# Why do websites have "contact us" emails if they never answer emails? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 12, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545 "2012-09-12T22:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shemarstan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@shemarstan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shemarstan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/1 "2012-09-12T22:20:27Z")
In the past month I have emailed several companies through their websites and I have not received any reply. What is the point of having a email on their websites if they don’t answer? I have tried to contact a number of different type of businesses via website email, with questions, and have received Nothing in return. I contacted a retail camera company with a question about their products…No Reply. I contacted a online retail telescope company with a question about a telescope specification they had listed for sale…No Reply. I contacted a State Park to find out if they allowed more than two pets…this information was not on their website…No Reply. I contacted a private RV Park asking how big their lots were…No Reply. I could go on…Has anyone else had this experience? I find it mind boggling that a company would go to the trouble of having a website, but don’t answer potential customers questions when emailed. Hrrrmph…end Rant. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/2 "2012-09-13T00:53:27Z")
As a Web designer I can tell you some reasons why this is happening: 1. They never had a global email address until they put up a Web site (everyone just used their personal email) and the person who created the form set up [info@website.com](mailto:info@website.com) and nobody took responsibility for checking it. 2. They had the web designer send correspondence to [someone@website.com](mailto:someone@website.com) but then someone left the organization and nobody bothered to change the address on the form. 3. SMTP is messed up on their server, and nobody knows. 4. The form goes to 7 different people and everybody thinks somebody else is answering you. All of those reasons are bullshit answers and should not happen but they happen every day. I don’t know how they keep customers, either! ---
**Author:** ![shemarstan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@shemarstan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shemarstan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/3 "2012-09-13T13:45:57Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > As a Web designer I can tell you some reasons why this is happening: > > All of those reasons are bullshit answers and should not happen but they happen every day. I don’t know how they keep customers, either! Thanks for the detailed explanation ZipperJJ…but you are correct…I do not know how they keep customers either. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/4 "2012-09-13T13:48:35Z")
Do not discount the “appearance of responsiveness and caring” strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/5 "2012-09-13T13:57:54Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Do not discount the “appearance of responsiveness and caring” strategy. “Thank you for holding. Your call is important to us. Well OK, in the overall power dynamic, we’re betting that it’s more important to you, and that you’ll continue to hold. This way, we can pass the savings on CSR labor costs onto you, the customer. Just joking: we’ll keep charging whatever the market will bear, and bank the profits. Thank you for holding. Schmuck.” ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/6 "2012-09-13T14:02:55Z")
I usually have gotten replies I think, it just might be bad luck . How many websites do you contact this way in , say, a year? You month’s list probably equals my lifetime. You’d probably have better luck getting the info you need by calling them, all of the kinds if businesses you mentioned would list a phone number also. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/7 "2012-09-13T14:48:44Z")
Sometimes the email is there only to have the retailer write back and say, “Please phone.” In some businesses - especially retail - one instinctively avoids giving a potential customer have anything in writing. Not necessarily because the retailers are shifty (although it’s a great practice if you are.) Sometimes it’s because they want to negotiate individually to close one particular sale. Say Joe has seen an ad for the Blivetron at $1,599 and wants to dicker you down. You may want to offer Joe a different price than Jenny, who’s seen a Blivetron for $1,750 plus overnight shipping and software bundle. Whereas putting one price in writing, for everybody, might cause another retailer to undercut you. Why this can’t be done by email is another question. But I did say this behavior is _instinctual_. And a lot of us, not just retailers, don’t negotiate at our best in writing - we prefer talk. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/8 "2012-09-13T15:30:09Z")
Another possibility is your e-mails went into their spam category and won’t be seen by anyone. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/9 "2012-09-13T16:04:43Z")
Suggestion: contact the businesses on Facebook. It’s a public forum, and the PR hit if they don’t reply is a lot worse. A friend was having trouble with an IKEA store, and had gone in several times, called a lot, emailed a lot, and had no luck - until she posted the whole saga on the store’s Facebook page. ---
**Author:** ![shemarstan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@shemarstan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shemarstan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/10 "2012-09-13T23:57:35Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Why this can’t be done by email is another question. But I did say this behavior is _instinctual_. And a lot of us, not just retailers, don’t negotiate at our best in writing - we prefer talk. Totally understandable…but then why have an email link?..just list a phone number. The facebook suggestion is interesting…it is too bad that it has come to having to shame retailers to doing the right thing…The Customer is Always Right…well that no longer exists. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/11 "2012-09-14T00:14:45Z")
> [@shemarstan](#): > > Totally understandable…but then why have an email link?..just list a phone number. It started years ago, I think, when you wanted to have a web presence. An email address was an important part of that. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/12 "2012-09-14T02:34:57Z")
I rarely E-mail companies, but I actually E-mailed two different businesses in the last week and had great, next-day responses from both. The first was a solar charger company - I asked where their battery charger adapter (to allow use of AAAs in the AA charger) was in their online store, and the reply the following day was that they would send me one for free (I registered my ownership of a couple of their products, so I’m in their database as a known customer). The second was a cupcake company; I asked about a cupcake that I’d just bought, and the person answering apologized that I’d been given the wrong flavor by a new worker, and that I could have a cupcake for free on my next visit. ---
**Author:** ![shemarstan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@shemarstan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shemarstan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/13 "2012-09-14T02:52:42Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I rarely E-mail companies, but I actually E-mailed two different businesses in the last week and had great, next-day responses from both. The first was a solar charger company - I asked where their battery charger adapter (to allow use of AAAs in the AA charger) was in their online store, and the reply the following day was that they would send me one for free (I registered my ownership of a couple of their products, so I’m in their database as a known customer). The second was a cupcake company; I asked about a cupcake that I’d just bought, and the person answering apologized that I’d been given the wrong flavor by a new worker, and that I could have a cupcake for free on my next visit. Now thats the kind of service I miss. Glad you had some great email experiences. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/14 "2012-09-14T03:43:33Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Another possibility is your e-mails went into their spam category and won’t be seen by anyone. And yet another is that their responses went into **your** spam category. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/15 "2012-09-14T06:20:14Z")
Has anyone ever gotten bizarre or hostile responses from contact email? I saw a local pharmacy had put up a website that allowed ordering online when looking for their hours, it allowed paying with a credit card obviously but didn’t specify how the goods would be delivered. So I emailed to ask about shipping, the reply was hostile and suspicious asking how on earth did I see their website that it shouldn’t be online and implying I hacked into their site? Anyway they said they were not taking orders online. Two days later when I checked the site was gone and the domain empty. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-websites-have-contact-us-emails-if-they-never-answer-emails/634545/16 "2012-09-14T17:22:07Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Has anyone ever gotten bizarre or hostile responses from contact email? > > I saw a local pharmacy had put up a website that allowed ordering online when looking for their hours, it allowed paying with a credit card obviously but didn’t specify how the goods would be delivered. So I emailed to ask about shipping, the reply was hostile and suspicious asking how on earth did I see their website that it shouldn’t be online and implying I hacked into their site? Anyway they said they were not taking orders online. > > Two days later when I checked the site was gone and the domain empty. Wow. Let me guess, did you find the site through Google? If so they may have been building/testing a website but hadn’t made it public. If any of their testing computers had Google Toolbar installed, it submits URLs you surf to the GoogleBot indexer, which would show it in Google search results.