Does This Excuse Make You Crazy Too?

[Tony Patella]

A thread in the Men's Lounge made me revisit this topic today....and this pertains to the real world, more than in the hobby. Still, it's a simple courtesy that's important in both.

We're squarely in the age of technology...with internet everywhere, wireless, iPhones, Blackberry's, IM, Facebook, Twitter, Boingo, Wi Fi and the like all around us. Staying connected is easier than ever, and an absolute necessity in business.

With that being said, how many times do you get the feeble excuse for an unreturned call or email, "Sorry I didn't et back to you, I was traveling." or "Sorry I couldn't get back t you, I was busy."

With the former lame excuse, I always want to reply with, "So where the hell were you, on top of Mount Everest? What, there was no cell tower where you were? With the latter, I've actually been known to say, "Well, no worries. I know I'm simply very low on your priority list!"

Hell, I travel coast to coast a lot of us do, and never am I out of touch for longer than the length of a flight. These days, with Wi Fi on so many flights, being out of touch is quickly becoming a thing of the past. I manage to reply to every email, even if it's a simple "Thanks" top let the sender know I received their correspondence.

Is it just me, or does anyone else share this pet peeve? What are some of the best (aka most lame) excuses you've ever heard, real time or hobby land?

TP

[enderwiggin]

Just a thought: They might have been in a place or with people who do not know about their chosen profession and so were avoiding contact with you in an effort to be discrete and protect their and your anonymity.

Sure its a lame excuse. You can choose to take it as a polite "F*ck you." or, like me, as a "It was a bad time and I got back to you as soon as I could." I choose to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The one I get all the time is "family emergency".

Just my 2 pennies.

[Guest100513-2]

I have no patience for flakiness and bad communication.

Unless of course the sex was really good or she is really hot and then I will overlook most anything.

[Hawkeye9]

I personally do not have a I phone or access to interenet unless I am at home , so being out and about and sending or receiving emails would be difficult.
yet I do mainly outcalls, so I do have pc access and my basic cell phone when a provider needs to stay in touch.

Yet I hardly think a good provider would be Internet handicap like me if she wants to make money, so I tend to agree with the post. yet agree with enderwiggin too.
I know I can not take a position, lame!! lol

[hotlips_houlihan]

Ok, then there are some of us ladies who actually drive when we travel and not fly. I'm not checking my email on my phone when I'm shifting gears and paying attention to the road. So if after that 6-9 hour drive I get to my hotel and see I have an email, I will respond with "sorry I missed your request, but I was on the road traveling." Why does that have to be a sorry excuse? Or wait...maybe I went to my mother's house for a few days. Gee, I don't think I will be checking my work stuff on her computer lol.

Look at it like this....at least she got back to you instead of ignoring you all together. It's still a part of customer service, even if you don't like the reason.

Meg

[guest031012]

Originally Posted by hotlips_houlihan

Ok, then there are some of us ladies who actually drive when we travel and not fly. I'm not checking my email on my phone when I'm shifting gears and paying attention to the road. So if after that 6-9 hour drive I get to my hotel and see I have an email, I will respond with "sorry I missed your request, but I was on the road traveling." Why does that have to be a sorry excuse? Or wait...maybe I went to my mother's house for a few days. Gee, I don't think I will be checking my work stuff on her computer lol.

Look at it like this....at least she got back to you instead of ignoring you all together. It's still a part of customer service, even if you don't like the reason.

Meg

+1
I couldn't agree more girl <3

I recieved a negative review this weekend because I chose to cancel my appt because I was too tired. However I was MOVING across town all day and up and down 5 flights of stairs because the elevators were broken so at the end of the day I decided I couldn't do my 9pm appt because I would have been too tired and the service would have been under par. I asked to reschedule but he was leaving town. So there was nothing more I could do. So now I catch the slack for cancelling because my "excuse" wasn't good enough??


Do you know how many times a guy has cancelled on me? I don't care what the reason is or whether or not I feel it was valid; he cancelled and you move on.

Additionally, I don't think you hobbyists realize how many emails, pms, texts and phonecalls we recieve and sometimes it gets very overwhelming when responding to everyone in a timely fashion, and sadly I'm sure some correspondances have slipped through the cracks because I was too busy at the time to respond (YES, TOO BUSY as in, in class, or driving around town running errands or in another appt). I do sincerely apologize and I try my very very best to keep up but sometimes it's hard.

Don't give us grief for what you think is a valid or not valid excuse for cancelling an appt or not responding to an email right away. We have lives outside this job, and some have families as well. Work can't always come first. We are not at your beckoning call when you're horny. We sure do try to be though


I have a feeling this post will cause some drama, but I had to get some things off my chest

[Guest012211-3]

Whatever happened to "business hours"...do they still exist? Since when are people required to answer every email, phone call, text, 24/7?

Don't you enjoy time off to relax, watch a movie, go to the park? Technology is great, but it's causing more stress and confusion in the long run.

Sending texts/emails ( since most phones do both) after a reasonable hour is just as rude as showing up to someones house unannounced.

