Arsey emails at work

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Caporegime
Joined
13 May 2003
Posts
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Location
Warwickshire
Are you good at dealing with emails that annoy you at work?

Do you take a deep breath and then respond politely, or do you tend to slap that reply button and unleash your wrath in a torrent of sarcastic bullet points!?

Do you respond unemotionally, or make your feelings very obvious?

Ever gotten in trouble for responding adversely to an email that you took exception to? Ever accidentally sent a rude email intended for your mate, to the MD?

Most of the emails I get that annoy me are from other companies within the group, as opposed to customers or suppliers. For example, I just emailed a fellow subsidiary in Italy, asking why they hadn't paid our invoices yet:

[Me]

Dear xxx

Please find attached our interco sheets for June.

Please let me have a firm payment date for the now seriously overdue invoices. As per xxx's email attached, there is only one remaining invoice outstanding from your customers and that is dated May 2010, so I am struggling to understand the delay in payment.

Best regards

[Them]

in order to better understand the delay in payment the reasons are:
1) U.K. customers are not so fast in payment, and you know that xxx pay your invoice after 30 day from customers’ payment receipt,
2) the payments are bound to external conditions like:
a) stop payment from xxx/xxx at the end of the trimester,
b) availability of the person in our company to sign/authorize payment (xxx xxx) which means that he is often abroad for business,
3) I am ready to transfer you the balance of inv. n. 18914/19025/19086/19091/19165/19201/19235/19287.
Hope to have clarified any doubts, I would like to inform you that sometimes I have no the control on external situations, and we have to adjust to them.
Best regards and happy week end.

[Me]

Hi xxx

Thank you for the information, of which I am already aware.

You state that ‘you know that xxx pay your invoice after 30 day from customers’ payment receipt’, yet on the attached email from xxx dated 11th February 2010, there are only two xxx invoices outstanding. Perhaps there has been a misunderstanding, but it seems that as at 11th Feb (almost five months ago), at least all of your invoices related to our August 2009 commission invoice, had already been paid by the customer. I’m therefore unsure how any of the ‘external situations‘ you refer to, could cause this delay.

In any case, we look forward to receiving the payment and to prompt payments going forward.

Best regards, have a great weekend

Not had a reply yet. Does that sound arsey? Some of these guys think that just cause we're in the same group, we don't need cash to operate and that they can take the mick with payment terms!

I'd like to hear your email stories, hopefully more racey!
 
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I tend to release furious sarcasm if they want something from me. If i'm after something from them, i make light of it.
 
I used to respond to annoying emails unleashing my full wrath, until one day I got the letters "T" and "G" mixed up on my keyboard.

I will never close off an email with the phrase "Regards," again........... :(
 
Your email does sound like you are following up on them/being a little arsey. Tough call though as I don't know the company and internal politics.

The last place I worked for were meticulous with internal correspondence and if anything was emailed to you, it was as good as gospel so it had to be dealt with with priority number one or it would usually mean your ass getting chewed. I learned this the heard way as did many others. The usual 100% professionalism with customers though.

There were experiences of people being bullied by self-inflated, pompus middle managers which somehow seemed to get away with it over and over again (via email). As a result everyone just had to be on guard and on their game with emails. As sad as that sounds.

As a result at my new place I tend to be 100% on the ball even though the company is more relaxed. Things spoken don't mean much as it can always be denied/forgotten but email there is always a record/trace kept. I always try to keep it "business" even with friends/close colleagues. Only place you'll catch me being off the record is where you aren't likely to catch me :)
 
Lucero that's ****ing brilliant, pmsl!

Robbie, your email seems very reasonable, ur just cutting through the bs holding response he sent you to buy more time. Well done for calling him on it.
 
I once had a client respond to some PSDs of websites we'd spent a week or so working on, based on wireframes he'd given us I might add, with a single word email. That word?

'Bleurg'

That was it. No explanation. No stating of what was so bleurg about it. Just bleurg. I can't remember exactly what I replied with, but unfortunately it had to be polite :(

Could have stabbed the ****.
 
I once signed an introduction email:

"Any questions please do not contact me."

I missed out 'hesitate to', lucky for me the customer saw the funny side of it.
 
I don't get arsey on email - if things aren't being understood or communicated I talk to the person/people - much easier and saves any misunderstanding and more importantly delays which ultimately can affect profitability, creates costs and wastes (good old LEAN mindset at work there! :D).

Though luckily, people don't tend to get arsey with me, but often are frustrated at others - but I like to intervene and smooth things out - my aim is to get the result and things done, not point fingers and go round in cicles. I often facilitate resolutions (part of my job) and hate how over used email is now days.

Verbal or even better face to face (not really feasible in this instance I admit :p), is always much much better IMO/IME. :)
 
Here is one:

Hello xxxx,

We bought xxxxxxx from you every month for over ten years until recently.

I wrote two letters to your Company which went unanswered and eventually had to phone xxxxx with regards any help that you could give regarding prices.

As you were unprepared to even discuss prices after all these years I decided that I was not prepared to carry on dealing with you.

I have therefore moved supplier, who is cheaper and does not appear to take long standing customers for granted.

Please delete me from your customer base

Sincerely

xxxxxxxxx
Director


Reply:

Good Morning xxxxxx,

Thank you for your response and I am sorry to hear about the problems occurred and you not dealing with us.

