International Trade/Offshore Manufacturing/Sourcing/Export/Import/Consulting A failure to communicate By Jeffrey Graham A business executive called me today and left a message on my voice mail. She began her message by commenting that she noted in my previous voice mail to her that I had responded to her e-mail message to me and apologized because she had not been able to retrieve her e-mail away from the office. For those of you who are tempted to buy into the Internet hype, this should be a wake up call. The business world is not yet properly digitized. What this woman said to me is an indication that all is not right with Internet services. Let us not forget that e-mail was the raison d'etre for inventing the Internet in the first place. Clearly, in the year 2000, e-mail is still not getting through in many cases and this is unacceptable. By the way, when I attempted to return her call, her voice mailbox was full. In the film Cool Hand Luke, character actor Strother Martin uttered the memorable phrase, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." He could have hardly known that this line would forever change the American lexicon. What is both curious and disturbing about this incident is that it reflects a certain naivete on the part of those who refuse to understand the reluctance of many people to embrace the Internet. I say this because so much of the new service paradigm is based upon using e-mail instead of voice as a means to quicker and more efficient communications. Many hardware and software companies offer a significant portion of their technical support services via e-mail. Government agencies, retail companies and numerous other organizations have now found it convenient to deny you other options for communicating with them. Unfortunately, this has made it possible for companies and agencies to ignore complaints by simply stating that they did not receive your e-mail. Anybody who has gone to the "online knowledge base" and tried to find a solution to their problem and come up short, can readily attest that the followup via other means is almost non-existent. Making matters worse, when companies do respond, it is often quite apparent that they have not bothered to really read your e-mail because their responses are so weak. For many executives who are just beginning to actively use the Internet, dealing with this kind of issue is painful, frustrating and non-productive. Here are some ways to better manage e-mail communications: 1. Use the request to confirm delivery feature of your e-mail program. While this will not always get you a receipt for delivery of your e-mail message, it does show intent to follow up and can, in most cases, trigger some kind of response that can become documentation of contact. 2. Build a paper trail of documentation. E-mail is just another form of correspondence and should be handled as such. Larger companies have several backups of communications for purposes of self-protection in the event of a lawsuit. It makes sense to save e-mail messages with complete message headers as text files and then copy them to a floppy diskette or a zip drive. 3. Allow 48 hours for a response via e-mail before choosing alternative means of communications. This is a question of basic fairness. Some companies do manage their e-mail communications well, but delays are always possible. In order to appear non-confrontational, it is best to give the respondent the benefit of the doubt before making serious complaints. 4. Identify a person even if they are using an alias. This is very important. Sometimes e-mail messages come about as a result of other communications such as a phone conversation. Quite often, you will be asked to send an e-mail message to a generic address such as support@nobodywantstorespond.com. This is a ploy to deflect your complaint into the system and this is exactly what you want to avoid. In some cases, employees will state that this is company policy. In those instances, I demand a first and last name or an employee number or something useful to actually identify the person with whom you are speaking. If your complaint has to go to upper management, this will be very important information in resolving your problem. Do not back down or be intimidated. 5. Once it is clear that you are not going to get the response that is needed, you must then find alternative methods of communication. Most people start complaining to secretaries and clerks. While this is good for venting frustration, it does nothing to solve your problem. One of the real problems prevalent in Internet-based companies is the tendency of some employees to hide behind the "there is no supervisor available" mantra. In fact, some lower level supervisors hide this way, as well. There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that the employee may be unable to solve your problem and if it does get back to his/her manager there could be a problem for them. I tend to only use the telephone to get a name of an executive and a fax number where he/she can be reached. One nice thing about faxes is that they are often available for many people to see. If an employee is goofing or is not carrying his/her load of the work, other employees will look for ways to communicate this fact to superiors. Complaint faxes will normally find their way to somebody who is interested in seeing them. Use this to your advantage. 6. Be clear about your intentions to be steadfast in getting problems solved. While it is never polite or smart to make threats, implied or otherwise, it can be useful to gently remind people that there are consequences for their inaction. Before you begin contacting senior executives at a company where you are having a problem, you should map out a plan of attack to bring them around to your viewpoint. I like to use the generic consumer complaint forms from watchdog agencies as well as the good old Better Business Bureau. Be prepared to contact these groups with complete documentation of your problem. They often have more direct means of communicating with senior executives that bypass lower level employees and reach decision-makers who can resolve a complaint rather quickly. E-mail communications can be somewhat difficult, especially when you're trying to resolve a matter or obtain a service for which you have already paid. Persistence is important, but documentation of prior contacts is always essential. Build a paper trail and then be methodical. The Internet provides anybody with e-mail access a huge global complaint forum. Companies who do business on the Internet or sell related products and/or services are keenly aware that future customers can be negatively affected by just one complaint from you. Use this fact as leverage and you will be able to resolve most problems fairly easily. When this article was first published, Jeffrey Graham was president of JPG Consulting, a Philadelphia, Pa.-based international business consulting company founded in 1995, that sponsors the Going Global Web site, which provides information and assistance for newbies to the Internet and international business, as well as enhanced opportunities for global business outreach for companies and organizations. Advertise on this site Put your company on this site!