E-Mail Etiquette
Stop Committing Blunders,
Indiscretions, and Offenses!

By Tammy LeRoy

Today, e-mail communication is a fact of life for nearly everyone managing a business. When used properly, e-mail can save time and serve as an excellent marketing tool. When not used properly, however, e-mail can annoy, frustrate, and confuse the recipients. E-mail etiquette really boils down to one thing: good manners. Whatever protocol you chose to follow (or not follow) when e-mailing from your home computer is your business, but when sending e-mails in a business setting, there are hard and fast rules that apply.

Send, Reply, And Forward
One self storage operator recently received an e-mail sent out to 79 people with the addresses of every person on the list in plain view. Needless to say, she informed the sender that this form of communication is very unprofessional and that she wished to be removed from the e-mail list permanently.

There are three fields you can choose from for addressing an e-mail: “To,” “Cc,” and “Bcc.” Many users list every address in the “To” field even if the e-mail is only directed to one person. Instead, the “Cc” field should be used to send a copy to someone who is generally not expected to respond or take action. Some people use this function far too often—copying everyone in their address books on every minor communication, causing recipients to waste time reading messages that are of no interest to them.

The “Bcc” field is for sending blind copies to recipients, meaning that the sender does not see these recipients’ names. Sending messages this way resolves the problem of having everyone’s names and addresses viewed by every recipient; however, many people consider it unethical because the primary recipients aren’t aware of everyone receiving the message.

It’s our misfortune that some users have discovered the “Reply to All” button. If your reply only needs to go to the sender, reply only to the sender. This brings us to an even more troublesome button: “Forward.” If only there was a law that would revoke this privilege from repeat offenders. Many of us receive dozens of forwarded messages daily that range from “cute” or heart-wrenching to asking you to add your name to a petition to be sent to Congress insisting on legislation to stop people from dying their pets’ fur in wild colors. Or worse—if you don’t pass an e-mail on to 12 people immediately, something dreadful will happen to you.

Of course, there are some items you know your friends and family would really enjoy seeing. By all means, forward these from home if you like. When you do forward a message, however, delete the names of all prior recipients.

Keep in mind that what you consider cute, funny, or a universal truth may be annoying or even offensive to someone else. It goes without saying that no professional self storage manager sends or forwards anything to customers that isn’t business-related.

Attention To Content
Business e-mails should be brief and to the point. Send messages to customers only if you must, such as payment reminders or late notices. You can use e-mail as a marketing tool as well, but do so sparingly and get to the point.

That said, a message can be so much to the point that it sounds unfriendly. An opener such as, “Because you are a valued customer” is warmer than one that opens with “This is a notice that your payment is past due.” Friendly does not mean, however, that you take the liberty of addressing people by their first names. Begin the greeting with “Mr.” or “Ms.” and the last name.

Professional e-mails should be written in plain text without colorful backgrounds or decorative fonts. It is best to save those for your home e-mail, as well as cute signatures and smiley faces or other symbols. E-mails should also contain standard capitalization. Writing in all caps is akin to shouting and writing in all lower case, to mumbling. Always use the spelling check and double-check your grammar and punctuation as well.

To conclude your e-mail, use a signature that gives your full name and position as well as all contact information, but don’t go too far. Some companies end e-mails with contact information, logo, mission statement, etc., and the signature is longer than the message. Four lines is adequate.

Lastly, remember that no e-mail is truly private. It’s somewhere out there in cyberspace and the wrong message can come back to haunt you. And if you send it from your facility, you could be exposing your company to risk.

E-mail etiquette encompasses the foundations of courtesy: not wasting others’ time, forcing your personal preferences on them, or putting them at risk by broadcasting their addresses indiscriminately. Self storage managers who use e-mail appropriately will gain the respect of their customers, co-workers, and supervisors.

Tammy LeRoy is Editor of Self Storage Now! and Associate Editor of the Mini Storage Messenger.