Dear Jack, Thank you for this apology and for our phone conversation. I would like to address the notion that some people think that sending emails are full proof, they are not! While I don't know this for certain, but I suspect that the problem Jack and I had could be traced to the fact that his server installed new equipment or installed new programming recently. When servers do this, there is a great chance that email addresses that used to work all the time, will be blocked automatically by the new programming, etc. Jack and I were able to converse by email from May to July when all of a sudden, we have discovered, he was not receiving my emails. I was not receiving any notice that he was not getting them, like a bounce or a non-deliver message or anything. So, I encourage everyone to not rely so heavily on your email correspondence, myself included. Sometimes the old fashioned telephone or snail mail or fax will keep you out of trouble :) Sincerely,Melissa Barker > From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:38:28 -0700> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER> > Melissa just telephoned me in response to my letter to Charlie.> > She has convinced me that there is a breakdown in our email communications. She > assures me that she has sent 3 or 4 emails that I never received and that did > not bounce back to her, thereby giving her notice that there was a problem.> > I regret that I didn't telephone her before writing my letter to Charlie.> > Melissa has promised to send me what research she has along with the unused > balance of the retainer, if any.> > Accordingly, I apologize to Melissa and to the forum for jumping the gun.> > Jack Willoughby> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jack Willoughby" <[email protected]>> To: <[email protected]>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:25 AM> Subject: MELISSA BARKER DOESN'T PERFORM> > > > Charlie:> >> > I wonder if you can help me.> >> > I hired Melissa Barker to perform genealogy research for me. I sent her a > > retainer on May 27th. I have asked for progress reports with no satisfaction. > > I told her we are leaving Sept. 1st for MO, KY, TN & NC and wanted to get as > > much done as possible before we leave.> >> > The other day I finally gave up and told her that if she hadn't performed then > > she should return the retainer otherwise to give me a progress report. This > > is the third time I have asked for a progress report with no response.> >> > Could you light a fire under her for me?> >> > Thanks for any help you can provide.> >> > Jack Willoughby> > Roseville, CA > > > > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Reveal your inner athlete and share it with friends on Windows Live. http://revealyourinnerathlete.windowslive.com?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WLYIA_whichathlete_us

I'm glad you guys could work it out. As they say at the long-distance company I work for, email is the absolute worst form of communication and shows very poor customer service if you rely on email to solely or mostly communicate which is my biggest problem in my workplace.  I feel email is necessary for the CYA factor but a lot of times, it's to the detriment of my customer focus.  It's constantly and forever brought to my attention that I don't pick up the phone enough because so much can be said with tone, and tone is easily misunderstood in email. Glad to be a part of this list and many others because I learn from every discussion.  :) Lynita "Stubby" Tate Marietta, GA --- On Thu, 8/14/08, Melissa Barker <[email protected]> wrote: From: Melissa Barker <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008, 6:56 PM Dear Jack, Thank you for this apology and for our phone conversation. I would like to address the notion that some people think that sending emails are full proof, they are not! While I don't know this for certain, but I suspect that the problem Jack and I had could be traced to the fact that his server installed new equipment or installed new programming recently. When servers do this, there is a great chance that email addresses that used to work all the time, will be blocked automatically by the new programming, etc. Jack and I were able to converse by email from May to July when all of a sudden, we have discovered, he was not receiving my emails. I was not receiving any notice that he was not getting them, like a bounce or a non-deliver message or anything. So, I encourage everyone to not rely so heavily on your email correspondence, myself included. Sometimes the old fashioned telephone or snail mail or fax will keep you out of trouble :) Sincerely,Melissa Barker > From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:38:28 -0700> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER> > Melissa just telephoned me in response to my letter to Charlie.> > She has convinced me that there is a breakdown in our email communications. She > assures me that she has sent 3 or 4 emails that I never received and that did > not bounce back to her, thereby giving her notice that there was a problem.> > I regret that I didn't telephone her before writing my letter to Charlie.> > Melissa has promised to send me what research she has along with the unused > balance of the retainer, if any.> > Accordingly, I apologize to Melissa and to the forum for jumping the gun.> > Jack Willoughby> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jack Willoughby" <[email protected]>> To: <[email protected]>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:25 AM> Subject: MELISSA BARKER DOESN'T PERFORM> > > > Charlie:> >> > I wonder if you can help me.