What's in a name?

[wenwilder]

I don't know about you but I get really tired of being addressed as 'admin' when I receive confirmation emails. What happened to the days when people had names?

The form on my site asks for a name so I don't have to call people ab4769zd@nameless.com. Although I have noticed that people don't always put a name, why is that? Yes it boils down to a trust issue, I know that, but even a fake name is better than no name. And being asked for a name is better than being addressed as an email address.

If I want to lodge a complaint about something, or check on an order, etc. I want them to know who I am. I'm not a number, email address, nickname, or ID - I'm human and I want to be addressed as such.

What is the purpose of putting a form on your site if you are not going to ask for a name? Isn't the internet impersonal enough? Plus, personal sells. I know who I am and if you want my business you should want to know who I am too.

[mikmik]

Oops! That is a good point, though. In some cases it may be due to inexperience or, like me, lack of knowledge. Seems though, that my hosting server, readyhosting, doesn't have any way to specifically include a senders name in the autoresponder. I've tried to set up perl scripts but I don't know the path to the mail server and they didn't help when I put in a request.
I'll keep your suggestion in mind when personally responding, though, (if I ever get a message!) but it seems like common sense to me. Some people are just rude, even webmasters I suppose[o;
(now I've got B's in my bonnet)

[rlrouse]

Slightly off topic, I know, but I'm rather annoyed by these types of spam subject lines:

RL, Increase the size of...

customerservice, see the sexiest...

sales, now you can blast your URL to 10 zillion websites and...

The only good thing about these types of intros is the ease with which they can be blocked.

[funbiz]

Hi wenwilder;

A very good point.

[carbonize]

I'm getting annoyed at the emails that say "We noticed your site isn't listed on some search engines". There are thousands of damn search engines. i'm listed on the ikmportant ones and thats all that matters. And there is no way to remove your name from their list. I think I may send them an email threatening legal action for harassment if it continues :-|

[kiumars]

Dear Miss Wilder,

Nice topic. This is a question of privacy and a matter of freedom. I like to begin my response to a name and feel uncomfortable to call Dear Miss/Mr. E-mail. I even have difficulties to start a mail without a title. I miss that contact, perhaps it is a matter of polity or loosing some sort of connections. However, it is also quite OK if someone likes to appear anonymously. What is important is the quality of communication that we share. I like to be me, that dose not mean not to respect someone who prefers not to. We are all different individuals with brilliant thoughts of our own. The life would have been very boring if all were the same.

Best regards
Kiumars

[wenwilder]

(my autoresponder doesn't even call you "admin", just "Got your message")

My autoresponder is me, and I have to admit that 'me' is rather slow at times. But it is my way of making sure that I can address the person by name and not by an email address. I am a people person, and I like that to reflect in everything I do, no matter how much time it may take. It is worth the effort.

Sites that actually address people, treat them like people, and are aimed at real live people generally have a higher sales rate then those who try to simply make a sale. That should be incentive enough to use names. However, that's not why I do it, I do it because it's the right thing to do. In my opinion anyway. People aren't meant to be known as 'admin.'

[mikmik]

My intention was to let people know that someone is getting the email so they don't have to wonder, while waiting for a personal response, if their message is actually going somewhere to even be noticed.
That buys me an extra day or two of slowness lol. But I see your point, if their first contact is with a person it shows that they actually are being cared enough about to be treated personally right from the start. That is a pretty powerful first impression to create.

[matauri]

Yes...I agree Wen....first line of contact is 'me'. My email is running practically 24/7, and I check it quite often. Even if I havent got time to deal with the issue at hand, I will send them an email back letting them know that I recieved their correspondance and will get back to them asap.

I have found the more you make them feel at ease dealing with you, the higher success you have of further contact.

But Mik, I have to tell ya...I hate autoresponders, especially when there is a delay. You send off say 10 emails & each has an autoresponder, then you get 10 useless emails back. I'll give people a week to get back to me in some form, if they dont I go to another provider. If its a client, it's their project being held up if they are late replying, an autoresponder isnt going to speed the process up any. I feel that if people need to know their email has reached its location, they can request a read receipt. But thats just my opinion :-)


Cindy

[wenwilder]

In the 'modern' age we've stopped treating people like people and created a need for recognition. That's my all time largest peeve. Our technology has outgrown our humanity and sooner or later we're going to have to put that humanity back.

Websites that are directed at people, who make them feel like they are being spoken directly to, that the site was created 'just for them', have a higher sales rate. And it's no wonder.


Even if I havent got time to deal with the issue at hand, I will send them an email back letting them know that I recieved their correspondance and will get back to them asap.

I have found the more you make them feel at ease dealing with you, the higher success you have of further contact.

I know it's not possible for everyone to do what you are doing Matauri, but just imagine if they did? Maybe we'd find that there really is a REAL person at the other end of the email. Auto responders are great to confirm an order, but when it's a problem, request, complaint, etc. a real person makes a larger impact.

[mikmik]

I see your point Matauri and wen. I will disable mine.
In the meantime, is this the wave of the future?
http://www.speak2me.net/

[mikmik]

I attempted to send this message through your contact form, but it didn't seem to send-to: I didn't get a confirmation page so there might be something wrong with the form-- or you will get 4 messages from me because I kept trying

Now I'm even more confused!

[wenwilder]

Do you have a confirmation page? Don't disable an autoresponder - it's a good thing to have. People expect it and worry if they don't. I just complain about them because they call me admin or just thank you. :) But then I complain that mail that says: "Current Resident" ;)

[won]

When talking about the good old days for names I would like to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson who made this excellent statement: "We do what we must do and give it the best names". Perhaps this is an appropriate motto for our present day businesses, products and domains.