"24 business hours"? WTF? That's a new way to hide ineptitude!

[AndrewR]

I called Sony for a camera repair, and they have an agreement with UPS for discounted shipping to their repair center. I couldn't print from the website for some reason, but they said that UPS would email the label to me within "24 business hours". Do you mean, THREE DAYS?!?

That's a new one to me. Anyone else heard the use of "business hours" in this way? I've always heard business days before, but never hours. Seems like a deliberate attempt to obfuscate.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I think they mean 24 hrs but only on business days ie from monday to tuesday

 

[Engraver]

I figure it as 8 business hours in a day, so 3 days sounds right to me.

Corporate double-speak ftl

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
I called Sony for a camera repair, and they have an agreement with UPS for discounted shipping to their repair center. I couldn't print from the website for some reason, but they said that UPS would email the label to me within "24 business hours". Do you mean, THREE DAYS?!?

That's a new one to me. Anyone else heard the use of "business hours" in this way? I've always heard business days before, but never hours. Seems like a deliberate attempt to obfuscate.

shrug.. no big new thing here. Companies have used business hours for years and years.

If they got the camera on a friday, they cant say 3 days.. 24 business hours covers their butt so that you, the consumer, don't get confused. Had they said 3 days, you might not know whether they count the weekend or not. Business hours are 8 hours a day, M-F, so there is no confusion.

 

[IamBusby]

The company I work for here in London use it constantly and thinking about it so do other companies I speak with.

I think it's said because most things are only worked on or processed during working hours so I guess it's a more precise estimate?

Even some delivery companies will only route parcels during working hours. After 17:00 a lot of companies will down tools ready to pick up next day at 08:00/09:00.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: AndrewR
I called Sony for a camera repair, and they have an agreement with UPS for discounted shipping to their repair center. I couldn't print from the website for some reason, but they said that UPS would email the label to me within "24 business hours". Do you mean, THREE DAYS?!?

That's a new one to me. Anyone else heard the use of "business hours" in this way? I've always heard business days before, but never hours. Seems like a deliberate attempt to obfuscate.

shrug.. no big new thing here. Companies have used business hours for years and years.

If they got the camera on a friday, they cant say 3 days.. 24 business hours covers their butt so that you, the consumer, don't get confused. Had they said 3 days, you might not know whether they count the weekend or not. Business hours are 8 hours a day, M-F, so there is no confusion.

ok, then why not just say business days?

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: AndrewR
I called Sony for a camera repair, and they have an agreement with UPS for discounted shipping to their repair center. I couldn't print from the website for some reason, but they said that UPS would email the label to me within "24 business hours". Do you mean, THREE DAYS?!?

That's a new one to me. Anyone else heard the use of "business hours" in this way? I've always heard business days before, but never hours. Seems like a deliberate attempt to obfuscate.

shrug.. no big new thing here. Companies have used business hours for years and years.

If they got the camera on a friday, they cant say 3 days.. 24 business hours covers their butt so that you, the consumer, don't get confused. Had they said 3 days, you might not know whether they count the weekend or not. Business hours are 8 hours a day, M-F, so there is no confusion.

ok, then why not just say business days?

Exactly. I am perfectly familiar with the concept of a business day, and I would venture to say that so is everyone else in the US. Using "business hours" in this manner is stupid because it just confuses the issue.

What's more understandable: 24 business hours or 3 business days? The only reason I can think to use business hours is when it's not in 8 hr increments or when you want to avoid saying it'll take three days.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
What's more understandable: 24 business hours or 3 business days? The only reason I can think to use business hours is when it's not in 8 hr increments or when you want to avoid saying it'll take three days.

You got it. Anyone who uses "business hours" to refer to how long something will take is just trying to make it sound better than it is.

 

[jjones]

Sounds like they want to confuse 24 hours with 3 business days, making it appear as if it's a 24 hour service when in fact it is a 3 business day service. Sounds stupid to me though. Why put yourself through the grief of having to deal with people that will most certainly confuse the point? Unless the potential sales aspect outweighs the customer service and satisfaction problems.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: slag

Originally posted by: AndrewR
I called Sony for a camera repair, and they have an agreement with UPS for discounted shipping to their repair center. I couldn't print from the website for some reason, but they said that UPS would email the label to me within "24 business hours". Do you mean, THREE DAYS?!?

That's a new one to me. Anyone else heard the use of "business hours" in this way? I've always heard business days before, but never hours. Seems like a deliberate attempt to obfuscate.

shrug.. no big new thing here. Companies have used business hours for years and years.

If they got the camera on a friday, they cant say 3 days.. 24 business hours covers their butt so that you, the consumer, don't get confused. Had they said 3 days, you might not know whether they count the weekend or not. Business hours are 8 hours a day, M-F, so there is no confusion.

ok, then why not just say business days?

Because depending on where you are on the planet that can be different days. Business hours is easier to understand globally.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: spidey07[
Because depending on where you are on the planet that can be different days. Business hours is easier to understand globally.

What different days do they have on your planet?

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: spidey07[
Because depending on where you are on the planet that can be different days. Business hours is easier to understand globally.

What different days do they have on your planet?

What day is it right now on the pac-rim? I'll give you a hint, it isn't wednesday.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: spidey07[
Because depending on where you are on the planet that can be different days. Business hours is easier to understand globally.

What different days do they have on your planet?

What day is it right now on the pac-rim? I'll give you a hint, it isn't wednesday.

No, that makes no sense. A business day is a business day, regardless of the time zone (one full day of business). A business hour is more confusing in terms of actual days because of flex time or alternative work schedules. For example, I work 9 hour days M-Th, then 8 hrs one Friday and then the 2nd Friday off. Does that mean that "24 business hours" translates to sometime in the middle of the third business day?

Since I was talking to a customer service call center which has extended hours, do those extended hours constitute "business hours"? A business day is any day except for a weekend or a holiday. There's no confusing that amount of time.

 

[OdiN]

UPS operates a lot more than 8 hours in a day. They've got trucks and planes on the road and in the skies at all hours of the day and night.

 

[Kelemvor]

anyone who says 24 business hours is a dumbass. 99% of the time they mean 1 business day but can't figure that out. 24 busienss hours would technically mean 3 days if they were only open for 8 hour a day but could mean 2 days if they were open from say 6am - 6pm.

Either way, you should never use that phrase.

 

[oogabooga]

I would just be impressed if they mean UPS business hours (which actually.... could be a bad thing now that i've typed it) but at 02/21/2008 06:14 AM, 1 day after posting the OP.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: spidey07[
Because depending on where you are on the planet that can be different days. Business hours is easier to understand globally.

What different days do they have on your planet?

What day is it right now on the pac-rim? I'll give you a hint, it isn't wednesday.

No, but if a company from there calls me and says they'll have it ready in "three business days", I'll know when to expect my shipment. Who cares if it's Wednesday or Thursday or Sunday?

If anything, hours are even more confusing...at least you only lose a day at one point on earth, you lose hours at every time zone.