Email with the Boss Lady
by V.E. on July 10th, 2008
filed under work
Okay, so I just found out today that my boss doesn’t read her emails. (Oh, right. PS: I got a job. I don’t know if I mentioned that on this journal yet, but if you want to know more about where I work, go here.) It’s not that she doesn’t read them, really, but she doesn’t READ them. Does that even make sense? Let me elaborate.
Yesterday she emailed in the morning saying she’d be working from home and to just email her any phone messages and any other issues I might have. The day before that, she’d asked me (via email) to send flowers to a friend using her AmEx card. All right, no problem. I can do that. Actually, no I can’t; I don’t have her card number. So, yesterday morning, I emailed her and mentioned that I didn’t have her card number… so there was no way I could buy flowers for her friend.
I don’t know what else to do besides that, so I just let it go, since she’s not physically in the office to bug and poke. The day’s going by sorta slowly… she comes into the office later in the afternoon and asks me if I’ve sent the flowers yet. I say, “I don’t have your AmEx card number, so I can’t buy the flowers.” And she says, “Oh! Well, duh. Here,” (she hands me the card), “make a copy of this and get flowers sent to [my friend].” All right, that’s great. I make a copy of the card and have flowers sent to her friend with no issues. I don’t even think of the email, since she probably read it and forgot. She is a busy woman and has a lot on her mind, after all.
Then, this morning while we’re talking about other things that I need to do today while she’s out, she says, “See, this is the thing. I need you to tell me if you have a problem with something I ask you to do, and to tell me when you’ve done it so that things don’t slip through the cracks. I didn’t know until I asked yesterday if you’d sent the flowers. You didn’t tell me you needed more from me before that.” (Emphasis mine.) I said, “Oh, okay,” even though I DID tell her. I knew then that she hadn’t read my email.
I have access to her email inbox, so I know when she’s read any emails that have been sent to her, so I know that she’d “read” my email the previous day. But she obviously hadn’t READ it, even though she had read it. Gah. I feel kind of insulted.
hey hun,
i had a very similar problem with my very busy boss. i realized that pretending her mistake was actually my fault didn’t make sense and wasn’t fair to me or my skills, and that she should also own up to that stuff and work on fixing them. so i told her i sent her an email, but that i would work harder to make sure she got the message next time.
since then, i’ve done a few things:
1. multiple methods of communication: instead of just emailing, i would send her a text message (she has an iPhone), leave a note on her chair/inbox, and a phone message ON TOP of the email. that way, i’m sure she’ll get the message.
2. follow up. i got a franklin covey planner (and took the class, courtesy of my company) and now, i write reminder notes to myself a few days after my boss asks me to do something. then, even if i forget, when that day rolls around, i remember to ask her about it as a reminder, and if it’s already been taken care of, then it’s something that i can pat myself on the back for.
3. have a heart to heart. sit down and tell her that you’re really eager and willing to work on this job, and does she have any suggestions to make the roads of communication easier?
but don’t let it roll off your back, because it’s a disservice to yourself and your spectacular skills. you have them and deserve to get praises sung about them. stand your ground!
i love you, and CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!! (on the job)