Emails

[Javlingames]

If you sent it outside working hours why would you not expect a reply by 10am if you would expect a reply within an hour during working hours?

That's a good point. I'd expect it by 10am

[Corabar Entertainment]

I'm guessing you're left disappointed a lot then, Gavin?

[Shaun]

I guess it all boils down to how quick you need a reply? If I was emailing instead of calling then most likely time wouldn't be a huge factor. I'd be happy with a reply under 48 hours.

[Javlingames]

I'm guessing you're left disappointed a lot then, Gavin?

I only deal with professionals

[Corabar Entertainment]

I only deal with professionals

Are you serious? So, any person/company who doesn't respond within your mandatory 1 hour time frame is unprofessional?

Supposing the person you're emailing is in a meeting? Lunch break anyone? In an ideal world, yes, we'd all love to get replies immediately, but one hour is such a ludicrously short time-frame it just looks like you've posted it to try and get a reaction.

In the real world, I doubt there's a business in existence that replies to every email within an hour... unless, of course, we're just talking about an automated response.

Out of curiosity, how quickly would you expect a reply to a written letter?

[SC Events]

I think you're being too unrealistic Gavin. I give people around 48/60 hours to get back to me, however if I need a response before that, I ring them instead... That's what a phone is for.

[wensleydale]

I think common sense comes into it here- if you need an immediate answer then call.
If you are happy to wait until later in the day/tomorrow, then email.

[BeerFunk]

I think you're being too unrealistic Gavin. I give people around 48/60 hours to get back to me, however if I need a response before that, I ring them instead... That's what a phone is for.

I think common sense comes into it here- if you need an immediate answer then call.
If you are happy to wait until later in the day/tomorrow, then email.

While I agree with both of you in principal, I do wonder if that's still the way businesses work. I've noticed quite a lot of business websites which either don't have a contact number, or they do but seem to prefer contact by email. O2, for example, seem to want you to use their live online assistants, or email. Perhaps it's the cost of manning the phones, although you'd think smaller businesses wouldn't have this issue as their incoming call count should be reasonably low.

[ukpartydj]

Depends on your enquiry and business you're dealing with.

My experience is the bigger the company the longer it takes.
Well run small businesses are the fastest responders, they know that a quick response gives them an edge over the sloth big businesses.
That being said I did ask for a quote for some metalwork to be made a while back and it took them nearly 2 weeks to respond!!

I expect responses within 48 hours, if it's within 6 hours I feel they actually want my business and are keen to do a good job.

[DazzyD]

I'd expect an answer within 24 hours - that's more than enough time to at least acknowledge it's receipt so you know it's being dealt with.

I guess it all boils down to how quick you need a reply? If I was emailing instead of calling then most likely time wouldn't be a huge factor. I'd be happy with a reply under 48 hours.

I think you're being too unrealistic Gavin. I give people around 48/60 hours to get back to me, however if I need a response before that, I ring them instead... That's what a phone is for.

I agree with all of these points. Email, whilst it's near-immediate in it's delivery, doesn't neccessarily mean there's someone at the other end 24/7 to reply straight away. If you are emailing a sole trader tradesman, such as a builder for example, he could be away from his computer for a few days working on a job. Not every tradesman will have mobile email. Also, email is not guaranteed in it's delivery. In fact, the success rates of email reaching it's destination in the expected timeframe is actually less than that of Royal Mail delivering a second class-posted letter. Common causes of delay include server failure, electrial failure (at any point on the route of the email), human error (mistyping a complicated email address, for example), over-protective spam filters. There are so many things that can go wrong. For anyone accepting enquiries via email, I'd recommend setting up an auto-responder message so at least your customer knows you've got their email.

Oh, another common error is people who actually mistype their own return email. In my Benefits day job, all of our application forms are now online. When people finish completing their form and submit it to us by electronically signing it, the system sends them a copy of the completed form along with other information. You'd be amazed how many bounce-backs we get because people haven't taken enough care in typing their email addresses.

Oh, to answer the OP, I think 48 hours is a fair amount of time for an email reply!