Lessons of E-mail: How do we stay out of trouble?

Gosh, I hope I never make this mistake again. A few years ago, I sent a smart aleck e-mail about an irritating co-worker to a friend and actually sent it to the irritating one instead. It felt good for a second to send that e-mail but it took many days for the embarassment to wear off every time I passed him in the hall. So I now 1) at least look twice at the to category or more importantly 2) don't send those types of e-mails anymore. So here are a few other things I've learned:
* Use good grammar. Make it easier for any recipient to read your message. No capitalization, bad punctuation, missing words slows the reader down.
* Take a break when you receive a stinging message. Maybe the sender didn't mean it the way it came across. Respond with just the facts or better yet, go talk to them in person.
* Don't write in all caps. Ever.
* Keep font easy to read.
* Try not to reply all to everyone if only one person needs to know.
* De-tweak the tweaking cc. You can cc the boss every time somebody doesn't "do right." Your boss will appreciate it in the beginning. But when your co-workers hesitate about talking with you or worse, working with you, you lose.
Here are two articles with tips.
E-mail ettiquette
Top 20 Rules of Most Important Rules of E-mail Ettiquette
What are your thoughts on e-mail rules?

Twitter reminds us of the power of social media

It's a little bit of an old story, but.. CNN reported that an American student used Twitter to get his translator freed from Egyptian authorities. He first used Twitter to free himself. He was able to send a one-word blog post "Arrested" from his cell phone through Twitter and all of his friends were alerted.
Check out the story here.

Things you don't want to hear car salesmen say

Over the next couple of weeks I'm continuing my search for another car. Today I went to three dealerships looking for a decent used car. I saw a 2004 granny Concorde with 33,000 miles out the door for around $8,000. A 2002 Liberty Jeep Limited Edition for $8,000. It looks great, so I'm wondering what the catch is. And, I drove a 2001 Honda Civic LX with a sour milk smell and torn floorboard carpet priced at $8,000 out the door. Walking in with old jeans, hooded sweatshirt, no makeup or jewelry and a little bit of a baby cougar attitude, here are a few things I never want to hear a salesman say again:

- So, what do you consider a large monthly payment? (Hint: Never say what you want to pay per month. Those turkeys will figure a way to get more money out of you playing with interest rates. Focus on the bottom line and then tell them you're getting your loan at the credit union.)
-"Why don't you take that $8,000 and use it as a downpayment and then your monthly payments will be really small." (ha ha)
- "Follow me." (They lead you to the back of the used car section to the cars they think you can afford.)
-"That's all in." (That's their best offer so if it's not good enough, you get all out of there.)
- "We don't even give our employees those prices."
- "We're only making $150 on this deal. I'm being honest." (No, you're not.)
- "My manager says I can only go this low." (I'm going to see if the manager across the street will go lower.)

Tips
So, for car salesmen and the rest of us that sell anything, from ideas to boats, check out these links for customer service tips:
-Customer Service Tips and Techniques
- The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service
- Customer Service Tips and Advice

P.S. Thank you Andrew for letting me scoot around to the dealerships and work in your awesome truck.

Revised: When sales people call and you wish they hadn't

In honor of blog guru Kevin Dugan's hosted blog on the writing process -- I revised a post from last week for fun. I still think I could edit more...
Revised blog:
I wonder if I am doing something wrong. I get these messages:

* "Yes, Wendy. I'm just following up after the (huff) voice mail I left last week (huff) and the e-mail I sent the week before about the media tracking service we can you. Please call me back. (last huff)"

* "Wendy! I've left two voice messages and at least one e-mail about Summer Games, that you guys have going on. We really need to get started on the copy so we can get on air in time." (This message comes after an ad was already on air on a different station.)

Printers call to see if we need something printed. Radio ad sales people call to see what events we have coming up. At least two people call every day wanting me to spend some of our organization's money with them. I also write and edit newsletters, our Web site, pitch ideas to media, plan marketing for our events and program growth and write grants. And I don't have time to help them figure out how they can help me.

What do you do when someone leaves a message (so glad we have caller ID now) about a service he wants to tell you about? Do you call him back and say, thanks but no thanks? So Or, do you ignore him? (That's what I do)



Also, speaking of dealing with sales people. I'm getting ready to buy another car. Got any tips for how to get a good deal, other than bring a male shark negotiator?

Happy place - Anything to get you back to a positive personal brand

Anytime I feel like shooting off a terse e-mail to someone, I like to look at sweet pictures of animals, like this one. Unfortunately, I just came across this photo.

