The Vent and Rant Thread

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

The problem with interspersed replies, for many of us, is we're not using email clients, in the usual sense. We're using Salesforce or another messaging system, like Teamworks. Anything "below the line" is completely nuked, with a reply, so we can't see it.

Just in case you're ever dealing with customer service, somehwere, sometime and you can't understand why they aren't answering your interspersed replies....

I was specifically referring to email and email clients, with side trips to things like online message boards.

I don't have to deal with Salesforce or Teamworks, and I think I'm just as happy.
______
Dennis

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by ApK

Hehe, thanks. You know I almost made a V&R post about all the people at work who only read the first line of any email I send. If I ask more than one question I'm virtually guaranteed to only get a response to the first thing I ask. Very frustrating.

With personal emails, or some online discussion lists, I've taken to writing

Q1 how do you do frizzist? ______________-
More details of the question.

Q2 Want to go for lunch ______________

To make it overly obvious that I'm looking for X number of answers!
I don't think that style would fly in a professional email, though.

[ApK]

On at least one occasion, I've done a numbered question list-- And they STILL ignored all but the first. That's part of my objective evidence that the fault belongs with the user, not the tool.

At a previous company the bosses were notorious for reading only the first line of email, and some folks used it to good effect. Like, if they had to inform the bosses of something but they really wanted it done before the bosses could say no, they'd send an email with some innocuous first line question, and the bottom would say "Also, I'm doing x, then I'm leaving early. Let me know if you have any problem with that." When the bosses would ask why the heck they did x, they'd say "I told you about it in that email you replied to, remember?"

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I'll make a guess that your email client displays an Inbox with From: and Subject: fields, and the Subject likely includes the first line of the email. Reading the second line would require actually opening the message.
______
Dennis

I think I'd be tempted to make the first sentence say something like: "You need to open this email and read the whole thing"

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by ApK

Thanks, but I think I'm going to have to patch and repaint the wall....oh...you mean the other thing.....thanks. Trying to keep a positive attitude. My wife is nervous about some increased risk factors, but for the rest of us, so far it's just like a cold.

I hate colds.

I hope you all recover quickly.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I think I'd be tempted to make the first sentence say something like: "You need to open this email and read the whole thing"

Every single canned email that we send out, (all of which contain instructions, or have detailed attachments with instructions) says that. Every single one. We even have one with a line that says "[i]n our experience, customers that open this email, read it top-to-bottom and then start back at the top and work their way through the instructions in sequence, have a much higher success rate at..."

And do they? Like hell. I get phone calls and emails "HELP HELP, I can't make this happen" or "that happen" and when I ask them, as I always do, at which step, exactly, they got stuck...crickets. Almost every damn time.

It's frustrating as s**t to have to deal with. I mean, you invest all this time writing instructions, taking screenshots, drawing arrows, saying things like "click here" and all that. People could not care less. They want EVERYTHING Apple-tized, so it's instantly intuitive and they don't have to know anything. Well, sadly, in the world, not everything is an app. Sometimes, you have to actually click this or do that, to make something work. Horrifying and shocking, I know. (grumble).

/rant

Hitch

[4691mls]

Hitch, it sounds like you have done everything possible to come up with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. It must be incredibly frustrating to put all that time and effort into making it as easy as possible, only to find people think it should be even easier!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Hitch, it sounds like you have done everything possible to come up with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. It must be incredibly frustrating to put all that time and effort into making it as easy as possible, only to find people think it should be even easier!

I wish I had back all the dental enamel that I've ground off. I mean, we get folks that ask us for print layouts (typically in PDF format) and ebooks (MOBI and ePUB) and then, when we send them the ebook files, we'll get an email back saying "can't you send it to me in WORD, so that I can open it?"

I'm like, blankety-blank, what the hell did you hire us for, then? If all you wanted was someone to give you a Word file...and we WARN them. we tell them, upfront, in our T&C that they're going to have to download files, install programs (typically, in order to access/see their eBooks), etc. We give them the T&C before they sign up with us, not after. We don't spring it on them.

Like the guy that emailed me 80x. Literally, 80x. He kept insisting that we'd sent him corrupted files. In the first email reply to him, I told him, do NOT drag-drop the "file attachments" to your desktop; those are secured links TO files, not actual files. Right? He couldn't get the "files" to open; he went to Apple support--which told him, OH YES, the files WERE corrupted! (they weren't) and so on and so on. I finally had to make a video, on a Mac, to show him that by drag-dropping the files to his desktop--which I told him repeatedly to NOT DO--he was corrupting the files. That by simply clicking "download" on the secured links, by MAGIC, they opened.

Did I get even a hint of an apology? After wasting my time with 80 accusatory emails? EIGHTY? Making me make videos, just so he'd NOT do what I told him NOT to do? Nope.

I honestly don't know how to make it easier. I mean, people don't understand that computers aren't magic; that if you don't have a program for X, it won't bloody open. It's...it's vexing at best.

Hitch

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Hitch

People could not care less. They want EVERYTHING Apple-tized, so it's instantly intuitive and they don't have to know anything.

Maybe you should consider Apple-tizing it for those people. You TELL them what they want, just give them the final product as you judge best, and charge them double for it.

(should this move to p&r....?)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by ApK

Maybe you should consider Apple-tizing it for those people. You TELL them what they want, just give them the final product as you judge best, and charge them double for it.

(should this move to p&r....?)

Hell, it's not my politics nor my religion. It's venting.

I would Apple-tize them, but oddly enough, those pesky beggars want to SEE their books before they upload them! Outrageous, truly, I know....

Hitch

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hell, it's not my politics nor my religion. It's venting.

No,no, I meant I was afraid my characterization of "Apple-tizing" might set off a holy war!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by ApK

No,no, I meant I was afraid my characterization of "Apple-tizing" might set off a holy war!

MWAHAHAHAHA...indeed, I'd forgotten!

Hitch

[covingtoncat73]

Between worrying about Hurricane Delta and my brother's COVID test and, well, *gestures vaguely at everything*, I just want to run away.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Between worrying about Hurricane Delta and my brother's COVID test and, well, *gestures vaguely at everything*, I just want to run away.

Been there, felt that ....

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Been there, felt that ....

Thanks so much. As long as it doesn't bobble back east, New Orleans should be okay.

Bro is hopefully okay. He had brief contact with a friend 4 days ago who is taking a test today as he came down with symptoms after the contact but both were wearing masks and it was brief. Bro is 45 and has bad lungs, anyway (double pneumonia at 6 months, smoked for 1/2 his life), so COVID would not be good.