Maybe I need to switch to decaf, but I reply to every personal email I receive… And I respond quickly.
This is useful as the Director of Customer Success at GoSpotCheck, because our customers expect and respect a prompt reply. But even outside of customer support, I believe a quick response is important for developing strong relationships with co-workers, friends, and new connections.
There was a time when people were able to use excuses like: “It must have been lost in the mail”, or “My answering machine broke”, or even “I never got that text.” Today, with better and more reliable technology, you can be pretty positive that they did get that email. We all get our email and our texts, which is why most people don’t even use an excuse anymore… they just ignore your email instead!
Email is not a physical thing to me; it doesn’t stack up on my floor, or smell in my garbage. I don’t know why it is such a big deal! Ignoring solicitation is one thing, but a direct email written by a friend or co-worker should not go unanswered. If I had to break out a quill pen and ink to set up for each correspondence, I might find the volume cumbersome, but we have moved on from the written letter.
These days, we’ve even moved on from the long-form email. The 140 character limit on Twitter has forced the world to think and communicate with brevity. Comedians have to write 140 character jokes to keep their audience engaged. Companies have to communicate a promotion or marketing message that gets to the point fast, or they’ll miss their opportunity. People are no longer offended by something short and to the point; In fact, most of us now favor quick communication.
I was always taught to treat everyone the same, no matter their position or title. Some day, that person could be your boss or client and you should treat them as such. I will continue to quickly reply to every email I get and I would encourage everyone to do the same. Thanks for reading this little Sunday rant!
