I Know You Told me Not To Call, But.....
October 10, 2011 6:16 AM Subscribe
I have currently three processes going on in my life (2 work, 1 government) where I have been clearly told "don't call us we'll call you." Help me to craft a message or phone call requesting a status update.
These processes are complex and involve contracts, financing, negotiations and interdepartmental communication and will not be completed quickly. I am not being blown off by the other parties, at the same time these processes are not high priority items for them but they are for me. I do not want to be seen as a pest or a time suck but I need to make decisions and need some sort of information flow. Help me to ask for what I need.
These processes are complex and involve contracts, financing, negotiations and interdepartmental communication and will not be completed quickly. I am not being blown off by the other parties, at the same time these processes are not high priority items for them but they are for me. I do not want to be seen as a pest or a time suck but I need to make decisions and need some sort of information flow. Help me to ask for what I need.
Oh, oh, I thought of one more. "Hi, Jonah. Sorry to bother you, but I'm really hoping you can help me out here. I need to make Decision Y, but I don't know what to do because I'm not sure where Contract X is right now. What do you think I should do? Any way you can keep me posted on what's happening with Contract X? I may have Decision Z coming up, too, and it would be a huge help just to know what's going on."
posted by Andrhia at 7:29 AM on October 10, 2011
posted by Andrhia at 7:29 AM on October 10, 2011
This is business, right? Do you need information that will a. take a short time to get, or do you need b. other people to do a task(s) that will take a fair amount of time? Email is perfect for reminders.
a. Terry, this is a reminder that we need the XYZ contract information by October 15. I know how busy you are, so I'll check in again with a phone call on the 14th.
b. Pat, I'm looking for the status of project Q, which is needed by October 20 to complete the Foobar contract. Would you please let me know how it's coming? I know how busy you are, so if I don't hear from you, I'll give you a call Wednesday.
It's okay to be politely conscientious about a project that you're responsible for. I like getting reminders as long as they're friendly, and, especially if they make it easy for me to respond. When someone calls and wants lots of details about the status of the project, I may end up on the phone while I'm really busy, and I have to stop what I'm doing, pull the file, and review it. When I get an email that says Checking in on the ABC contract renewal, which we need by Oct 20. I know the contract doesn't expire until Nov. 1, but we need 10 days to get it back from the printer. That gives me lots of useful info, and I can easily reply Thanks for the update; I didn't realize how much lead time you needed. I have scheduled time 10/15 to walk this through Accounting.
posted by theora55 at 9:09 AM on October 10, 2011
a. Terry, this is a reminder that we need the XYZ contract information by October 15. I know how busy you are, so I'll check in again with a phone call on the 14th.
b. Pat, I'm looking for the status of project Q, which is needed by October 20 to complete the Foobar contract. Would you please let me know how it's coming? I know how busy you are, so if I don't hear from you, I'll give you a call Wednesday.
It's okay to be politely conscientious about a project that you're responsible for. I like getting reminders as long as they're friendly, and, especially if they make it easy for me to respond. When someone calls and wants lots of details about the status of the project, I may end up on the phone while I'm really busy, and I have to stop what I'm doing, pull the file, and review it. When I get an email that says Checking in on the ABC contract renewal, which we need by Oct 20. I know the contract doesn't expire until Nov. 1, but we need 10 days to get it back from the printer. That gives me lots of useful info, and I can easily reply Thanks for the update; I didn't realize how much lead time you needed. I have scheduled time 10/15 to walk this through Accounting.
posted by theora55 at 9:09 AM on October 10, 2011
I spend a lot of time dealing with things like this. If they've given you a clear time frame (e.g. "it takes us 3 weeks to review submissions"), let them have until then and then start bugging the crap out of them. If there is no clear time frame, try and get people to give you some sort of answer about when they'll be done with their part, and then follow up with them when their self-imposed deadline occurs.
Generally speaking, I've learned that the gov't employees do not care about your particular project, and it is basically up to you to coordinate the whole thing. If they are telling you things you don't understand, keep calling people and departments until you figure out what's going on. Don't feel bad about it. Do not rely on anyone to move you project forward, it is YOUR responsibility. Even if you talk to someone nice and helpful, don't assume they will continue to help you or even remember you.
You DO need to be very proactive. Do NOT worry about annoying them. Don't call three times a day, or even daily if they told you clearly it would be done in three weeks. But don't hesitate to call them. The more persistent and annoying you are, the more likely you are to get something done.
posted by annie o at 8:18 PM on October 21, 2011
Generally speaking, I've learned that the gov't employees do not care about your particular project, and it is basically up to you to coordinate the whole thing. If they are telling you things you don't understand, keep calling people and departments until you figure out what's going on. Don't feel bad about it. Do not rely on anyone to move you project forward, it is YOUR responsibility. Even if you talk to someone nice and helpful, don't assume they will continue to help you or even remember you.
You DO need to be very proactive. Do NOT worry about annoying them. Don't call three times a day, or even daily if they told you clearly it would be done in three weeks. But don't hesitate to call them. The more persistent and annoying you are, the more likely you are to get something done.
posted by annie o at 8:18 PM on October 21, 2011
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But if this is a process that results in them giving you money, I would instead go with, "Hi, Sally? So sorry to bother you, but I was just thinking about Contract X, and I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed from my end. I'd really hate to hold anything up! How's it going? Anything I can do to make your life easier?"
The difference is whether you're an equal or a supplicant to them -- either way, the key bits are acknowledging that you might be bothering them, apologizing for it, giving a reason for doing it that shows you absolutely don't want to get on their case, and then either asking for or at least creating an opening for them to give you the information you're after.
That said, being a pest is going to be more a function of frequency of contact than what you specifically say. If this is a year-long process, I wouldn't call or write more than every couple of weeks, and maybe not even more than once a month, depending on how frequently the status of Contract X is likely to actually change.
posted by Andrhia at 7:25 AM on October 10, 2011