So I sit down and take about ten minutes to compose a brief, professional e-mail to Jane — whom I’ve never met — about this missing document, telling her where it is and when I sent it. And then, because I used to work in customer service, I say to let me know if she is still unable to find it, and I can get her a new one (even though doing this will cost me time and money,  but I don’t say that). I sign off with a professional close and signature.

Liar, liar?
Three weeks after sending this e-mail, I finally get a terse, one-line, unpunctuated reply:

These were not included in your packet

Wow. It’s quite one thing to say, “I cannot find it in your file,” and quite another to say, “This was not included in your packet,” dig? I remember printing off the files, and I remember writing a note in explanation for one bit of information, and I remember double-checking the list of materials I had to send before I sent it. I know it was originally included, so it’s not out of line for me to feel a bit affronted.

The thing that galls me here: Jane’s job is, by nature, a people-person job. Shouldn’t she know better? In this brief exchange, she sounds like a dick: rude, lazy, unprofessional, incompetent, and unlikeable, even though if I met her face-to-face I might find her to be a positively lovely person, inside and out.

This is why writing is so important
People judge based on first impressions, whether electronic or face-to-face. So folks, if you work in public relations, marketing,  human resources, and related jobs, you should be neither deliberately rude in nor ignorant of the tone of your message. Even just a professional greeting and close can make up for multitude other sins. And by all means, punctuate it. It really is the least you can do.