As we all know, advancements in technology have blurred the lines when it comes to telephones and working environments. It’s hard to determine if someone’s phone number is his or her office phone number or a residential home office, and it seems everyone is (or appears to be) accessible 24/7. Landline phones in the home office are quickly becoming extinct as smart phones have become the norm and not to mention, the lifeline to our businesses.
Manner Monday: Text to Landline Messages
When making a phone call, traditional (old-school) telephone manners dictate that you should never call too early in the morning or too late in the evening. A good rule of thumb to follow when placing a call to someone’s home is: wait until after 9:00 a.m. and before 9:00 p.m. during weekdays. On weekends, extending extra courtesies by not calling someone before 10:00 a.m. is always thoughtful.
So now we’re faced with new issues: ‘Text to Landline’ messages and business calls at strange hours. My husband and I have lost count of how many ‘text to landline’ messages we have received on our good old-fashioned ‘home phone’ (yes, we still have one that doubles as our business line)…and the majority have occurred at the most bizarre times: 1:00 a.m., 4:45 a.m., 5:30 a.m., just to name a few. So needless to say, we’ve been mistakenly roused from sleep to be greeted with an electronic voice, trying to verbally communicate a text message.
I’m thinking a lot of the ‘traditional (old-school) telephone manners’ aren’t too far off and still apply as technology advances.
How do you think these new technologies are influencing our business etiquette?
