John and I needed to talk

John is a busy bloke and so am I. He wanted to talk with me so we scheduled a call for two weeks hence at three o’clock.

I called exactly on time though he wasn’t there.

He rang me back the day after though I was running a workshop. I tried him the day after and left a message on his answer phone. He then rang me back that afternoon though I was on a scheduled call with someone else.

This went on for the rest of the week – answer machine ping pong, back and forth.

We then exchanged emails and agreed to ask our respective PAs to schedule another call. Busy diaries and the like we eventually spoke on the phone at the rescheduled time two weeks later.

I know this is common.

John explained he was waiting by the phone, ready a few minutes before the first three o’clock call and his phone rang. He picked it up thinking it was me though it was one of his customers. Slightly caught off guard he took the call which lasted forty minutes and then he had to leave for another meeting.

Stuff happens and customers call when they call, accepted.

How much time and mental effort did John waste trying to get back to me? I don’t know though I do know how much time I wasted, preparing for each attempted call and then waiting not really able to get into something else just in case he rang me straight back. Quite a bit.

John is an important person in my busy life and I’m only one in his. Scale it up – how much time are we wasting trying to get in touch with people? I would say lots, though I think the chronic mental impact may be more damaging. As it is chronic – low level over a long period of time – this mental impact probably goes unnoticed and becomes just part of how it is. Though the frustration builds and unknowingly takes its toll.

So is there a solution? I am tempted to say “yes, simple, schedule calls and turn up on time” though as in the case with John it doesn’t always work. However, I do find that when people get used to the fact that I ring exactly on time they pick up and it works.