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[Chris Davis]

If I don't have a complete response for an inquiry immediately, I wont respond until I do. I'm not going to waste your time telling you I'll get back to you; Ill check my schedule, and let you know in an hour or so if I can do your gig.

Ahem...  Young or old, this part of your personal preference seems wrong to me.  In all the corporate culture I am immersed in, it is considered professional to first acknowledge others as a courtesy and then locate the answer later if you don't have it up front. 

Although it may vary by industry, I am speaking from within the Engineering industry.  This stems from any of the many certification audits which go toward making your company legitimate... 

Worst case scenario is when the auditor visits your company and  then spot checks some of the higher profile departments and projects to verify they are following procedure.  If you happen to get audited and you don't follow this protocol for the auditor (acknowledge first, answer questions later if at first you don't know), you might as well just pack your things up, say your last good byes to your coworkers, and get in your car and drive home.


P.S. I am just now realizing that my answer was perhaps outside of the constructs of this thread, which was more geared towards the urgency of instant communication - aka Blackberry, etc.  To that, I would give a lower priority than true interpersonal communication (in person, live telephone call).  As usual, I agree with Tim.  Tim's reply seems a good one, and the person who demanded an electronic reply in under 5 minutes seemed out of line to me.  Just fucking call...  Which they did.

[Chris Carpenter]

Ahem...  Young or old, this part of your personal preference seems wrong to me.

I agree that this is a little different from standard operating procedure. I should clarify that if I intend to take more than a day finding an answer, I will ack first. However, seeing that most inquiries I get can be answered within an hour or so, it seems spending time coming up with a professional reply and sending it out only wastes time that could be spent responding faster. Also, if a greater percent of your emails contain useful information, people are more likely to pay attention and read them more carefully.

I should reiterate that I understand that I am deviating somewhat from the norm on this one, and some (possibly more experienced) may take it the wrong way. However this is what works best for me and my clients don't seem to mind.

[Michael Brennan]

    So...to the 41 Audio people that did not respond... I will not consider you for future gigs as you've demonstrated your unreliability or indifference.

   Hammer

I have to admit - I am on the fence about this particular response. If I get an email only to me asking if I am available for a particular job, I know that the sender is waiting for a response from me. I try to respond immediately either way so that they have as much time as possible to find someone else.

But if I knew it was a broad request to 41 people, I am not even sure I would respond if I was not available. I would be concerned with filling up the sender's inbox with a reply. To me it is not that I am too busy to respond, or that I don't appreciate the work, I just feel like I am spamming the sender with useless info, and if they sent the request to 41 people they would likely have filled the job pretty quickly.

Michael

[John Roberts {JR}]

    So...to the 41 Audio people that did not respond... I will not consider you for future gigs as you've demonstrated your unreliability or indifference.

   Hammer

I have to admit - I am on the fence about this particular response. If I get an email only to me asking if I am available for a particular job, I know that the sender is waiting for a response from me. I try to respond immediately either way so that they have as much time as possible to find someone else.

But if I knew it was a broad request to 41 people, I am not even sure I would respond if I was not available. I would be concerned with filling up the sender's inbox with a reply. To me it is not that I am too busy to respond, or that I don't appreciate the work, I just feel like I am spamming the sender with useless info, and if they sent the request to 41 people they would likely have filled the job pretty quickly.

Michael

In Charlie's post he says 45 calls/emails, not one email to 45 addressees.

It is well known business behavior if you email a task addressed to two people, neither will feel obligated to do anything.

I guess this ultimately comes down to a buyer's market or sellers market, and that perception varies with wether you're currently employed or not.

Then there's the other truth that you run into the same people on the way down, that you dealt with on the way up.

It's nice to be nice... even if you don't have to.

JR

[Charlie Zureki]

Hello,

  A lot of interesting responses to my original post....

   I phoned and/or sent individual Emails (not a CC or spam) to people that I've worked with over the years and that felt would be good, experienced, and reliable candidates for specific positions.

   Writing the original post, I realized that the methods of communication have changed  a great deal over the last two decades. That people are bombarded with texts, Emails, phone calls.... but, I didn't realize that business values had changed also.

  I was always taught that business came first (in this industry)...even if you're not interested in a gig, beta testing a piece of gear, or,....whatever.... a timely, returned call, text or Email is appropriate, and should be considered good business. 

   A non returned call is either a snub, or, that the targeted recipient did not receive the original message. A second non-responded message is a "screw-you" or that the recipient is ill, dead, in prison or on the run from the law.

   When i meant "timely", I was speaking of 72 hours....that's plenty of time to find one minute to decline or accept a proposition.

   As JR. mentioned..."you run into the same people on the way down, that you dealt with on the way up".....and that is never so true as it is in this entertainment business.....just ask all of those Actors, Actresses, and Musicians that sold  Millions of Tickets to find themselves now doing small clubs gigs.

  And I'll add... that in this business there's a common mentality that, "it's not what you did for me last week, last month, or last year ...it's what can you do for me today?

  I don't necessarily follow that last saying because I have a reasonable outlook on loyalty...but, If you're too good to call me back, then, I might not be there if or, when you need me.

   Hammer
 

   

 

[Michael Brennan]

Hello,

  A lot of interesting responses to my original post....

   I phoned and/or sent individual Emails (not a CC or spam) to people that I've worked with over the years and that felt would be good, experienced, and reliable candidates for specific positions.
 

Apologies for not reading your OP closely enough. I agree with you 100% it is a basic professional skill to respond back in that case. I would try to give a response yes or no as soon as I could, and if I thought it would take me more than a few hours to confirm/deny my availability I would respond ASAP with a message saying so.

Michael

[Charlie Zureki]

Hello,

  A lot of interesting responses to my original post....

   I phoned and/or sent individual Emails (not a CC or spam) to people that I've worked with over the years and that felt would be good, experienced, and reliable candidates for specific positions.
 

Apologies for not reading your OP closely enough. I agree with you 100% it is a basic professional skill to respond back in that case. I would try to give a response yes or no as soon as I could, and if I thought it would take me more than a few hours to confirm/deny my availability I would respond ASAP with a message saying so.

Michael

  Hello Michael,

   And.... apologies if you thought my last post was directed specifically to you... it was just a more a complete explanation to my original post.   I would never expect anyone to commit to anything as time consuming, travel related, as a Tour without a couple of days to make arrangements and/or check their schedules.

   Really, all I was looking for was an acknowlegement that they are informed of my request/offer and, be interested if available and the "contract" was amicable.

   Cheers,
   Hammer 

 

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