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How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

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Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#41

Post by thrown_22 »

cs137 wrote: post #24
aarghh wrote: post #21

I'd be tempted to respond with "Use your words, Jeff". But then I am a mere minion.

Unfortunately, people like us who respond to that sort of thing like a normal human (as opposed to a brainwashed corporate drone who lives in terror of the master's displeasure) tend not to do well in the corporate world. The trick of corporate survival, as observed in those who can actually hack it, is extreme compartmentalization. They become two people: one who watches the abuse from a distance as if it were happe…

Yes, this is called being professional. The idea that acting in a predictable and consistent manner is some form of abuse is bizarre.

To put it in engineering terms: I don't care about the amazingly rich data structure manipulations you're doing internally, I want the json api endpoint to have the same spec as it did yesterday.

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#44

Post by avidiax »

ivraatiems wrote: post #5

It's very common for companies to have an "executive support" organization entirely dedicated to dealing with customers who complain to executives. They often have power to do things and move pieces within different parts of the company in ways that nobody else does. I had this experience with Charter Spectrum. Among other things, they kept threatening to send me to collections for not returning equipment which I was…

Just did the same thing with Comcast. They let the future renter of my address take over the address and cancel my service a month in advance. Complained to the FCC and got a call from the executive customer service a couple of days later.

Still took multiple hours to resolve, but it was at least done right, not barely patched until I have to spend 2 hours on the phone again for the next incomplete patch.

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#45

Post by Rebelgecko »

cs137 wrote: post #23

Quoted post unavailable.

I think some aversion to certain social situations is part of the core human condition, not to be blamed on any particular socioeconomic system. I imagine that if email had existed in their times, a similar one from Thayendanegea, William The Conqueror, Jesus Christ, or Karl Marx himself would lead to similar consternation.

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#46

Post by hodgesrm »

yial wrote: post #40
sacrosancty wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure unsolicited business advice from a stranger really deserves a personal response, especially not five paragraphs of it!

Conversely, with smaller businesses, I once sent an email as a customer about a completely unusable pipeline for purchasing their product and how to fix it… it resulted in a job offer. Totally different scale and probably different scenario though. I was an executive level at my current company who really wanted their product(physical ) , but their pages were taking upwards of 3 minutes to load and erroring out the o…

That's a great way to hire people who care.

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#47

Post by thrown_22 »

cs137 wrote: post #23

Quoted post unavailable.

Corporations have a wonderful and easy way of measuring how much your time is worth.

Your salary.

If it costs less (salary * time) for you to decipher the cryptic email than it would cost (their salary * their time) for your bosses bosses ... boss to write a non-cryptic email then you deal with it.

This isn't kindergarten and it's not about your feelings.

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#48

Post by bombcar »

evan_ wrote: post #43

Allegedly Victor Hugo sent a telegram, which at the time charged by the letter, to his literary agent shortly after the publication of Les Misérables to inquire of its sales: ? The agent responded: !

Supposedly the story goes that in 1843, after annexing the Indian province of Sind, British General Sir Charles Napier sent home a one word telegram, "Peccavi" implying "I have Sind." Although apocryphal, it's still a great story.

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#49

Post by jle17 »

junofan wrote: post #36
bobbylarrybobby wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't even make sense. The sentence containing the quotation only ends when the quotation itself ends, not before. `print("abc)"`

It’s a tradition from the fixed-width font typewriter era IIRC. Quote mark followed by period looked bad because of all the whitespace.

I wish we would do away with those nonsense traditions. I tend to ignore them but some correction softwares don't like it. Especially since they are incoherent between languages with no good reasons. English wants the dot in the quotes, French wants a space before colons, yada yada

Re: How do you respond to a one-character email from your boss's boss's boss? (2018)

#50

Post by agiacalone »

sacrosancty wrote: post #35
cs137 wrote: post #23

Quoted post unavailable.

They probably want the money and reputation that Amazon gives them. They have that to lose. What you're saying could be applied to anything people do for their own interest. Taken to the extreme - Afraid of starving? Should have just died instead, then you wouldn't need to depend on food.

That’s a pretty steep slippery-slope there.
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