How many hours a day do you work?

[Benny Smyth]

On Monday at around 9am, I received an enquiry which I responded to within about 30 minutes. Throughout the day, the potential client emails me with questions and I answer every email within 90 minutes. The last email I received was at 11:30 at night, by which point I was tired and already in bed with my hot chocolate, so I didn't reply to it. "I'll leave that one for tomorrow", thought I.

I then woke up on Tuesday morning to an email from the client who expressed severe displeasure at the fact that I had not replied to her email from the night before in a timely fashion. My initial reply (you know, that one you type but don't send) included the words "How many hours a day do you :Censored: work?" Anyway, sent an email back that was nice and polite, but I've not heard back, so I assume that I've missed out on that booking.

I'm thinking that I shot myself in the foot by replying reasonably quickly to all the previous emails and maybe raised expectations, but having emailed this particular client from 9am to 11:30pm, I don't think it's too much to understand that a 14 and a half day was a bit too much.

So the question is, how do you balance everything? Do you have set 'working hours'? Do you stop replying to messages after a certain time? Or do you answer everything as quickly as possible, regardless of the time, day or month?

[funkymook]

On Monday at around 9am, I received an enquiry which I responded to within about 30 minutes. Throughout the day, the potential client emails me with questions and I answer every email within 90 minutes. The last email I received was at 11:30 at night, by which point I was tired and already in bed with my hot chocolate, so I didn't reply to it. "I'll leave that one for tomorrow", thought I.

I then woke up on Tuesday morning to an email from the client who expressed severe displeasure at the fact that I had not replied to her email from the night before in a timely fashion. My initial reply (you know, that one you type but don't send) included the words "How many hours a day do you :Censored: work?" Anyway, sent an email back that was nice and polite, but I've not heard back, so I assume that I've missed out on that booking.

I'm thinking that I shot myself in the foot by replying reasonably quickly to all the previous emails and maybe raised expectations, but having emailed this particular client from 9am to 11:30pm, I don't think it's too much to understand that a 14 and a half day was a bit too much.

So the question is, how do you balance everything? Do you have set 'working hours'? Do you stop replying to messages after a certain time? Or do you answer everything as quickly as possible, regardless of the time, day or month?

I tend to reply straight away if I can, regardless of the time, if I can read the email I can respond - or if I’m out and check email on my phone I'll send an acknowledgement and say I’ll reply as soon as I get home.

But if I got a comment like that (especially after a day of swapping emails) I’d think to myself I hadn’t created any connection with this person, we should be on better terms than that by now, and politely tell them I was no longer available, my gut instinct is they’d be terrible to work for.

[Excalibur]

The facetious reply is:
" He who snoozes, loses", to borrow a turn of phrase from Spirits High. :D

The serious one is that I tend not to make phone calls to customers after 9pm, or email much after 10pm. To my way of thinking, eleven o'clock at night is no time to be making decisions. Unless time really was of the essence, morning would do just fine.

Benny, most of the replies to my quotes start " thank you for your prompt reply ", so I think that's important. Carry on as you are.

Martin, I've got to disagree with you here. I've had customers who wanted reassuring about minor points for two days running, who booked, and then turned out to be an absolute pleasure to work with.
Blimey, you're doing business with them, not falling in love!!! :D

( I know where Martin's coming from, and the lad knows more about this than I ever will. He has taught and helped me many times in this area. I just think he's being overly pessimistic over this. )

[Shaun]

Sounds like you had a lucky escape Benny. I don't think it's unreasonable to wait till the morning to an email received at half 11 at night.


That said, if I'm up and about I've seen me replying to emails in the middle of the night, so no set hours really. Depends if I've had a bottle of vino or two...I don't want to be dealing with customers if I've had a drink or 6.

[SC Events]

I generally work between 9am - 6:00pm, so during those times I will most likely be around to answer the office phone and reply to emails quite promptly.

Outside of those hours, i'll either be socialising, relaxing or, my favourite, sleeping :D However, if i'm awake and not doing anything, i'll generally reply to emails until about 10pm(ish).

[yourdj]

I'm thinking that I shot myself in the foot by replying reasonably quickly to all the previous emails and maybe raised expectations,

There is your problem, although she must be a bit funny to get stressed with that.
I always get twitchy after about 2.5 days if i have not responded to someone (for instance when I am on holiday).

i have taken note from a busy venue wedding manager that often takes a day or two to respond and have been far more relaxed with my emails in the last year as people will get used to it. If you respond in an organised and pleasant manner its not necessarily a bad thing as it shows you are obviously busy.

