ProZ.com Translation Forums

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Wrong recipient and forgotten attachments

Lorenzo Lilli — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 12:56:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Lorenzo Lilli
Post title: Wrong recipient and forgotten attachments

Once I pressed "Reply" instead of "Forward". Nothing terribly embarrassing, the recipient just said "it's ok", no big deal. And yes, I sometimes forget attachments, but hey, it seems that virtually everybody does :)

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | A couple of them

Estefanía González — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 12:16:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Estefanía González
Post title: A couple of them

I have sent emails without the corresponding attachments. Fortunately I have always realised my mistake immediately, so the email with the missing attachment has always followed suit shortly afterwards.

And my favourite mistake: I once sent a client’s invoice to the wrong recipient. Fortunately the wrong recipient was my boyfriend ;-)

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | wrong recipient

Silvina Matheu — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:47:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Silvina Matheu
Post title: wrong recipient

Definitely! I did it once, sent a message exactly to the wrongest person in the world, and will never forget it! I've never got a reply.

S :)

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | wrong recipient

Catalina Connon — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 11:13:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Catalina Connon
Post title: wrong recipient

Sending a poem to a school headmaster instead of my brother! And receiving the reply: Could you enlighten me?

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | wrong wording

Valentina_D — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:02:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Valentina_D
Post title: wrong wording

My best customer has many PMs of different nationalities. So they write me e-mails in a variety of languages (EN, DE, ES, IT) and I reply using the same language they use in their e-mail. So far, so good.
One day I received an e-mail from one of their German PMs asking me if I was available for a project. As I was very busy at that time, I had to turn it down, saying (in German) that I was 'full' (of work). Unfortunately, my German wording sounded something like I was 'full of alcohol'!
I then managed to make a joke out of it, but still it was
really, really embarassing!
:-(

[Edited at 2007-06-07 12:01]

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Wrong recipient

casey — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 08:16:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: casey
Post title: Wrong recipient

At my last job, my co-worker once sent me an e-mail telling me how frustrating the client was. She came over to my desk and said, "Did you get my e-mail?" I said, "No, what e-mail?" So she went back and checked her Sent folder and realized she had pressed "Reply" instead of "Forward"! The client actually took it in stride. They said, "It's okay. We realize what a hassle this job is." Amazingly, they stayed with us even after that e-mail. :)

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | The wrong Fredrik

Clare Barnes — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 08:06:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Clare Barnes
Post title: The wrong Fredrik

I have a long-standing client who tends to send job requests at any hour of the day or night, so I sent him (or I thought I did) a little note saying something along the lines of: "I'm available most evenings or any time on Thursday or Friday" with no further explanation. I didn't realise my mistake until I received a reply from a different Fredrik saying "Oh. Thanks for telling me." He was obviously too embarrased to point out my mistake - I had no reasong to be sending the wrong man messages that could be interpreted as, well, inviting - so I wrote a quick mail back, blushing furiously, to say sorry, completely wrong person, that it was my availability for work and nothing else. To complicate things even more, the "wrong" Fredrik's brother is a client of mine. Fortunately he has a great sense of the ridiculous, so I decided to get there first and just tell him that if his brother happens to mention that I'm not backwards at being forward and that I have terrible e-mail skills, only half of that is true... All worked out well in the end, but it took me a while to live it down!

[Edited at 2007-06-07 08:08]

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Other: sending from a humorous e-mail address...

megane_wang — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:23:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: megane_wang
Post title: Other: sending from a humorous e-mail address...

Yes, that was my best one!

Years ago the IT responsible of my company and me were joking about some new austerity rules just set in the company.

We needed a fake e-mail for some testing and created a hotmail-style address from a guy called: "Austeritat Infinita" which means "Infinite Austerity".

We did some testing for a while and then I sent a serious and BIG-rated proposal to my best customer. I forgot to switch my user in the e-mail client, so that they received it from.... "Infinite Austerity"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After I recovered from panic shock I called them just to warn that there had been a mistake...

... and, well: they are STILL my customers... AND they are still laughing at that :D (phew!)

Ruth @ MW

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Erm...

Colin Ryan (X) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:16:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Colin Ryan (X)
Post title: Erm...

