I think I’m a down to earth guy. Unless someone has pissed me off, I don’t ever try to ‘big time’ anyone. So I’m feeling a little bad about the way I’m treating some of the people that are calling me about this site. For those that have called and never received a reply, it’s not you. It’s me.
As you may or may not know, I also run a landscaping company. That means that during the spring and summer, my schedule is as hectic as yours. Plus I run this site, which adds a little bit to the things I have to do in a day. I also have a family, and it always tears me up when I feel like I’m not spending enough time with them. So if I don’t return your call, lack of time is likely one reason.
And like most of you who own companies and get the sense that your employees think you’re made of money, this site is the same. Last year I bought my wife a middle-of-the-road digital camera with a good chunk of the funds earned from the site. This site is not a cash cow. I’m pretty good at making it look that way though, aren’t I? So when I get a call like I did from Ray in British Colombia, part of me is thinking “I gotta call this guy back and rack up long distance charges? No thanks.”
The last reason why you may not receive a return call is the gravity of the call. If you’re like Ray (sorry to pick on you, Ray), leaving a message with nothing more than your first name, phone number and that you’re trying to find some information on one of my sites, I’m probably going to decide that you need to learn to use the search feature better, or maybe even Google or Yahoo, and then I’ll delete your message. And remind myself of reasons one and two above. If you told me your company was going to suffer a terrible fate if I didn’t call back, or even better, if you left a message asking about advertising on our site and who to make the check out to, then you’d probably get a call back right away.
But other than those scenarios, I’m really just too damn busy. I hope you’ll understand.
