Why can't people read?!

[auserna]

It's bad enough when an OP on MN says, "I'm widowed, in my 40s, with two children aged 3 and 5. I'm struggling to keep on top of the housework and can't afford to pay for a cleaner," and the first three replies say, "Why can't your DH do his share of the housework," then, "How old are your children? Can't they help?" and, "Why don't you get a cleaner?" but people who are actually answering emails as part of their job, especially if their job is specifically administration, should surely be able to register more than the first sentence! I am so fed up of sending emails with a few related queries - which I clearly number or put in separate paragraphs - and only getting an answer to the first one if I'm lucky.

I wrote to someone recently and, in a new paragraph said, "Separately, could you also advise on..." Totally ignored. And it was not a long email by any means.

Another was along the lines of, "Please could you let me know the procedure for reserving Meeting Room B on a Tuesday?" and the answer came back, "As advised in our staff guidelines, Meeting Room A can be booked on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

Anyone else find this? And find it infuriating? Or should I henceforth limit myself to one-sentence emails and words of one syllable or fewer?

Because humans are essentially pretty lazy.

I think sometimes people don’t answer all parts of a email because they can’t be bothered, or because they don’t know but don’t want to say so.

Try bullet pointing, it's the written equivalent of replying through gritted teeth 🙃

Yes. All the time.

The worst are those who email me back with my name spelt incorrectly (at least 50% of responses). FFS it is at the end of the email and in my email address. Is it really that difficult to look to make sure you're spelling the name right?

You're probably right, but do they think people are just going to say to themselves, "Oh well, I didn't really need the answer to the second, third or fourth questions in my email; just the first is quite sufficient"? Surely it takes more effort in the long run to answer three subsequent separate, and slightly irritable, emails?

I did say in the OP (!!!!) that I often use numbered lists, which is surely virtually the same as bullet points.

Yes. I hate it when an OP categorically states something and a poster says 'why don't you just do the thing you categorically stated you are not able to do, that I just couldn't be arsed to read, as I think I have the perfect solution to the opposite of what your problem is'

And when you correct them they STILL get it wrong!

Yep! Just seen it on another thread - op says they have a child but someone replies ‘thank god you don’t have kids with him’

mumsnet is optional - why are you so desperate to answer people without actually reading their take

on the work one - this is a tactic people use to get out of doing work. They spend more time doing this than it would take to do the work. But they are hoping you will ask someone else or figure it out yourself

I've actually had this today OP. Over the weekend we needed to have a look at our house insurance policy, but because we tend to buy through a broker, details always arrive via email, and I'm reluctant to print everything off, so usually just save it on my computer.

Anyway, when I looked for it I couldn't find it, so we rang our bank who said that they couldn't give us any information about it, but told us the name of the insurance company (one of the big ones), and said to give them a call. My DH couldn't get through, so we sent a note explaining that we had spoken to our bank, who had referred us to them, but having lost the original emails, we didn't have any policy documentation, however, I gave our address so that they could find the details that way.

This morning I received an email saying, 'Did you have a policy or quote reference number?'

I'm afraid I wrote rather a snippy letter back, pointing out that the first thing I'd said was that I didn't have any policy details, and had given our address, so surely they could find details from that, and if they couldn't we'd basically be in a real mess if the house burned down, as the insurance documents would likely go up in flames with it!

This afternoon, I received another email, saying that they don't have anything about a house insurance policy for our address on their system, and to contact our bank!!! Grrrr!

So basically that's not just one, but two companies, who cannot do their job properly, and I have a nasty feeling that our bank has taken the money, but not set up a policy. What a nightmare!!

It’s wild. I’ve noticed this.

Not enough people sense check things. I always have a good look through an email thread to make sure I know what's going on.

Probably takes me longer than others but at least I can respond to the customer thoroughly.

I used to work with someone who only answered the first query in an email. She did it because she tried to read and answer between clients (worked in a spa) and so she didnt ever concentrate.

And they always act so smug, like they've come up with some amazing clever idea 🙄

I get the best part of 500 emails a day and I am usually on video calls for 60% or upwards of my time. I’m also expected to be aware of every email that comes into my inbox and failing to have read one will result in firing squad (only semi joking).

With the best will in the world I sometimes skim read them. If someone has sent me a magnum opus and buried the lead five paragraphs in I am not going to get to it.

If an email has multiple points or asks it has to be bulleted. People are drowning in communication and most of our brains can’t digest a stream of consciousness like this.

I have noticed this recently too, in every day life. It's so frustrating!
I find myself wasting time re-wording emails to make them as simple and concise as possible to try and get the answer I need

Jammy dodgers and a cup of coffee.

So fucking annoying isn't it.
I sent my secretary an email saying please action this, will send original attachment encrypted separately now, sent the encrypted attachment 1 min later with please see previous email regarding actioning this.
Reply - why am I being sent this attachment. 🙃

Attention spans shortened by social media? It is frustrating though!

FFS.

Does my head in cause it just creates more work.

At my old job we were setting up a new system that automatically sent orders to our suppliers etc. (via their email address)

But it was typed into th system incorrectly. It was missing the '@' symbol. It took a week to sort it and multiple emails because nobody was reading them properly!

First they kept asking what was wrong with the address, then asking me why i could not change it. ( i didnt have admin access). It went to the guys who set up the system, to my managers back to me. All for a missing symbol 🫣

42

I agree.

Let me amend my reply to ‘humans are essentially lazy and also unable to see the long-term benefits of harder work in the short term’. 🤣

I work for a bunch of people who earn well but appear functionally illiterate. Drives me mad.

I ain't reading all that

Happy for you though

Or sorry that happened

Thanks for the solidarity/empathy. It drives me demented, too. I recently had to email four times to make a simple schedule change, and after all that I arrived to find the room I was meant to use had been double booked. (And no, I had not caused the confusion by changing timings - the room was still required for exactly the same period of the same day, but I needed to swap two clients' times.)