[quote]Jenny Forbes wrote:

[quote]ryancolm wrote:

I once wrote an email to an ex-girlfriend and, daydreaming a little, I started writing a few things in the email that, erm, "might have been" had we stayed together. I intended to delete these sentences before I actually sent the email.

You already know how this story ends...
[/quote]

No I don't know how it ends. "Reader, I married her" perhaps?
Jenny.
[/quote]

Reader, I didn't marry her.
Colm

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | I sent the last draft version, not the final version of a translated academic article

Buzzy — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 07:09:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Buzzy
Post title: I sent the last draft version, not the final version of a translated academic article

And my dear trusting client sent it straight on to submit for publication!
I realised before she did, told her immediately of course - not an enoyable feeling - and guess who had to phone America to beg for indulgence and permission to send on the correct file (by this time of course the submission deadline had passed). I don't think the journal accepted the article.
BUT the client has since given me more work... which goes to show that even a disaster doesn"t necessarily lose you a client. I still think I was lucky though, and am more careful with naming files and versions now!

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Another

Parrot — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 22:14:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Parrot
Post title: Another

Automatically replying to a client when the anti-virus has clearly marked his message "SPAM" :D

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Only with the help of Google, I'm afraid!

Nesrin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 22:10:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Nesrin
Post title: Only with the help of Google, I'm afraid!

[quote]Jenny Forbes wrote:

"Reader, I married her" perhaps?
Jenny.
P.S. Who can identify that quotation? [/quote]

[url removed]

:-)
Found it even though the original is slightly different!

[Edited at 2007-06-06 22:17]

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Well I don't

Jennifer Forbes — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:57:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Jennifer Forbes
Post title: Well I don't

[quote]ryancolm wrote:

I once wrote an email to an ex-girlfriend and, daydreaming a little, I started writing a few things in the email that, erm, "might have been" had we stayed together. I intended to delete these sentences before I actually sent the email.

You already know how this story ends...
[/quote]

No I don't know how it ends. "Reader, I married her" perhaps?
Jenny.
P.S. Who can identify that quotation?

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | the fight with my boyfriend that my managing editor ...

Patricia Rosas — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:17:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Patricia Rosas
Post title: the fight with my boyfriend that my managing editor ...

definitely did NOT want to hear about!

I was so hurt and upset, and I poured it all out in an email to my good friend, Kathy K; when I put in the addressee, it went to my managing editor, Kathy H.

Fortunately, Kathy H. took a very motherly approach to the whole thing and was very supportive. But even now (15 years later?), I can feel my cheeks turning RED just remembering this horrible experience.

Great poll question!

PS I've also made all the other boo-boos!

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Wrong sender

Margreet Logmans (X) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:12:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Margreet Logmans (X)
Post title: Wrong sender

I have more than one e-mail account; one for private matters, one for business.

Twice now, I've sent a friend of mine an e-mail that was signed: M. Logmans, Translation Services

I'm happy to say - AFAIK - that I've never sent a client a message from my personal account, but it might just happen some day. Hope it won't, but you never know.

Margreet

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Definitely!

Rafa Lombardino — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 19:15:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Rafa Lombardino
Post title: Definitely!

[quote]Virginie L wrote:

It may enter the "written when sleepy" category, but I've been known to send emails without the promised documents attached... Definitely a "oops" factor, even if I often realise my mistake before anyone calls or sends another email asking me for the documents! :D

[/quote]

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Reply all

David Russi — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 18:12:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: David Russi
Post title: Reply all

Meaning to comment in private to one person only... bad scene.

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | You won

Claudia Alvis — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:53:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Claudia Alvis
Post title: You won

[quote]ryancolm wrote:

I once wrote an email to an ex-girlfriend and, daydreaming a little, I started writing a few things in the email that, erm, "might have been" had we stayed together. I intended to delete these sentences before I actually sent the email.

You already know how this story ends...
[/quote]

:)

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | I can beat all of you...

Colin Ryan (X) — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:33:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Colin Ryan (X)
Post title: I can beat all of you...

I once wrote an email to an ex-girlfriend and, daydreaming a little, I started writing a few things in the email that, erm, "might have been" had we stayed together. I intended to delete these sentences before I actually sent the email.

