Back to basics

I've been reading Gary Erickson's Clif Bar story, 'Raising The Bar: Integrity and Passion in Life and Business', his entrepreneurial adventure setting up a power-bar for athletes company, and making it a $100m leader in its field.

He's big on character and values, which in turbulent times reminds me that all our businesses should return to basics. Biggest of those is looking after customers. And in that regard, the Belfast Media Group's phone answering machine continues to give me the heebie-jeebies.

I've justified it on the basis that it's a wage saved — enabling us to reallocate that capital to other parts of our business — but I wonder do any of our customers or readers have the same experience I just had with the Irish Embassy in Washington. I'm trying to get an email for Ambassador Michael Collins but can't find one on the web so resorted to the old-fashioned and expensive cross-Atlantic call.

Call 1: Went for the seventh of seven options, respond to invites, since none of the other six indicate any possibility of contacting a human who could provide the aforementioned email. Got another answering machine to leave a message.
Call 2: Tried the option for visa queries, presuming that would be staffed by real people. No luck, another machine.
Call 3: Went dead 30 seconds into the message.
Call 4: Went for the option for details about 'Consul offices closest to you' but sadly got another machine voice rhyming off addresses.

I've now done what I should have done originally: emailed Deputy Consul General Breandán Ó Caollaí in New York to ask for the relevant email.