# replying to emails



## jarrod (Jul 14, 2009)

okay, between now & the time i decided to move to denver, i've fired off probably 10 or so emails to various MA schools.  just basic inquiries; schedule, costs, that sort of thing.  i have received exactly 2 replies.  2.  why would you put an email address on your website, which i presume is your primary source of leads, just to ignore them?  my school was pretty nickel & dime, but i think i only ignored one email ever, & that was becasue the guy sounded like an absolute nut.  

maybe i'm missing something because my school was such small potaters, but for god's sake, just fire off a quick reply.  it takes just seconds.

/vent

jf


----------



## HKphooey (Jul 14, 2009)

jarrod said:


> okay, between now & the time i decided to move to denver, i've fired off probably 10 or so emails to various MA schools. just basic inquiries; schedule, costs, that sort of thing. i have received exactly 2 replies. 2. why would you put an email address on your website, which i presume is your primary source of leads, just to ignore them? my school was pretty nickel & dime, but i think i only ignored one email ever, & that was becasue the guy sounded like an absolute nut.
> 
> maybe i'm missing something because my school was such small potaters, but for god's sake, just fire off a quick reply. it takes just seconds.
> 
> ...


 
I agree.

Take it as a sign...


----------



## Frostbite (Jul 14, 2009)

Oh, it's a huge pet peeve of mine too.  I mean, you put your email address up with the rest of the contact info.  That leads me to believe you actually will answer my emails.  I hate talking on the phone and the email gives me a record of what we actually said to each other that I can go back and refer to later if I need to.

The way I see it is that if they're going to run a business, they need to work a little harder for my money.  Not answering my emails tells me they're not that serious about it and that goes for way more than just martial arts schools.


----------



## jks9199 (Jul 14, 2009)

Years back, I was looking at schools.  This was back in the antediluvian era before email.  Several schools never returned phone calls or never answered the phone.  Yeah, didn't follow up much with them.  One large, well known association I sent a letter to didn't have the courtesy to respond, even with a "thanks for the interest, but we're not interested/don't do that" form letter.  I'll admit, I was a kid.  Today, I don't blame the organization for not being interested.  I'll even easily grant that I didn't go through the best channels to present my idea.  But the basic courtesy is to respond.

Another school did finally answer a phone -- but got insulted when I asked some basic questions about organizations and background.  Stuff that today I'd answer easily if I was asked -- even by a kid.

Basic courtesy is to acknowledge reasonable expressions of interest.  Even if you're going to shoot 'em down -- you can acknowledge them.  And, with email, it doesn't even cost anything but a few minutes of your time!


----------



## Bob Hubbard (Jul 14, 2009)

I had 1 client, when he got called on never answering his emails, blamed me saying I never set him up right. It was, server logs verify that.  He was just too lazy to bother.  

One problem is, many martial arts instructors while good at what they do, aren't exactly that PC savvy. So emails are lost, or just never checked.  One guy couldn't figure out how to reply to a message, so he just ignored anything that didn't have a phone number for him to call back.  He lost alot of leads.

Best bet is, email, then call.


----------

