Why don't you read your Email?

Is that asking too much....

Published on February 7, 2008 By foreverserenity In Blogging

In an office setting everyone, and I mean everyone communicates by Email. If you can tell me of any office that doesn't, then I would be very surprised about that! Even if everyone doesn't have a computer to use, there is at least one main personnel who has a computer and should be able to inform and alert the team of what is going on.

Take for example if you have scheduled a big meeting and you have informed everyone, via Email, what they will be doing, got information together, gave directions as to who will have said information to be distributed to the necessary parties; copies of said schedule is given to all the pertinent people, arrangements are made for no hassle parking, etc......verbal reminders are given to key people so they don't 'sweat' or have a sleepless night wondering if everything is in place.

What happens when someone who often operates as if the floor is caving in under them and "never knows what's going on" even if you push their face in a pile of dung and say to them, "this is a pile of dung, don't step in it"? They make all your hard work go out the window! They create havoc and run around crying "wolf, wolf!" How do some people get in the positions they are in?

Now, if one person had just taken the time to open their email, and read the communication that transpired and the reminders that were sent, wouldn't they be more aware of what is going on? Wouldn't they be able to respond without effort and be able to inform when one other person who didn't read their email needed to know "what am I doing?"

Thank heavens my sixth sense told me to check in to make sure everything was OK. Then I had to stay calm while I calm the nutcase on the phone!

I'm not perfect, there are times when I don't get to my personal email right away. But gee, at least where my work email is concerned, I have to be on top of it or I would be buried!

So, what excuse do you have for not reading your email?

Comments

Jythier

on Feb 07, 2008

Too busy posting on JU. Duh!

Cedarbird

on Feb 07, 2008

haha! At my summer job I was a secretary for some very self sufficient men. I rarely had much to do and found myself checking my email every twenty minutes or so. I'm sorry you had to do that!

foreverserenity

on Feb 07, 2008

Too busy posting on JU. Duh!

Believe me, she has no idea where to find JU!

I get too. damned. much. of. it.

Most definitely! A lot of us do!

I still communicate (sporadically) with some of the very first people I ever met online...and that goes back, hmmm, 15 or 16 years or so.

That's good, you keep long friendships!

At my summer job I was a secretary for some very self sufficient men. I rarely had much to do and found myself checking my email every twenty minutes or so

Truthfully, many of them do, thank heavens, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are! But the other person who is suppose to be there for the big boss is never there - literally and figuratively!

Dr Guy

on Feb 08, 2008

There is also the issue of connectionless. When you send an email (just like when you send snailmail), there is no guarantee that the other person has gotten it. Sometimes it just drops into the great bit bucket in the sky.

My philosophy is that if you send an email that is time sensitive (or in anyway sensitive) and you do not hear back from the person, send it again, or call them. With Spam filters and just connection issues (the latter being less prevalent in an office environment, but still possible), sometimes they dont get the email. I have found several emails in my spam folder just because the person did not put enough stuff (words) in it, or used all caps to convey the message.

foreverserenity

on Feb 08, 2008

Yes, that has been known to happen. But with our set up, we are enabled to see when our email is delivered, if it has been read, or has been deleted. The whole point of this is not to have to babysite anyone. Where do the excuses end?

Dr Guy

on Feb 08, 2008

But with our set up, we are enabled to see when our email is delivered, if it has been read, or has been deleted.

If you are using Groupwise, that works like a charm! If you are using Outlook, then it still depends upon the recipient. And if they let you see that information.

adnauseam

on Feb 08, 2008

E-mail etiquette usually demands that you reply to mails from friends, business associates and family members. Spam replies are not subject to etiquette rules--they invite further spam. It is generally considered rude not to reply to a personally addressed e-mail.

foreverserenity

on Feb 08, 2008

E-mail etiquette usually demands that you reply to mails from friends, business associates and family members

Absolutely!

Spam replies are not subject to etiquette rules--they invite further spam.

Kill all spammers! seriously!

then it still depends upon the recipient

Exactly, it depends upon the recepient to read their email and keep themselves abreast of what is going on.

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