Why do people ask about SKYPE when buying service

Hi

I have not been on this forum in a while but I see that a lot of buyers ask about Skype Id. What is the point of that? Do they chat, talk or Visually connect with a camera to see a human being behind the desk? What if a buyer or seller doesnt have a camera? When should I think that this is suspecious? When a buyer has no cam feed or seller has no cam feed? or what. Can someone explain. It has been 2 years for me and a lot has changed here. Thanks.

 

Easier to talk to clients on my end. That is all.. Never used the camera or the microphone for that matter. Out of about 3000 jobs I have done around here I have had 2 people in 7 years request my phone #.

Nigel

 

So you only chat? message?

 

As a general rule yes, Its much faster than the PM system here or email. The downside of that is my clients can bug me in real time. 24-7 since I never shut it off lol..

Nigel

 

OP, I am with you, I have skype account, but I hate it when I am forced to use it. something that can be resolved with 1 pm, becomes, add me... wait, hes offline, then a week later you get to chat but a week later its redundant as you have already hired someone else that already fixed it with that 1 pm.
I dont mind if someone I hire suggests it as a possibility, but if they demand it, then I dont hire them. I check emails via phone regularly, its probly a max of 2hours between email checks (like If I am at the cinemas with the kids or something), whereas if they were waiting for me to be on skype, it would be perhaps once a week only.

 

I got lots of request asking for SkypeID but I always say "I have no SkypeID".
I like the idea to communicate through Skype but I am an old fashioned person so Skype is not an important tools for me.

Some of them even make a Skype account just for me.
The only communication which I really like is through chat.
The funny thing is: Sometimes I think using chat to communicate with others seem more efficient than using audio visual.
Well, it clearly explain I am not that good in speaking.

In my opinion, people didn't turn into 'suspicious' if they choose not to communicate with audio visual. I have done small research in this forum and it seems many scammers were using Skype to communicate with the others. So, using Audio Visual or not, there is no direct relation with 'being suspicious'. However, Audio Visual (Skype) surely will make clients feel comfort and this is why I recommend anyone to use it (but I prefer not to use it. Maybe later). What really important in business are:

1. Skills
2. Dedication
3. Trust, and
4. Communication

By the way, it is common to ask for SkypeID when someone would like to interact with us. Especially when they would like to buy the services. If we choose not to communicate through Audio Visual, just explain it nicely. Once again, having SkypeID or not, it has nothing to do with being 'suspicious'.

For camera, WebCam is quite cheap($3 - $25). My Digital Camera is always attached to the computer but I only (rarely) use it to communicate with Professor (using Facebook Audio Video Interaction). If I have to interact using Audio-Video, I prefer using my new Notebook (internal camera).

I think everyone has their own favorite choice in doing communication.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Due to the technical nature of our products and services we prefer written communication messages to live chats or calls.
We have a special tickets system that we used to organise inquiries.

 

I think it could be because when you chat with someone and they answer right away you can get an okay sense of that persons character. Everyone wants to do business with someone trustworthy and etc and it also makes communication alot faster so if you need an answer you do not have to wait hours for it. I do not really use skype but that would be my take on it all

 

To discuss in real time rather than wait for a PM or an e-mail to arrive.

 

As a Virtual Employee, my main tools of immediate communication would be either Skype or Google Talk. Almost all my employers require this. Some ask me to use a webcam if they need me to look professional in during client meetings. It sets the mood if clients can see that you represent your business properly.

Some of them want the idea of immediate contact through chat, others through voice, the latter usually for those who find it tedious to type when they can just say what they want in a few seconds. I think the most common reason they ask my for Skype is to know when I'm online and ready to work.

I use email as backup if I am unable to immediately respond to Skype messages. You see, unless you are both online at the same time on Skype, your messages won't reach one another. So if my boss sends me a message, let's say today and I'm offline, then I get back online tomorrow morning, but he's not there, I won't read his message unless he gets back online again, which defeats the purpose of immediate response.

Hope this gives you a better insight on why people ask for Skype most of the time.

 

As we know, the chat program is very kind. And it must urgent for all transaction on business online. And I think Skype is now number one for this matter, because it is so simple and friendly.

 

Many people using Skype as Instant Messenger for business, that's why thy probably asking your Skype ID.
I personally think Skype has lack of features as IM, so I prefer ICQ or Jabber.

 

I've stopped using skype ... cause it makes my internet speed goes down.
I noticed my internet become slow each time i open skype then it confirmed to me through ESET Network monitoring that skype takes a lot of my speed with no reason why in compare to yahoo,gtalk and others.

Later i read some articles about skype is using as super-node technology and that sound very stupid to me then i decided to never use it.

But a lot of my clients keep asking if i've skype account or not !

 

just another way of communication I guess..

 

I experienced the same issue which is why I stopped using Skype. Also as has been mentioned, Skype is a pain in the backside as my accent (French) apparently, is hard to understand.

 

your post reminded me of that episode of IT crowd when that girl called the customer service and got a french operator lol

 

I would just as soon they ask for SKYPE. Actually, I may ADD skype contact to my sales pages. Why not? I can get contacts from potential clients easier. So I ought to begin to do it!

 

from what i've noticed on DP... skype is the new msn messenger.