IM Convo of the Day: E-mail edition
Our teacher shared these e-mail with us today from a previous course he taught for undergrads at the University of Maryland. The initial e-mail was just to the team, but on the response, the professor was cc-ed. It his hilarious
Initial e-mail from the angry team member:
Well first things first:
I know you guys want to get this project done and believe me so do I… I havent said anything thus far, but you all are startin to piss me off…
I dont appreciate you all talkin all this shit about me… “ooh I still havent gotten the write ups from name removed yet… ” blah blah blah…
Well fu__ excuse me… Im sorry if I have a job… Im sorry if I also have
an internship… Im sorry if I dont have anytime to sleep, Im sorry if i
have a life… I had to study for the int’l business test when i got home from work last
nite but oh… maybe i shouldnt of studied so I could of done this diaper*
Sh__.Maybe I should fu___ quit my job, quit everything so I can do these diaper*
reports whenever you guys want them done. Nevermind anyone else’s schedule… if you say it has to be done then it has to be done right?The shXX aint do til the end of the semester, we werent gonna meet until tomorrow anyway, so whats the big fuc___ deal whether my sh__ was done last nite or today… were still way ahead of everyone else is class…but I guess you guys cant help it… im just not an ass kisser like you guys… i dont think theres anymore room on Wellman’s ass for you to kiss…
i know you guys were gonna write bad shit about me n e way when we do the group evaluations… so XXck it, i have nothing to lose. so dont worry, you will get your shit.i will get it done so chill the __uk out.
*This all revolved around a project on diapers or something but I thought at first he was just saying it for effect and it added to my laughter. I’m going to start saying “diaper” more often
The response from a team member:
Your comments have been taken into consideration. Speaking the truth is not “talking shXX.” Giving your “team” members updates is not “shXX talking.”
We had a deadline, everyone agreed to it. You mentioned no conflicts so don’t complain that we are being too hard on you. Everyone else has jobs, relationships, and alot of things to do. I would rather chip away at this project than get slammed in the end. Many people I have talked to have ill functioning groups or they do not know all of the things we have to do for the project.
I suspect you think the project just compiles itself and people don’t spend upwards of 3 hours at 6am on Saturday morning formatting, footnoting, cutting, pasting, and burning CD-Rs.
Next time bring your cowardly comments to my face.
The final e-mail, his reply
OK, where do I begin?
Well, first of all, I just want to throw in my two cents about the
situation. I’m not blaming anyone, but I’m just letting you guys know that I felt. I felt that we were not all on the same page, and I think that contributed to some of the frustration that I was feeling. The miscommunication also played a role. I felt as if everyone was waiting for me to get my parts done and because of that, I felt that maybe everyone was thinking that I wasn’t trying to do anything, and that I didn’t care. But I am…and I do…I’m glad that we all had a talk this morning because now I feel that we are
all on the same page. I think we were able to clear up some
misunderstandings, and get everything out in the open. Better late than
never I guess…With that being said, I would like to agree that my outburst was uncalled
for. There was a lot of unvented frustrations in that now infamous email
…so without further adieu, read on…name removed — you were right, it was totally uncalled for and no one deserves to be talked to like that. I know you are doing a lot of work, and I really appreciate all that you are doing. There are a couple people in our class that have expressed to me that they wished they were in our group because of you. The majority of my frustrations was directed towards you. I think it was just more of the nonverbal aspects that made it seem like you were talking down to me.
name removed — to you I feel like I owe the biggest apology. Not just to you, but to your entire family. I honestly did not know that your email address was a family email address. And when you told me that your family is a strict Christian family, and that your mother read the email over dinner made me feel horrible. And for that I am sorry. Tell your mother and your father that I am truly sorry to disrespect them and for disrespecting you as well. And I also really appreciate all the effort that you have put forth into this project.
I know everyone is doing their work and I know everyone is doing a great job. So I hope this email will help clear the air between all of us, so that we can do what we have to do.
I try to remain as laid back as possible, but every once in a while, my frustrations can get the better of me. I don’t want you guys to think like I’m a thug, that I don’t care about school, that I think I’m this or that. I do care about my grades… I mean believe it or not but I have a 3.65 GPA. That might be minuscule compared to what you guys have, but for me, I think its great…