> >> > I hired Me! lissa Barker to perform genealogy research for me. I sent her a > > retainer on May 27th. I have asked for progress reports with no satisfaction. > > I told her we are leaving Sept. 1st for MO, KY, TN & NC and wanted to get as > > much done as possible before we leave.> >> > The other day I finally gave up and told her that if she hadn't performed then > > she should return the retainer otherwise to give me a progress report. This > > is the third time I have asked for a progress report with no response.> >> > Could you light a fire under her for me?> >> > Thanks for any help you can provide.> >> > Jack Willoughby> > Roseville, CA > > > > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Reveal your inner athlete and share it with friends on Windows Live. http://revealyourinnerathlete.windowslive.com?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WLYIA_whichathlete_us ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Dear Tate, Thanks for chiming in here. Your thoughts on this subject of trusting email is very important not only in business, but in just our daily lives and in our genealogy research process. I will readily admit that I don't pick up the phone as much as I should either. I guess we have all gotten into a lulled sense of comfort with email and the phone has become somewhat foreign to us. As it relates to genealogy, I can't tell you how frustrated I can get sometimes when I email a library or an archives to make a request of them to search for a record and don't get a response. When I finally decide to pick up the phone, I usually find out that they didn't get me email or that there are so many people using the computer that it is possible that my request was accidently deleted or was just lost. I have found that most, if not all, libraries and archives are ready to assist genealogy researchers by phone possibly even more than by email. I think the idea of speaking to a "real person" helps them to get more information about the request immediately and they feel more comfortable knowing how they can help. Not to mention, if you call them on the phone they are almost certainly expected to help you on the spot, if possible, instead of letting your email sit in their in box to when they have time for it. I am not suggesting that we all start bombarding the libraries and archives with our phone calls, but I would say that if you have not received a reply to your email from a library or archives within about a week, I would make the phone call. You might be pleasantly surprised what you can get done!! Happy Hunting Everyone!! Sincerely,Melissa BarkerGenealogist for Tennessee and KentuckyWebsite: www.freewebs.com/genealogyservices/ > Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:54:20 -0700> From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER> > I'm glad you guys could work it out.> > As they say at the long-distance company I work for, email is the absolute worst form of communication and shows very poor customer service if you rely on email to solely or mostly communicate which is my biggest problem in my workplace. I feel email is necessary for the CYA factor but a lot of times, it's to the detriment of my customer focus. It's constantly and forever brought to my attention that I don't pick up the phone enough because so much can be said with tone, and tone is easily misunderstood in email.> > Glad to be a part of this list and many others because I learn from every discussion. :)> > Lynita "Stubby" Tate> Marietta, GA> > > > --- On Thu, 8/14/08, Melissa Barker <[email protected]> wrote:> From: Melissa Barker <[email protected]>> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER> To: [email protected]> Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008, 6:56 PM> > Dear Jack,> > Thank you for this apology and for our phone conversation. > > I would like to address the notion that some people think that sending emails> are full proof, they are not! While I don't know this for certain, but I> suspect that the problem Jack and I had could be traced to the fact that his> server installed new equipment or installed new programming recently. When> servers do this, there is a great chance that email addresses that used to work> all the time, will be blocked automatically by the new programming, etc.> > Jack and I were able to converse by email from May to July when all of a> sudden, we have discovered, he was not receiving my emails. I was not receiving> any notice that he was not getting them, like a bounce or a non-deliver message> or anything.> > So, I encourage everyone to not rely so heavily on your email correspondence,> myself included. Sometimes the old fashioned telephone or snail mail or fax> will keep you out of trouble :)> > Sincerely,Melissa Barker > > > > > From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Date: Thu, 14> Aug 2008 15:38:28 -0700> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER> >> Melissa just telephoned me in response to my letter to Charlie.> > She has> convinced me that there is a breakdown in our email communications. She >> assures me that she has sent 3 or 4 emails that I never received and that did> > not bounce back to her, thereby giving her notice that there was a> problem.> > I regret that I didn't telephone her before writing my> letter to Charlie.> > Melissa has promised to send me what research she> has along with the unused > balance of the retainer, if any.> >> Accordingly, I apologize to Melissa and to the forum for jumping the gun.>> > Jack Willoughby> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Jack Willoughby" <[email protected]>> To:> <[email protected]>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:25 AM>> Subject: MELISSA BARKER DOESN'T PERFORM> > > > Charlie:>> >> > I wonder if you can help me.