Step Away
from the Keyboard:
How to reply to a rude email
Lisa sends an invoice to her client Rei.
Dear Rei:
Attached is an invoice for work on
the McClusky account.
Thank you for your business.
Lisa
Rei replies:
NOTICED A MISTAKE ON YOUR
INVOICE, LOL!!!! YOU BILLED
FOR 4 HOURS ON MAY 1, 1012.
GET YOURSELF INTO THE 21ST
CENTURY. LOL!!!
Lisa thinks, “How could I be so stupid?
Rei will never hire me again!”
NOTICED A MISTAKE ON YOUR
INVOICE, LOL!!!! YOU BILLED
FOR 4 HOURS ON MAY 1, 1012.
GET YOURSELF INTO THE 21ST
CENTURY. LOL!!!
Despite Rei’s LOLs, Lisa isn’t laughing. She starts to
build up rage like the Incredible Hulk.
NOTICED A MISTAKE ON YOUR
INVOICE, LOL!!!! YOU BILLED
FOR 4 HOURS ON MAY 1, 1012.
GET YOURSELF INTO THE 21ST
CENTURY. LOL!!!
Lisa’s first impulse is to respond to an attack with
a stronger attack. She types furiously:
REI: Yes, I made a mistake but you
have no right to YELL at me and
make me feel stupid and don’t you
know it’s rude to use ALL CAPS in
an email? How dare
you treat me with disrespect?
in Lisa realizes she’s ranting and needs time
to cool down before hitting Send.
REI: Yes, I made a mistake but you
have no right to YELL at me and
make me feel stupid and don’t you
know it’s rude to use ALL CAPS in
an email? How dare
you treat me with disrespect?
Lisa steps away from the keyboard until
she can write in a fact-based, neutral tone:
Rei: Thank you for letting me
know about the error. A revised
invoice with the correct date is
attached.
Rei matches Lisa’s polite tone, and Lisa saves
her relationship with a good client:
Lisa, Thanks for sending the
corrected invoice so promply.
Are you available for a new
project next week?
Best, Rei
When an email makes you angry:
1. Take time to calm down.
2. Step away from the keyboard
until you can be civil.
3. When you reply, admit any
mistakes and focus on facts.
4. Avoid attack; use a neutral tone
to keep conflict from escalating.
Get a Quick Guide to professional email
etiquette:http://writebetteratwork.com/downloads/QuickGuid
e.doc
Take an interactive quiz:How Formal Does My Email Have to Be?