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?

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?

DW is partially sighted and needs a page per letter. She also can't write legibly anymore. But she can use a screen reader, and dictate a letter through Siri.

For my money, not offering a choice of email to phone is straying into accessibility and reasonable adjustments territory. Although given the pisspoor accessiblity on a lot of e-commerce websites, it's to be expected.

Meanwhile, the world has moved on to Whatsapp and Instagram anyway. I guess we'll have discussions in 50 years time as to whether they should be used ....

I'm totally with you OP. People calling in response to an email is infuriating. It's so intrusive.

Estate agents are terrible for this. They waffle and waffle when an email response with the very specific factual information requested would have been far faster. When I have ignored their calls, emailed again saying "I can't speak on the phone, please can you respond to my questions by email?" they then almost always email back saying "Call me when you are free".

I am autistic so find speaking on the phone really stressful and most of the time it's completely unnecessary. Written communication is clearer, enables both parties to respond at their convenience and can be kept for records.

In my personal life, I won't do business with a company that will have a definite price list, but will only read it to you after a phone call.

Jobs that require an actual quote or work to be specified in detail fine, but other than that I won't engage with someone who wants to work out how much they can squeeze me before committing to which price I get.

I'm away on holiday with a patchy at best internet/mobile signal

I sent in a complaint to a company before I left, they have tried calling me 3 times, got through, I went through my complaint over a 15 minute call, where I was stuck where I was standing
Told them repeatedly I was away, bad signal etc and to email or write to me (as they wouldn't email) and What happens?? They email me asking for fucking details of my complaint as they couldn't get through to me on the phone !!!!

I wonder if people that are comfortable with email over phone were quite good at written work in school

I also wonder if part of my reasoning is that professionally I've dealt with people from all over the world for whom English is not a natural tongue, and they are more comfortable exchanging emails than talking. (Despite the fact that almost invariably their English is perfectly serviceable).

The cynic in me then wonders if corporate aversion to email is to avoid being held to a promise . After all it's a lot easier to amend an agreement when it's not written down. (Call recording apps are available from your chosen app store).

I guess there is the argument that when speaking to someone on the phone, you know they're human . For now. That said, given the last two Dan Brown books were written by Artificial Intelligence, it won't be long before you can't know whether an email came from a human.

Another reason I prefer emailing, to add to the long list of reasons I gave above, is to have a paper trail!

My last time of this was so infuriating. Email us for an online quote it says. I did. Filled out their questionnaire and they call me. Not with questions though again email is better as i often work long hours, but to try to sell me additional work and not answer my quote.

After 7 missed calls, no voicemail and 1 brief conversation i finally find they are trying to sell me what i do not want or need to increase their profits. Waste of my time and theirs plus i was recommended them on a group i am in. I relayed their behaviour to the group which was a bad review and had a couple of people striking them off lists too.

So like writing an email really, only with having to go through them all over again on the phone?

So like jotting down brief notes vs having to write out complete sentences, numbered points, and an intro. And not getting an immediate answer...

I'm interested in an elective qualification. I'm through the application, evaluation etc. and was today notified that I'm through to the Skype screening interview stage.

Despite declaring my hearing-loss on the form, and emailing a response to ask if they can make it a Skype video interview, I've just had a family member text to let me know that the course organisers phoned to discuss this with me...

I remember emailing a few orthodontists looking for prices on fixed braces and invisalign. One of them writes back and says please call to discuss. I call them and they don't answer so I leave a message. They call me back the next day but I can't answer as I'm working. I call again on my lunchbreak. They don't answer again so I leave another message. They call me back the following day and I can't answer again!. At this stage I'm so fed up I don't really care how much they charge because 2 of the others have emailed back with prices so I just go with one of them.

But say you already use, as an example, a dog boarding kennel, which is £30 a night, and you're wondering if there's anywhere that does it for £25. If they will answer a one line email or simply put prices online I can discount or include them immediately. If they make you phone for prices I will either a) assume expensive, not bother or b) waste their time and mine phoning to find out they're £35 a night.

This also applies to switching gyms or car insurance or anything really. The basics should be available without smoke and mirrors and/or queueing to speak to a call centre for hard sell.

I'm a dog breeder and expect people to have a conversation with me. I can't get any sort of feel for someone via email, and often they just copy to every breeder they can find. I could spend hours responding to an email full of questions only to never hear back from someone.

For me it’s a timing thing. I work 8/9 to 6ish then collect small children bath bed etc. It’s then 8pm.
I want to deal with house admin type things then, comparing quotes and availability and reasearching options. Not mid morning when companies are in office hours and I’m dealing with clients.