Death of Business Manners?

I’ve got a pet peeve and it really gets under my skin. It is people who do not return calls or emails. I wanted to see how other professionals felt about the current state of business manners so I threw a poll out via LinkenIn, Twitter, and Facebook. It was a very informal, unscientific poll regarding the state of business etiquette. I was pleasantly surprised to see that more people thought etiquette was still alive and well today, but it was only by a hair. I’ve become jaded. I know I’ve been recently disappointed with some professional contacts not being responsive. I wasn’t asking or selling something.. just checking in with them. I realize we are all busy and are receiving so much information from various channels that it can get a bit overwhelming. We should take the time to be responsive to someone when they reach out… even if it is a sales call. And yes, I’m one of those people who returns sales calls thanking them for contacting me. After all they are people too and deserve professional courtesy. No one likes to be pushed aside. I guess what I’m saying we should treat people as how we wish to be treated with courtesy and respect.  Let that be a resolution for 2010.