E-mailing for Help? E-mail Etiquette Matters — Allot!

Although I’ve seen a marked increase in the interest level in regard to E-mail Etiquette — particularly for business purposes, there still seems to be overall lack of courtesy from many who e-mail me. More times than not, I am treated as though I am a public servant here to cater to e-mailers demands.

Almost dally I am contacted as though it is my job to provide information just because someone wants, needs, desires it. They don’t bother searching this Blog to find their answers, they instead e-mail me with no e-mail etiquette whatsoever basically asking me questions that have already been answered in posts on this Blog. Too lazy to look; so Judith provide the answers directly!

What happens if I respond with a link to all the posts that answer their inquiry?

“I could have looked that up myself, but I wanted an answer from you!”

Well, it’s my Blog, my posts, my answers. Same thing….

Or hows this one? “I don’t have time to read your posts! Why can’t you just answer the question!!!!???”

I’m busy too, and I’ve already spent the time to post answers to your questions. I don’t understand the difference in the time it takes to read my posts or the same in an e-mail. Is your time more valuable than mine? No.

One person was so demanding and rude, that I didn’t offer my usual speedy and courteous response. I was swamped that day with client responsibilities and my clients always come first. Several hours after the initial request came another from the same person wondering “how I kept my job if I could not respond promptly through my site!” I’m not kidding…. And, only 4 hours had gone by. There were also six different posts about the topic this person asked about if they would have simply used the search box on this Blog.

I guess what these terse and demanding folks do not realize is that those of us with free sites who provide pages and pages and pages of info, answer e-mails personally, and offer what information we can to help, are not obligated in any way to do so. I’m not paid to answer these e-mails, nor am I paid to Blog. Yes, I hope that you enjoy my writings and may consider purchasing one of my books to show your support, however, that’s the extent of it.

To think that I am here and should be expected to jump through hoops because someone doesn’t want to make the effort to search or read my Blog is beyond lazy and ill-mannered. I don’t work for them. They don’t pay me. And, quite honestly I highly doubt individuals who e-mail me in that manner would ever consider buying any of my books anyway!

I do all this E-mail Etiquette stuff because I am passionate about the subject. I have NetManners.com and this Blog to help folks weed through the issues, dilemmas and minefields they find themselves in or wonder about when it comes to e-mail and proper technology use. More pages on the topic between these two sites and online longer than most and still — not good enough for some.

So, let’s get one thing on the record. If you e-mail me about stuff easily found on any of my sites and reflect absolutely no e-mail etiquette in your request, do not be surprised when I point you right back to the resources already available to you with some additional suggestions you may have not asked for.

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