To PA send same email again without comment

[missproportionate]

To passively aggressively send the same email again with out comment after no answer?

It’s to an admission officer at a school so for them it’s a work email: for me it’s time-sensitive

Just forward with a “wanted to check if you got my email” or “any update on my email query below” or “have you had a chance to consider my email below” or something.

Re sending with no comment is just a bit... odd. And rude.

I have to chase up emails all the time. Many of them to schools. I just forward the previous one saying “was anyone able to help with this? My deadline is xxx”

Yes, what are they saying when you ring?

I really dislike the 'forward same message without comment' approach. It doesn't make me hurry up.

You want a particular outcome quickly and being passive aggressive might make you feel better in the moment but it is less likely to get you that outcome. If you’ve been calling have you spoken to anyone or is there no answer? Depending on the nature of your email I expect the lack of response is due to not having an answer for you yet and/or it being a very busy period. I will always try to send a holding reply if I don’t have an immediate answer, but when things are busy it’s not always possible. So it might not have been overlooked but politely treating it as though it has been is probably your best bet for getting the outcome you need.

I would respond to say

"Hi,

Please could you take a look at my email below, as I'm sure you can understand, this is important/urgent because of X. I will continue to try and get in touch via phone, if you have a preferred number, please let me know."

Nothing rude or PA about that, some people just need nudging.

If you send a PA email you will get no where with an admissions officer. A little reminder would surfice.

In what way is it time-sensitive? Admissions deadlines/appeal processes or your own?

Admissions teams will be overwhelmed this week with fraught parents not getting the schools they wanted.

Who are these people who get away with ignoring emails in their job, and why do their management not pull them up on it? One of my biggest bugbears at work.

Coolcool if it’s a problem you’re coming up against at work then clearly you know who some of these people are who are getting away with it?

I don’t think there’s an indication here that the OP is being ignored - without further information it’s clear that this is a busy period for school admissions and they might simply be inundated. As I said, I try to send a holding message to let the person sending the query know I am working on it if I don’t have an immediate answer, but that isn’t always possible during very busy periods and it’s a reason why the generic mailboxes where I work have an automatic response giving current expected timescales

Schools generally have time frames to respond to emails. If it's not hit that time frame yet, it might not even have been looked at, and OP probably shouldn't chase.

Just email again asking if they’ve had time to look at your email yet as it’s urgent. I wouldn’t resend what you’ve already written... would be a tad strange.

Depends on what you mean by "school" - unis are on strike at the moment, incl. admissions.

I work in university admissions and I've had people re-send emails to me with nothing added (usually later the same day, or the next morning when they sent their original email at 9pm!) and it's so fucking rude. It does nothing to make me want to help.

I always advise people to phone me if it's time sensitive but if you need to email again, just add a polite email asking for an update on your below query.

Whatever you do, don't put a priority flag on it or request a read receipt. Both of those make me want to not bother with the email.

I sometimes have to chase up responses from clients and I will always ask politely 'just checking if you got my email about X (see below)?' or something along those lines. Usually with an apology for chasing.

I had totally forgotten that new admissions places have just come out - this is an in-year application. In my poor defence we just moved house in the most stressful week of my entire life and are in an airbnb before we can get in our new house. Must engage with the real world again.

She has replied now and it's all fine.

that does sound incredibly stressful. Pleased to hear you’ve had a response

IvinghoeBeacon love your username! That's just up the road from where I grew up!

Glad you're sorted now OP.

Being polite and friendly in emails to people is a better way of getting what you want. If you send it again without comment and the admissions officer sees it as PA you can guarantee you're not getting what you want, or at least you'll have to wait until they're done with everything else first.

Ah sorry, my page hadn't updated! I'm so glad it's sorted OP!

I usually resend with a covering note saying something like

"resending as not sure if this landed in your spam filter".

You may wish to add a line about needing a response at their earliest convenience, or give a deadline eg end of Friday this week.

Sorry should have read the whole thread. But may be useful advice for someone else!

Coolcool if it’s a problem you’re coming up against at work then clearly you know who some of these people are who are getting away with it?

It was a rhetorical question..

Glad its sorted, you were probably light relief for them!

I would do and have done this

Thanks all. I think in my current state I felt any covering email may have sounded ruder than the original. Usually I just put ‘just checking this email came through ok?’

And relax