VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[HeatherMasters]

Hey all,
I was wondering what the overall feeling was about sending emails. My time zone is earlier than most, so often I may finish a file after the rest of the US is in bed. Once, when I sent an email (not requesting any action or info) I got a message asking that I please only email during business hours.

So, is there some email etiquette I am unaware of? Should I only send a client a file during business hours? After all, I am not asking them to respond, just wanting to get the file out. The only thing I could think of is that so many people now get a ding with every new email, and maybe people don't want to be bothered outside the office?
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Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com

[melissa eX]

I see nothing wrong about emailing on off-hours. If you work globally as many of us do every business hour somewhere is an off hour elsewhere.

I think - if it annoys some people - it's because they can't ignore the urgency to respond to everything that claims their time. People don't have to respond to an email, a text a phone call. But I think some, in their own minds, feel put upon to respond because THEY'RE not able to ignore it - and so get annoyed that YOU'RE demanding their time. That's on them. Not you.

I once messaged someone at about 8 or 9 pm and they had an online meltdown because I was interrupting them while they were at a concert with their friends. So they continued to send me message after message (long after the one message I sent apologizing) about how rude I was to mess up their entire evening. Really? And you couldn't ignore it?

Their problem. Not mine. Or yours.
_________________
www.melissaeXelberth.com
from crime...to the divine(R)
bilingual vo

[Philip Banks]

Never try to play the "I have a life game" with the electronically tethered. More important, the fact that they are out of control is not your fault.

[Lee Gordon]

It is no more Heather's fault that her client could not ignore an email than it is Melissa's fault that her client doesn't have the sense to silence his mobile phone while at a concert (and then proceeds to scold her because he's a knucklehead).
Make a note not to email that particular client after hours (whatever his hours happen to be), but otherwise, send your emails whenever you want. Sending is a 24/7 proposition. How and when the person on the other end chooses to receive them is nothing any of us can control.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[Mike Harrison]

Well, thanks to this thread I'm learning I'm not the only one who receives a less-than pleasant response for contacting others without first engaging my clairvoyance to know what they're doing at the time.

A week ago, Friday (the 19th), a client sent some revisions to an earlier job and simply said to go ahead. No mention of when they needed them turned around by. It so happens I was able to get them taken care of over the weekend and delivered the files Sunday evening so they would have them Monday morning. I was surprised to get an email from the client somewhere between 9 and 10 Sunday night, thanking me for the files and specifically stating how they "always appreciate (my) flexibility."

A friend said it best in the early 80s (before email): "A ringing telephone does not have a Constitutional right to be answered." As the others here stated, it's on THEM if they can't fully disengage from work.

Goodness knows I have some quirky traits, but expecting others to know what I'm doing when they call or email is, thankfully, not one of them.
_________________
Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

[Adam Verner]

Hey Heather, as others have said, I wouldn't worry about it

However, if you wanted to investigate there are many cool tools that let you schedule when an email is sent. I use Streak for business gmail as, it lets me compose and then schedule an email to be sent later (exact day and time even). Boomerang is another popular one, and I'm sure there are others.

I've found it incredibly useful, check it out!
_________________
Adam
************************************
Natural Voice
adamverner.com
adamverner.com/blog
twitter.com/adam_verner
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[DougVox]

What Adam said.

And what Melissa said:

[Lee Gordon]

There is one particular spam email I have gotten a few times that begins, "Sorry to be bothering you at this hour ..." and it always made me laugh. What does the hour they send an email have to do with when I choose to open if (IF I choose to open it)? And, for the record, no matter when they sent it or when I read it, they would be bothering me.

As an aside, earlier this week, my phone rang at 4:45 AM. I had auditioned for a job about an hour earlier and it was the client calling from Italy to discuss what to include on my invoice. Was I upset to be called at such an ungodly hour? I don't think so.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[kkuhlken]

I do youth ministry and all my teens have my number. I'd rather answer one of your invoice calls, Lee, than one of my teens calling at 4:45. The news or situation is never positive..
_________________
My full name is Karl Kuhlken (think Macauly Culkin...it rhymes)

Suave, debonair, a ladies man. Sophisticated, urbane, well heeled....no, wait...that's not me

[Lee Gordon]

But don't you feel better that they called rather than holding back for fear of disturbing you?
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

[kkuhlken]

Oh, absolutely! I have fielded a few calls in my ten years and I cannot remember a single one where I said "you know, this could've waited until I was at work". I appreciate their trust that I will help them, no matter the hour.
_________________
My full name is Karl Kuhlken (think Macauly Culkin...it rhymes)

Suave, debonair, a ladies man. Sophisticated, urbane, well heeled....no, wait...that's not me

[HeatherMasters]

Thanks for all the info. It's helpful to know this has happened with others as well. And Thanks Adam for the info on Streak. I will look into that and just use it for any client who fits into the "special email hours" category.
_________________
Heather

www.heathermastersvo.com