To find this so bloody annoying and wish those who do it would stand on a plug?

[Ohitsjustsoannoying]

It's sort of light hearted and yes it's not a huge problem but AIBU to find it so fucking irritating when you ask someone a simple question over email and they reply with "give me a call". No, just answer my question?!

There are a few people who do this at work and it infuriates me. 99% of the time the answer could have just been typed out in 5 seconds on an email in response to mine but no, I have to make time in between doing everything else to call them to go through the "hi how are you, how's the kids, are you busy" blah blah blah just to get a simple enough answer I could have had 20 minutes ago.

Why do people do this. JUST REPLY TO THE EMAIL.

And it then means if I don't have the time to call them then and there I have to wait for the answer to a basic question until I have time to call.

I feel your pain.

But I always reply with, 'Sorry no time. Are you able to just give me a quick reply? Thanks'.

Because they're a peeeeeeople person.

Are they trying to cut down on their email traffic? Or are they trying to avoid leaving a paper trail? If the latter then that is quite annoying.

I do this, mostly because the questions asked require a long answer and I can't be arsed to type it all out

OR because I need to leave no paper trail 😬

I find it so annoying when someone emails me with a quick question that could be resolved by a 2 min phone call.
But I hate email.

And they're usually the ones where it turns out you need ten separate things clarified to be sure that that you're giving the correct/full response that is needed, as the question isn't properly defined.

It riles me too, and it's often the shady people who don't want evidence of their response in writing.

It get a lot of "can I call you?" Because they want me to explain how do something that they should know how to do, and their email in monitored so they don't want to be caught out 🤦🏻‍♀️

The one that riled me up today always does it. Every single email is met with "give me a call" and none of it requires a long answer. It's literally just a very simple request and when you call he'll give you a very simple answer that would have taken two seconds to type out.

@Ohitsjustsoannoying - in that case I feel your pain. That is frustrating if it just needs a one sentence reply

YANBU

I would ignore a response like that unless I had absolutely no option.

I don't find this happens much in my group. Email is usually replied to with email; if someone has a question which may be appropriate to discuss then they'll start with an IM from which it's easy to add a call if apt - while simultaneously still able to type, c&p info etc. I don't have a phone on my desk, just a headset - so much better.

Are these the same people who leave voice notes on WhatsApp “because it’s quicker”?

I had this today, meeting to schedule super easy, just check the calendar or send me some slots i can check, job done in no more than 5 minutes over email/chat, but nope, she goes have you got a few minutes for me then sends an INVITE for 30 MINUTES.... AAAAAAHHHHH ... i am with you 100% the dreaded have you got 2 minutes for me. Nope i do not ... mic doesnt work.. cant find my headset... buried in emails got to find the best most plausable excuse for these people who are clearly not busy enough

Same goes for people who won’t engage in a text conversation. I may text a couple of times over a morning for example as and when I get time and then some people will phone and say they can’t be doing with texting, they’d rather call. Well I text because it’s easier to do around whatever I’ve got on but now I have to stop and talk .Grrrrr

I find the opposite - people who call when an e-mail would have sufficed. I cannot stand talking on the phone and have occassionally 'missed' a call to subsequenly e-mail or message the person back.

Traceability! If they answer you you can say later ‘well here’s exactly what you said!’

Ugh yes I hate this too. Actually would rather not complete the task than call the fuckers.

"basic question, " you, yes. However, the other party clearly does not see it that way. It is as simple as that.

I preferred the mush to mush caht or phone and a quick summary of what was agreed.

What did wind me up was the two-faced clowns that did the least, were the most useless and got away with doing fuck all.

OR because I need to leave no paper trail

This, mainly.

A lot of the stuff I deal with is quite nuanced and a) hard to explain in email and b) not always appropriate to put in writing (public sector, university, need to be very careful!)

If it's asking for a call for the sake of it, then of course, that's irritating. But often what people think is a simple question isn't quite that.

'Sorry no time. Are you able to just give me a quick reply? Thanks'.

I know it's context-dependent. But this is so rude in my world, I'd just ignore it.

Similarly, there is one guy who does some consultancy work for me. I email him things I need him to do, give him all the specifics. Every single times he responds with the completed document included and then almost immediately calls me to ask if I got it, did I have a look at it, blah blah blah. Stop fucking ringing me! I got your email 10 seconds ago so no I haven’t read it. And when I do, I will email you if I need to. He’s the type that uses 1000 words when 10 will do so it’s a total waste of time. And I hate speaking on the phone.

I don't mind it as much as I used to. Sometimes it is just easier to chat through than try and explain in an email. Though if I need to cover my arse I may ask for a follow up or something so I've got an audit trail (this happened today but luckily the chap I called was a Risk guy so he gets it!)

I’m guilty of this at times! It’s usually when the question has been worded in a strange way (doesn’t fully make sense) or the answer would take longer to write down. If it’s a straightforward, clear question with a simple answer, then yanbu x