PSA: Please include a sig in your work e-mails

[SaltBoy]

Just got the following e-mail from one of my clients:

Ken,

You got a sec?

- Jason

That's it. No phone call, no followup e-mail signature, nothing. Sure, I got a sec and I would LOVE to call you, but I don't know your fuggin' phone number! Now I have to spend unnecessary time looking it up.

How hard is it to be professional and include your contact information within every e-mail you send from work? Sheesh...

 

[Steve]

Jason,

No.

- Ken

 

[Vehemence]

We use CodeTwo's Exchange Rules that allows us to administrate automatic signatures (with inclusion/exceptions, different profiles, AD data, more) added to outgoing emails. Recommended.

 

[mordantmonkey]

ken,

reply doesn't work?

- jason

 

[Gibson486]

You have to understand something about clients. They think they are the only ones working with you and each one thinks they are no 1 on your list and that you owuld drop everything to make them happy.

 

[Steve]

Jason,

Email is down.

- Ken

 

[invidia]

Just write:

Jason,

I know 8 Jasons, which one are you?

- Ken

 

[jonks]

Jason,

Sure, while you wait for me to look up your number, view these great Obama/McCain video clips..

- Ken

 

[Descartes]

I'm going to ask the obvious question here:

Do you not have their contact information? We get emails all the time from clients, and we know who they are. Are you interacting with people on a regular basis that you've never called before? If not, might I suggest a simple CRM package?

[edit]Ok, I see that you do in fact have his number but consider it "unnecessary time." This minor inefficiency should be easily addressed from your end. It takes me 0.0025 seconds to pull up a customer contact.

Though overall I agree that having a signature is helpful, it's inconsistent and not something you can enforce if you're outside their enterprise.[/edit]

 

[BurnItDwn]

How about you just reply "what can I help you with" or something generic like that? Get some context, don't call if he doesn't give you the phone number in his sig ....

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
How about you just reply "what can I help you with" or something generic like that? Get some context, don't call if he doesn't give you the phone number in his sig ....

So, you're recommending wasting more time to write an email, wait for the client to email back, read that next email and then still inevitably look up the phone number anyway? Burn cycles on both ends because the OP doesn't want to look up a phone number the first time?

OP should be able to pull up the contact info with no more effort than a few clicks, and if he can't he has a technology problem. The burden shouldn't be on the customer.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: dNor
We use CodeTwo's Exchange Rules that allows us to administrate automatic signatures (with inclusion/exceptions, different profiles, AD data, more) added to outgoing emails. Recommended.

Do you mean "administer automatic signatures?"

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Steve
Jason,

No.

- Ken

Ken,

I wasn't asking.

-Jason

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Steve
Jason,

Email is down.

- Ken

hahahaha

 

[markgm]

Jason,

Sure, give me a call.

-Ken
Superior Sig

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: Steve
Jason,

Email is down.

- Ken

:thumbsup:

That would probably work too.

 

[SaltBoy]

Update --

I wrote this in reply (with sig at the end):

Jason, sure, I have time to talk. Feel free to give me a call when you have a chance!

I wrote that about 40 minutes ago and he still hasn't called me. <sigh>

Descartes, in truth, you are right; in the long and short of things, it's really just a minor, minor annoyance for others to not have a sig in your work e-mail, but (playing devil's advocate) it take a really minor, minor effort to create and include sigs in your e-mail, and IMO it's just common sense, anyway.

 

[her209]

He's one of your clients!!!!!1

 

[Capt Caveman]

Jason,

Who the fuck are you?

-Ken

 

[buck]

Jason,

Your $300 jeans are bleeding all over your chair.

-Ken

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: SaltBoy
Update --

I wrote this in reply (with sig at the end):

Jason, sure, I have time to talk. Feel free to give me a call when you have a chance!

I wrote that about 40 minutes ago and he still hasn't called me. <sigh>

Descartes, in truth, you are right; in the long and short of things, it's really just a minor, minor annoyance for others to not have a sig in your work e-mail, but (playing devil's advocate) it take a really minor, minor effort to create and include sigs in your e-mail, and IMO it's just common sense, anyway.

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable email, especially since he didn't even offer up what it was he wanted in the first place.

We've actually implemented a custom solution that actually listens to a request email account (e.g. saltboy@saltboysolutions.com), automatically enters the email contents into our issue tracking system along with the contact details. We just work through the list.

Doesn't work for all situations, but nothing is more productivity-destroying than having people email, instant message, call, text, etc. throughout the day with vacuous little messages like that.

:thumbsup:

 

[child of wonder]

I don't like signatures because I really don't want every single person I email to have my phone number.

If someone in my company wants it, they can easily look it up. Anyone outside my company can only have my number if I give it to them.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: child of wonder
I don't like signatures because I really don't want every single person I email to have my phone number.

If someone in my company wants it, they can easily look it up. Anyone outside my company can only have my number if I give it to them.

company policy is to have the "standard company signature" in our emails to show consistency when dealing with clients

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Steve
Jason,

No.

- Ken

this

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: krunchykrome

Originally posted by: child of wonder
I don't like signatures because I really don't want every single person I email to have my phone number.

If someone in my company wants it, they can easily look it up. Anyone outside my company can only have my number if I give it to them.

company policy is to have the "standard company signature" in our emails to show consistency when dealing with clients

We have a corporate standard as well. 21 lines long :roll: