Today there are so many ways for an individual to avoid human contact. Why bother calling information when you can look up an address on your iPhone? There’s really no need to call Domino’s when you can go online, click on your favorite toppings and pay with your credit card. And let’s face it, it’s so much easier to shoot off a text than to risk getting stuck in a 20 minute conversation with somebody you’re kind of “meh” about anyway.
If the modern world is all about immediacy and accessibility, then why bother using the phone at all?
Well, there’s an integral part of human contact and interaction that’s lost when you 
circumvent the conversation. It may be “easier” to send an email, but you’re leaving the recipient’s interpretation up to chance. Heinz Tschabitscher discusses email communication in his blog post, What Can Be Misunderstood Will Be Misunderstood.
“The lack of nonverbal clues makes it easy to misinterpret something,” says Heinz, “but we’re not careful enough to avoid these misinterpretations because email feels so instant, easy and accessible…”
In client services, not only can you best gauge the client’s mood on the phone, but you can help ensure that they will correctly interpret your own.
The ideal choice is to make the call. In the India PR Blog, Palin Ningthoujam writes that
“You can explain issues and things in proper and in length over the phone than on email.”
On the phone you can explain yourself fully and deal immediately with your client’s needs.
Best of all, you’re in complete control of how you express yourself and by proxy, how you represent your company. Don’t risk the relationships you’ve built with your valued customers just because you choose the “easy” email over the personal phone call. They are your clients; this is your business; and they deserve it.
Do you prefer to send an email or place a call when interacting with your clients? As a client, how do you feel when you receive a call from an account manager or client services representative? Depending on which side of the conversation you’re on, how do think these interactions affect the business relationship? Please share your ideas with the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.