> >> > I hired Me!> lissa Barker to perform genealogy research for me. I sent her a > >> retainer on May 27th. I have asked for progress reports with no satisfaction.> > > I told her we are leaving Sept. 1st for MO, KY, TN & NC and wanted> to get as > > much done as possible before we leave.> >> > The> other day I finally gave up and told her that if she hadn't performed then> > > she should return the retainer otherwise to give me a progress report.> This > > is the third time I have asked for a progress report with no> response.> >> > Could you light a fire under her for me?>> >> > Thanks for any help you can provide.> >> > Jack> Willoughby> > Roseville, CA > > > >> -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an> email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe'> without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message> _________________________________________________________________> Reveal your inner athlete and share it with friends on Windows Live.> http://revealyourinnerathlete.windowslive.com?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WLYIA_whichathlete_us> > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the> quotes in the subject and the body of the message> > > > > > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Talk to your Yahoo! Friends via Windows Live Messenger. Find out how. http://www.windowslive.com/explore/messenger?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_messenger_yahoo_082008

Lynita, Please e-mail me privately with TATE as the subject. Thanks. Peggy Coleman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tate" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 8:54 PM Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER I'm glad you guys could work it out. As they say at the long-distance company I work for, email is the absolute worst form of communication and shows very poor customer service if you rely on email to solely or mostly communicate which is my biggest problem in my workplace. I feel email is necessary for the CYA factor but a lot of times, it's to the detriment of my customer focus. It's constantly and forever brought to my attention that I don't pick up the phone enough because so much can be said with tone, and tone is easily misunderstood in email. Glad to be a part of this list and many others because I learn from every discussion. :) Lynita "Stubby" Tate Marietta, GA --- On Thu, 8/14/08, Melissa Barker <[email protected]> wrote: From: Melissa Barker <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, August 14, 2008, 6:56 PM Dear Jack, Thank you for this apology and for our phone conversation. I would like to address the notion that some people think that sending emails are full proof, they are not! While I don't know this for certain, but I suspect that the problem Jack and I had could be traced to the fact that his server installed new equipment or installed new programming recently. When servers do this, there is a great chance that email addresses that used to work all the time, will be blocked automatically by the new programming, etc. Jack and I were able to converse by email from May to July when all of a sudden, we have discovered, he was not receiving my emails. I was not receiving any notice that he was not getting them, like a bounce or a non-deliver message or anything. So, I encourage everyone to not rely so heavily on your email correspondence, myself included. Sometimes the old fashioned telephone or snail mail or fax will keep you out of trouble :) Sincerely,Melissa Barker > From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:38:28 -0700> Subject: Re: [TNSMITH] MELISSA BARKER> > Melissa just telephoned me in response to my letter to Charlie.> > She has convinced me that there is a breakdown in our email communications. She > assures me that she has sent 3 or 4 emails that I never received and that did > not bounce back to her, thereby giving her notice that there was a problem.> > I regret that I didn't telephone her before writing my letter to Charlie.> > Melissa has promised to send me what research she has along with the unused > balance of the retainer, if any.> > Accordingly, I apologize to Melissa and to the forum for jumping the gun.> > Jack Willoughby> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jack Willoughby" <[email protected]>> To: <[email protected]>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2008 10:25 AM> Subject: MELISSA BARKER DOESN'T PERFORM> > > > Charlie:> >> > I wonder if you can help me.> >> > I hired Me! lissa Barker to perform genealogy research for me. I sent her a > > retainer on May 27th. I have asked for progress reports with no satisfaction. > > I told her we are leaving Sept. 1st for MO, KY, TN & NC and wanted to get as > > much done as possible before we leave.> >> > The other day I finally gave up and told her that if she hadn't performed then > > she should return the retainer otherwise to give me a progress report. This > > is the third time I have asked for a progress report with no response.> >> > Could you light a fire under her for me?> >> > Thanks for any help you can provide.> >> > Jack Willoughby> > Roseville, CA > > > > -------------------------------> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Reveal your inner athlete and share it with friends on Windows Live. http://revealyourinnerathlete.windowslive.com?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WLYIA_whichathlete_us ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message