It has now become popular “in some parts” not to answer the phone, and even cancel voice mail forcing the person who needs to establish contact to sms/text, send email or use whatsup.
While this communicational expedience appears to be a “choice” of those wishing to “maximize” their use of time, I caution how globally scalable this is in the following cases:
1-When clients or bosses or family expect accessibility all the time, even if this may appear “unreasonable”.
2-When the accepted etiquette is such that one can always say “I”ll get back to you and call you later”, but nevertheless this message must be given both on line and personally…to show enough care that you are “almost” always available.
3) In cultures where plans mean less that emergencies.
4) Where respect is shown by being available.
5) Where people are expected to multi task all the time.
We had a conversation about this specific topic today among colleagues.
I think it is nice and more personal (because you hear the voice of the person) to receive voice messages. In addition I think it is more effective in terms of communication to leave a voice message, because you can say much more than in a sms.
However all of the other people said that they’d rather receive a sms and not a voice message.
I hate this phenomena about “living inside” your mobile/iPad or whatever. I might be old and stubborn but I know for sure that business is done between people and good business is done where there is trust between people. I’m afraid that when people stop seeing each other, there will be no trust, increased fear of failure and absolutely no understanding for each other if something goes wrong. It’s a good start for a war!
Due to the nature of my business, I am not always available to answer the phone. I prefer to have people send me an email and let me know the purpose of their communication. I have a policy of checking email twice a day, and returning calls immediately during that time. For me, it’s a form of time management. It’s also a means of screening calls or communications. Even though it’s a business, I still get a lot of telemarketers and survey calls. I don’t really have time for that. My clients are more important to me.
Please leave a message after the tone.