I don't email back anyone between the hours of 10am and 6pm and often leave it until the next day as clients will expect you to follow suite all year (our work is very seasonal), unless its an initial enquiry. Even with enquiries however, I leave the venues that I am not too fussed about, but generally respond within 5 hours for good venues on my doorstep or dates that are just too good to be true. In fact i have one right now, which i intend to get back to them tomorrow.

General emails that don't have immediate priority leave, and the more urgent ones deal with immediately.
I only do about 4 - 5 hours in the office a day now on average, but often have several meetings in the evenings of a week.
Having said that i have a well optimised website and a variety of venues recommending me so am pretty lucky in that respect.

As a new business I would look to double that for the first few years probably??

[funkymook]

I only do about 4 - 5 hours in the office a day now on average......
....As a new business I would look to double that for the first few years probably??

So 8 -10 hours a day in the office?

[yourdj]

So 8 -10 hours a day in the office?

No sorry i thought about that after posting, maybe a bit of an exaggeration.

Having said that, I am technically working now (designing a brochure - its now 12.30am), so its pretty hard to gauge if you don't actually travel to an office and switch off after work. my wife gets to work at 9am leaves at 5pm and that is that. bit harder for us work at home people especially when you include the time spent going to meetings (often 6pm - 9pm), wedding fairs and the likes.

Lets say for arguments sake 10am-5pm on average in the office/around the home on the first 1-3 years of business until things get established. :) In terms of admin client communication electronically (especially over the phone) - office hours 10am-5pm. It also depends on what you get done on the time you are working? Some days it takes me 7 hours to answer emails and others I get everything done in a couple of hours, depending on my mood and other distractions.

Perhaps put your office hours of operation in your signature Benny?? Then there is no confusion.


Sounds like you had a lucky escape Benny..

My thoughts exactly. bit of a control freak if there was no other reason. Very peculiar. :)

[djdave01]

I once received a phone call enquiry at 2.30am. I wasn't long home from the Saturday nights gig. Told the woman the office was closed and to call back during the day, she never did.

[Excalibur]

Sounds like you had a lucky escape Benny.
.
For the reasons outlined above, I disagree. Unless there are issues we're not aware of in the conversation Benny had with the client, I think that's a dangerous assumption to make.


I don't think it's unreasonable to wait till the morning to an email received at half 11 at night..
Here I must agree totally.



That said, if I'm up and about I've seen me replying to emails in the middle of the night, so no set hours really. Depends if I've had a bottle of vino or two...I don't want to be dealing with customers if I've had a drink or 6.

Broad agreement again. The saving grace of email is that it's likely that when the customer receives one, there won't be a bell ringing at the side of their bed, or worse, downstairs!! I have often replied to new NaD enquiries when I've returned from a gig for that reason.

I feel prompt responses are appreciated by customers, it stops them thinking we're ignoring them. As in all things of course, there is a happy medium. Try to achieve that.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

It's a good question actually and one that I thought of asking myself a while back.
I am at home during the day all week and my laptop, phone and iPad are always on. If I get an enquiry I generally reply to it immediately and the number of comments I get about responding quickly are very good. Even if I am away from my laptop whether its sitting down watching the TV or out and about I can always reply to an email via the phone or iPad.

In my opinion, the hardest thing about this job is getting the enquiries. My conversion rate is really good so when I see an enquiry come through I like to reply as soon as possible because it's potential work and as I said, the feedback tells me that customers appreciate it.
The only times I may leave an enquiry until the next day is on a Tuesday when it's Darts night and I officially call it my night off. I'll still send a quick acknowledgement from my phone which goes along the lines of "Many thanks for your enquiry. I will get back to you as soon as possible" so at least the enquirer knows it has been received and being dealt with. I think that's one of the most important things.
I emailed British Gas a couple of weeks ago as I had a query about my bill and the phones were busy. It took them until Monday to get back to me. It was frustrating because I didn't even get an acknowledgement for my email when I sent it and I think customers may feel the same with us if they don't get a quick reply, especially when some of us state that we are full timer's.

Other parts of the 'working hours' include customer meetings. Last night I had one and it was interesting to listen to the feedback as to why the customer decided to book with me. She said that she enquired with a number of suppliers and not only was I the first to get back to her but I was the most thorough too. She said I was a bit more expensive than the others (and I'd discounted the price too due to it being in early February) but she got a good impression from the response time and what was included in the email that saved her asking lots of questions when a number of the others were 1 liners like "I charge £***" for example.

