Emails are the primary correspondence tool in corporations around the world and can be a source of anxiety and frustration. One area that is often neglected by management is training team members to generate well-crafted emails that follow best practice guidelines, when on the receiving end of hostile or passive-aggressive emails from clients or stakeholders.
Research shows that 47% of Americans have received passive-aggressive emails from their superiors, and 23% have attributed hostile emails to their resignation.
Finding ways to implement professional, solution-driven responses is key to helping teams deal with the impact of negative emails on their mental health. Additionally, it assists with providing a framework to improve customer service and manage reputational harm.
What to Do When You Receive an Upsetting Email
Being on the receiving end of a hostile email can be incredibly upsetting, and finding a suitable response requires emotional intelligence, maturity, and a high level of business acumen. Hostile emails can trigger intense emotional responses, and the impact they have on mental health is often overlooked. A survey showed that 66% of respondents experienced anxiety after reading a passive-aggressive email, which only served to further hinder their performance at work.
Management experts acknowledge the difficulty of receiving angry emails but advise against taking it personally. Angry, curt emails are typically an indication of the writer’s frame of mind and could be an indication of any number of things. The first step is always to pause. While it may be tempting to shoot back an email in your defense, especially when senior stakeholders are copied in the email chain, that is the last thing you want to do.
Communication managers suggest taking a beat before responding and using the time to carefully read through the email. While it can be confronting to evaluate a challenging email, objectivity and clarity are key to crafting an appropriate response. Focus on the issues brought forward and not the tone.
Choose the Best Way to Approach the Email
Crafting a thoughtful response that addresses concerns, assumes accountability, and provides a way forward is key to maintaining a positive working relationship and re-establishing professionalism.
Here is a five-step guide to crafting an email that follows etiquette. In this scenario, a client has placed an order that arrived late and incomplete.
1) Lead with gratitude
One of the best ways to diffuse a tense situation over email is to start with gratitude by thanking the writer for bringing the issue to your attention. Whether it’s a disgruntled client or a senior manager, responding with a sense of professionalism and gratitude can immediately shift the tone of the conversation. A practical example could look like this:
Hi X,
Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns. We’re always grateful for a chance to make things right. I’m looking into the situation and would love to talk with you to address your concerns.
One of the major downfalls of digital communications is that tone and sincerity have to be inferred by the reader. By requesting a call or meeting (where possible), you can create an additional opportunity to clear the air and tackle the issue head-on.
2) Identify the core issues
When an issue arrives, clients want to know what went wrong and need an explanation for the failure in customer service. Studies show that 83% of customers are loyal to brands and businesses that respond to and resolve their complaints.
The second part of addressing a hostile email should identify the issues and provide an explanation. Here’s how you can phrase this:
I contacted the sales team to discuss this matter further and learned that one of the items was on backorder in our supplier warehouse. This created a dilemma for the sales team, who wanted to fulfil your entire order and thus held off on shipping the available items. The supplier then mentioned that they needed more time than anticipated to complete your order, and so only the available items were sent. Unfortunately, this resulted in a late and incomplete delivery.
3) Address the issue without portioning blame or excuses
Taking accountability for errors is part of showing emotional intelligence and professionalism. Even if the issue is down to misunderstanding, stepping up and owning the mistake can help build trust and earn respect with all stakeholders. This is also a key step in defusing tension and working towards rectifying the matter. Acknowledge the error, own the mistake, and explain what happened, without blaming any particular person.
I realize that not having all the items you ordered made it impossible for you to fill a special order for your customer in turn.
4) Take responsibility and apologize if necessary
After taking accountability and explaining what went wrong, provide an apology. This is an incredibly important step. As mentioned earlier, emails aren’t the best platform to convey sincerity, but a well-crafted message can go a long way in repairing a professional relationship. Research indicates that an apology is often more effective in winning customers over than offers of remuneration.
This is what it could look like:
I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. As the manager, I assume full responsibility for this issue.
5) Provide a solution
The last step in responding to a negative email is to provide a solution to the problem. Clients and stakeholders want to know that there’s a way forward to right the wrongs. Ending off the email with a strong resolution to the issue draws the reader’s attention to the positives and rounds off the communication on a positive note.
To rectify this issue, my team will fast-track delivery of the outstanding item, which you can expect on [X]. As a gesture of goodwill, we’ve provided a 15% discount and free shipping for this item. Going forward, I will personally oversee all your account activities. We value your business and look forward to a long and positive relationship.
The full email response would read as follows:
Hi X,
Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns. We’re always grateful for a chance to make things right. I’m looking into the situation and would love to talk with you to address your concerns.
I contacted the sales team to discuss this matter further and learned that one of the items was on backorder in our supplier warehouse. This created a dilemma for the sales team, who wanted to fulfil your entire order and thus held off on shipping the available items. The supplier then mentioned that they needed more time than anticipated to complete your order, and so only the available items were sent. Unfortunately, this resulted in a late and incomplete delivery.
I realize that not having all the items you ordered made it impossible for you to fill a special order for your customer in turn.
I apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. As the manager, I assume full responsibility for this issue.
To rectify this issue, my team will fast-track delivery of the outstanding item, which you can expect on [X]. As a gesture of goodwill, we’ve provided a 15% discount and free shipping for this item. Going forward, I will personally oversee all your account activities. We value your business and look forward to a long and positive relationship.
Concluding Thoughts
Receiving an email from an upset client can be an emotional rollercoaster, triggering anxiety or fear. While many may be tempted to respond emotionally or defensively, there’s an etiquette to communicating with disgruntled stakeholders and clients.
Providing a clear framework for tackling challenging emails can assist teams with managing negative or hostile emails, which are a major cause of anxiety among staff. Additionally, when staff have a clear idea of what steps to take when addressing client grievances they can actively mitigate reputational risk and protect the business relationship.
An appropriate email response starts with gratitude to the writer, identifies the core issues, explains the events that led to the issue, assumes responsibility for the error, apologizes, and outlines the solution.
These steps can be altered to address most situations and provide a professional, solution-driven response.
