We’ve been working hard this year and are eagerly anticipating some holidays that we have planned. Our office will be closed from December 22, 2010 to January 5, 2011 while we enjoy the festive season and do some traveling.
While we’re away, we’ll still be providing phone and email support for any important issues so don’t hesitate to contact us if you need a helping hand.
Also, just a reminder to get any of those last minute 2010 projects to us next week. We’ll be working a few extra hours to make sure that we accomm0date everyone’s requests.
Best wishes and happy holidays,
Scott Morrish
We’ve made some changes to our Terms of Service and wanted to let you know about them. The updates are minimal but do effect some aspects of how we bill, our late charges, and how we accept payments.
Please take a moment to review and don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.
View our latest Terms of Service here: http://www.silverbarrel.com/pdf/sbs_terms_and_conditions-2010.pdf
Email is quickly becoming, if not already our primary method of communicating with clients, colleagues, friends and family. I think that we sometimes take it for granted. Email applications, online services and the devices on which we send and receive mail have all changed significantly since the adoption of the good old @ symbol. Perhaps it’s time to stop and take a look at how we’re using email to see if we are making the most of what the world of email has to offer.
This is part 2 in our series discussing the best-practices of email. Part 1 of this series can be found here.
Texting vs. Email on your Smartphone
Email is not the same as texting. If you’re responding to an email on your portable device (iPhone, BlackBerry, etc.) you should still keep in mind the appropriate etiquette regardless of how inconvenient it is to type.
Think of writing an email as the same as having a face to face conversation with a client. Say nice things like hello, thank you, you’re welcome, best regards, etc. It’s very easy to come across as abrupt when responding to an email. It’s also very easy to tap out a quick response while you’re out of your office. STOP. I’m not saying that you need to write a novel in response to an email but keep in mind that if you’re responding to a client that the common courtesies and politeness rules still apply. Perhaps it’s best to wait until you’re back in your office so that you can give your client the appropriate amount of time and energy in responding.
Proper grammar, spelling and sentence construction is also important. It’s fine to use short forms when hammering out a quick text message to friends but when responding to a business contact it’s key to make the effort to appear intelligent. Poor spelling says A LOT to your clients when you’re dealing with them in a written form. Read more…