Why is 'stuffing around with emails' any different than stuffing around on the phone?
petal_91,
Sep 6, 12:05am
It might be because when you go on a computer it is much easier to get distracted by trademe, news sites or whatever.
petal_91,
Sep 6, 12:11am
The vehicle was a work car and I was just following the new company policy of always getting quotes. I therefore wanted to use as little effort as possible and for me that is cutting and pasting the same email and not mucking about with several phone calls. I went with the quote from the only workshop that replied which was more than the amount mentioned above, but it is just a fleet vehicle so.
mals69,
Sep 6, 12:49am
Why not just answer the OP's question - do you think they do not realize you can use a phone ? As said they could be deaf, have depression etc or just prefer email.
OP - Just send out a bulk of emails and no doubt one will pop up that will communicate how You want to by email.
cubasesx,
Sep 6, 1:32am
Well done. It would be a similar answer in our workshop although we would quote the pads and machine and include the price to replace rotors as well if they were required/unable to be machined.
shaun16,
Sep 6, 5:01am
if I need work done I always pop in and see the mechanic. then they can see the car and model etc and give me an accurate price. now I've worked out which is the most reliable and honest in my town so I always go to him straight away anyway
bigfatmat1,
Sep 6, 5:29am
Because you can email 100 places at once quicker than what you can 1 at a time on the phone. Also quotes are then there in written form not just verbal.
strobo,
Sep 6, 7:45am
Who quotes for anything?Very little can be quoted for nowadays. Giving an estimate will be accurate as any , sometimes the end price is lower sometimes higher , Trust both ways and keeping informed with your customer along the way is the best business practice policy.Unexpected unseen things will and can crop up when things get pulled apart,such as seized or semi seized brake caliper slides or caliper pistons or might find a rusted bolts that need extra attention.Establishing good rapport both ways is best. I cant be mucked around with anyone unknown who expects quoted through email , Use email /txt.pxt etc only if that person is already on the books as a valued customer.If a verbal is not good enough for an unknown then that person trusts no one.And without seeing either the person or vehicle in question ,then forget it. I usually look at the inquiring people first and ask myself do I want or need to be potentially doing service for them & vehicle/s .Then ,then decide how I deal with it.
rbd,
Sep 6, 8:20am
Absolutely! NZ businesses are the worst. They have flash websites with email contact (or worse, the dreaded fill the boxes and hit send web template) yet you never heard back from them!
I recently emailed four roofing companies asking for a quote and one came back to me. Well to be honest a second came back to me saying the job was too small and they were not interested. Sure it was not a huge job, but within 18 months I'll be fully replacing the roof and also doing a new garage roof ($20,000+). Yet it wasn't worth the time of two small local businesses to contact me back. Their loss.
I've also sent detailed kitchen cabinet plans to four companies for quotes. Again no response from two out of four. Yet that is their business! Fools.
As to why don't I just pick up the phone? Because I'm working! Night time after 9pm is when I get to sit down, research and project manage my various projects. This is when I will draft emails (some of which tend to detail complex requirements) and I send them through in the hope of them getting to someone competent to answer. I can't afford to spend half an hour on hold and being passed from one person to the next awaiting a response when I can collect my requirements on paper in advance.
If you are not responding to valid enquiries by email then you are foolish.
richynuts,
Sep 6, 11:01am
I email all over the world sourcing motorcycle parts. never have too much problems with replys but have to agree kiwis are the slackest in getting a reply. To me emails are like the old fax
rpvr,
Sep 6, 8:18pm
The answer is simple. If you are a business and are prepared to do business by email, put your email address on your website. If you don't want to do business that way, leave it off. Not answering an email is in my view like not answering your phone. But hey, if you don't need the work, good luck to you.
mals69,
Sep 6, 9:36pm
Agree NZ business are slack at replying by email. Curious as to why you think filling in your name, email address and subject matter into a template box is so dreadful ?
gmphil,
Sep 6, 9:46pm
rbd wrote: Absolutely! NZ businesses are the worst. They have flash websites with email contact (or worse, the dreaded fill the boxes and hit send web template) requirements on paper in advance.
I email 5 spring suppliers only the four in ausie reply cobra nz didn't bother so guess im buying in from aussie !
franc123,
Sep 6, 10:03pm
Local businesses need to lift their game re email enquiries, my personal experience is that they are far worse than those in UK and USA, and not necessarily up with the play either. Just one example, a while back I sent an enquiry to a NZ specialist for a popular old British car about a fairly common part that was fitted to early models that is being reproduced, which I had seen on several overseas websites only to be told some days later that it was NLA but we can supply a later (and therefore not OE for my car) version of the part even though I specifically asked for the early part ,and even then they would still have to order it! WTF! There is also too much secrecy re pricing too, not much point in trying to sell things if you are only going to state POA, those three letters usually are a code for I'm asking a silly price. I realise its harder to quote on services due to their being too many possible variables but not on products.
mals69,
Sep 6, 10:21pm
Its just typical slack NZ retail - had the monopoly for decades and lazyness came with it. Now kiwis have world service at their finger tips with hungrier worldwide retailers the kiwi retailer slackness sticks out like a Labour politician coming up with a good idea.
brapbrap8,
Sep 6, 10:40pm
I have found that technology is evolving the way I engage other businesses. I think calling is usually my go-to plan, but increasingly I find that other businesses prefer written communication like email, text or even facebook. One outfit I use will never answer their phone or call you back, but will respond in minutes to a facebook message. Also, being about 30min out of town I am increasingly sending photos of jobs where it is not practical for me to go to them, or them to come to me so that they can get an accurate idea of what I want as sometimes things get lost in translation during a phone call.
In our own business we use text and facebook group chats for about 50% of our communications between management and with the staff. Because we are spread out across the Waikato it is useful and fun to be able to easily share pictures of what we are working on, and I don't often have phone reception on the job so at least if you text me or facebook me I get it when I get to reception.
bwg11,
Sep 6, 10:49pm
I established a 2 man CAD engraving business 15 years back and would much prefer email enquiries over phone calls. I imagine my business would be very similar to a small 2 man workshop. There are times when phone calls are most inconvenient, assembling a fiddly component, painting an infill with fast drying paint, a mechanic up to their elbows in grease packing a bearing etc. But you must take the call, who knows, it could be your next high profit job, whereas emails can be dealt with at your leisure, and by that I don't mean next day, but while your coffee cools at morning tea for example.
Email quotes have a "paper" trail, no argument over what was included or not. like tends to happen with verbal phone quotes
rbd,
Sep 7, 4:51am
Because all too often once you hit send they are gone never to appear again. A rare website will email a copy to the sender which is awesome. Some web templates don't even give confirmation that the massage has been received! How do I know the template worked? Often you follow up and are told "we never received your query". Says it all really.
mals69,
Sep 7, 10:16pm
Cheers - yeah true - some do not even show if sent.
sr2,
Jul 22, 10:02am
+1. (That got a laugh out of me!).
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