Common Courtesy

[Puckle]

What is it with People who advertise canal boat services and when you ring and leave a message. they do not have to common courtesy to call you back. over the last few week I have rang a boat gas fitter who did not return my call, An engineer twice, who also did not return my call. and quite recently someone on here who advertises a canal boat service and has not return my call. Very disappointing to say the least.

[luctor et emergo]

I used to 'advertise' my canal boat service here, but sold my boat 18 months ago. If you mean me, apologies, what bit advertising then did I miss to remove?

[matty40s]

I try to return most if not all calls, however, some people do not leave a number and are calling from withheld or private numbers.

If you have had 4 calls not returned, then maybe this is the case with your number.

It is not often I carry my phone when locking, it is raining, or I am servicing engines/painting/etc etc , I have been through 4 phones in a year and learnt my lesson.

[Arthur Marshall]

The engineer who has looked after my boat (who never rings me back - you have to catch him answering the thing) has said if he rang everyone back who left messages for him he'd never get any work done. Needless to say, he gets most of his work locally and is usually booked up for weeks ahead.

[churchward]

It is indeed frustrating to be ignored by people you wish to buy a service from and who you would think would be only too glad to call you back to obtain your business. All too often I have experienced what seems to be indifference to my enquiries in a similar way to you.

 

Still, it is not always so and good service and customer care is out there from small and large organisations. I experienced an example of good customer care from a utility company this week (Welsh Water) who not only call back when they say they will but go beyond that to make sure that you are satisfied with the outcome with further updates.

[luctor et emergo]

What is it with people who ask questions on internet fora, but don't bother to acknowledge any replies?

 

And they wonder why I stopped replying years ago...

[Midnight Rider]

The engineer who has looked after my boat (who never rings me back - you have to catch him answering the thing) has said if he rang everyone back who left messages for him he'd never get any work done. Needless to say, he gets most of his work locally and is usually booked up for weeks ahead.

So why can't he have voicemail so that he can get back to the caller when he has finished working or to leave a message saying that he is fully booked for the foreseeable future? Perhaps because he doesn't give a sod because he has so much work.

[MtB]

I can get typically between 20 and 50 messages a day on my voicemail in busy periods. Calling them all back WOULD be a full time (and unpaid) job.

 

My outgoing message tells people this though, and invites people to call me again if no reply. The people who call twice get priority as they clearly want me in particular.

 

In addition only about one in ten callers result in work. Each call takes about 15 mins and calling people back is mentally very draining espcially after a long day late into the evening.

 

There is no answer...

 

MtB

[Peter X]

Any individual in business who is in high demand has to have a strategy for balancing the time spent on sales activity, and while it's the polite thing to do to provide some sort of response to every genuine enquiry, demand can reach a point where some of the least promising leads have to be ignored, at least until they become more promising in the case of MtB's strategy.

 

In my line of work as an IT freelancer, the numbers of enquiries are never high because the contracts are typically months or even years, but I've had times when getting back to someone has been a low priority for me, especially if some agent has been trying to interest me in a completely unsuitable contract, showing that they haven't bothered to compare it properly to my cv. Nowadays they've given up on me, not least because I've been in the same contract for 8 years; their computer systems probably think I'm retired or dead. If this contract doesn't see me through to retirement I'll just have to put on my sales hat and I'll be very rusty at it.

 

Assuming that the OP has made a reasonable enquiry, about the sort of work that the person might normally do, and has of course left a number which can be called as matty40s mentions, I would agree that some kind of response should be expected. It doesn't have to be the same day, or anything more than just to say they're booked up far ahead, but in the long run it's good business sense if there's a possibility they might want that customer in future when trade is not so good.

[bigste]

In my job as a printer I always call back and 8 out of 10 result in work. Can't afford not to call back.

[craftycarper]

I very rarely call anyone back,if I can turn off the answerphone I will, and the reason is that people seem to think we (self employed) tradespersons sit at home waiting for your call and should be grateful for your custom, truth is you need me not vice versa, I went to college on peanuts money to learn my trade and if you could do it yourself you would,nt even want to speak to me, I have a list of loyal customers who,s names go in my phone and I will prioritise, everyone else can wait there turn, just ring again and if they are not stuck under an engine or trying to hold three bits of pipe a blow lamp, a roll of solder or anything else that consumes there day I,m sure they would love to answer and spend an un payed hour talking you through your problems only for you to get Dave from the pub to do it on the cheap, try to look at it from the other persons side

[pquinn]

I very rarely call anyone back,if I can turn off the answerphone I will, and the reason is that people seem to think we (self employed) tradespersons sit at home waiting for your call and should be grateful for your custom, truth is you need me not vice versa, I went to college on peanuts money to learn my trade and if you could do it yourself you would,nt even want to speak to me, I have a list of loyal customers who,s names go in my phone and I will prioritise, everyone else can wait there turn, just ring again and if they are not stuck under an engine or trying to hold three bits of pipe a blow lamp, a roll of solder or anything else that consumes there day I,m sure they would love to answer and spend an un payed hour talking you through your problems only for you to get Dave from the pub to do it on the cheap, try to look at it from the other persons side

So,why advertise? just to tease?

[boathunter]

I try to return most if not all calls, however, some people do not leave a number and are calling from withheld or private numbers.

If you have had 4 calls not returned, then maybe this is the case with your number.

It is not often I carry my phone when locking, it is raining, or I am servicing engines/painting/etc etc , I have been through 4 phones in a year and learnt my lesson.

I PM'd you a few weeks ago. Did you get it? I didn't get a reply, not that there's any rush just yet.

