AIBU to to deem business phone calls as almost rude if they’re not urgent?

[Thisisit2022]

I’m prepared to be in the absolute minority on this! My job involves a huge amount of administration and I work directly for a very busy managing director. Both of us answer our emails in an incredibly timely manner, in fact our business and reputation depends upon this.

I consider my emails to be a sort of in-tray exercise and I deal and answer them in order of importance but always within a very quick time frame. I can deal with and dash off a massive amount of responses within a very short amount of time – as can the MD.

I find that I now get feel incredibly irritated by phone calls, 90% of which are not time important. Many of them are people trying to contact the MD and these only come through to me when the MD is genuinely in a meeting. Nine times out of ten the caller will respond “Oh no message, don’t worry, I’ll send an email”. Why didn’t they just email in the first place then? Also, phone calls take up far more time than an email despite the outcome being exactly the same.

I also prefer emails because they leave an admin trail that I can refer back to at a later date.

I feel irrationally irritated when I take calls that are about “something and nothing” but which have interrupted me doing something far more time sensitive. AIBU?

YANBU, I far prefer emails rather than a phone call in a business context. The "audit trail" is very important for future reference, not just in case of dispute, but also as a reminder as to what was said for reference - quicker and easier than making file notes after a phone call.

Because sometimes email isn’t better as it takes forever back and forth

It’s quicker and easier to call, talk and ask questions as you get the response

I much prefer email and also find phone calls irritating. But i work in a safety critical business and paper trial is absolutely essential.

I think it also depends on the nature / culture of the business. My last company enouraged less emails and more phone calls or going to someones desk to discuss.

I've been mulling over the question I asked in my mind since I've been following the thread "AIBU to have gone off working?" Some of the irritations people feel about working resonated with me...and phone calls are one of them!

Someone here called me a robot and they're right. I am pleasant on the phone and have great relationships with my clients and our staff but I am an introvert by nature and would be happy never to have to talk to anyone on the phone ever again. I would happily work alone in a room with no face to face (or phone to phone) human interaction while ploughing through emails! One of my best friends is at the other end of the communications spectrum and needs daily face to face interaction with people.

It depends on what you do. I work within large teams and find it extreme irritating when people have telephone conversations and forget to let the rest of us know what’s going on. It’s soo much easier to keep track in emails or zoom calls. I also belive younger people find people calling out of the blue, extremely rude - a bit like turning up uninvited on someone’s door step. Kind of forcing them into a conversation at a time convenient to the caller but not necessarily for the lucky receiver. Unless it’s truly urgent I would expect an email or to schedule a teams/zoom meeting o call.

*Because sometimes email isn’t better as it takes forever back and forth

It’s quicker and easier to call, talk and ask questions as you get the response*

Isn’t that what OP is saying?

If it’s urgent, call, if it’s not email.

I find a quick phone call on teams to be a much faster way to resolve issues than emails which nearly always raise more questions than they answer.

I particularly hate emails thanking me for my last email and no other content. But in HE the level of "kindly" politeness is so over the top that they happen all the bloody time. No need to thank me, let me get in with my job!

It depends on the nature of the call/email. Sometimes people aren't very clear in emails what they want so a follow up phone call is a quick way of resolving the matter. If something isn't clear from a call you can always email them and ask for clarification/a record of events.
Everyone is different and what works for you might not work for other people.

Voicemail. Call screen.

People are forgetting how to talk to one another. You should be grateful for phone calls.

I prefer calling, over time you develop a better relationship with people. It allows you to retain business for reasons other than price and get to know clients and suppliers better and come up with better solutions. Personally I text, phone, email, whatever I fancy. I wouldn’t leave a message, it rarely gets through right

@Chemenger

Lots of things are easier to clarify in a 5 minute conversation rather than a series of emails backwards and forwards, surely?

Yes this.

I think if you want to call someone you email first to arrange a convenient time. Otherwise you just play phone tag all day with people in meetings, at lunch, on the loo! If you arrange a time to speak you know you'll get that person at that time.

I also agree about the paper trail.

What is really annoying is when people call, you answer their query and then they "oh can you confirm that in an email?" Erm no. You make a note of the call if you want to pin something on me later - or just email me in the first place!

Lots of things are easier to clarify in a 5 minute conversation rather than a series of emails backwards and forwards, surely

totally agree but you still need to arrange a time to speak

I would say you should have been a doctor's receptionist

I am retired but for admin/business stuff, I stil prefer emails/chat as then I can keep a record of what was said. I agree that phonecalls are not the best way to communicate now.

yanu unreasonable op and possibly in the wrong job. Yanbu to dislike phone calls but to think people who choose phone over email are rude or arrogant is very unreasonable. You've said yourself above that different people prefer different communication methods

*yabu, not yanu

I absolutely, completely agree with you OP.
But...
I'm also autistic. And I recognise that NT's often have a human element to these calls that's important to them.
Have you done one of the quick online autism tests??

YABU. I'm senior in a law firm. My inbox is bursting at the seams. I can barely control it and need a whole system just to manage it. Many are client requests that need filing and thinking about. Others are low priority questions from internal people or sometimes urgent requests
It's quite difficult to sort the critical ones for from the FYI ones and I'm more irritated by the long emails that necessitate a 2 hour back and forth written exchange that keeps meaning I lose track of where I am with other things and that could have been sorted by 2 minute phone call.
So many times I've started typing out an email and realised it's far easier to call and sort it in 39 seconds. I trust the recipient not to answer if they are other engaged and if they don't then I might try again or just send the email anyway.. Your callers would have been in the same position..