Doing business over the phone versus via email

[Flint]

Some people seem to think that picking up the phone is always the best way to do business, because it is more direct and personal. There may also be some element of the “old school” who are not completely comfortable with computers. For whatever reason, they consider email to be somehow inferior, or not a “professional” mode of communication.

Here are some reasons why I like email:

• You can read it whenever you get the chance. You do not have to be at your desk when the phone rings, or check your voicemail, or play phone tag all day. I even think that it might be a little rude to call someone and interrupt what they are doing with your non-emergency phone call. Emails let us all work on things in due time, in an orderly fashion.
  
• Email is communication AND documentation. It keeps track of information that you can save and reference later. When a phone call happens, none of the information that is exchanged can ever be verified or reproduced.

But what about the elusive element of “tone” that we worry about? Will the email be misinterpreted? I believe that if you are using professional, formal speech instead of “joking around” there is much less room for error.

Regarding the phone call method (the reason I wrote this thread): what if, in the course of this direct and personal chat, I find out that I don’t like you (or vice versa)? I just talked to a vendor who, over the phone, struck me as insulting. If he could have just emailed me a quote, I would have looked at it when I had a chance, and evaluated it on its merits--not on whether I wanted to be best buddies with some asshole I’ve never met before, who calls and interrupts my busy day with a bunch of useless jabber.