Refusal to talk

[Dave A]

I am noticing more and more people who want ask questions about things like my tweeters who refuse to talk. We get into back and forth on emails and days pass and some progress is made but not as much as five minutes of phone time would do. The questions trickle in and then you answer and then the questions trickle back in and on and on it goes for days. I give them phone numbers to call and since they don't use them my assumption is that they do not want to talk to an actual human. At some point in time I just quit and say call me if you wish to continue this and then that is the last I hear from most of them.

 

  Have any of you noticed the same thing and how do you handle it? Personally I am getting to the point where if you cant pick up the phone and call me I am not going to spend hours with messages back and forth. I just don't understand people who live in text messages as their world and won't communicate in any other way.

[JohnJ]

and the people said "Amen!"

 

Seriously, my big stubby fingers have a hard time typing on the small keyboard of a large for my pocket phone. The voice dictating function works ok but after I press send it looks like a dummy wrote it without any punctuation at all. I still insist that phones are for talking.

 

& customer service representative or human being please doesn't work as well with phone defense systems as it did twenty years ago. Entities still try to route you to go away!

 

Sign of the times Mr Man.

[Thaddeus Smith]

Oh man, I hate talking on the phone, but it's nothing personal.

[Woofers and Tweeters]

+1

It has gotten that way almost everywhere. Quite often, people are trying to multi task, rather than to give someone undivided attention. 

If it's one, maybe two exchanges, then okay, text or email me. There is a time and place for texting (in a meeting or..) and a time for emails, otherwise, call. 

 

[rplace]

9 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

Oh man, I hate talking on the phone, but it's nothing personal.

 

Me to, but I pretty much hate people as a general rule. I feel obligated to text people first and see if they have time to talk if I'm going to call them.

[DizRotus]

It appears to be a generational thing.  We find the same thing in our small business. Rather than spend a few seconds on the phone to schedule a mutually convenient appointment, many younger people would rather exchange many texts and/or emails with possible appointment days and times.  It’s maddening, but seems to be how business is conducted these days.

[Woofers and Tweeters]

13 minutes ago, rplace said:

Me to, but I pretty much hate people as a general rule.

Don't we all 

 

13 minutes ago, rplace said:

I feel obligated to text people first and see if they have time to talk if I'm going to call them.

 

I don't want to be rude, so I send a smoke signal to see if it's okay to send a letter to see if it's okay to text to see if it's okay to call to see if it's okay to stop by.  

[dtel's wife]

and the people said "Amen!"
 
Seriously, my big stubby fingers have a hard time typing on the small keyboard of a large for my pocket phone. The voice dictating function works ok but after I press send it looks like a dummy wrote it without any punctuation at all. I still insist that phones are for talking.
 
& customer service representative or human being please doesn't work as well with phone defense systems as it did twenty years ago. Entities still try to route you to go away!
 
Sign of the times Mr Man.

The key to using the voice dictation function is to insert the words comma, question mark, period etc where you would normally use them in written language.

For example: How are you today question mark.
Will translate to: How are you today?

Hope that helps!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The Dude]

I don't have time to talk on the phone, with that being said, I usually rush a phone conversation and forget half of my questions.  I am a service manager that manages field techs.  Most of their phone calls are unnecessary and are time wasters, especially when their question doesn't necessitate an answer right away.  I also use emails as a check box, if its filed, I more than likely have followed up with someone's question and the ball is in their court.  This doesn't mean I have a problem with a 5 min follow up phone call to clarify something. 

[Coytee]

23 minutes ago, Woofers and Tweeters said:

rather than to give someone undivided attention. 

 

Good point.  When I'm doing what I do (reviewing the retirement trajectory for a State Employee)....  my phone will sometimes ring.  They'll pause for me to get it...  I'll tell them straight up, "I'm with you right now and you get 100% of my attention....  I'll get back to them if they leave a message....  so now if YOU call me and I don't answer, you will know that I'm likely focused with someone else and will get back to you when I'm able"

 

Kind of like going into surgery.....  I really really want "me" to be the total focus of the surgeon until he's done.....  

 

 

[Coytee]

54 minutes ago, Dave A said:

I just don't understand people who live in text messages as their world and won't communicate in any other way.

 

Maybe they're avoiding the phone because they think you have bad breath??

 

[Shiva]

I don't have a problem with people who refuse to talk, as I refuse to listen,  so it works quite well. 😀

[CECAA850]

Dave, just reply to the first question with "I'd love to answer your questions, please call me at.............."  Get rid of the tire kickers quickly that way.

[CECAA850]

53 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

Oh man, I hate talking on the phone, but it's nothing personal.

I had an employee that hated to call long distance as she couldn't stand the thought of her voice going that far.  It creeped her out.  She also wouldn't use the intercom pager.  You guys have issues.  I'm calling you from now on when you text me or if I need to ask you anything.

[Thaddeus Smith]

1 minute ago, CECAA850 said:

I had an employee that hated to call long distance as she couldn't stand the thought of her voice going that far.  It creeped her out.  She also wouldn't use the intercom pager.  You guys have issues.  I'm calling you from now on when you text me or if I need to ask you anything.

 

I won't answer, and will text you asking what you need.

[CECAA850]

1 minute ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

 

I won't answer, and will text you asking what you need.

[jjptkd]

8 minutes ago, CECAA850 said:

Dave, just reply to the first question with "I'd love to answer your questions, please call me at.............."  Get rid of the tire kickers quickly that way.

 

A lot of people / businesses post "frequently asked questions" on their products page or you could simply provide a link to a thread here on this forum discussing the product, that and what's posted above should significantly help.

[DizRotus]

I used to be traumatized by the phone, which I trace back to when I was ~12 and wanted a mynah bird. I opened the Cincinnati Yellow Pages to "Pet Shops," and started calling.  One the the first, if not the first, calls was a wrong number call to a bar.  The bartender yelled out to the patrons, "Some kid wants to know if we sell mynah birds."  I could hear the laughter.  Phones scared me ever since.  Calling girls for dates was especially terrifying.

 

Later, in professional life, using the phone was unavoidable.  I learned to immediately identify myself and then identify the person for whom the call was intended.

 

OBTW

I never got a mynah bird.

[babadono]

12 minutes ago, DizRotus said:

"Some kid wants to know if we sell mynah birds." 

He didn't say "Joe's Bar, liquor in the front, poker in the rear"

[CECAA850]

17 minutes ago, DizRotus said:

Calling girls for dates was especially terrifying.

Well.................yeah.