Makes you wonder what's going to happen to this next generation...do they have a name for them yet?

[Tony Patella]

Originally Posted by Tony Patella

and this pertains to the real world, more than in the hobby. Still, it's a simple courtesy that's important in both.

Obviously, a number of folks missed the fact that i said real life more so than the hobby...however, the hobby is a business too.

Nuff said?

[hotlips_houlihan]

Originally Posted by Tony Patella

Obviously, a number of folks missed the fact that i said real life more so than the hobby...however, the hobby is a business too.

Nuff said?

And honey, you know I love ya, but the things the ladies said do also relate to the real world. If I get a text or phone call from my real world life when I'm driving 6-9 hours for work, or if I am actually at work, I don't get back to them until it's convenient for me.

I know I got a text this morning from a friend of mine that I didn't answer until about 20 minutes ago. Why? Because I was busy doing real world things that took priority over getting into a lengthy text message conversation to answer a question. This whole text crap bugs the shit out of me. Especially when I'm driving. My daughter gets mad at me when I don't respond. Well, I'm not too good at driving, shifting gears and texting. I don't have a bluetooth so I don't too much answer either. So she gets mad when it takes me an hour to call her back. OH WELL!

It annoys me to see 5 missed phone calls, but no message was left regardless of whether the call was from real life or play land. I don't call back. If you don't leave a message I figured it wasn't that important. If it's that freaking important that you gotta call me 5 times, leave a damn message so I know!

Meg

[Travelmind]

I'm not sure which side to take as I'm one to live, breath, and sleep with my phone. (sometimes love the 3a mobile pornhub to get me back to sleep) However I know not everyone has the same desire to live in a 24/7 commication world so I only offer advice. Providers should keep personal and business communications separate. Then when your not available on business email update the out of office that your gone and when you expect to return.

[hotlips_houlihan]

Originally Posted by Travelmind

Then when your not available on business email update the out of office that your gone and when you expect to return.

Huh? You mean like do an automatic vacation response thing? I thought about doing that but decided against it. The reason? Because we ladies receive an enormous amount of spam. Getting an automatic response will only verify to them that the email address is a valid one which opens up a whole 'nother can of worms.

Besides, it's so impersonal.

Meg

[Guest012211-3]

Originally Posted by Tony Patella

Obviously, a number of folks missed the fact that i said real life more so than the hobby...however, the hobby is a business too.

Nuff said?

Nuff said? Is it??? LOL

RW communication can be very frustrating at its best. I usually give a 2 day window before I send a follow-up. Try re-locating and rebuilding/coordinating your new life in another country from right here. It's not easy...

[guest043013-2]

AS an old fart, I remember a world where fax machines were a novelty, email was just a glimmer in a vice-president's eye, and smart phones/text messages/mobile phones were not around.

As a society, we have reached a point where we expect instant gratification for anything we do or want. A little bit of patience will go a long ways.

I know one reason some ladies cut me slack on screening is because I patiently woo them with a few PMs or emails, so they figure a cop would never be so patient.

Now, did I tell that buyer from Korea to be patient when he called my cellphone at 3 AM in the morning wanting to know where the *%^%%&% was his parts he had ordered? (well, I wanted to, at least)

[Guest050613-02]

Originally Posted by JamieYoung

We have lives outside this job, and some have families as well. Work can't always come first. We are not at your beckoning call when you're horny.

I was not present at the event nor do I have a dog in the fight. But I do have a perspective:

I own my own small business... just like a provider. I seek the ever ellusive "life work balance"... just like a provider. I depend on my reputation & word of mouth referrals for new biusiness... just like a provider. And I am never going to tell a customer, for whom I have a confirmed deliverable due, that I am sorry and I cannot meet my commitment because "work can't always come first."

If I did so I would no longer have that customer & the story would spread faster than all the great deliverables I have handled in the past... just like a provider.

Now that said, nothing generates loyalty in my business more than saying I messed up, I accept responsibility, and I am going to do whatever it takes to remedy the situation to your complete satisfaction. Often received better than having done it right the first time. Just one man's perspective.

[dentonseek]

Originally Posted by ReadCT

I was not present at the event nor do I have a dog in the fight. But I do have a perspective:

I own my own small business... just like a provider. I seek the ever ellusive "life work balance"... just like a provider. I depend on my reputation & word of mouth referrals for new biusiness... just like a provider. And I am never going to tell a customer, for whom I have a confirmed deliverable due, that I am sorry and I cannot meet my commitment because "work can't always come first."

If I did so I would no longer have that customer & the story would spread faster than all the great deliverables I have handled in the past... just like a provider.

Now that said, nothing generates loyalty in my business more than saying I messed up, I accept responsibility, and I am going to do whatever it takes to remedy the situation to your complete satisfaction. Often received better than having done it right the first time. Just one man's perspective.

I completely agree with this sentiment. I too run business this way and would get my ass out of ANY social occasion to make good on a business promise. Why ? Because without business, you're never going to get to the pleasure.

I see some ladies run their "businesses" in the sloppiest manner because they CAN and will get away with it.