I just called a software company’s toll-free number to ask a sales-related question. It’s 9:30 am Eastern time. I got a recording: “You have called outside our normal business hours. Please call back during our regular business hours which are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. Thank you.” 8 am to 6 pm where?!? I had to go the company’s web site and search the “contact us” link to see that their address is in California. Okay, now I know that I called them at 6:30 am.
Open letter to anyone who works for a company: we live in a very big, very small world. You are just as likely to be speaking to someone who is 3 time zones away as you are to speak with someone who is 3 minutes away. Whenever you mention a time and you want someone to take action relative to that time…whether it’s on your website, publications or voice mail recording…please make it clear what time zone you are talking about.
Thank you.
Judi Sohn 
One response to “Pet Peeve #12566”
Boy do I hear you on the time zone issue, Judi. I addition to putting the information on the web site, if one cares at all about attracting and satisfying customers, add a note about the time zone to the voice mail message. It once took me three days to get in touch with a company whose business address indicated they were in Mountain time(same zone as where I live). I kept trying to call them right after lunch, only to find their call center was on Pacific time, so I was continually calling at lunch time. Come to think of it, if you are trying to serve and sell, why on earth wouldn’t you take calls at lunch time .. that’s a prime time for folks taking a break from their work, trying to buy things.
I’d also urge anyone who wants to sell to add their location to their web site. If you work from home and don’t want to give out too much information, rent a PO Box. As a matter of principle, I never use a credit card myself unless I can find a street or mail address for the vendor I am considering. There are many small businesses who have lost sales from me becuase they were too coy about their physical location.