business correspondence - email or phone?

[psychocandy]

What do you prefer? Personally, I'd prefer someone emails me so I've got a record and dont forget and I can deal with when I've got time.

Really dont understand why some people dont like email....

Got a guy here, another contractor (but hes a Bob) and hes constantly phoning the permie manager guy (whos based on different site) on his mobile to talk about stuff. Seems a bit much to me. Surely the permie guy must be getting wassed off. Me on the other hand - email him.

Is it me or do Bobs seem to be a bit OTT sometimes? i.e too keen and trying too hard to impress?

[Sockpuppet]

I like phone for the very reason you mention. E-Mails are easy to ignore. Sometimes if you want something doing you have to phone people.

[psychocandy]

I like phone for the very reason you mention. E-Mails are easy to ignore. Sometimes if you want something doing you have to phone people.

Yeh. Maybe but phone the same person 10 times in one day.....

[Sysman]

It depends on both the person and the task at hand.

At one place I would submit technical support requests by email and most folks would reply by email, but one chap insisted on phoning. Since their replies went to a shared mailbox, replies by email automatically gave those who needed to know the full history of support calls. With the chap who insisted on phoning, I had to bash in the essence of what he had said myself.

At another place I was the sole contact with the tech support, and I welcomed the same chap calling. He was very helpful (and I could get updates on the cricket to boot!), and using the phone allowed us to build up a much better working relationship.

On the other hand some folks can be a real pain by pestering you with phone calls. At one place when we saw a certain idiot calling we'd shove the phone in a desk drawer and shut it.

[SimonMac]

Where ever possible I do a face to face, then follow up with an email to A) Clarify understanding and B) Have a paper trail.

However current ClientCo are big on using IM which is handy at times

[DodgyAgent]

Emails should only be used as a means of passing and requesting information. And even then there are certain types of information that should be passed verbally. Too many people use email to "cop out" of for example selling properly, telling people they are sacked, giving news of a bereavement.