For the last few days, I've been receiving email that says something like this:
Presente.-
Los saludos muy cordialmente, adjunto mi curriculum vitae para su evluacion y aprobacion para el cargo de recepcionista. donde explico mi experiencia laboral y los conocimientos adquiridos para poder trabajar en su empresa.
A la espera de su aceptcion y una respuesta positiva me despido muy agradecida.
atte:
...uh...
I thought it was spam. So I marked it spam and went on with my life. I seriously gave it no thought.
Until today.
I realized these were job applicants.
Ah shit.
I know what it's like to look for jobs. The economy was only a tiny bit better when I graduated from college than it is now. I went hungry. And these folks are from... uh... Bolivia. They just want a secretarial job.
>>Prepare the justification<<
Justification for rudeness #1: I don't speak Spanish. It's pathetic, I know, but I don't. I'm made a few valiant runs at it but my Spanish sucks.
Justification for rudeness #2: I mean seriously, if you get as much email as I do, you would mark it spam too.
Okay.
Okay.
Even I hear the entitlement in my internal voice. While it maybe true that I receive a lot of email, it doesn't justify bouncing people's email to spam.
BUT WHAT IF IT'S SPAM!?!?!?!?!?
Hmm.
Finally, I decided to send each of them a note saying they had the wrong email address.
I dragged my entitled self over to Translate.Google.com and came up with this:
Hola,
or some approximation of I regret to inform you that you have the wrong email address.
It took me approximately 3 minutes.
So I wonder, why is it so hard to be polite in modern society?
I'm so afraid of 'setting myself up' for spam or hacking or all things evil, that I'd rather be rude than simply be polite.
I'm not talking world love or whatever.
I'm talking a common politeness. "I'm sorry, you have the wrong number" or whatever.
(Of course, I recently had a phone run in with a drug dealer - me trying to be polite and them wondering what the hell was wrong with me - but that's another story.)
Anyway, that's my Monday.
Well over a two hundred emails a day spread over 6 active accounts. Yep i glance the list, and if it isn't relevant no problemo, Select all--delete. They can sit in thrash folder for 30 days.
Oh yeah your point was politeness...it is hard to be immune from one of the many ills of modern society with it's digital enhancements. You rectified this current situation to the best of your ability. You going to kick yourself in the ass the next time you're unintentionally appearing rude? If so i say just keep the leg swinging because as a public figure that is accessible you're always going to look rude to someone. Hell maybe the Bolivians might have thought your response rude because even though you wished them well in their search your message was short and direct. Maybe culturally Bolivians are brought up to be a wee bit more expressive in your regrets of them having the wrong email.
Must be something in the air sitting over the US right now, a lot of people I come across seem to be in self inspection mode (about damn time for most of 'em too) but I think you, OG, can give yourself a break heh. It's not like you go out looking for little kids to yell at when they walk across your lawn or anything. O.R. D.O. Y.O.U.? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I think now because you were so rude to the Bolivians just looking for work i am going to have to re-evaluate my opinion of you! *shudder* Horrid creature that you are hahahahahahahahahahaa c'mon down to tslum city sister and let me show you rude.
Posted by: durfeem | January 15, 2013 at 03:09 PM
It's too cold here for anyone to be running across any lawn right now! ;)
And the random introspection of strangers is an interesting thing. For me it's like watching a slot machine. The fruit flies by and my expectation of wisdom increases only to find out that the resultant wisdom is fortune cookie thin. **sigh**
Posted by: Claudia Hall Christian | January 15, 2013 at 03:24 PM