This summer, I've been pretty busy. Unfortunately, many of my clients were from a different generation and believe that calling is the best way to communicate with me. While it is efficient if there requires a significant amount of discussion. It starts becoming a hindrance when people begin calling on administrative matters and call every 10 minutes to see if something has happened or don't leave messages.

For example, I was working (and still am working) on a commercial real estate purchase involving a client who does nothing but use telephone calls to follow up on an hourly basis. If he can't reach me after a few tries, he'll show up without an appointment. Whether it's to inquire about if the other side has signed back or if I've received his mortgage instructions, he can't follow the simple instruction of "we'll let you know when we get it". If anything, it causes his file to proceed slower, not out of spite, but out of inefficiency. Look at it this way: Think about when you are focused and working on something, and the phone rings. You need to change gears to address the matter. Once the phone call is over, you need to find where you left off and get back into your same train of thought. Now multiply that by about a hundred and you have a typical day for me.

I'm not insulting the client or complaining about the work, but rather, wondering why people do not embrace the use of technology to help simplify their lives. We have an email address solely for telephone callers that is easy to enter and will reach us almost immediately. I'm currently looking at using Google Talk chatback applications on my website to allow for real time instant messaging with me, where I can intake their information and assess the urgency of the matter. Why are people not using these as means of communication instead of calling?

I tell clients that email will often yield a faster response because I can assess each email and determine how urgent a matter is with minimal interruption to my work routine. In  the era of wireless data devices and push email, alternative communication is something that people ought to be embracing and not ignoring in favour of antiquated means of communicating, like telephone calling.