Hey all
I know business practises can be a tad sneaky, but have any of you had this happen?
I tried to grab a gmail account with my biz name, but it was taken.
Hmm??! That’s interesting, coz my biz name is distinctly different.
Did a bit of checking, and found the owners name, google schmoogled his name, and surprise!! He has his own wc biz. A competitor owns it! What a compliment, Im a threat!
Cheeky shet!:mad:
Now Im not a vindictive chap, and I feel there is more than enuf work for all in the WC Brotherhood (and Sisterhood; thank you Stan), and I dont diss fellow competitors. I just let my standard of work do the talking. But, Im slightly aggrieved by this violation.
Time for some psych warfare perhaps?
BTW, i have a booking with a new client who uses him, but can’t get him this time; so she got my number from a friend. Karmas a b**ch, coz she aint ever going back to him HHHAAAA!!
[Yeah I do have one thanks. Its just nice to be able to cover all options. Not so steamed now after some quiet contemplation.
Lifes too short and Im too busy. Super sunny here in Perth OZ, so phone 's running hot!!
I agree with diamondridge, using a Gmail address looks unprofessional. However, you can still use the Gmail system if you get a Google business account. Mine was free because I signed up years ago but I think they cost $5 per month now.
I would suggest that if he already has the gmail address, he owns it and maybe you are the sneaky one trying to undermine his business. He beat you to it fair and square. That’s just business, move on, get another email address.
How can a gmail account look unprofessional, do you think anybody really cares who your server is? Gmail is the most universal and technologically advanced service in the world and that is why people use it.
I don’t think people care which email server you use but some people certainly do perceive a regular Gmail or Hotmail etc address to be less professional than an email address that uses the company domain name.
I agree that Gmail is the best email service available. That’s why I use it - with my business domain name.
It’s a lot easier to get a gmail address than one with your domain. The fact that you’ve taken the time/expense/effort makes it less likely you are a fly-by-night company.
I dont know…times are changing and what i have noticed is that when talking to a business professional. lets say a real estate agent and he hands me his business card and on that card will have the professional email address printed on it.
For some strange reason I feel that if I needed to email JohnDoe on a Saturday that he will not look at his emails till Monday morning when he gets into his office. If I havent seen JohnDoe for over a few months and wanted to email him I wouldnt be too sure that he still works at prudential so in essence would be shooting out an email blindly. But if JohnDoe had a gmail/hotmail address printed on his card or if he handed me a sticky note with his gmail account I would prefer to contact him at his gmail address and automatically know that I can get in touch with him via email until the day he dies.
we live in a connected society now-days where even big corporations are making low budget commercials on youtube, an unknown 12yr old boy can do a cover song on youtube and have more views then the original artist. Nike, taco bell, jamba juice etc… all have facebook and twitter accounts where as in the past a business website was the only standard.
I just think (for small businesses atleast) it is becoming more acceptable to have a gmail address then it was 10yrs ago. It also makes things a tad bit easier for clients to memorize it when they know that it ends with gmail/hotmail/yahoo
I hate having to articulate every letter before the @sign and every letter after the @ sign. ie: [email protected]
If you can get [email protected] I dont think it can hurt your business but I do know that it will empower your clients just a little bit more knowing that you use a worldwide standard system and the chance that you might (at some point in time) be disconnected will greatly decrease.
I guess it’s different in every case. Even if John Doe did use his regular email address for business, he might not look at emails over the weekend. The best thing to do would be call him if it was important.
I know what you mean about having to articulate every letter in a URL or email address. The answer is to simplify you business name somehow - using initials or contractions etc. If that’s not possible a gmail address might be the answer but I’d still prefer to use a “proper” domain name - but mine is very easy to remember.
Now-days where 8yr old kids are running around with internet accesible smart phones…if you are a service provider in certain industrys like (window cleaning, real estate agents) and you dont answer emails/texts/phone calls over the weekend then your competition is really loving you.
On my website I make it clear to everyone “CALL XXX-XXX ANYTIME 24/7”, I feel this is a game changer in my area and what seperates me from my competitioin, I havent gotten too much after hour calls, maybe ten over the past year but that is money on the table that I walked away with. I have a lot of vacation homes in my area so the owners of those homes live in a different time zone and I want them to know that they can call me at their own convenience and not mine. hey that is the client you want anyway right? the guy with enough money to own two homes, and now they know they can rely on you because you are available for them 24/7 so whatever price you quote them (within a reasonable rate) they will likely accept for the simple fact that you offer them piece of mind.
if people dont want to call for a quote they will surely email or even text, this is becoming a norm in my business and I respond immediately. this is all made possible because my computer is in my hand (smart phone) and the process of scheduling/booking/ inputting contacts is through my gmail account.
So although i do have an email account with my website domain name I dont use it because it adds another layer of complexity to my already smooth process using the google account.
other guys in here with bigger companys probably have a secretary so all this is moot to them but for a one man team like myself its been amazing.
So to the OP of this thread, your competitor that stole your gmail name is a real douche, maybe u should kindly ask him to release it.
