> You really need this plumber right now? The plumber suddenly ignores you. They know they can let you work for it, you are the one in need. Plumbers have an e

> You really need this plumber right now? The plumber suddenly ignores you. They know they can let you work for it, you are the one in need. Plumbers have an even better way of dealing with this. If you really, absolutely need them right now, they provide an emergency service - but you have to pay $250 extra. Turns out that $250 cost filters out most people who decide their dripping tap doesn't actually need following up after all. Plumbers often have a secretary / screener handle their incoming calls. Maybe instead of repeated "follow up" emails, actually hiring someone and paying the consulting fee for their time is more likely to get through. Time is valuable, and most of these "follow up" emails are from people who do not respect or value your time. It's even part of default spam scripts: "Following Up On My Email From Last Week" is the subject line of a Chinese quadcopter spam email that went direct to my spam folder today.