A number of my friends just "don't get it". They think that what I do is just 4 - 5hrs a couple of times a week in the evening playing music and that's it but it isn't is it!?
I've been up early this morning and already done an hour's work sorting out DJ sheets and music etc for the weekend. As soon as I go outside and start loading the van, that's working. Travelling to the booking, setting up, doing it, packing down, unloading.....yes, that's the usual stuff but all the other bits add to that.

I'll be honest, I am probably sat at my laptop far too much during the day but whilst I am there I am doing stuff that I consider as work - Updating the website, promoting and updating via Facebook and anywhere else and like Toby, yesterday I spent 2 hours designing a new brochure for an upcoming wedding fayre. On Wednesday I was out most of the day picking up my new van but I was still replying to enquiries and customers questions too.
I'd say I probably do a lot of hours work but it's in a relaxed environment being at home during the week but then again, last year I had many midweek bookings and this year looks like it's going to be the same.

[musicology]

If customers require an instant response then they should simply ring up. Nobody should expect a reply to an email sent late at night until the next day.

[stormproductions]

Not replying to an email late in the evening is absolutely fine. But is it possible Benny that you misinterpreted her severe displeasure and it was actually meant in a tongue in cheek way?

As for the hours worked, well that depends on how honest I am regarding what's actually working - I'm incredibly inefficient with my admin and easily distracted, so a lot of my 'clickety-clacketing' isn't directly work related... however I rarely work after 11pm now except when actually working gigs or when setting up exterior lighting, but a few years ago when I was single I'd often still be working (actually being productive!) at 2am.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Apologies, I failed to reply to the 'displeasure' part of the original post.
I kind of thought the same as Musicology in that it could have been meant as a laugh? Remember, you don't get emotion from texts or emails do you. I guess if she put an lol or a smiley face after the sentence then you'd know so you can only go on what you see that's written before your eyes.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I am always on top of my admin. I'll update my accounts as soon as I have receipts to put through so that I am always on top of it. When it comes round to doing the accounts I am ready to go with totals etc. Unlike my missus who can't do it as often as I do because she's running her Bridal shop 5 days a week.
I won't just sit there all day, every day doing nothing as I'd personally feel bad about it.

[Andy P]

A big issue for me is my real job. I work 8-6 managing a busy local council contact centre so having my phone on me is problematic.

I can normally respond to emails but prefer to do quotes from home as i type them up *under review*

I do lose a lot of business from people who call during the day and try to sneak out to ring them back - this will be a big bonus when I can finally move to DJing full time.

I wouldn't count responding to calls and emails as being in the office or a full working hour. It can be done around other things. I do spend about 2hrs per night on paperwork, fixing or cleaning equipment and testing.

[Andy P]

do any of you use email auto responses to send a holding email

Such as

Thank you for contacting Attack the Dance Floor
We have received your enquiry and will respond as soon as possible
If you question is important please call us on XXXXXXXx

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Yes, I have an auto response set up so at least people know that I have received their email.

[scott23]

I reckon the client has been really harsh indeed. At the end of the day its 11pm and you have been talking to her all day. Surely any reasonable person would think "ah they must be sleeping by now" I shall wait until morning.

I had a call just before xmas at 1am, at first i thought it was a wind up! The customer asking if i had a megaphone?! wanting me to grow my hair for a barn dance etc. Was a strange call and not what you need before going to sleep- or trying too. Anyways i said quite bluntly (look its after 1 am and im sorry but i wont grow my hair and sing a wee song at your barn dance) went to bed rather confused!

Ah guy I work with has a strict rule that the phone goes off at 10pm and thats it until morning. He used to do the club circuit and would get last min calls asking him to cover a DJ who hadnt turned up. He also dont use the internet whatsoever.

Personally I understand folk work until 5-6pm so like to book after that time loads. But after 11pm no chance i have a 1 year old kid and cant be answering the fone at stupid oclock. Put my phone on silent after 10pm.

I would have been raging if was you, how dare they comes too mind !!

[yourdj]

I reckon the client has been really harsh indeed. At the end of the day its 11pm and you have been talking to her all day. Surely any reasonable person would think "ah they must be sleeping by now" I shall wait until morning.

I had a call just before xmas at 1am, at first i thought it was a wind up! The customer asking if i had a megaphone?! wanting me to grow my hair for a barn dance etc. Was a strange call and not what you need before going to sleep- or trying too. Anyways i said quite bluntly (look its after 1 am and im sorry but i wont grow my hair and sing a wee song at your barn dance) went to bed rather confused!

