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walkitoutThis one is from a non profit that helps women get better clothing so they can have a more successful job search.
"Hi there! I hope that all is well with you. Since you have received professional apparel from WHW, I would just like to check in with you to see if you have secured employment. We like to check in with all of our clients to see how everything is going. If you have a job and you are working- congratulations! We would love for you to participate in our Incentive Program! May I ask you to provide your placement information confidentially? ..." and more in the same vein.
I replied, as I always do:
"Someone gave you my email in error. I have no idea who you are. Please remove me from your list."
Which would seem very clear! But no, Ms. Lopez knows better than me who I am.
"You came to WHW for apparel services through ResCare on September 24th. I am not sure if your personal shopper told you about our incentive program, but we like to check in with our clients and see how they are doing in their job search; if they have found employment we invite them to part take in our incentive program where we celebrate you for getting a job.
If you are not interested, it’s okay. I just was checking in with you, because we are here to help and I just like to check in with our clients. I apologize for the inconvenience."
I have to say, that's a degree of insensitivity to feedback and Let's Shove Everyone Into the Same Shape and Sized Hole that is a little breathtaking, previously met only by an idiot school teacher in the UK.
Because I am fundamentally an aggressive person just waiting for an attractive target, here was my reply:
"I do not live in California, nor have I ever. I do not need to be empowered for employment success, because I have been retired for over a decade. I told you CLEARLY that someone gave you this email in error, and yet you feel compelled to tell me I don't know who I am or who you are, or that we don't know each other.
[Her first name], how can you help other people, when you have such a low opinion of them, that you think they don't have any idea who you are or what program you run? Or are you unable to hear a clear statement of personal identity, such as the one I made in my previous email to you? If so, you are far too insensitive to effectively help anyone!
I DO NOT KNOW YOU. Take me off your list."
I eagerly anticipate Ms. Lopez' reply. Will she be that rara avis, the person who persists past the second assertion that her email has been misdirected? I haven't heard from such a person yet, but I live for that day, because that's the day I start making phone calls and finding out who they report to, so I can politely suggest that maybe they could use a few pointers on email etiquette and an explanation that in fact, there is more than one person out there with almost every firstname lastname combination, and a gmail with firstname.lastname isn't a sure bet to be the person they were trying to reach.
If you ever get a reply from someone who says they don't know you, trust them. No one is that confused; you just managed to somehow get the wrong email address.
ETA:
Ms. Lopez has come through for me!
"It was a simple mistake. We just like to keep in touch with our clients. I apologize for upsetting you and am really taken aback by your response of stating I having low opinion of our clients, as I was simply checking in with a person I thought may have just come through our program.
I will take you off the list [my first name]. I am sorry once again and yes, I do not know you, but I wish you happiness [my first name]."
That is a really interesting blame-non-apology (not an apology for the action but rather an apology for my reaction, and then further justification for why she didn't immediately take me off her list as I had requested). Also, while the original email _was_ a simple mistake, the follow up asserting that I really was a client (which I was not) was not a simple mistake at all.
I'm working on a theory about these extremely rare people who argue with my assertion that I don't know them and refuse to immediately remove me from their list. It's gotta be some kind of personality disorder, but the details as yet elude me. I need more of this kind of person to figure it out -- I'm sure I will be supplied over time.
"Hi there! I hope that all is well with you. Since you have received professional apparel from WHW, I would just like to check in with you to see if you have secured employment. We like to check in with all of our clients to see how everything is going. If you have a job and you are working- congratulations! We would love for you to participate in our Incentive Program! May I ask you to provide your placement information confidentially? ..." and more in the same vein.
I replied, as I always do:
"Someone gave you my email in error. I have no idea who you are. Please remove me from your list."
Which would seem very clear! But no, Ms. Lopez knows better than me who I am.
"You came to WHW for apparel services through ResCare on September 24th. I am not sure if your personal shopper told you about our incentive program, but we like to check in with our clients and see how they are doing in their job search; if they have found employment we invite them to part take in our incentive program where we celebrate you for getting a job.
If you are not interested, it’s okay. I just was checking in with you, because we are here to help and I just like to check in with our clients. I apologize for the inconvenience."
I have to say, that's a degree of insensitivity to feedback and Let's Shove Everyone Into the Same Shape and Sized Hole that is a little breathtaking, previously met only by an idiot school teacher in the UK.
Because I am fundamentally an aggressive person just waiting for an attractive target, here was my reply:
"I do not live in California, nor have I ever. I do not need to be empowered for employment success, because I have been retired for over a decade. I told you CLEARLY that someone gave you this email in error, and yet you feel compelled to tell me I don't know who I am or who you are, or that we don't know each other.
[Her first name], how can you help other people, when you have such a low opinion of them, that you think they don't have any idea who you are or what program you run? Or are you unable to hear a clear statement of personal identity, such as the one I made in my previous email to you? If so, you are far too insensitive to effectively help anyone!
I DO NOT KNOW YOU. Take me off your list."
I eagerly anticipate Ms. Lopez' reply. Will she be that rara avis, the person who persists past the second assertion that her email has been misdirected? I haven't heard from such a person yet, but I live for that day, because that's the day I start making phone calls and finding out who they report to, so I can politely suggest that maybe they could use a few pointers on email etiquette and an explanation that in fact, there is more than one person out there with almost every firstname lastname combination, and a gmail with firstname.lastname isn't a sure bet to be the person they were trying to reach.
If you ever get a reply from someone who says they don't know you, trust them. No one is that confused; you just managed to somehow get the wrong email address.
ETA:
Ms. Lopez has come through for me!
"It was a simple mistake. We just like to keep in touch with our clients. I apologize for upsetting you and am really taken aback by your response of stating I having low opinion of our clients, as I was simply checking in with a person I thought may have just come through our program.
I will take you off the list [my first name]. I am sorry once again and yes, I do not know you, but I wish you happiness [my first name]."
That is a really interesting blame-non-apology (not an apology for the action but rather an apology for my reaction, and then further justification for why she didn't immediately take me off her list as I had requested). Also, while the original email _was_ a simple mistake, the follow up asserting that I really was a client (which I was not) was not a simple mistake at all.
I'm working on a theory about these extremely rare people who argue with my assertion that I don't know them and refuse to immediately remove me from their list. It's gotta be some kind of personality disorder, but the details as yet elude me. I need more of this kind of person to figure it out -- I'm sure I will be supplied over time.