For those of us without computer Course education under our belts, and barely know where the ON switch is for these things, Website are most often made up by someone else. They "sell" their services in setting up websites. They don't know anything about our business, nor do they ask. They have a questionaire they have you fill out, and that usually includes a phone number, and, of Course, they have your email address. They land on your webpage without any further discussion. You, of course, being new to all this Internet stuff, have no clue IF ANY business is going to be generated, much less how much. And you have no idea how much email you will get.
Yes, most of us are drowning in Spam. I was fortunate to have a friend who put in some Anti-spam software program in my computer. I sat there while he did it, but Have NO clue what he was doing, or how it was done. That has eliminated hours a week of junk mail I have to delete to get to important messages. But, again, for the hard working small businessmen, they don't even have the time to learn, or know that that this stuff exists.
They get to HATE that computer- which they always suspected was the tool of the devil anyway!--- and have no time to learn how to type fast enough to respond to all the inquiries. When they do, they ask the poster to call them. Its really much faster to talk by phone than to do Q & A by computer.
All these points have been made by other members, here, and all we are asking Carl, and others who get their noses bent out of shape is to cut these folks some slack. Their talents lie in what they make- not in their typing and writing skills.
Yes, Carl, Its rude to not respond to an email. If you are going to list an email address on the website, you should expect it to be used, and you need to either remove it, or respond to the posts. Its bad policy to NOT respond. But, it costs money to hire someone to redo a webpage, and a lot of these gunmakers are working on very thin margins as it is.
This post has generated some useful observations about the difference between customers who send Emails, and those who place phone calls. The consensus is that the Email shoppers are just shoppers, and rarely are buyers. The serious buyers use the phone to call.
May I suggest some advice about phone call timing: If you want to reach a small business operator with any chance of talking to him/her, do it late in the morning, or late in the afternoon. Most of us rise early to get in work before the phone begins to ring and be a distraction. If you have a project you are trying to complete, you ignore the phone, too.
When I had a secretary, I would often have her hold all calls, and tell people I would return calls before Noon. That way, I could do my research, and draft pleadings without interruption.
I had cases in Court most Monday mornings, for years, and I found that the flurry of calls from clients who had spent all weekend thinking of something to ask me first thing Monday morning, became very short calls when I returned calls beginning at 11:45 A.M. My secretaries were always shocked at how quickly I answered all the call slips they gave me.
Of course, I was still waiting on other lawyers or persons involved in those cases to return my calls, so that I would be able to progress with the case, and have something to tell the client. I learned WHEN to call busy people if I really wanted to talk to them.
I hope this helps keep the blood pressure down. :shocked2: :thumbsup:
