No I don't want to ring you, that's why I emailed

[Misty8]

Anyone else find it annoying when a company provides their email address in the 'contact us' section, but when you email them for information they write back and say " if you could please call us on this number we can discuss". But if I wanted to call you, I would have

Some examples:
When planning my wedding I sent a few very basic questions to multiple suppliers, just to compare & help decide- ie what's the cost, are you available on this date, do you travel to this venue?

Or when I was looking for a gym in the area I sent off mails to all the gyms just asking how much for annual/monthly membership, any off peak deals?

Or researching creches/montessoris and asking how much per child, do you have spaces, what hours is the creche open?

AIBU to think they should just write back with the answers?

As a consumer I agree with you, I hate using the phone. However I run a small business providing a service and any new clients who email are usually price hunting and will never book me.

So I do try and get people on the phone, or I would not have a business at all!

Ultimately people don't seem to mind, and often it's a good way to build a connection with them which will help in me providing them a tailored service.

MeYouWhy I can understand it from your perspective, I think what I (and the majority here) are talking about is simple things like a gym.

Me: “Hello, I’m thinking of joining, could you tell me the times and prices of your peak and off-peak membership please?”

Them: “Well, it depends (I know this, this is why there are different tariffs FGS), why don’t you come down and have a chat.”

Me: “Can’t you just tell me the prices of both and the times I can use off-peak?”

Them: “Its better if you come in really, then we can work out which one would be better for you.”

Me (internally): “JUST GIVE ME THE BLOODY PRICES!”

Ultimately people don't seem to mind

No, most will mind, they'll just be too polite to say so on the phone.

It drives me mad. Gyms are generally the worst for it. I want to be able to compare prices without having to sit though a half hour sales patter. Pricing shouldn’t be a secret.

Because you've emailed a string manufacturer asking how much is a piece of string.

Our pricing is project based so there are a whole load of questions I need to ask in order to work out what sort of string you need, how much of it, and where it's going. Some of those questions won't be apparent until you've answered the first ones so one email with a list of questions won't do it. We could be going back and forth all day with emails or we could have a 2 minute phone call.

I also like to ask you what you're buying the string for because sometimes people come to me wanting one of those cables you use to hold suspension bridges up, but it turns out all they need is a shoelace. So if you will only deal with a company that will respond to an email with a price, you'll get what you wanted to start with but you'll be overpaying for something you don't actually need.

But honestly, yes, it's about using my time effectively as well. The kind of person who gets arsey about a phone call is in my experience the kind of person that's happy to let my team spend hours putting together a proposal for them but won't have the decency to send me a 30 second email saying the project's cancelled or they're going with a different company. And usually they're going with a different company because it turns out they wanted their string in blue and assumed we wouldn't do that without bothering to ask, or a man from another company told them something about our product that isn't true and because I'm a woman and it's a technical field they, again, don't bother to ask me about it. When we're busy it's just not worth the time dealing with these people.

I don't think it's out of order to ask for a bit of mutual respect in a business transaction; this isn't the 19th century and I'm not a tradesperson being sent to the back door.

I have this, i am considering a kennel for dog next easter, contacted a recommended dog carer only to be told to ring to discuss.
what a palava.
I want to compare prices, that is all

I've been known to respond saying there's nothing I want to discuss, I would just like the information I requested, and if they don't want to give it then I won't be pursuing the inquiry. The prospect of losing any chance of a sale seems to make them more sensible.

Guienne

Depending on what I was selling,, that would put me right off. If it was anything where I was going to need any input or co-operation from you as the buyer, I would just ignore you unless desperate!

I don't think it's out of order to ask for a bit of mutual respect in a business transaction so emails are considered distrespectful and phone calls aren't? Right. Also how it is mutual if customer is being forced to have say 20 conversations with 20 different companies just to decide on which one they want to go with?

May I ask? For the people who don't like talking on the phone - why, what's the problem with it?

