Can it be rude to offer a Calendly link?

I discovered Calendly around 2 years ago. My specific use case was perhaps different from most people: I had a number of different calendars, and I needed a tool which allowed me to schedule meetings without the painful process of checking all the calendars one by one. Calendly had brought me instant relief, as it integrated with all my calendars. This magically took away a big chunk of work, as if by miracle. It was especially useful during busy times, when I sometimes had to schedule 3-4 meetings per day.

Another use case for Calendly is that you can connect calendars of different people to it, allowing to schedule a meeting with a whole team of people at once.

For me, the use of Calendly was a no brainer. Quick and efficient, no emails back and forth, a few clicks and the meeting is in the calendar. With time, however, I noticed an interesting dynamic. Some people would ignore the Calendly link altogether, and still ask questions about my availability. Fair enough, I’d set up the meeting the old fashioned way without giving it too much thought. I’d put it down to people not being comfortable with technology.

Recently I was preparing an email to a very important APAC prospect, and I was determined not to miss any steps. Just in case, I decided to look up whether offering a Calendly link could be considered insensitive in any cultures.

I was very surprised to find out that this was a subject of a very recent Twitter debate. Apparently, there is a view that sending someone a Calendly link is the same as telling them that you are more important than they are. Since anything you already have in your calendar takes priority, that means all your appointments are more important than the person you are arranging to meet. The person whose post I linked to went as far as to say that he would never click on a Calendly link? from someone he considers inferior or equal, and gave the President of the USA as an example of a person whose Calendly he would use.?

This got me thinking… In the end I crafted the email by offering a time slot when I am free every day (luckily that was easy to do with an APAC prospect - just sacrifice some sleep ;) ), then offered to use their scheduling tools if they had any, and only then provided the Calendly link. The prospect thanked me for my ‘thoughtful’ email, which I hope means my deliberations did not go unnoticed, and used my Calendly link.

So, it appears that Calendly, as useful as it is, needs to be used with caution.?

What do you think? Have you noticed that Calendly link could be an issue? Is it perhaps more accepted in some cultures than in others?? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.?