Over the past month or so, I've had a few people tell me that they never got my e-mail that I'd said I sent. I asked them to check their spam or junk folder and they said they had, but there was nothing in there from me. By the way, I use Gmail and I've always been a fan and recommended it to others.
So, a few of my e-mails weren't going through, one buyer last month, then my office, then another buyer over the weekend. The really weird thing was, it was also happening to my team leader – she uses Hotmail.
This past weekend, when I sent paperwork to a buyer and they didn't get it, I tried sending it from my team leader's hotmail account and they still didn't get it. I decided to forward the e-mail to my husband and have him forward it to the buyers, he was sitting next to me waiting for the e-mail to arrive and it never did.
At this point, I was starting to wonder how many other e-mails didn't go where they were supposed to go!? I did a Google search, asking why my e-mails aren't being received and found a discussion about Gmail specifically. It turns out that my team leader and I weren't the only ones having this problem.
Apparently, many e-mail providers have created a rule that if an e-mail comes from a free account AND has a website link in the signature, it's spam. But it doesn't go into the recipients spam folder, and it doesn't bounce back to let the free e-mail user know that it didn't go through.
So, I removed our website link from my signature and resent the e-mail to my husband and he got it right away. I resent an e-mail to my buyer, they got it right away. Sent an e-mail to my office, it too was received.
I'm relieved this is fixed, but I have to wonder how many inquiries we have answered that didn't get to their intended targets? This could have cost us real money and we didn't even know it.
We do have the option of using one of our domains for e-mail, so I guess that's probably the best solution.
Long and Foster REALTORS (703) 470-4545 - Alexandria, VA
Susan & Mindy Team...Honesty. Integrity. Results.
This is good to know; glad you found a workaround, but sorry about the potentially lost business - yikes!
Feb 14, 2012 07:55 AM
Realty Works Temecula - Temecula, CA
Realty Works Temecula
Great post, I think you are right about this. I find I'm always double checking to make sure that my e-mails are getting through. *Suggested*
Feb 14, 2012 07:57 AM
Re/max By The Sea - Destin, FL
Destin Florida Real Estate
That is terrific info. My thoughts are that if it was common knowledge, gmail and yahoo would not have as many accounts. Pretty scary if you use them for business.
Feb 14, 2012 08:00 AM
Granville, Newark, Heath, Buckeye Lake & all of Central Ohio - Granville, OH
ReMax 360 - www.LCountyHomes.com
Thanks for the comments. And, Bill, you're right - they're not going to spread the word about their faulty service.
Feb 14, 2012 09:17 PM
CO-RE Group, LLC -Real estate sales and services - Colorado Springs, CO
Colorado Springs Realtor GRI CNE MCNE ePro MRP
Thanks for pointing this out. I don't think I've had troubles with this (maybe noone is receiving my emails?), but I for sure will pay more attention to whether someone is getting my emails or not.
Gmail has a great email system, unfortunately they are NOT great on customer support.
Feb 20, 2012 11:17 PM
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality
Yikes, indeed, to echo Susan, #1. Who would have thought an email link in the signature line would have that effect.
Mar 28, 2012 09:11 AM
Rainer
208,402
208,402
Tracie Cope
ReMax 360 - www.LCountyHomes.com
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