Email me. Okay, I’ll text you. (a rant)

Not everyone likes to communicate the same way. Some people prefer email while others want to meet face-to-face and others like to text.

How can you tell a person’s preference? Simple. Pay attention to how they initiate contact.

Did they call? Email? Text? Come knock on your door? Send a Hallmark card?

There’s your clue.

I hate it when I send someone an email and ask for a response and they text me.

It’s like sending a message to someone to arrange a time for a call because right now you’re busy, and they call -- right now.

Please don’t do this to people!

If someone emails you, respond via email. If someone calls you, call them back. If someone texts you, text them back.

See how that works? It’s an apples-to-apples kind of thing. Yes, there is an exception and I’ll get to that in a bit.

While this practice is important to be aware of generally speaking, it’s crucial if you are a service provider. You know, like a plumber or freelancer or any kind of independent contractor.

Why is it so important?

Because you can annoy your customers away if you contact them (or insist they contact you) via a mode they don’t like. Especially if it’s a technology they aren’t proficient in or comfortable with.

I’m not a huge fan of texting, especially when complexity is involved. (And I generally loath Facebook Messenger!)

I prefer email, or, if that fails, perhaps a phone call. Or more email. Or, perhaps face-to-face. But probably still more email.

If you are a service provider and you insist on communicating only via text telling me that it works best for you, then I’ll probably look for a new service provider. Why? Because it doesn’t work best for me -- the purchaser of your service.

I know texting is popular, especially for the young ‘uns. But don’t force your customers to communicate outside of their comfort zones.

You want your customers happy and anxiety free. You want them to like being in touch with you.

So, what to do? Let’s review!

• If someone emails you, respond via email.
• If someone calls you, call them back.
• If someone texts you, text them back.
• And so forth. Except...

There is an exception to this rule. If someone texts you and says please respond using email or with a call, then do as they direct. That should be pretty clear. Otherwise, if no such specification is made, reply using the same mode they used to contact you.

Isn’t that just so simple?

Now, if we could only fix politics. Oh well. Baby steps to a better world!


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Okay, I know this isn’t a “spiritual” topic but I do think respectful and clear communications is an important tact for Christians. Feel free to offer a scripture that supports this. Do you agree with my post? Have you experienced someone insisting on communicating with you in a mode you don’t care for? How did you deal with it? Please sound off in the comments!