I find when talking on the phone whether to companies or certain 'friends' that they often drone on and on. People like the sound of their own voices. I feel much more in control of the interaction by email/messenger etc. I can choose when to reply, when to read rather than being at the mercy of someone who had an agenda .

shambu lots of reasons-

• If you work long hours and some companies are only open 9-5 so can't speak to them during the day
• If you're home with small children/ babies and don't want to get into long phone conversations as at any minute you'll get interrupted
• You want to have all the info written in the one place from each company
• You don't want to be upsold to or coaxed into agreeing to something on the spot
• You're making a complaint and you want to remember all the facts and not be talked out of it

@Shambu for me, it’s a time saver. I can spend 60 seconds writing an email or I can spend ten minutes on the phone. Plus, some people get flustered on the phone. Plus, a lot of people work 9-5 so are unable to make a phone call, and either don’t want to waste their precious time in the evening to phone people OR lines are closed after 6pm. Plus, it gives me headspace. I can send the email off and tick off the job as done and move on to my next piece of life admin. Literally so many reasons!!!

How annoying that you should actually speak to a human being rather than hide behind your e-mail.

I was actually asking why people dislike talking on the phone specifically.

Being at work or with small kids is a different issue - it just inconvenient whether you like doing so or not.

As to the other two - no-one has ever coaxed me into agreeing something over the phone, nor have I ever had a problem complaining over the phone. To remember all the facts you note them down before the call.

So this hasn't really answered my question.

Email is a very laborious way of communicating. And questions tend to change based on the answers you get. And you can always ask for a written quote basdd on the upshot of the phone call.

That was to Misty8 ^^

I get not being able to talk at work but that's a slightly different point.

I can send the email off and tick off the job as done and move on to my next piece of life admin

But the job isn't done - you've sent an email with questions you haven't had a reply. So then you wait for a reply. Then go through the questions and find one is not answered and another the answer is not clear. So then you have to email back. This has already taken longer than a quick phone call where you fire off the questions, make sure they're all answered fully and clarified everything there and then.

It's precisely because I'm very busy and I don't have time to waste with email.

I hate talking on the phone. I’m an introvert and much prefer to email. Dominos is my favourite because you can order online and the only word you have to say is “Thanks” to the delivery driver. The food at my local takeaway is amazing but you have to phone and talk to them, and they don’t speak particularly good English which makes it even more stressful.

In most cases when you’ve made an enquiry and they call you it’s because they want to give you the hard sell. I can’t be bothered - just give me the info I’ve requested.

northernspirit did you actually read the post or of the comments? Or do I need to ring you to discuss?

Also how it is mutual if customer is being forced to have say 20 conversations with 20 different companies just to decide on which one they want to go with?

How dreadful. To be forced to do your research into what company you want to buy something from by - gasp - not wasting people's time and choosing, instead, to spend your own!

And also, it is precisely the fact that some people work like this - spamming out twenty enquiries, necessitating someone at each business entering into an email discussion with them, then never hearing from them again - that makes businesses put up some hurdles. It is completely sensible: call us if you are genuinely interested.

pengggwn gasp - not wasting people's time and choosing, instead, to spend your own!
Why is it considered 'wasting' other people's time and 'spending' my own. Surely wasting or spending is in the eye of the beholder? Also to be forced to do your research.. that's exactly what I am doing, simply by email instead of by phone.
Clearly we are never going to agree on this and luckily a lot of companies are willing to just use the form of communication that suits the customer so I can just go with one who will, and ignore the others

Misty8

You're not 'the customer' until you spend money. They have already spent money: on infrastructure, labour, materials, marketing etc. You get to dictate to them when you are the customer, not as a person making an enquiry. If they don't want to engage with potential customers by email, they really, really do not have to.

This is really a retread of an argument that was going about 40 years ago when companies started offering phone service over mail service. I can recall TV programmes where people got Very Angry Indeed that they had to telephone, rather than write - besides, what if you didn't have a phone[1] ? After all, not everyone did. What about old people ?

My preference for email derives from the fact that I can sent one when I want, and read the reply when I want, rather than put my life on hold during certain prescribed hours at someone elses convenience.

(And let's not start the "who emails at 4am ?" discussion again )

[1] at least 2 friends (well their parents) in my class in 1975 didn't have a phone. And I can recall my DF moaning after he set up his business that all customers should have a phone, as it was easier to let them know when to collect their car. This was 1980. There was a reason there were adverts with Buzby for British Telecom. It wasn't to encourage people to switch to BT (only one phone company in the 70s and 80s). It was to encourage people to sign up in the first place.

To remember all the facts you note them down before the call.
So like writing an email really, only with having to go through them all over again on the phone?