In need of TiVo

Some of us work and some of us don't, but we are all familiar with tactics used to obtain our business. We've all called a customer service hotline at some point only to find that after many automated choices we either get put on hold for eternity, we get a voicemail or we get disconnected and rarely do we ever get a call back. Today however, we also have the joy of email...which leads me to today's post.

It used to be if someone was fortunate enough to get your phone number they would call you to death, but now it is all about email. I can follow up with someone 15 time via email if I choose (gotta love technology,) but what I received as a follow up was beyond anything I had ever seen before. In my job, information is gathered and prepared and then sent up the food chain where eventually a decision is made....this can take a LONG time, depending on the expected need of the product. Most of the time this is done far in advance as money becomes available. Below you will find a copy of an actual email I received from a vendor who is trying to obtain my business. Imagine my shock when I read the email below, knowing I have NEVER met the writer and only spoken to him via phone about business related issues.

Hello K,

A number of days ago you inquired about *** Hosted Exchange services.
We provided some background information about our firm along with a
description of the service and a cost estimate.

After subsequent follow-up attempts, we have not heard back from you.

Please hit "Reply" and select one of the following with an "X":

1) I've been so disappointed since the “World Cup”, the last episode of

“The Sopranos”, “Treasure Hunt”, “Rockstar Super Nova “, and “The Apprentice”

that I can't get out of bed and thus could not respond.

2) My recent travels to Tibet and the Himalayas lasted much longer than
anticipated and Internet / phone access was tough to come by.

3) I found a provider who would do it cheaper and 99.9% uptime isn't
critical for my firm.

4) I decided to keep email in-house.

5) Other priorities arose and my firm never made a decision.

6) I would like you to have someone call me to discuss *** Hosted Exchange again.

Thank you for your response.

[If you selected option (2), I would be happy to help you find a more knowledgeable Sherpa next time.]

John

In case you were curious my response was as follows:

John-

In response to your email…

1) X

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

I’m sorry, I have had so much difficulty with my TV programming that my depression has kicked in full force and I have not been able to reply to any work related issues. This is such a problem that I have not been able to have my “sanity” medication refilled for many months now, which is beginning to become a real struggle. I really appreciate your concern and understanding with this matter.

Do people really send emails like this or am I just the lucky recipient of one such email???