Personal brand

Personal brands and work e-mail etiquette work together. I try to present myself as a serious, no BSer, a feisty yet compassionate idea person, non-tattle teller, competent, a cheerleader and helper. So when I'm challenged through e-mail, I have to take a quick walk and respond in short, factual and helpful statements, or speak to the person directly. We're taught not to engage in e-mail wars, ever. More tips here.

Delete the tweaking cc'ing.

But I have participated in the tweaking cc'ing game. Read what it means here for the sender and the recipient. I have received negative feedback where a superior was cc'd. I made edits and cc'd everyone too. I wanted everyone to know it was OK. But, no I missed something again. And a superior was cc'd again on another e-mail letting me know something still wasn't right. This can go on for a while if you're not careful. And being a goof-ball was not part of my brand. In a do-over, I would have just e-mailed the sender.

It's our brand that counts the most.

In public relations, we prep ourselves to present an idea, a company, a person, a group, an organization in the best light possible. We should do this for ourselves, as well, including our appearance, our work ethic and how we treat others. Read more about personal brands.

What do you do if someone challenges you to an e-mail war?

Don't yell: a customer service no-brainer

I can't believe I have to say this. No matter how mad a customer makes you, DO NOT pitch a fit. My friend at Curry Honda in Atlanta had a run-in with his temperament this week.
At the car dealership
I went to Curry Honda after totalling my new beautiful 2007 silver Honda Civic EX. We got a good deal last summer, so I went back to the same place for another one. I mistakenly told him about the accident and I wanted to buy another car from him, thinking the deal would be even better this time. I signed the paperwork, drove the car out, and planned to come back about financing. Hint: do your financing before you get to the dealership. Basically, we went back and forth about cost issues. The salesman told me one thing over the phone to get me back to the dealership and when I got there, he gave me another figure and said that was the only option. They had made a mistake. No kidding.
So I brought the car back to the dealership and here's how the misbehavior unfolded:
I gave him the keys and thanked him for the test-drive. He said, “What? Why? What happened Wendy?!” I pointed my finger at him and said, “Because you lied to me! You don’t respect your customers.” I walked through the parking lot hoping my ride would hurry. Then he yelled like a school bully. “What, is that all you’re going to say?! You're going to leave it like that! After all the time I spent on you!” He saw his commission disappear.
You don't care about them.
I turned around and yelled back, “I don’t care about you!” I walked away headed toward the driveway area. He followed me. "Wendy! Well, I can call to see if I can get you a lower interest rate. I told him no and that I was going elsewhere. Then my ride pulled up. Thank God. By this time I was standing really close to the road and I hopped into her car.
Dear sales people, for heaven's sake, you don't have to be fair. But please don't be scary!
Get ready.
Friends, learn how car salesmen are trained. Click here for a horror story. Click here for another one.

Note: Thank you to my co-worker and friend Jennifer for following me to the dealership and driving me home.

Happy Birthday Dad

Sunday was my Dad's birthday. After I sang to him, he laughed and told me he got half off his breakfast at the Golden Corrale. He was a senior citizen now. He laughed again and said Mom had to pay full price. He said he's going to get all kind of good deals now. And he deserves it and more.

My Dad

My Dad worked 30 years in a paper mill for 12 hour days and on many swing shifts for our family. He encouraged my brother (who's a successful lawyer) and I to go to college and do anything we wanted. He taught me how to fight if someone tried to abduct me before I started high school; how to balance my checkbook; how to play third base and catch; check the oil in my car; and how to be calm in a crisis. He was the first person who taught me to focus on ability. I'm thankful that Dad shared with me his passion to make everything we can that's good inclusive to everyone.

Beauty doesn't always fade

The picture above was taken at my brother's wedding at Oak Island, where my parents now live. Yes, I know, my dad is handsome and he is going to kill me when he finds out I put his picture on the Internet. Yes, similar to the children of Paul Newman, Michael Douglas, I have a good looking dad, who just became a "senior citizen."

Happy belated-birthday Dad. (The card's in the mail.)

People relations: When they call and you wish they hadn't

I'm finally in a work position where people are selling me ideas. (And I do a lot of idea-selling too, by the way.) Printers call to see if we can pay them to print a program book. Radio ad sales people call to see what events we have coming up that they can help us with. At least two people call every day wanting me to spend some of our organization's money with them. Media buys of any kind are a small part of my job. I also write and edit newsletters, our Web site, pitch ideas to media, plan marketing for our events and program growth and write grants. And I don't have time to help them figure out how they can help me.

