I work for an e-commerce Web site. If one of our merchandisers has a question or wants to make a correction, they e-mail the entire department. In my opinion, this is rude and unnecessary. It seems to me that mass e-mail is appropriate for good or neutral news, rather than making a correction. Do you agree? Moreover, if you were the recipient of the correction, how would you respond?
You could “reply all” and blast them for trolling you via e-mail — but while that might feel good, it would be wrong. The only people who should be included in an e-mail are those who need to know or respond. Including everyone is rude and unprofessional as well as annoying to recipients. It’s not like we don’t have enough in our inbox already. I don’t agree that e-mail is only for good or neutral news, however. Sometimes you need to alert people or create a record of bad news. But no one should use e-mail to blame other people. If you’ve got a problem with someone, pick up the phone or take it outside (for a coffee, not a fist fight . . . geez). As for how to respond, e-mail is usually ineffective for resolving conflict. Have a conversation with the sender and explain why his or her approach isn’t the best and what you recommend. And if you find yourself banging out a response to an e-mail in anger, by all means keep pounding away — just don’t hit “send.” Take a breath, then edit before sending.