Paul & Peter,

I promise i won't send her your way. I had to email her 3 times to let her know that i cannot call the baker for her. I feel bad because she was very appreciative of the referral but i just don't feel comfortable going back and forth you know. What if i give her the wrong quote, what if i give the baker the wrong serving count, what if, what if?? So i think i finally got thru to her to tell her that i cannot be a go-between.

Hi,

I really agree with punkinpie and what they said. I too think we live in an age where technology has allowed for improper etiquette and what was once face to face conversations is now texting to someone in the same room, talking on the cell phone while being waited on etc. It's not just young people as I have seen people in their 30's and up just not get it. I had a lady I was waiting on in the bank talking on her cell phone the whole time I served her. When she finally clued in that I wasn't about to count her $$ back to her until she was off the phone her response to me was, "Are you kidding me?" I told her no that I find her behaviour to be rude she got off the phone. Oprah did a whole show today about etiquette and how as a society we are not living in the moment. I'm not saying that these potential customers of yours are right or behaving properly but rather maybe they think they are making the first contact. I guess only you can decide on how you want to proceed with this issue. Reply to these types of calls or pass on them and be fine with your decision. Maybe you could put something on your myspace page that says that in order for you to make the most amazing cake for your clients that phonecalls are prefrerred with x,y,z info ready to be discussed. Doesn't duff have something referring to not being able to answer every email?

I think it might be time to nix the myspace page all together and stick to your actual website. I'm sure a lot of people are assuming that your myspace page is your only website and myspace is just so informal.

I have to agree that in this day and age e-mail is how most people operate. I do agree with you though that an e-mail request for a phone call is odd. If I were to recieve an e-mail like that I would e-mail back asking them some specifics and giving them some hours where they could contact me. I do think any e-mail is worth a response. It's just good customer service. But I agree that I am not going to call someone if they haven't given me any specifics.

Kivia, my husband works in a business that has a car rental company on-site and he used to sit right next to them. One of the car rental agents was trying to explain what the guy needed to sign. He kept "signaling" her to just show him where to sign. She said to him, "Sir, you're about to sign a legally binding contract ... wouldn't you like to know just what it is that you're signing?"

People seem to think that if they CALL, then that's the same as not being late. Hubby's company closes at 6:00. People will call and tell them "Don't close! I'm on my way!" Hubby would tell them, "If you get here by 6:00, we'll be here!" They would get all ticked because "(big huff!) I CALLED and said I was on my way!" (Yeah? So?)

Also restaurants have started to refuse to seat parties until everyone is present. TOo many people calling to say "I'm on my way!" and thinking that's the same as being there. This extends the turn-time on restaurant tables when everyone is STILL waiting for the late-comer ot arrive so they can order.

I think being late is the RUDEST thing anyone can do. calling to say you're running late just means you're still late!! (Good Oprah show, today, too!)

Jkalman, say what u want about myspace but it has bought me alot of business...every single person i've had look at my cakes have booked with me (except the idiot i mentioned earlier from West Palm Beach ) and they tell their friends and so on...Actually when i first signed up for myspace it was just for fun and to show my cakes but people started asking me for prices and things like that so my dh decided it would be good to advertise on there. U may get more traffic on myspace than you would your actual website so thats why i still have my myspace page.

I never let an email go unresponded (does that make sense lol)...If someone sends an email (which i don't check until after hours) asking for me to contact them, i simply say (have my hubby type) that we can be reached during our business hours and that they can contact us...and just in case we give them our number. If anyone is reading this that has not read my previous posts i'll say this for the umpteenth time.....We answer every last one of our emails, they never go ignored, even at the oddest requests we respond to them and in a timely fashion i might add. In case no one read what i put before, i worked in customer service for years before i started at this business, and received many awards, bonuses and promotions for my excellent service. I understand completely about customer service, customer relations, Quality assurance..all that. And again, if i want some sort of service from someone, i don't expect them to call me if i send an email saying 'please give me a call'...if i need them then by all means i am going to contact them until i get what i want. If i've left messages and they haven't called back i move on to the next person. Usually when i read these emails, its late at night and i am not going to contact them late so i send a message back to them telling them to give me a call. Now that means at the end of the day, i am just reading my emails maybe 9pm and i am responding to them...so of course i can't call them, which is why i send an email back for them to call me during business hours..which by the way they do call me! I don't give them attitude or anything. Most of my emails on myspace are quotes which i always respond to.

