If you have an Excel blog, or have written an Excel book, or ever answered a question in an Excel newsgroup, you probably get questions in your email inbox.
Most of the emails can be answered by pointing the person to Google, or to the Microsoft newsgroups. A few questions are asked politely and clearly, and a short answer will suffice, so I answer those.
If people contact me about one of my pivot table books, I try to help them. They’ve invested in me, and I want to help them get the most from that investment.
Today, a reader asked about the Report Filters in one of the examples in my Beginning Pivot Tables book. He told me which book he had, mentioned the chapter and page number, and asked the question very clearly. Oh, and he spelled both my first and last names correctly!
Now that’s how you get help, as soon as possible. I’ll have to remember to do those things myself, if I ever run into problems with someone else’s material.
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I’d like to say that I discriminate based on the quality of the question. But honestly, it has more to do with my mood than anything else. Sometimes I’m just in the mood to help and sometimes I’m not.
Good point, Dick. My mood influences my responses too. But, if I’m in the mood to reply to something, I’m more likely to pick one of the nice, clear questions.