Ah guy I work with has a strict rule that the phone goes off at 10pm and thats it until morning. He used to do the club circuit and would get last min calls asking him to cover a DJ who hadnt turned up. He also dont use the internet whatsoever.

Personally I understand folk work until 5-6pm so like to book after that time loads. But after 11pm no chance i have a 1 year old kid and cant be answering the fone at stupid oclock. Put my phone on silent after 10pm.

I would have been raging if was you, how dare they comes too mind !!

This is precisely why i don't ever use the phone. 98% email for business communications and when ever possible meeting in person.
I find them so intrusive. Fair enough in a business office 9-5pm, but not for my operation. Skype mind you is excellent for meetings.

The main reason I took my number out of circulation though was from idiots telling me how to get to the top off google.
When you then say "I already am for that search" they then don't believe you and argue with you. :p

[Daryll]

It really varies
up at 5:30 for my day job , home around 6:00pm.
I tend to reply to emails by around 7:00pm , cook tea and retire , weekends are split between shopping , socializing , and gear maintenance .
plus I have other avenues of income, all take time , so do I spend as much time as I need for the disco , absolutely not, but it chugs along.

Daryll

[DazzyD]

I switch off at 9pm. I've a family life, too, and I think it's very important to devote time to those around you, too. As the old saying goes, "it's not all, work, work, work"!


But if I got a comment like that (especially after a day of swapping emails) I’d think to myself I hadn’t created any connection with this person, we should be on better terms than that by now, and politely tell them I was no longer available, my gut instinct is they’d be terrible to work for.

Despite what people think, emails are not a guaranteed "instant" form of communication. 100% of emails don't always reach their destination straight away. The old addage "It's in the post" can equally apply to emails although I will agree that current email systems are better and more successful than ever. If this lady wanted an immediate response then she should have phoned. And if she expects that you will jump to her every command then should really should get a life. I would have said politely that she'd emailed you after "business hours" and that you couldn't have replied until the next working day. If she gets bitchy about it then it's goodnight from me!


The facetious reply is:
" He who snoozes, loses", to borrow a turn of phrase from Spirits High. :D

Or, "he who snoozes wakes the next morning refreshed and fully mentally capable to take on the new day ahead" ;)

Or, "he who doesn't snooze is a walking mental car crash headed on for the breaker's yard". People need to turn off from work. Those who can't feel the effects of stress much more than those who can as they are not mentally, or even physically once the body gets too tired, able to cope with everyday stress. I used to be the most stressful person I knew but I learned that it's not a good thing and I learned techniques to cope with it. And I can say that I can fully disconnect from the both the day job and the disco when I need to. And that is every night after 9 (gig nights excepted, of course!).


Sounds like you had a lucky escape Benny. I don't think it's unreasonable to wait till the morning to an email received at half 11 at night.

It certainly isn't unreasonable. I can't help but wonder if that her reaction for not responding to her email sent at daft o'clock then what other little things will rattle her cage? In fact, no. I don't want to find out! :eek:


...I feel prompt responses are appreciated by customers, it stops them thinking we're ignoring them. As in all things of course, there is a happy medium. Try to achieve that.

This is where the necessity of a carefull-worded email auto-reply comes in. < commented on further down!


If customers require an instant response then they should simply ring up. Nobody should expect a reply to an email sent late at night until the next day.

I totally agree. If she emailed WH Smith or Marks & Spencer at that time of night would she expect, let alone receive, an instant reply? I think not. She will get an acknowledgement of her email and a promise that it will be dealt with in a timely manner. But not an instant reply answering her queries. And why should anyone think of us as being different?


do any of you use email auto responses to send a holding email

Such as

Thank you for contacting Attack the Dance Floor
We have received your enquiry and will respond as soon as possible
If you question is important please call us on XXXXXXXx

Yes and your reply is very similar to mine. Apart from I thank the person for there email and then tell them their communication is very important to us. I also mention business hours that they can expect a reply during. I've lots of email addresses set up for different things and each reply is different and personal to the subject.

[funkymook]

Mind you when we say work in this context we’re actually talking about writing a few emails - most of my work is done in front of the TV relaxing with a cuppa, I don’t feel drained if I ‘work’ out of hours.

[surround sounds]

I do spend a lot of time in the office a day. Maybe between 5-6 hours. This is from Mon to Fri and just a few hours Sat/Sun depending on how busy I am. This would include answering emails and working on websites. Every email is normally answered within 30 mins and I think it works very well as I get a lot of feedback saying customer service ( via email ) is very quick and customers like that.