[Athy]

people seem to think we (self employed) tradespersons sit at home waiting for your call and should be grateful for your custom.

Indeed they should, because if they're self-employed and have no customers they will end up starving and homeless. By the same token, the customer should be grateful that an appropriately skilled person carries out satisfactory work for them. It works both ways.

I went to college on peanuts money to learn my trade.

Do you feel unique in this regard? Many of us went to college or university to learn our trades - teaching in my case, but could have been law, medicine, accountancy, whatever. I have rarely encountered a rich student.

You are a funny chap and no mistake.

[MtB]

So,why advertise? just to tease?

 

 

I don't advertise as such, I publish websites filled with helpful information about faults with specific makes and models of boilers.

 

People read my sites and some of them fix their own boilers, some are heating engineers who use the info to fix their own customers' boilers, and some decide they want me in particular to fix theirs.

 

Should I take my helpful sites off line when I am too snowed under to respond promptly (or at all)?

 

MtB

[Murflynn]

reminds me of that bl**dy 'rated people' website promoted by estate agent Phil.

 

put several jobs on their website, never had a response.

[pquinn]

 

 

I don't advertise as such, I publish websites filled with helpful information about faults with specific makes and models of boilers.

 

People read my sites and some of them fix their own boilers, some are heating engineers who use the info to fix their own customers' boilers, and some decide they want me in particular to fix theirs.

 

Should I take my helpful sites off line when I am too snowed under to respond promptly (or at all)?

 

MtB

how am i supposed to know [in red].

 

The question was not directed at you it was for craftycarper because he said ''I very rarely call anyone back,if I can turn off the answerphone I will, and the reason is that people seem to think we (self employed) tradespersons sit at home waiting for your call and should be grateful for your custom''.

The question stands...... so why bother advertising at all?

[matty40s]

I PM'd you a few weeks ago. Did you get it? I didn't get a reply, not that there's any rush just yet.

I will check my PM's when I am next on my laptop this evening - don't often look at them tbh....sorry.

[nicknorman]

Should I take my helpful sites off line when I am too snowed under to respond promptly (or at all)?

 

MtB

No, but you could include some comment about how you are snowed under and find it difficult to respond (although I haven't checked to see if you already do).

 

OR, you could just work harder thus getting round everyone, and then you would probably be able to afford a boat that doesn't keep sinking.

 

 

 

 

 

Can't do smilies on my iPad

[pquinn]

No, but you could include some comment about how you are snowed under and find it difficult to respond (although I haven't checked to see if you already do).

 

OR, you could just work harder thus getting round everyone, and then you would probably be able to afford a boat that doesn't keep sinking.

 

 

 

 

 

Can't do smilies on my iPad

Ha,Ha

[Wanderer Vagabond]

What is it with People who advertise canal boat services and when you ring and leave a message. they do not have to common courtesy to call you back. over the last few week I have rang a boat gas fitter who did not return my call, An engineer twice, who also did not return my call. and quite recently someone on here who advertises a canal boat service and has not return my call. Very disappointing to say the least.

To be honest, when ringing any tradespeople, I'd rather that they did not have an answerphone to leave messages on. As others have pointed out for the tradesperson, if they are good at their trade, there will be a lot of messages to respond to and for them it is all gratis, unless they get the job there is no money in it, and that is after all why they are in business. My hatred of answerphones is firstly because I am ringing from my PAYGO mobile and if there is no reply it costs me nothing, if a d*mn answerphone cuts in that is immediately a 25p call. Secondly I am not a slave to my mobile and often don't have it on me so if the tradesperson does ring back there is every possibility that I wont get the call so it becomes a sort of game of phone ping pong, I phone them and miss them, they phone me and miss me. Personally I'd far rather just keep trying at times convenient to me because you can almost guarantee that if someone does ring you back it will be at the most inconvenient moment (just started winding the paddle at a lock, etc).

 

If the OP wants a real example of lack of common courtesy he should try a period of jobhunting, then he'll see what is meant by the phrase. In my jobhunting days many was the occasion where I've applied for the job, gone for the interview and received b*gger all back from the company concerned as to whether I've got the job or not, THAT'S lack of common courtesy!

[Rich]

I can get typically between 20 and 50 messages a day on my voicemail in busy periods. Calling them all back WOULD be a full time (and unpaid) job.

 

My outgoing message tells people this though, and invites people to call me again if no reply. The people who call twice get priority as they clearly want me in particular.

 

In addition only about one in ten callers result in work. Each call takes about 15 mins and calling people back is mentally very draining espcially after a long day late into the evening.

 

There is no answer...

 

MtB

You could always change your job and go into customer service.

[Machpoint005]

I'm self-employed and I do respond to voicemail messages, whether on the office (landline) system or on my mobile. However, my work is entirely business-to-business, so it is important that I give the impression of being a reputable firm. I find that when clients can't get hold of me, they send an email, and that usually gets the dialogue going.

[Puckle]

What is it with people who ask questions on internet fora, but don't bother to acknowledge any replies?

 

And they wonder why I stopped replying years ago...

Only just returned to computer and no it was not you.

[MtB]

No, but you could include some comment about how you are snowed under and find it difficult to respond (although I haven't checked to see if you already do).

I inform callers in my outgoing voicemail message, but not on the webbsite contact pages. There is a well thought out reason for this.

 

 

OR, you could just work harder thus getting round everyone, and then you would probably be able to afford a boat that doesn't keep sinking.

 

Can't do smilies on my iPad

 

 

For the money I've spent on my two boats I could easily have bought a brand new Hudson, but I'd be too embarrassed to be seen out on it...

(Note I can do smileys! Maybe if you worked harder you'd be able to afford a proper computer )