There are some buttons that just should not be pressed, except in rare occasions.
There are two of these on my Jeep: one is a manual override for the engine cooling fan – flipping this switch shuts it down if I ever find myself in really deep water so that water is not sprayed all over the sensitive bits of the engine. The down side of flipping this switch is that if it is left engaged too long the engine will explode. The other switch (will eventually) turn on incredibly bright/blinding spot lamps.
Both of these switches have a plastic cover over them which serves two vital purposes: 1. It physically prevents one from accidentally flipping the switch on and 2. makes one pause to think about the ramifications of what they are doing before flipping the switch, as you first have to move a protective cover out of the way.
I wish there was one of these covers on the “Reply To All” email button.
So here is my little PSA for the day . . . before clicking RTA . . . stop. . . . think . . . . ask, “Is my response so insightful and important that everyone needs to see it?”
Have you ever witnessed what happens when someone hits “Reply to all” when they clearly didn’t mean to?
It usually starts innocently enough. Someone mistakenly sends an email to hundreds of people when they intended it to only go to one person.
For example, Kathy, in Atlanta, errantly sends something like this to the entire sales force:
What time are we supposed to be on that call Friday?
She’s referring to a scheduled phone call with a local client, and she meant to ask only her coworker Steve.
John in Seattle is confused. He replies to all:
What call? I’m planning on being out of the office Friday.
Sam in New York is also confused:
Do I know you?
And Jane in Tampa accidentally makes things much worse:
I think it’s at 2:30
Unfortunately, Jane has a call scheduled at 2:30 for her regional office by coincidence. Now, many of the people who initially dismissed the emails are starting to wonder if there really is a call.
Tom in New York doubts himself:
Wait, is there really a company-wide call?
Mike in Seattle has had enough:
No, stop hitting reply to all.
Jim in Atlanta just got back from lunch:
Why am I getting all these emails?
Lisa jumps in to explain, thereby adding to the clutter:
I think the first person just accidentally hit reply to all. If there are phone calls, they are local only, so if you aren’t aware of one, don’t worry about it.
Peter in Los Angeles reads IHYJ and thinks this is hilarious. He wants it to continue:
The call Friday isn’t for everyone. If you don’t know about it, you weren’t invited.
Peter’s friend Joe in L.A. plays along:
Only people on target to hit quota were invited to the call.
Ray in Madison takes the bait:
I’m about to close a big deal. Who should I contact to see if I’m supposed to be on the call?
I think this happens about once a year in most large companies. The sporadic frequency, the varying types of emails: it is essentially an email meteor shower.
If you’re lucky enough to witness one, kick back and enjoy, my friend. There are few office phenomena as entertaining to witness in the corporate world.
