Modern Technology Can Suck

Ok – I admit that sometimes I put people off. Not my personality, just that sometimes I don’t jump on the phone and respond within 5 minutes. Why would I? After all, where is the benefit to dropping my current task or project in the middle so that I can take up another task or project without finishing the first one?

Technology has created a sense of urgency in everyone for business communications. People forget that the advantage of e-mail and voice mail is not only that you can get your message across at your convenience, but also so that the recipient can respond at THEIRS!

But because e-mails and voice mails are bouncing back and forth at a rate of 15,000 per millisecond (slight exaggeration), senders assume that responders should be at the ready to respond within the same time frame. Not so.

So that brings up the next issue that is really pissing me off. People who, because they didn’t get an instant response, then forward their messages or voice mails to my boss. He then asks me about it and I have to break away from what I’m doing to provide an answer. Not that he’s going to forward the answer, or that I’m going to go make that call or send that e-mail – just that he now knows what the deal is. He’ll probably respond with “yep, she got your message.” It’s a waste of my time.

In fact, if someone does that, they automatically drop to the bottom of my list of call backs or return e-mails. I’m not going to honor that kind of behavior – that tattle tale mentality that should have been left back in kindergarten. I’m hoping that those that do this will get the message that it is not an effective tactic.

Now, it’s only been ½ hour since this e-mail request came to me. I am busy preparing for a closing for this afternoon. I have oodles of paperwork to do. Additionally I’ve had something like 15 other calls plus messages and e-mails today. Does it not occur to senders that the recipient might be otherwise occupied, might be busy working on something else, might be away from their desk, might not have checked e-mail in the last ½ hour?

Is it to be assumed that all recipients of voice mails and e-mails are constantly interrupting their work flow to check messages and respond to them asap? I should hope not.

Finally – “read receipts” HATE EM! Unless it is an actual important time sensitive e-mail, don’t add them to your message. If you are one of those people that adds them to every single cotton pickin e-mail – including forwards of cute puppy pics – then you have issues and should be in therapy. Personally, I’m going to click no every time I get the option to return a receipt. Do you need to know that I got your message inquiring about whether or not I had Chinese for lunch?

GET A LIFE!!