After looking back on your account I can assure you that for the quantities ordered, the best price was quoted every time. We have discussed this many a time that we are a manufacturer, economies of scale takes a big part in our price structures, the unit price for smaller orders are far greater. The only other way to reduce the prices further would be for pallet quantities. - Note we would ship out 60 boxes per pallet, this customer bought 3 at a time

Thank you for the past custom, and if there is any products we can help you on, please do not hesitate to contact me direct and I will make sure any queries are dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Kind Regards

Me




I would like to add that their other supplier went bust about a week after I sent this email....we got the business back!
 
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In the last place I worked, one of the heads of department sent an email to the head of IT (the head IT was a total goon and knew nothing about IT :p)

It said something like..


"Dear XXXX

We are still yet to hear anything back from the request that we sent over a year ago and have been chasing up weekly ever since.

Please could you do the work for us as requested.

Kind regards,

ZZZZ"

The IT boss forwarded it on to a guy in my department..

"Hi YYYYYY

Can you handle this for me please, her emails are really annoying me now..

Silly bint

Cheers

XXXXX"




So the guy in my dept, FORWARDS that email to her and add's

"

Hi ZZZZ,

I'll be down now to confirm your requirements

Thanks,
YYYYY"


The guy in my dept had to apologise to the woman, and not the IT boss, lol
 
I get 20-25 of them every single day on the work laptop. I couldn't care less, I get paid either way.

What I can't stand are the emails I get that are sent to a select few people bitching about someone else's attitude in emails etc. I have absolutely no idea what it must be like working in those offices. Thank God I only have to visit the offices for about 2 hours a week.
 
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I think that is fine, you weren't arsey, perhaps repeating the weekend thing at the end is a little but still fine.

I agree, take the high ground and keep your cool. Perhaps a little arseyness sometimes, but it has to be good and witty, not just my rage erupting.
 
you should never put any emotion into an email for work.

1) unless its your company what do you care? whats it to you of they pay late or even never pay.
2) there is an audit trail which could get you into trouble
3) a simple misunderstanding can easily esculate over email
4) if english is not the recipients first language they may not understand what you mean, a normal email could be translated and an arsey one.. and their reply may not be arsey to them (but sounds arsy to you)

personally I think its very unprofessional to 'have a go' or get emotional with someone at work either by email or in person. (unless you are the owner of the business)

I would have simply emailed "Please can you let me have a payment date for the overdue invoices"

this hole last bit is not needed "As per xxx's email attached, there is only one remaining invoice outstanding from your customers and that is dated May 2010, so I am struggling to understand the delay in payment."
 
edscdk said:
you should never put any emotion into an email for work.

1) unless its your company what do you care? whats it to you of they pay late or even never pay.
Click to expand...

Because part of my job is to ensure that the business has sufficient cash for its operations. 'Please can I have a payment date please thank you' is in itself unlikely to change this payer's mentality.

Imagine if everyone took the dubious attitude of 'it's not my company, why should I care'. If you don't lose your job because you weren't doing it, you could also lose your job when the company goes under because of your laissez-faire attitude.

Rozzy85 said:
My supervisor use to e-mail me when there was an issue with the client. His desk was like 10-15 metres away from mine...
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People like to have a record of certain things in writing, which is totally understandable imo.

Bledd, that is hilarious! Just goes to show that being careful about your own actions isn't all you need to worry about, in the minefield that is the world of work emails.
 
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After a major complaint I worked really hard on imaging and testing a brand new PC for one of the partners at the law firm I work at. I emailed the following to him after 3 hours of thoroughly checking the machine to make sure all was in order and all the necessary software was running fine -

Hi <lawyers name>,

I have finished building and thoroughly checking your new machine. All is working fine. Would it be ok to come and install it now?

Regards


[His reply]

No. I am far too busy!


[My response]

Hi,

I am afraid that is unacceptable. I have worked really hard on this for the last 3 hours to ensure that it has been fully tested and working. This is especially so in light of your complaint to my IT Director.

The PC swap out will only take 10 minutes of your time.

Thanks

[His response]

Ok, I am popping out for a sandwich. Come on up.
 
My French colleague often gets French and narky with me when I email him for progress on work that he's doing that our boss has requested that I give updates on. The best way to deal with it is to reply in a professional and calm manner, if my boss ever sees these emails then he'll have no reason to blame me for antagonising the whiner :)
 
People are constantly taking the mick when it comes to paying invoices at my work - You're meant to pay within 30 days but we never get it before then :p
 
CLAWS said:
[My response]

Hi,

I am afraid that is unacceptable. I have worked really hard on this for the last 3 hours to ensure that it has been fully tested and working. This is especially so in light of your complaint to my IT Director.

The PC swap out will only take 10 minutes of your time.

Thanks
Click to expand...

that sort of reply is an example of exactly what NOT to do, if he has already had cause to complain he now as a arsey email from you...

a better reply would be

"sorry to trouble you again, be we need to get your PC swapped out today to keep the project on time, if you could let me know a convient time to swap the machine over I could be much appreciated"..

you got a good reply from him, however it could have very easily gone horribly wrong... what if he had taken offence and asked you to leave?

lawyers are be total arses I did a lot of installs for them...
 
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