It’s hard to get people to get back to me. This week alone I’ve waited in vain for four emails and an important phone call. A fifth email came back to arrange an appointment for my car’s regular maintenance check, and the sender referred to me as “Karen.” That’s not my name, so it doesn’t count.
Last Sunday I dropped off an old roll of film–yes, some folks still have rolls in their cameras–at a new camera shop just outside of town. The young man taking my information was nice enough, but it was easy to see that he didn’t feel comfortable filling out forms in pen using–heaven forbid–carbon paper! He said the processing would take a few days: by digital instant gratification standards that’s an eternity. I haven’t gotten a call to say my film is ready and the pictures came out great or that nothing came out. I don’t feel I should have to chase a business to get the full advantage of my in-person experience. Besides, when dealing with men we all know that they tend not to call when they say they will.
When I call tech support at the office, sometimes they don’t call back for days or weeks. They do tend to get inundated with requests for password resetting, error messages and the occasional Blue Screen of Death event requiring an ambulance for the computer and its owner, but would it hurt to at least type a quick reply like, “I got your question and I’ll get back to you this afternoon” so I know how long to wait? I always ask for a “read receipt” so I know somebody opened my email, but it still involves waiting to get the receipt.
My college still hasn’t gotten back to me to verify my status. Maybe they assume that I’ll just show up in a cap and gown on a date sent to me by psychic vibes.
I have a new idea for an app that could solve the whole callback problem: when you send a message and expect a return call, you can program their phone to load a countdown which, when it reaches zero and they have not responded, will ignore any vibrate or silent modes and launch into a full rendition of 1812 Overture which won’t stop unless the phone is answered. That would change the course of callbacks for good.
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