Do you check texts? (SMS)

Mid 50s and prefer a call. Texting is a pain in the arse.

58. Text or WhatsApp preferred.

Phone calls too intrusive and not convenient.

The text is fine and way more appropriate and professional than WhatsApp.

I have all of my notifications turned off apart from SMS texts - as these are the important ones.

But her cancelling on the day is very unprofessional!!

I would have texted and asked if it was ok.
If I didn’t get a reply I would have phoned.

I'm in the range, and I rarely answer a phone call. My voicemail message says, "please text me." I also have all my notifications silent; it's not that hard to check every couple hours.

Yes, this. WhatsApp is a very social app, certainly not the professional communication method.

Wow, never thought that someone would turn off SMS. Emails, WhatsApp, yes, but not SMS. Very random and not for the professional to guess. Annoying, but I've never heard of anyone turning off SMS. You should definitely alert people to that. Most NHS appointments/messages are communicated that way.

Yep. I work in a very busy job. I keep my phone on for genuine emergencies for my kids at school. But I’d prefer all non emergency contact is in text, WhatsApp or email. I check these often but I only would choose a phone call if it’s prearranged or an emergency thing. I never just call people except immediate family. To me it’s a bit like turning up at someone’s house.

I fully acknowledge that other people feel very differently though - hence the “they can’t win” comment.

Shit. Clearly not… I know what I’m doing for the rest of the evening 🥲

I think txt/sms or phone calls are more immediate and more official seeming than WhatsApp. Not everyone has WhatsApp and given its more 'social' status its notifications are more likely to be the ones turned off or not checked during the working day. Is it free to message on WhatsApp? It's certainly free to call.

If I'd been wanting to cancel something in a hurry I would have sms, phonecall, email in that order.

I agree she should have followed up the message with a call when she didn't get a response, but I'm a millennial too and I don't know anyone who turns their txt notification off, that's really odd to me. I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect someone to see a txt message in 10 hours.

I’ve got notifications on and sometimes don’t look at them for days, have a couple here at the moment that I think were received Monday. Can’t be arsed.

If it’s important, they can actually call my phone.

Best you don't ever have a serious health issue then.

If you do want to turn them off, it’s:

settings > notifications > messages

then toggle them off. That will turn off all notifications from messages. Or you could just turn everything off but leave ‘badges’ on so you can still see if you have something new, but it won’t pop up!

I’d say it’s a ‘millennial’ thing (as a millennial) to have your phone permanently on silent, yes. But it’s not a millennial thing to have it on silent AND not check it!

That being said if text wasn’t a usual way to communicate then yes I would expect contact via a usual channel. I wouldn’t automatically expect a call, I personally would hate a call!

I wouldn’t have been irritated by it, but I wouldn’t be able to answer while at work. SMS works best for me.

Irritated by a phone call? Where someone is telling you your appointment time has changed?

IRRITATED by it?

Stop the world I want to get off.

SMS texts are the only notifications I actually have on - only because I don’t know how to switch them off! I check everything else but don’t like notifications flashing up all the time. I generally only ever get texts that are reminders about eg dentist checkup, saying a parcel is out for delivery and so on, the only “real person” who texts is my eyebrow lady - but I do see them because they come through on my Apple Watch too. I’d find it weird if a professional person sent me a WA uniess it was someone who is also a friend, like my hairdresser.

Oh for the love of God, dress it up any way you like, turning off your SMS notifications is rather odd, and that is a 'you' issue. Do you not worry about missing your doctor's correspondence, kids' school correspondence etc? Ours send a lot out by text.

I think the therapist should have called as a follow up, but I also think you should have checked your texts. A lot of people prefer a text rather than a call which can be intrusive, especially if you are at work, etc.

Both unreasonable, you more so. I am 40, as you are asking about age.

Don’t phones indicate texts, mine does, tells me how many unread at the bottom

What? I can't believe the number of people saying person B is in the wrong. Person A has the responsibility to contact person B.
Why on earth would you not call to check they'd got your message, if they hadn't responded to you changing their appointment on the SAME DAY.
God people are ridiculous.
I work by appointment and would never dream of just texting someone to cancel on the same day. I'd want to give as much notice as possible, and I'd call first then text if I couldn't get through!
Are people too anxious to pick up the phone these days?
Do people know how to use a phone to actually speak to people?
Honestly. I despair.

Hmmm yeah this. ^ I didn't even know you could block text notifications! Like you, I rarely get spam texts. Maybe 3 in the past year. I just ignore them. (And I have had my current number for 6 years,) and the last one for 10 years before that. Have rarely ever got spam texts...

OP, is your number not TPS registeted? Just wondering because to get so much spam that you have to disable notifications is quite unusual.

I don’t really understand why you would check WhatsApp during the day but not have a quick look at your text messages at the same time. To me they are essentially the same thing - both are used for short text messages 🤷‍♀️

I have notifications on my phone switched off for everything - but I do check my phone regularly for texts, WhatsApps and emails.

And I would much prefer either a text or a WhatsApp during the day than a phone call, as I can’t always take a call, especially if I am at work.

So on that basis, YABU. Especially if you had an appointment that evening - surely you’d always check every messaging medium beforehand just in case there was a change!

Sorry. Clears throat. Who the fuck blocks text notifications? 🤣

do you seriously get that many messages tho? I haven’t had a spam since Monday and that was just a dentist saying I was overdue. In Jan I’ve only had the local curry house and a detention notification. I’ve had my number over 20 years and signed up for a lot of shit over the years. I went through my phone and turned all notifications off except phone, sms and WhatsApp so I get it but I don’t… get it.

I can't typically answer my phone during the working day. For a message like this I would prefer an SMS, rather than waiting until I get a break (and hope I remember to call back / don't get caught up with something else).

It would also depend on the importance of the appointment I suppose too I suppose. For a medical appointment where missing it is potentially serious, a phone call is probably appropriate. A nail appointment - not so much, SMS is fine.