New members who don't like to PM

[Foxtrot Sierra]

I think in our current state of tech/texting/immediate communication gratification, people don’t want to wait for PMs. I have no problem taking the discussion to text and use my google voice number for these purposes, but I will snap screenshots and paste them to the PM for proof of deal details and meet arrangements. Haven’t received or given a negative, and hope I never have to, but I do keep records of the off-ODT discussion.

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

It's not you-- it's them. They're scared of cars and motorcycles too. Can't change tires, don't know how to figure out anything that's not in Google, etc. Life is going to eat them alive.

Precisely why I've forced my daughter (now age 23) to repair the cars with me over the years. She now knows how to do fuel pumps, alternators, starters, radiators, water pumps, thermostats, batteries, tires, brakes. I don't care if she never changes another tire in her life.......at LEAST she'll know when the mechanic is trying to BS her!

 

[mrauditor]

In my official duties at work I often end up with teams comprised of youngsters, sometimes fresh out of college with this as their first job. As a general observation the younger the population the less skilled they are at actually communicating with human beings verbally and (God forbid), face to face conversations. That creates some clash of expectations at times and I wonder if it's just me getting too old and out of touch or if we're all going to have to eventually train these kidlets how to interact with real live people.

Truth spoken here. Also, no punctuation, capitalization or sentence structure skills. Thanks.

 

[Lawn and Tree Barber]

Once the deal is set in stone via PM, I will send my phone number and 99% of the time we finish by text message. I’ve also got 100% positive feedback.

 

[Trailrider]

I think folks got the wrong impression with what I was trying to say. All I'm saying is PM negotiations first, phone number once deal/date/time has been set. I'm fine using phone after it's been established in PM. I've given my number to plenty of good members here.

I'm mainly referring to when I post an ad up, and some newb comes in to the ad and just posts a reply in my ad with their number. I just don't like doing business that way when the site has specific rules on feedback etc.

 

[Lawn and Tree Barber]

I think folks got the wrong impression with what I was trying to say. All I'm saying is PM negotiations first, phone number once deal/date/time has been set. I'm fine using phone after it's been established in PM. I've given my number to plenty of good members here.

I'm mainly referring to when I post an ad up, and some newb comes in to the ad and just posts a reply in my ad with their number. I just don't like doing business that way when the site has specific rules on feedback etc.

They probably just either don’t know or want to be the first in line. Just my thoughts.. (I don’t do that)

 

[Nat]

No pm's no negotiating. Period. Straight to the ignore list. No more problems.

 

[JSoko]

I meet close to the house (8 minutes away)
and I tell them to PM me when they arrive

won't give my #
if you google it you will see my home address which is tied to my business

I don't let strangers come to my house

 

[gh1950]

I think in our current state of tech/texting/immediate communication gratification, people don’t want to wait for PMs. I have no problem taking the discussion to text and use my google voice number for these purposes, but I will snap screenshots and paste them to the PM for proof of deal details and meet arrangements. Haven’t received or given a negative, and hope I never have to, but I do keep records of the off-ODT discussion.

I know professionally, it's almost impossible to get a 40 something and under to return a phone call. Back in the day, it was considered a professional obligation to return a phone call relatively promptly, even if just to tell the caller what a SOB he is.

Now if I call and leave a message to call me, I get a text "what do want". And that's after going through the obligatory screener or phone tree.

I'm usually pretty mellow, but I can get a little coarse when the call screener returns the call, on behalf of "Mr. X" to find out what the subject of the call is about. The subject of the call is that I want to talk to him, not you.

Apparently the goal is for Mr. X to represent that he is too busy to waste any time at all actually talking on the phone.

 

[gh1950]

I think folks got the wrong impression with what I was trying to say. All I'm saying is PM negotiations first, phone number once deal/date/time has been set. I'm fine using phone after it's been established in PM. I've given my number to plenty of good members here.

I'm mainly referring to when I post an ad up, and some newb comes in to the ad and just posts a reply in my ad with their number. I just don't like doing business that way when the site has specific rules on feedback etc.

I agree. PM first, then we can text till our thumbs fall off, then PM summing it all up. I'm not leaving the house without that final PM, and I make it a point to state that I don't get PMs on my phone, so once I leave I'm off the ODT grid.

I'm not as sensitive as a lot of folks about handing out my ph. number because I use it in business and it's all over the interwebs anyway.