Bad Business Etiquette?

[kethria]

I got this from a friend who is worried... what do you guys think...

My boss had asked me to contact some people about a conference that we are hosting. Now currently I have a horrible cold and I sound like the creature from the black lagoon. So phone calls seemed out of the question, so what I did was compose an email that said essentially:

Hello, my name is John Doe from Bla bla bla.  I am writing in regard to our upcoming 2007 Bla bla Conference in Bla.  We have you listed as attending but have not yet received your payment information.  If you would like to make a payment over the phone please feel free to call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX during regular business hours.   Payment methods include Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.  Information about the conference can be found  at:

Anyhow now it seems they are upset because I didn't call. Did I violate some business rule?

I have no idea, I deal with animals, not people, and prefer it that way.


Keth

[RegionMom]

I work with about 30 women and we do like to chat and have fun. But when we need to know about attendance for a lunch meeting, or childcare resevations, etc... the director sends a no fuss-no muss e-mail basically like what your friend sent. 
Business is business.  You can chit-chat and be friendly at other times.  But if you had to call of them to confirm what they should have already done, then you would be on the phone all day, and still have not gotten all the info! 
If their "feelings" were hurt, then you could simply explain that you had a horrible cold and could not make calls.  Maybe you could preface another e-mail wih that info.
But...
documnet, document, document
because if your friend is in such a job industry that feelings matter more than performance,  they need to show how much they worked, regardless. 

[kethria]

Apparently these calls are to be made ALL over the US as well, because my friend stated that one of the people that responded to the email was in Hawaii... so yes, essentially he would have to be on the phone all day... I wonder why they are upset.

[wetblanket]

documnet, document, document

I totally agree with this.  Some workplaces are very weird and it's just as well to be ready to defend yourself against the wackos.  Yes, I think anyone whose feelings get hurt over an email like that instead of a phone call is a wacko.  What your friend did was appropriate.

[behindbj]

Apparently these calls are to be made ALL over the US as well, because my friend stated that one of the people that responded to the email was in Hawaii... so yes, essentially he would have to be on the phone all day... I wonder why they are upset.

They are upset because the fact they haven't paid for something yet was trasmitted, in writing, over company email - which never dies.

Your friend did nothing wrong.

behindbj 

[Slartibartfast]

I think a phone call is better for this sort of thing - email is wonderful and non-intrusive, but you have no way of knowing whether they got your message in time.  (Then you get into the whole "do I follow up and sound mad because he blew me off, or just assume I should re-send it because he didn't see it?")  However, if the phone isn't useful for some reason, email is fine.

There is a lady in the main library who talks like she's had a trachaeotomy (speaking while breathing in instead of while breathing out) and who is difficult to understand even in person - much worse on the phone.  I don't know if I'm the only one who has this problem, because nobody else seems to even notice, but I try to contact her by email if I have to get in touch - I feel so bad asking her to repeat every other statement over the phone.  Maybe everyone else works with her more closely and is used to it; I don't know.  Email is usually less convenient, but I can be sure I understood what she was saying.

[artk2002]

The only thing that I can thing of that your friend might have done wrong is sending this e-mail to everyone with an open copy list.  Nobody likes to be called a deadbeat publicly.  If the friend used a bcc or sent individual notes, then they have nothing to complain about.

[MineralDiva]

Strangely, as I sit here in my office at nearly 6pm...with probably another half-hour to go...I'm preparing for a conference we're hosting tomorrow morning! (I have some printing running, so I'm playing in E-Hell, while I wait for it to finish.)

We sent emails like the one in the OP, but still had to follow up with several calls.  It's the fastest and most efficient way (email) to contact everyone with the same and correct information.  The "chit-chat" can be done when they RSVP.

[Shoo]

The only thing that I can thing of that your friend might have done wrong is sending this e-mail to everyone with an open copy list.  Nobody likes to be called a deadbeat publicly.  If the friend used a bcc or sent individual notes, then they have nothing to complain about.

Yes, I agree with Art.  An email to each individual would have been more appropriate (cut and paste works well).

[Twik]

Personally, I'd prefer at least an initial contact by e-mail, so I'd have time to organize my thoughts, if not my finances, and write back that the check was in the mail (even if it had gone out five seconds before I started typing), instead of stammering in person that perhaps the dog ate it.

[kethria]

The emails were sent individually... I think I would prefer an email to some random guy asking for my credit card #...

[Belle]

My opinion? So long as he used a blind carbon copy function (i.e., they couldn't see who else received the e-mail), e-mail was perfectly appropriate. Quite frankly, he's already wasting his time hunting down people who haven't done what they were supposed to do (pay). No need to waste more time by calling each one individually. (And if his workplace is anything like mine, he would have simply left a bunch of voice mails or messages with secretaries anyway.) They should have paid, and it's not their place to gripe about the manner in which they were told to pay up so long as it was done politely.

[Balletmom]

Ridiculous that they complained at all, honestly. If they haven't paid, they should be grateful to get a courtesy reminder before being dumped from the conference. Emails also are a better method of confirming that someone was told--sometimes people take the "you never told me" line.

There's an old cowboy saying, "He'd complain (use colorful swear word here) if you hung him with a new rope."

Means some people would complain with their last breath about anything just to complain.

And I personally get email reminders all the time instead of phone calls about things like this, I'd much rather get the email I can print out and use a reminder notice, then a phone call that interrupts my work day.

[bopper]

I don't think it was bad etiquette...but I will tell you that emails are easy to ignore, but phone calls are more difficult.  So if you call some body and ask where the payment is, they have to tell you they are not coming or give you the payment info.  With email, it's easy to say, yea, I need to respond to that and forget.  The boss needs to finalize the conference attendance, so calling is more effective in this situation.

[MadMadge43]

I've worked many conferences and found that for some people phone calling is really the only thing that works. In fact, I know for myself it's sometimes the only thing that gets my credit card out. Actually if I did respond to an e-mail like that I would pick up the phone and call in my credit card number because I'm not allowed to write it in an e-mail.

Depending upon the type of organization, (the more techinical or medical the more into phone calls they are, go figure). People are inundated with e-mails and the actual phone call is what springs them into action. If they're used to having their reminder phone call and it came over by e-mail they probably over looked it and are peeved that the call didn't come. They're looking at what needs to happen now, not what they're doing in three weeks.

But I also understand not being able to talk on the phone, but she should have had someone else in her/his organization make the calls because she/he couldn't.

When you're dealing with very busy professionals to whom conference arrangements are the last of their concerns the phone call is appropriate.