Back in the day, my inbox consistently contained over a thousand messages. Not because I’m popular or important, but because my method of checking email didn’t extend past the basic definition of “checking”: to look over; examine. I’d open my inbox, scan to make sure there weren’t any crucial messages, and continue looking at Instagrammed entrées. Then I watched Merlin Mann’s classic “Inbox Zero” Google Tech Talk where he states,...
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When I think of a “customer-service-worst-case-scenario,” I think of Marie Antoinette. Legend has it that she was so out of tune with her constituents that when she heard the peasants had no bread and were starving to death, replied, “let them eat cake” (yes, this was misattributed, but go with it)… and eventually lost her head. Granted, she didn’t have the benefits of social media and email like we do, but at Baydin,...
Read MoreEtiquette rules aren’t just about holding the door, using the correct fork, and all the other exciting things we learned at middle school cotillion; they also extend to email. Proper email etiquette increases productivity because it eliminates the hurt feelings or “drama” that can result when something is misread or taken in the wrong context. Everybody has their pet peeves, so here’s an excuse to voice them:...
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Before working at Baydin, I was a secondary English Language Arts and English as a Second Language teacher in Houston for two years (translation: I taught older kids how to write better and speak English better too). From that experience, I learned that teachers are busy. Busy as in I-had-to-write-this-in-the-summer-so-they’d-have-time-to-read-it. This perpetual busyness results not just from handling kid germs, flea-like attention...
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You have two appointments to schedule: a meeting with John, a VIP at your company, and coffee with Rachel. You email John first, proposing Friday at noon plus two additional times. You eat lunch, do a little work, have a cup of coffee, and email Rachel, “Hey, let’s get coffee next week.” She responds, “Great, are you free Thursday afternoon around 2?” You open a tab to view your calendar. “Hmm, no, how about Friday at noon?” Your...
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