best rule is, if you send something unsolicited, leave them a way to opt-out, whether by email, website, fax, instant message or phone.  That is the only complaint I have with spamming: no way to stop a firm once they’ve started to send ads.

• Remember the Golden Rule:  Do unto other as you would have them do unto you.  Not “Do unto others before they do unto you”, which is the current business climate.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me (I will answer all inquiries) at jack@worldpointinc.com.

Note: WorldPOINT articles are copyrighted and the exclusive property of WorldPOINT Inc. and author Jack Huber. They may be copied or reproduced by non-ASP's and non-competitors only in their entirety with no modifications, including the source and byline, and distributed without charge or financial gain.