Moving on...anyone read any good books lately??

Indydebi,
That reminds me of last week our family went to dinner for my aunt & cousin's birthday and as always there was about 30 of us (we can never go anywhere in a small group) and they refused to seat us until every head was there. So we were waiting for about an hour and a half. Thats why when i go out with them, i'd tell the hostess that its just me, my hubby and my son lol....

I think sometimes we kinda take advantage of the "Customer is always right" motto. I do provide my clients with excellent customer service. But at my old job, my manager told me that 'No the customer is NOT always right'. Back when i was a customer service rep, i had a customer calling me names because of another rep's mistake. Now was he right just because he was a customer?? NO!!! Yes we should provide great customer service but when do we draw the line??

And i forgot to mention that this client who asked me to call her is a cosmetologist who is advertising her business on myspace...now how do u think she'd respond if i were to email her to ask her to call me when here number is right there in her heading??

I was agreeing with you about how you respond to your e-mail requests for a phone call.. just incase that was not clear.

I look at it like this.. and please don't read this as an attack on you because it isn't at all.. I (personally) would never in a bazzilion years have a myspace page as my business page. It seems less professional to me (even if that's completely not the case as with you.. you come off as quite professional) and I would pass on any business that represented itself solely as a myspace entity (which I know you do not). If you ask me, Myspace is more for personal nonsense. I really don't like myspace though (can you tell?).. the whole thing. It's one of things I relegate to "the kidz". (she says like she's 71 instead of 31) Myspace.. facebook.. all of it.. bleck.. now where's my prune juice!!

If it works for you then cool.. it's one of those whatever floats your boat things.. it definitely doesn't float mine.. it sinks it like the Titanic.

I'm glad it came across the right way.. it's been a wee bit testy here on CC these past few months so I tread as lightly as I can. (well as lightly as I can with this walker.. )

I know nothing about myspace.......except when my DH gets onto our kids pages to make sure there on the up and up.

So, I didn't know what the set up was or whatever...........I'm completely computer challanged, lucky I can navigate this site

jkalman, I kind of assumed it was a kid or actually teen thing (myspace) too, until I found out my 39 yr old recently divorced niece has a page and has actually met a guy on there Needless to say she has a couple of screws loose.

I don't know if I'd use it as a form of advertisement, my old "senior" friends wouldn't know how to find it I sound like I'm getting ready for Shady Pines soon!!

I will call back if I am away from the phone and a message is left.I won't however be a go between either so I just give them the info and it is up to them to contact the other person.

pass the prune juice...i'm old too, i thought my space was just for the young uns to meet each other and chat and stuff and get dates.

heck maybe i'll open up one if it gets ya biz....if i can ever figger out how to operate that dang new fangled camera i just bought...HA HA

i have a theory about the folks with a cell phone on their head 24/7, as they go thru life.

i think they are insecure and think it makes them look cool....kinda like a nice lil security blanket.

what could they have that is that dang important to have to talk while they are doing everything else?

dkelly & indydebi....you made me laugh with the Shady Pines...I love that show...i have to watch it every single morning on Lifetime (here it comes on at 9am & again at 1am)....hilarious!

Dkelly, at first i just uploaded the pictures just so that my "friends" could see my work it wasn't to advertise but then i started getting alot of compliments and requests for cakes and i just let it go from there.

littlecake...i know what u mean...i'm one of those who only uses my phone for business calls and if my family want to talk to me they come by the house. But i'd rather get phone calls for orders because i can't always check my email during the day...so phone calls is best for me and if my hands are full my dh takes the call. He's my precious little helper

i wish i had a precious cute lil helper!!!

i can't catch one...and i got cupcakes!

If they take the reruns off-air i don't know what i'd do...my hubby looks at me crazy when I'm laughing hysterically at them...especially Rose. She is hilarious!!! I especially love when she tells her St Olaff stories. Now Sophia, i love her especially when she makes cracks at Blanche's bedroom activities....

LOL debi, you better be nice to that young one of yours.