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?

Not sure whether that's addressed to me, but you're under no obligation to read everything written on the internet, or even everything written on Mumsnet.

Yes, I have an ongoing gripe with my doctors. To get an appointment you have to fill in a triage form where you have to answer: what is the problem/how long have you had it/what have you tried so far to resolve it/have you previously contacted us about it?

This is their form which they have presumably designed and yet I swear no one reads beyond the first sentence. Typically they come back and ask you a question that you've already answered (e.g. I said that I'd been to see my dentist and they told me it wasn't an oral health issue and that I should consult my GP, and the response was "we suggest you see your dentist")

The reason is that administrative work involving detail is very hard, but it was typically done by women so it's seen as very easy and requiring no skills or brainpower. Many places don't employ enough admin staff and if they do have admin staff they don't train them - because it's a 'low skill' job.

I have had this with British Gas after trying to close my mums account after she died. I have explained she is dead, he has seen her death certificate, i have explained who i am and my name several times and each time he addresses it to dear Mrs dead mum name.

I reply stating i am x .. mrs Dead mums name is dead, next email.. Dear Mrs Dead mums name.
This has been going on since September, and am still no closer to having it dealt with, and this apparently is the specialist bereavement team!

Yes, I am coming across this more and more. Our company was a client of another company. I had to email them to resolve a relatively simple issue. First email outline the issue, the actions taken and what the company needed to do to resolve the issue at their end. Bullet points and four paragraphs with a couple of lines.

It took months as no one fully read the email and kept going round in circles requesting more information . If it was not in the first line then they just emailed back looking for info two paragraphs down.

All of the above, and the dogged persistence of those who insist on clinging on to their own incorrect spelling names frequently seen in print, e.g., Raynor (Rayner), Chelsy Davy (Chelsey, or Chelsea, Davey).

Maddening. I'm in the process of trying to resolve what should be an exceptionally simple issue (arguably something that is so straightforward it should happen automatically) and so far it's taken four trips to the surgery, two telephone appointments (which didn't happen), a phone call, a message on the NHS app, and two emails.

I think there's a lot of truth in that, although it's also often the case than even simple admin gets totally fucked up.

Isn't it compulsory to misspell someone's name when starting a thread about them?
Harry & Megan, Kier Starmar, Angela Raynor...

Bullet points and numbered lists are your friend.

"Could you please provide the following information:

1. What is your nam?
2. What is your quest?
3. What is your favouite volour?"

The first sentence sets the exoextation, the layout then leads the eye.

That is appalling. I mean if they can't even get that right, what is the point of them?!

As I mentioned in a previous response, I said in the OP that I do use numbered lists. The irony is strong...

And the other thing that really pisses me off is when people expect you to decipher garbage because they can't be bothered to carry out even the most cursory proofread (even of the title of their OP).

Nam? Volour?? Exoextation???

YES! Reading comprehension is a massive, massive issue I’ve noticed the past 10/15 years. Especially so in the last year. I’ve nearly posted about it myself.
Did schools stop teaching it for a while? My DD (primary) has entire lessons on reading comprehension in her school, thankfully.

Oh it gets worse, mum was on a pre payment credit meter. When we handed her keys back to the housing association she had £77 in credit on it.
All they have to do is send a cheque for £77 to be paid into her estate.

So far i have had 3 bills from them. The last one saying she owed them £462?!?
According to them it is from a meter reading ?? even though it is in a locked garage in a empty property and how can she have been in credit all her life on a prepayment meter, and now owe money??

Before Christmas they said to ignore bill, that they knew it was wrong - all 3 of them apparently and to wait for a email, but please be aware that they would need to look at the meter (the one showing £77 in credit to make sure she doesn't owe them and they have had multiple photos of, and billing history with shows she never even went into emergency credit )

a further 4 emails we are now back to where we stated with Dear Mrs Dead name, please confirm date of death

The person who currently runs our GP surgery’s e-consult triage system does this.

I fill the whole damn thing out meticulously yet economically - I know they’re busy. This includes my regular medications, and all treatments I have used for the current issue. A couple of photos, pithy captions.

However, the first message of reply last time I submitted an e-consult was, ‘what meds you on for it?’

It has to be social media related.

It takes me back to Eric and Ernie doing a play what Ern wrote called ‘Monty on the Bonty’. Although I suppose they were actually aiming for comedy value.

This has GOT to be a deliberately ironic post, hasn't it?

You'd think, but I strongly suspect it isn't.

Have you tried numbering your lists OP?

I get this all the time at work and it's infuriating. Someone misspelled my name 7!! times last week in one email thread. Despite it being in my email sign off, and my email address actually being myname@ so it couldn't have been any clearer. I pointed it out to her politely and she still got it wrong twice more

The mind boggles

Nobody does it anymore, no one fully reads emails fully reads t+c's, read forms
What drives me so mad is vinted - they don't read the description or details
loading two items up yesterday someone makes an offer , then asks what size it is ? I am like its in the details 😑read it
Another one what material is it - i have listed in the details as well as shown a photo of the material and care label - Go back and fully read the listing
My own mother signs up for something, then a few months later is like why i am still paying for this every month, because mother when you siogned up you agreed to pay this amount every month - its in the t+cs you agreed to read them before you sign up 🙄

Solidarity OP, I hear you - and have diligently RTFT 😂

Extra solidarity for sadmin related hell. I've gad to navigate 4 close bereavements in 5 years, and the instinctive grieving process now comes with a clench of equally instinctive fear of bureaucratic fubar.

A minor one - insisting on keeping my late DP on the electoral roll despite multiple notifications he is no longer mortal. I gave up in the end, and may have said something snipoy about oyija boards - and of course it has ceased on moving.

Slightly more serious, my Dad had a PM as his end was not easy and there are still unresolved issues in my mind anyway.

I waited ages for the results, only to discover, after a polite and inquisitive phone call, that an error in my email address had caused it to keep bouncing back for weeks. Yet nobody thought to ring me to check.

Reading said PM, I was astonished to find a massive error. Think references to an organ being present and normal that had been removed due to severe illness, and that informed ongoing treatment, recorded all over his hospital notes. I had a brief moment of panic that it wasn't my Dad, although other details were right. I checked with the consultant at the hospital in case it was some bizarre personal Mandela Effect, then notified the coroners office.

To be fair I had a long sincerely apologetic phone call from a pathologist, and the culprit was a badly edited template. Lessons have hopefully been learned....

I came up against this just yesterday. Emailed “I would like to see a physical copy of x” and the reply was “do you want to see a physical copy of x?”
Maddening.

Well Shirley, the architect told me it'd all be finished by Tuesday.

Oh wait. Why can't people read? Dunno. In a rush, energy, reading skills, misreading a reply as the OP.

Incredible how many time I text or email a client with a question of two options, and they just glibly reply "Yes" without saying which option they want.

I sympathise. Does anyone remember doing "Comprehension" lessons at primary school in the 1980s? I used to think it was the most boring pointless lesson, but now I understand why we did it!