You already know how this story ends...

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Accidentally sending an unfinished message...

Ivette Camargo López — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:07:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Ivette Camargo López
Post title: Accidentally sending an unfinished message...

Hi Nesrin/all,

I have also goofed with some (if not all) of the options included in the poll, but one of my sporadic ones is hitting by mistake the Send button before having finished writing the message.

I use Eudora as my email program, so even though the Send button is not really close to the other buttons, somehow I have managed to hit it by accident more than once.

And btw, Viktoria's anecdote about "Fear Venus" is hillarious, lol! It's as if typos were sometimes almost like Freudian slips...

Best,

Ivette

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | My biggest email blunder...

Claudia Alvis — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:01:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Claudia Alvis
Post title: My biggest email blunder...

is not included as an option:

"Dear Xxx, Please review the attachment...", and of course there's no attachment anywhere on the email. It used to happen quite often, but now I add a list of all documents attached at the bottom of the email, even if it's just one document.

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | No attachments

Ivana de Sousa Santos — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:55:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Ivana de Sousa Santos
Post title: No attachments

It happened yesterday when applying to companies and today with a client. I usually forget to attach the documents. :S

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Sent the wrong invoice

Jennifer Forbes — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:26:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Jennifer Forbes
Post title: Sent the wrong invoice

[quote]ProZ.com Staff wrote:

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What was your biggest email blunder?".

This poll was originally submitted by Nesrin

View the poll here

A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: [url removed] [/quote]

I once sent a client another client's invoice - I'd done two jobs on the same day - not serious and soon rectified, but perhaps not a good idea to reveal who else one is working for and at what rate.
Regards,
Jenny.

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Wrong language!

Iris Shalev — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:00:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Iris Shalev
Post title: Wrong language!

I once wrote an email applying to a Dutch translation agency, advocating myself and my work, and attaching the translation test and CV that they had asked for - all in English.

Only when it was too late I realised my mistake. It didn't make me look good as a translator into Dutch! They never even replied me, and I can't blame them...

Iris.

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Embarrassing "Reply" instead of "Forward"

Nesrin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:45:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Nesrin
Post title: Embarrassing "Reply" instead of "Forward"

I once meant to forward a client's email to a colleague, with my own comments on it, but instead managed to make a double mistake, first by clicking reply instead of forward, then sending it off before replacing the client's email with my colleague's! It could have been much more embarrassing if I had slagged the client off, but luckily I was quite polite about them and my comments were very harmless, so the client accepted my apology. But I was still mortified by the thought of what could have happened.
This would never happen with good old-fashioned snail mail!

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Outlook 2003

Riccardo Schiaffino — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:14:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Riccardo Schiaffino
Post title: Outlook 2003

Way to slow - I should never have upgraded from Outlook 2000.

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Sent wrong attachment

Attila Piróth — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:10:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Attila Piróth
Post title: Sent wrong attachment

My ISP's webmail had some bug, so I did not realize that the file sent in the previous mail was also attached to the mail I was writing. I just saw it when I clicked on the "send" button. I immediately tried to unplug my computer - but it was too late of course. Nevertheless I could quickly send another mail explaining the situation, so the attachment was deleted before opening.
Missing attachments can be easily re-sent. This kind of mistake, just as Nicholas's, is much more embarassing.
Attila

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | I attached the source file instead of the translated file...

Rajan Chopra — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:04:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Rajan Chopra
Post title: I attached the source file instead of the translated file...

and this caused a great deal of inconvenience to my client as I was not in a position to access my computer immediately to send her the translation because I was out of station.

Poll: What was your biggest email blunder? | Forwarded too much info

Nicholas Ferreira — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:39:00 +0000

Forum: Poll Discussion
Topic: Poll: What was your biggest email blunder?
Poster: Nicholas Ferreira
Post title: Forwarded too much info

One of the clumsiest mistakes I made was forwarding an e-mail to someone without erasing the message that came below mine. Needless to say, an awkward situation ensued, with the recipient having some not-so-nice information that was not intended for him to read.

From then on I have tried to follow the advice: don't write or say anything about anyone that you would not say in their presence. Because with e-mail, there is increasingly greater possibility of that private note becoming a little too public!