I call them if we need ads, media clippings, printing. So my question is, what do you do when someone leaves a message (so glad we have caller ID now) about a service he wants to tell you about? Do you call him back and say, thanks but no thanks? So he doesn't think you're looking for a project for him? Or, do you ignore him? (That's what I do.) Doesn't everyone?

Let me know what you do. Because I'm starting to wonder if I'm doing something wrong, because I get these types of messages on second and third tries after I don't return the call.

* "Yes, Wendy. I'm just following up after the (huff) voice mail I left (another huff) last week and the e-mail I sent the week before about the media tracking service we can you. Please call me back. (last huff)"

* "Wendy! I've left two voice messages and at least one e-mail about Summer Games, that you guys have going on. We really need to get started on the copy so we can get on air in time." (This message comes after an ad was already on air on a different station.)

Also, speaking of dealing with sales people. I'm getting ready to buy another car. Got any tips for how to get a good deal, other than bring a male shark negotiator?

Well, he must not be a klutz

Oh, I wish I had my camera! When I was at Oak Island, NC, I saw my favorite business sign: Terry Klutz Construction. It has been up for at least the last 20 years. Word moves pretty quick when a construction company isn't up to snuff on the small heavily residential island, so somehow, Klutz must have defied the odds of having a negative name. After all, who wants a house built buy a klutz? How easy it would be to have an injured reputation with only a few mistakes. Their work and service must be outstanding even with the kooky name. Can you hear the insults? It's just too easy. Those Klutz's are brave souls. No Web site either.

Here's a do's and don't list I found for coming up with a business name at About.com: Retailing :
- Do make it easy to understand, spell and pronounce.
- Don't use negative sounding words. (But it works!)
- Do consider where your business will fall in an alphabetical list such as the yellow pages.
- Don't limit your product line by choosing a name that won't represent all you do.
- Do create a name you can stand behind. (Talk about the need to go above and beyond your name.)
- Don't use a strictly generic term, such as 'discount office supply' which cannot be protected as trademarks.
- Do be creative and imaginative. (Klutz's, you didn't even have to try. Gold.)

Here's another another site PowerHomeBiz.com that helps businesses come up with names.

What can ruin a reputation, of course, is service. Here are a couple of blogs that talk about it:
- BL Ochman's whatnextblog.com.
- Techdirt blog

Still in search of a practitioner's PR 2.0 book

Deirdre Breakenridge's PR 2.0 New Media, New Tools, New Audiences came out in March trying to reach three audiences: academicians who need theory and history; PR old timers and newbies with some knowledge of how to use the internet in PR but need to catch up. And that was almost an impossible job. I was looking for more concrete examples and a practitioner's how-to. Those items were scrapped for the sake of the book becoming a "PR on the Internet" textbook. I skimmed through the history for helpful to-do list type items, or at least an example of what a social media release looks like. And some programs advocated are to expensive for our nonprofit budget.


Below are just a few tips I found useful in the first half of PR 2.0:

Even if you're a small company, you can afford to do research

- Research resources before a big campaign for small companies are:
http://www.highbeam.com/, http://www.cornerbarpr.com/, http://www.websurveyor.com/, http://www.surveymonkey/, http://www.surveygold.com/, http://www.mediamap.com/, http://www.usprwire.com/, http://www.clickpress.com/, http://www.sbwire.com/, http://www.marketwire.com/.

Big companies, lucky you, plenty of resources lie at your feet

-Research resources for larger companies where you can find either a database of media types, see who grabs your releases or see how your news fits in the world: http://www.hovers.com/, http://www.cision.com/, http://www.vocus.com/, http://www.prnewswire.com/, http://www.burrellesluce.com/, http://www.harrisinteracitve.com/

For everyone's online newsrooms


- Make an interactive newsroom by: adding RSS feeds, photo libraries with high resolution images, MP3 files or a podcast, video footage for Video-On-Demand, links to previous coverage on a topic with the ability to use del.icio.us or http://www.digg.com/ for social bookmarking (BTW-how do you do that?); use Technorati, which searches and organizes blogs and tracks how blogs are linked together while recording the relevance of the links to your subject matter.

More on beefing up your newsroom . . .

-In your news releases online and in your online newsroom: cut and paste links from your Web site directly into your social media template (release) including links to sites with photos, bios of management team, white papers or research studies, video clips, past or recent publicity discussing the topic, your company, or quoting an executive, groups that have similar perspectives on a topic, other Web sites that are useful to your topic and again, links directly to del.icio.us or Digg for journalists and bloggers to bookmark info. Good luck to me and whoever else doesn't know how to use del.icio.us or Digg yet.


You can get a copy on Amazon.com.





If you wrote a how-to book for PR 2.0, what tips would you include?