“It’s a way for us to know if people are going to the effort of formally contacting us; they want legit advice, not just to get someone on the phone as quickly as possible.
“People think they have a quick question, but the truth is there is very rarely a quick question in our space.”
Curtis isn’t alone in wanting a heads-up before a phone call.
It seems fewer people want to answer their phone any more; increasingly, voice messages warn callers not to leave a message and instead send a text.
Which begs the question: is there now an unspoken phone etiquette?
Dr Arianna Berardi-Wiltshire, a senior lecturer in linguistics at Massey University, certainly thinks so.
But first she explains why.
Changes in modern digital etiquette stemmed from technological change, she said.
Language, in all its forms, was always changing, and people were adapting to that.
“Phones are very different devices than they used to be.
“Over time, the social norms around the language we use to communicate by phone have changed.
“Phones are not just for calls; people use them to communicate in other ways, by text, email, social media, and voice notes.”
Berardi-Wiltshire said because our phones were with us all the time, people were more conscious about how and when they contacted each other.
Communicating by phone had become more “permission-based”, she said.
“Before, calling someone was just a default, but today people see sending a text first as a more considerate option because it lets the person reply when it suits them.
“It’s often understood that someone is busy right now; they might be driving or picking up their kids.”
Northland mortgage adviser Sarah Curtis says the only time she’ll answer her phone is to her family or her kid’s school.
One NZ Kerikeri store manager, Dave Semb – Kerikeri’s tech expert for 16 years – said changes in the way people use their phones had “exploded” over the past several years.
A lot of people don’t use voicemail any more, he said.
“From the beginning, [smartphones] weren’t used as a life remote.
“Now your banking is on it, your fitness, sleep health, you can track your pets, turn on devices at home … so many things are included in your mobile.
“It’s not just a texting and phoning device any more.”
But even with apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, Semb prefers voice calling.
“Texts are great for short things, but people miss the empathy or the tone in a text.
“Maybe I’m still old school, but I prefer voice.”
Curtis said the only time she’d answer her phone was to her family or her kid’s school.
“We have been in business now over nine years and it’s always been like that; I’m just more okay with being vocal about it now.
“I always try to put myself into the client’s shoes … I wouldn’t want someone ringing me when I’m in the middle of the supermarket asking personal questions.
“Most of the initial conversations we have can take half an hour; we want clients to be in a space where they can think clearly and answer the questions we have for them … without having to worry about who is around to hear.”
Dr Arianna Berardi-Wiltshire, a senior lecturer in linguistics at Massey University, says mobile phone etiquette has evolved as technology has changed.
The method of communicating also appears to have a generational aspect, with Millennials and Gen Zs preferring social media or texting.
Berardi-Wiltshire has two teenage daughters whose default is texting.
“They only phone for urgent things.
“Gen Xs grew up with fixed lines, and we carry the baggage of social norms.
“For us, change is more difficult to implement … for the younger generations, they never knew any different.
“It’s not because they don’t want to talk to you, but they have grown up with all these options.”
Berardi-Wiltshire said that overall, phone etiquette had evolved.
“It’s not a decline of etiquette – what we’re seeing is an evolution of it.
“There are still social norms; it’s just those norms have changed.
“People still care about being polite on the phone; they’re just expressing that in different ways.”
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.