In our wired, wired world, you’ve probably been hearing this question asked more each year. I like this illustration of why we need face-to-face communication, including meetings, from Ruth Sherman on Fast Company’s new expert blog:

In speeches that I give (face-to-face), I ask for a show of hands in answer to a series of questions. They are “How many of you find that you txt, IM or email more than you speak to someone on the phone or face-to-face?” At least half the hands always go up. The second question is “How many of you txt, IM or email when you should be speaking on the phone or face-to-face?” More than half of the hands go up. My third question is “How many of you have found that after several times of going back and forth by txt, IM or email, you pick up the phone or go see the person on the other end and solve the problem in 30 seconds?” Almost all the hands go up.

I love it! Link to the full text of her excellent post is here.

I know you would never be rude to a front desk clerk, but if you want more reasons than civility to treat these folks well, read Confessions of a Front Desk Clerk. And you know that rumor that you get worse service if you book through a third-party Internet site? He says they’re true:

Hotel managers can’t stand it when guests reserve rooms through Expedia, Priceline, or any other booking engine, because after the Internet site takes its cut, the hotel barely makes a profit on the booking. As a result, guests who reserve directly with the hotel receive far better service. When things go wrong–we’ve run out of rooms with king-size beds, or the hotel is overbooked because some guests extended their stay–the manager’s first question is, “Do we have any Internet reservations?”