You Shouldn’t Do That With Email | Travel Research Online

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You Shouldn’t Do That With Email

Not long ago, I shared with you how email autoresponders are used improperly and can be a nuisance or even present you negatively to those you wish to do business with. The sad truth is, email autoresponders are the tip of the iceberg. Which of the following Bad Email Habits are you guilty of?

  • “Sent from my iPhone”: It began as a way to ‘advertise’ new mobile devices, and has since become a default setting that is rarely changed.  I admit to being guilty of this one myself, and changed it recently.  Often, mobile devices with email capability are set to add a line similar to “Sent from my iPhone” to the bottom of each email.  My personal view was, it was a way to let people know that I wasn’t in the office and I was STILL working.  How dedicated was I!  But, I learned soon enough that it was actually received negatively – as in, that client was so unimportant to me that they were only worth a quick note on my phone.  Of course, nothing was further from the truth, but that’s how it was received.  So, if you frequently use a mobile device to email, make sure it isn’t tacking on a “sent from my..” note to each message.
  • Legal Notices: I correspond with a lot of corporate types in one of my niche specialites.  It’s common to receive an email with a half-page of legal text.  “This email is intended for…” and “If you have received this email in error…” type notices are rarely read, and really serve no purpose to the end user except to annoy them.  It’s especially worse if they have to print the email – often that legal notice gets shunted to a second page, which is needless waste.  Speaking of needless waste, I personally have a hard time with those little pictures of a tree with the statement, “Please consider the environment before printing this email.”  I’ve always taken it as a bit commanding – OF COURSE I’ll only print emails that I MUST print, I don’t need some yahoo telling me to watch it.  I’m the one paying for the paper and ink!
  • BCC a Mass Email: There’s nothing better than getting a mass email than seeing a half page of email addresses it was sent to before you get to the actual message.  I learned a long time ago that most folks don’t really appreciate just ANYONE having their email address, and it’s much better to use the BCC field (Blind Carbon Copy) as opposed to the CC (Carbon Copy) field.  The general rule of thumb is to use the CC field only when it is imperative that the true recipient know who is being included in the “conversation”, and to keep THAT to a minimum.  Any other time, the absolute best thing to do is to send the email to your own address, and put all the recipients in the BCC field.

What email habits do others have that drive you bonkers? Let us know in the comments!

Steve Cousino, ACC, CTA, LS has been a travel professional since 2005 and currently owns Exclusive Events At Sea (http://www.exclusiveeventsatsea.com) and Journeys By Steve (http://www.journeysbysteve.com) with specializations in group cruising, individual ocean & river cruising, and personalized experiences in Europe, especially the British Isles.  In addition, Steve heads up WordPressForTravelAgents.com, an email-based WordPress education system designed specifically for the busy travel professional.  He can be reached at steve@journeysbysteve.com.

  2 thoughts on “You Shouldn’t Do That With Email

  1. One bad habit I see is when people do not say please and thank you in their emails. If you are advising someone steps to get their credit card to you for payment, the least you can do is say “Please see the attached credit card form and return …”

    Another one is people not responding very quickly to emails. I am guilty of this too during peak season like NOW. 🙂
    But I at least respond to let them know I received it and I’m working on their response.

    And the last one that drives me crazy is the “FW:” in the subject line on E-Docs. Clean it up before you send it!

  2. John Frenaye says:

    I disagree with your iPhone/iPad/Android thing. Sure it is an advertisement (likely an effective one) for the manufacturer, but when I see that I know that 1) they may make a typo because of the virtual keyboard, so that’s OK. 2) they may be away from the office and my file, so I should not expect an immediate call back or response, and 3) it tells me that my agent is connected and tech savvy (a quality I will want).

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