How many people out there list their cell phone on their business card? It’s something I’ve always done, but am starting to see less and less of. As a fan of this practice, I only list my cell on my current business card. In fact, I’ve often refused to have a company line opting instead to use my cell or skype for everything.
In a smaller company, listing your cell phone is a great way to get intimate with your customers. Knowing they can get a hold of you in an emergency is a great benefit for most people. From my experience customers rarely abuse this, opting only to call you if it’s extremely important.
With that said, there are a few times it can be a bad idea. I remember once being yelled at by a boss when the CEO of a company called me on a Sunday wanting some text changed on a yet to be released feature and I told him that I wouldn’t be able to do it until Monday. I happened to be at a Michigan football game, and there was no way I was going to get to a computer. All in all, these experiences are rare to me.
Then there’s the occasional “old business card” folly. I was woken up today by a frantic employee of a company that I had worked with in my last job. I left that job over 6 months ago, but this employee had no way of knowing that. She was panicking because the prices on her website were wrong, and wasn’t very happy when I told her that I no longer worked for that company. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the number of anybody there who she could call either.
So what do you think? Are cell phones on a business card a good idea or a bad one? What are your experiences?