Email annoyances Dec08 '06

Please don't include such verbage in your emails to me:

"Request (The sooner the better)"

I will get to your request, when I get to your request. Telling me "the sooner the better" will not speed things up, nor will it make me any more eager to help you.

"Can we get this implemented ASAP?"

I hate the phrase ASAP. It's just common laziness that people think they can slap that acronym in there, and it will make things happen faster, or it makes them sound important.

Again, telling me "ASAP" will not speed things up. It only makes me less inclined to help you quickly.

Other things about email that annoy me

Emails are impersonal, sure. But that doesn't mean you can't add your personality to an email, so you sound less like a robot. This also makes me want to help you more.

For example, start out each email with either "Hi," "Hello," or some other form of greeting. If you just jump into your email message, it's rude. It won't kill you to say something like, "Hello. I need a quick favor." Or, "Hello. How are you?"

Also, end your emails with "Thanks," or "Thank you." And don't include "Thanks" as part of your email signature. That's just laziness. You can type it out each time. You don't need a machine to automate expressions of gratitude. Typing "Thanks" out each time is not going to kill you.

And please don't auto-generate entire email messages. That's the worst.

For example, there's someone here who frequently asks me for the same procedure, and only the customer changes each time.

Instead of typing out something like, "Hey, can you add these accounts to this customer?" - they'll copy and paste the message body, so it's identical each time, except for the customer name.

Literally, it's just obvious and insulting.

Here's an example:

Hi Matt. Attached is the same spreadsheet that I need uploaded on the site. If you can please add this to [xxxx customer] I would greatly appreciate it. Also, please let me know when it's been complete. Thanks.

I can tell it's copy/pasted, because the wording is exactly the same each time. This person just swaps out the customer name for whoever is needed at that time.

It's like getting a message from a robot.

Categories: Email , Rants

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Yes, and another annoyance is when people respond as if they are sending you a text message. Example: I got a reply on an apartment I was intereste ... Read more.

matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.

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