Is The Customer Always Right?, Even if they are plain rude... rant Options

[MaKa]

I was reading my email this morning and came across a very very rude email asking to stop their weekly Emoticon email subscription. I blanked out the swear words with ## signs.

#### u ########## i dont want more emails and i hate smilies (emotions) from u so #### ##### ###### ########## ######## ######

I showed the email to my girlfriend who suggested to email back the following:

Swearing is a sign of a very limited vocabulary.

I will, of course, remove you from the distribution list so you will no longer receive the emoticons.

You could just have requested to be removed from the list without all the profanity.

If you are unable to understand this email, please let me know and I will reply in a manner more in keeping with your degree of intelligence.

I've already removed their email from the distribution list, but I'm not sure whether and how I should reply to their email.

I'm really tempted to send them back a sarcastic reply as my girlfriend suggested. Or I can just email a standard reply, saying, you've been removed, although I'd feel I should at least point out that swearing isn't really the way to go about it.

I realise that it's probably an 12 year old, and I shouldn't worry about it, but I just feel I have to rant about it.

What would you do?

[rolf]

I'd probably either come on here and have a rant, then move on - or try to charm them and see what sort of response you can evoke for a bit of fun.

I've never had one as rude as that but I do sometimes get rude emails from customers - like the person recently who ordered some goods at 4pm on the day before the first day of the postal strike and then emailed on the fourth day to suggest we were ripping him off and that he was going to report us to the police.

I used to get all bent out of shape about how rude people can be but I read an article on the subject called something like 'kill them with kindness', which suggested that it's much more fun to get them to apologise for their rudeness by being so damn nice about it, and you might even convert a complainer into an evangelist.

If I had the time, which I don't always but if I did, I write something like: "I'm really sorry to have offended you, I can tell you're very upset in your email and that certainly wasn't my intention and in no way did I mean any offense. I've removed you from our list, but what can I do to make it up to you?"

Turns out, sometimes these people are just having a bad day, or drink emailing, or they've just not thought about the fact that e-businesses are run by real people, and when they see how they've behaved they'll often surprise you.

BTW - that's not an invitation for everyone to send rude emails to try and upset me (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif)

[1dmf]

Swearing is a sign of a very limited vocabulary

this is an untrue statement, the history of swearing is a long one and is relative to the current times.

certain words have come in favour and back out again, and there can be a class devide on both sides of a word and how offensive it is relative to the class either using it or the class it is being used against.

swear words are words and should be used along with all the other words in context.

to claim someones inteligence or articulation is limited purely based on the fact they used a specific word at a specific time is an ignorant statement to make.

[MaKa]

If I had the time, which I don't always but if I did, I write something like: "I'm really sorry to have offended you, I can tell you're very upset in your email and that certainly wasn't my intention and in no way did I mean any offense. I've removed you from our list, but what can I do to make it up to you?"

That's a tactic that sounds quite appealing to me, I may give that a go if I've got time after I finished my "real" work.

Never heard of "drink emailing" before, just picturing someone being drunk behind a computer and emailing cheered me up, thanks Rolf (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) *hick-up*

[Randy]

People who send an email like that are typically looking for a response. Any response, because if they can draw someone into their little world it brings them more glee.

Believe it or not, I get to deal with these types of mental midgets every now and again. Or if not me than someone who works for me and has to follow my rules. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif)

If a response is absolutely required, they get a standard reply. Nothing more certainly. If anything less. Meaning instead of getting additional help/pointers, they get only their main question answered. Whatever you do, don't let the draw you in and drag you down to their level. Keeping your own professionalism will rankle them to no end. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink1.gif)

If a response isn't absolutely required (even if we'd normally send one) they get no response at all. Which sounds like might be the case here. No response means you can't be dragged down with them.

This post has been edited by Randy: Nov 15 2007, 07:37 AM

[Jill]

Either don't respond at alll, or simply reply with, "thank you for your email, you've been removed from the list."

[torka]

Never heard of "drink emailing" before

At least it's slightly less dangerous than drunk Twittering...

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

[rolf]

just picturing someone being drunk behind a computer and emailing cheered me up, thanks Rolf

Pleased to be of service :-D

[chrishirst]

At least it's slightly less dangerous than drunk Twittering...

--Torka (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mf_prop.gif)

Drunken Twittering, Hmm reminds me of a former girlfriend (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blahblah1.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blahblah1.gif) , personally I'll stick with Stumbling

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/Beer_Dive.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ale.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stout.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stiffdrink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/redwine.gif)