Sorry I Can't Talk Right Now Call Back Later

"Sorry, I can't talk right now"

I recently received a text from a friend of mine (let's just call him 'Mike'). I called Mike after he got back from Orlando to follow up regarding a touching personal text he had sent about life and fatherhood. When I called him, he immediately sent me the standard preset message "Sorry , I can't talk right now" text. Mike is one of the most considerate people I know; but, in this case, he missed the mark on communication etiquette. This is what drove me to write this story.

As a huge advocate for texting, I have a problem with people that send the "Sorry, I can't talk right now" text when you call them. This is good texting gone bad! It's unproductive and rude to the person receiving the message. In my opinion, it gives texting a black eye.

Why tell me you that you won't talk to me? What benefit does this serve to tell the person that's calling you that you can't talk to them? Do me a favor and just send me to voicemail. This implies you're not available and I can then leave it up to my imagination what important things you're up to, as opposed to knowing that you see my call and have just chosen not to answer it.

Text messaging was invented to expedite conversations or allow two people to collaborate asynchronously. Text messaging has not become the most successful form of communication to be a 'do not disturb' sign for busy people.

As the founder and CEO of Zingle I'm biased towards effective forms of text communication, whether it's for peer-to-peer or customer-to-business texting. Texting allows people and businesses the ability to communicate their needs on-demand. It's convenient and super-efficient as well.

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Back to Mike… If people prefer to tell you they're too busy to take your call, there are a lot better ways to deliver the polite 'do not disturb' message. My company solves this problem for businesses. If Mike was on the Zingle platform, he could create a number of texting automations that do the following:

1. Once I get to his voicemail he could say the following:, "I prefer to text and will likely get back to you faster; but, if you want to start a text thread with me, press 1, if you prefer my voicemail, press 9";

2. If Mike is too busy to answer, he could send me a more productive text that replies and automatically reschedules a time (via text) based on my calendar and availability.

These are just small examples that force you to think about the customer (or your friend) first. What experience would they appreciate? How do I best ensure a positive outcome for all parties? By demonstrating good text etiquette I've made the experience convenient and efficient for both parties. And I'm not left wondering whether Mike will ever call me back. Fortunately, Mike knows our friendship will survive his "I can't talk now" text, but in business this could easily have forever resulted in lost revenue. Yes, use a texting platform like Zingle to engage and delight your customers, but make sure you text in a way that shows you've thought through the customer experience.

Sorry I Can't Talk Right Now Call Back Later

Source: https://medium.com/zingle/sorry-i-cant-talk-right-now-97de2a4f37ca

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