Should You Call Or Email?

I do a lot of tech work. Support-type functions. Repairs. Fixes. Configurations.

I'm also wired with the Aspergian mind. That doesn't help with being patient with people when they don't listen.

But this topic isn't just for people like me. It affects everyone to some degree.

See, one of the high-on-list peeves is when people call on the phone for something that they could have emailed about. It drives me nuts because whenever the phone rings and I answer it, it draws my attention away from what I was focusing on. Even if it's just to answer a quick question, it takes me time to get refocused on what I as doing before the phone interruption.

The part that really steams me is when they call, the person they want to talk to (there's others on the multiline system I'm sharing) isn't available, and they say, "That's okay, I'll just send them an email."

Then WHY DID YOU CALL?

If it's not something you need an immediate answer to, email it. It gets neatly queued to be handled when I have time to handle it. I have a paper trail. I have a reference.

You interrupted me because a phone was handy and you had a brain fart?

Ugh.

Then I have to try to refocus on the task at hand. For tech people, once you're "in the groove" you tend to be more efficient, and interruptions lead to mistakes, possibly bad ones if I'm doing something that could affect others (mail server alterations, anyone?)

So here...if you have something you want to communicate, and it isn't something that requires an immediate answer, email it. Ask yourself: "If the person I want isn't available, will I just email the message to them instead?"

If the answer is yes, EMAIL IT. We'll thank you for it. Or at least not curse you for forcing me to figure out what the hell I was working on before you called.