Email Etiquette – Replying With a Simple “Thanks!”?

June 18th, 2009          Email This Post       

I follow basic GTD rules for my gmail inbox… if it’s dealt with, it’s archived and not seen. If I need to reply, it’s there in my face (even if it stays there for a while.)

I use the labs to enable  ”Send & Archive” so that when I reply, it disappears – the ball is in their court, and I effectively forget about the topic until it bounces back in my inbox.

What happens when you ask someone for some information, and they reply – what response do you send? It’s one thing to just leave your email in your inbox, but to actually hit “archive” just seems rude. Sure, they don’t know the difference between the two, but I know that means I will not be sending back any reply. The conversation was done… but I hadn’t thanked them.

But an email saying “thank you” seems kinda silly to me. It’s just one more in their long list of emails, and doesn’t really convey any information… it may signify the end of the discussion, but they probably already felt it was finished.

I started this post having in mind to ask what you thought (if you get this by email, feel free to reply or use the forum to post a comment). While about to start, I had an idea… instead of sending an email that basically says “Thanks for the reply [end of discussion]“, to really thank them, and make them feel good.

Forget any basic thank you letters – I just searched for a few and they seem far too rigid and sterile. Perhaps a few ingredients from this list, as appropriate – it doesn’t have to be long, just keep it real:

• Thanks for taking the time to respond – especially if they did some research or a bit of writing for you
• If it was a quick response, mention it!
• If the information was very good/timely/helpful/useful, say so – and why! e.g. “It was good you said that, because I was about to try the opposite.”
• Mention why you asked them – most likely it’s because you think they know about the question. So compliment them on being that person “in the know”. e.g. “Thanks for the help, you always seem to have the answers to these questions!”

With some of those ingredients, I don’t think I’ll feel any disease about sending a short email, and also should make them feel appreciated reading it.

So go ahead and clog up people’s email boxes spreading the good cheer!

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