Business loudly sub-communicates "we don't go the extra mile" in one single auto-responder
I contacted a business for some marketing work.
And this is their automated answer (translation below):
No extra-mile sub-communication, plus dictating the terms of engagement with a videocall (let the customer decide how he wants to interact instead)
- We received your message (and if it's not "strange hours", probably someone is already reading it)
- We will answer within 3 working days, even though often we manage within the day (unless there are weekends, holidays, and "long weekends")
What does this sub-communicate?
This sub-communicates that it's a "strictly 9-5" business that doesn't go the extra mile (and by the sound of it, doesn't even do 1 meter extra)
They're telling you:
If your message is in "strange hours" outside the working hours you won't get a reply because they only work office hours (BTW: negative judge with the choice of words. Now if I work in the evenings I'm "strange"?).
If your message is on the weekend or on any holiday or "long weekends" you won't get a reply because they only do bank-type of service hours.
The funny thing is that of course many businesses operate like that, but you still don't want to put it right left and center in your very first contact.
That's like the woman who on the first text says "if you don't take me to some average restaurant maybe we can do lunch one day".
Now someone who's got a project that's important or has strict deadlines will think these guys are slow, and that they will leave them hanging if any deadline is not reached within 5 o'clock, or Friday at 4pm (and hoping Monday is not some long-weekend holiday).
This is also a failure of empathizing / tailoring your services to the audience.
Many people looking for marketing services are small entrepreneurs / solopreneurs, and that demographic works the strangest hours of them all.
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Very interesting case, thanks!
Yes, it sounds like the customer will be the one who will have to adapt to them and not the other way around.
So it already feels like it's going to be painful to work with them.
Totally! I personally understand and respect healthy working hours, but I would even appreciate more being straight rather than having to guess from the sub-communication. If they say "we'll answer Mon-Fri, 9:00-17:00 max 2 days" then you know what to expect (and you have a written proof if they don't commit to it.
On the other side, I think is important to emphasize that we should put our standards on the table as well. From that point, it's a matter of deciding if there is a match or not.