I have the impression this is one of those, “Of course! Boy, am I stupid!” questions.
A person we do business with (who recently replaced the one we had been doing business with) sent us his contact information. There were three numbers listed, like this:
m.(555) 123-4231 | f. (555) 123-4097 | p.(555) 123-5036
I’m guessing the “f” number is the fax number. Is “m” the main number or the mobile number? Is “p” his home phone or other personal number? He’s a financial advisor, so I’m not sure why we’d need his personal number.
Check the M number. See if it goes directly to his business (possibly even a front desk/operator). I’m thinking, especially due to the order they’re listed in, that it’s Main, Fax, Private/Personal. If the M number is a main number, the private/personal would be his direct number.
Generally, I would have assumed m is mobile, and p is phone, that it’s listed first is throwing me.
I’d work on the assumption that, unless told different, use the first number on the card to call him.
I would have guess m for mobile and f for fax, but the p puzzles me. Perhaps m for main, f for fax and p for “p.m.” - is the business one that you might want to call after hours?
This guy uses internal jargon just for contact information; that isn’t clear to his customers?
One of the main jobs of a financial advisor is explaining the complications of financial decisions to non-expert customers, in ways that they can understand. This guy doesn’t seem to have that mindset at all. Find somebody else.
I’d expect that to be far more common in finance. It seems like tons of documents I’ve received have a fax option, just like when dealing with medical stuff.
Thanks for all the responses. I don’t think I’ll worry about what number to call, since the need to call him is pretty infrequent. He’s not our major advisor – just our contact at the company at which we have this odd annuity product.
I think financial types keep fax numbers because sometimes they need a copy of a signed (and perhaps notarized) document. I would guess a lot of their clients don’t have the ability to scan and email documents.
I wouldn’t assume anything about what kind of phone it is based on the letter, but I would assume that the first number listed is the primary one to use.