Ever send somebody an e-mail and  it bounces back, telling you that  the person you sent it to is “out of  the office”?

How did you feel when you got it?

How about:Why are you telling me  this?

How about: I didn’t write you to find  out what you’re doing, I wrote to communicate  a message, ask a question or  get information that I require.

Do you stay in touch with your customers  and contacts when you’re not  in the office?

Because e-mail is instant, everyone  feels that their response needs to be  instant. In the old, old days, people sent  letters. In the near old days, they sent  faxes.When you got either of these documents,  you never told anybody what  you were doing, you just responded —  as it should be with e-mail. But it’s not.  And it’s rude.

I get e-mails every day from people  telling me they’re at a seminar, on vacation,  out of the office for two days,  home sick or, worse, that their spam  blocker needs confirmation.

I have three words to tell you how I  really feel: Quit doing this.You’re making  your customers mad at you. And  you look like a fool. OK, that’s more  than three words. But you get the idea.

Suppose a customer is trying to  place an order and gets your stupid  reply that you’re “on vacation,  please call Mary.” The customer  calls Mary and she’s  “either on her phone or away  from her desk.” So the customer  decides to call the  competition, because you are  unavailable.

Now you have gone from  rude to stupid.

What you’ve effectively  done is take care of yourself  without thinking of others.  Those others are providing the  revenue that supports your  business and your family. They couldn’t  care less where you are or what you’re  doing. They just want help.

I have forbidden all forms of autoreply  and spam-blocking confirmation  requests in my business. In place of  that, each person is responsible for figuring  out what to do in case a customer  e-mails or calls. By the way,we have no  voicemail either.

You have several options for being  able to serve customers when you’re  out of the office, on your phone or  away from your desk. All of which  require thinking, communicating and  serving the customer.

I’m out of the office more  than 250 days per year and  somehow manage to handle  and reply to more than 200 emails  a day without a BlackBerry.  I have a cell phone so I can  receive phone calls or text  messages. I have a laptop with  a wireless card and an internal  airport device so I can get  online virtually anywhere.

Here are some options to  be accessible when you’re  away from the office:  1. PDA device.  2. Laptop computer.  3. Cell phone.  4. Hotel business center.  5. Internet cafe.  5.5. Delegate or hire an assistant.

It’s amazing to me how many salespeople  earning six-figure incomes complain  about paperwork, when for a  small part-time wage they could hire  someone to completely eliminate it.  When people send you e-mail, in  most cases they expect a reply within  24 hours. If your customers need immediate  responses, you should internally  forward your e-mails when you’re away  so that they can be responded to personally,  or have someone checking your  e-mail while you’re away, or have a  portable wireless device that allows  you to receive e-mails and determine  which messages are urgent.

I’m certain that a small percentage  of people reading this will not appreciate  the cold slap in the face and  they’ll keep their idiotic, self-serving  auto reply. Here’s the good news:  Some people will totally appreciate it:  your competition.

Want to know the reality of spam,  and what you should do about it? If  you’d like the AHA!, go to www.gitomer.  com, register if you’re a first-time  user, and enter the word SPAM in the  GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by  phone at (704) 333-1112 or by  e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.  © 2007 Jeffrey H. Gitomer