Where did you go?

All those annoying phone calls from the banks, credit card companies, member associations and healthcare providers asking for updated information.  I used to think they were a huge pain in my butt – until I needed to keep up a membership list and send out information.  This is when I learned that there are reasons for frequent update calls – we, as a society, do not like to have to do this – we assume that our most current information is shared amongst all of the agencies.  Well it’s not.  How long ago did you apply for that bank account? Before you moved and entered into a meaningful relationship and changed jobs twice ??  How about that membership with a professional group – you were getting emails at one point but not now.

Your employer may not even have the most current information – I sent out a T4 to an employee to the address I had on file. It was old and the employee didn’t work for me any longer.  It was eventually discovered and resent, but the whole incident could have been avoided.

Why not have an annual date reserved for updating information? Perhaps you no longer wish to receive emails from certain organizations or you want to have a certain line of information forwarded but not others.  Most agencies or organizations have profiles for their members – your preferences for food, music and movies changes over time why not your preferences for communications?

It is a great time to look at your profile and determine if the settings fit your current situation. Updating your profile takes little time and can put current and relevant information into your inbox and remove or limit the “junk” that you just delete without a glance.

So, I urge everyone to take a look at your profiles – bank, doctor, professional agency, online memberships and educational facilities. When is the last time you let them know how you prefer to be contacted and where to contact you ? March is the end of the first quarter and a great time for a quick re-evaluation of what is coming or not coming into your electronic world.