Bad Business Etiquette?

[hobish]

If her boss asked her to call she should have called. An e-mail would have been a good follow-up.

I don't know what kind of business your friend is in, but in my experience a phone call (assuming you speak to a person) is  more effective if you're trying to get an answer out of someone, no matter what you sound like.

So - did she violate some business rule?

'fraid so.

It's not the end of the world, though.

[MineralDiva]

I have to say that my immediate thought was that, if her voice wasn't up to calling everyone to remind them, why did she have them call her to RSVP? Either way, it would have involved using her voice in it's sub-par state.

But it really isn't the end of the world, as hobgoblinish said.

[ohjodi]

Your friend was wrong to take it upon himself to send emails when his boss instructed him to make phone calls.

Your friend should have explained to his boss why phone calls might not be feasible.  Then the boss could decide to either have someone else make the calls, or have your friend send emails.

[jais]

I think that a lot of people are forgetting something very important here.  These were either colleagues or acquaintances of the emailer. 

I work in the collections department for a telecom company that only provides services to businesses, however, one employee perk is being able to take advantage of very competitive pricing on internet service.  When it occasionally comes to our attention that a bill hasn't been on one of these accounts, we send an email to the employee email per company policy. This way, the person knows they owe, but have not been put on the spot by their coworker.  I would've sent the email in this situation, ill or not, just to have the record of contacting these people right there in black and white. 

[kethria]

Well first off apparently it wasn't the boss, it was just some random coworker who needed help on an assignment, and secondly, he did call and surprise surprise, no one answered the phone...

[lmyrs]

Slartibartfast, I  must know. HOW does someone talk while breathing in, instead of while breathing out??? I have been sitting here at my computer trying it for 10 minutes now and I think my DH is wondering what the groaning noises are!!

[Slartibartfast]

Slartibartfast, I  must know. HOW does someone talk while breathing in, instead of while breathing out??? I have been sitting here at my computer trying it for 10 minutes now and I think my DH is wondering what the groaning noises are!!

Try just forming the words while breathing in instead of out and kind of closing off the back of your throat (the same way you do when you talk normally).  Your diction is fine, but you can't talk very loud and you don't have much pitch inflection, both of which help a lot when you're on the phone!

[Raintree]

I agree, an e-mail was perfectly appropriate, especially for someone who is busy and needs to send it to more than one person. Chances are on the phone you'd get voice mail and end up having to play telephone tag anyway. I must say, sometimes I prefer to communicate by email, especially if the person I need to get the message to has a tendency to chatter at length.

[audrey1962]

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?

According to the OP, the boss asked her to "contact" people but did not specify phone or e-mail. In every company I have ever worked in, e-mail is an accepted means of communication. Employees are expected to check their e-mail and respond in an appropriate and timely manner, the same as they would to a phone call or a fax. I do not think the OP did anything improper.