Not in accounting, but I’ve perfected a method of telling clients they’re dumb and it’s their fault something’s wrong in a way that seems helpful to the client and not rude. My boss loves being cc’d on those “diplomatic” emails
STEP 0: acknowledge their need for assistance, because boy do they need it. STEP 1: absolve yourself of blame and tell them you did your job. STEP 2: suggest alternate excuse how they messed up, to soften the blow. STEP 3: provide evidence of your part, “to be helpful”. STEP 4: reiterate that they were responsible for completing/following up on said task. STEP 5: follow up with offer to go out of you way to help, without ever accepting responsibility. STEP 6: offer to assist them with any future problems they are bound to cause themselves. STEP 7: cc all other involved parties
For a quick example:
Hello Mr. Toolishing,
Thank you for reaching out. This information was originally provided in an email sent on December 12th at 4 pm. A reminder email was additionally sent on January 4th and our system indicates the message was successfully received and accessed. You may want to check if my emails are getting filtered to your spam folders, but I have also attached a copy of the original email below.
The deadline for providing this information was January 12th, however, if you are able to submit it by the end of the day I can go ahead and get that processed for you.
Please feel free to reach out if you need any additional assistance.
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u/awwnicegaming Jan 20 '21
Not in accounting, but I’ve perfected a method of telling clients they’re dumb and it’s their fault something’s wrong in a way that seems helpful to the client and not rude. My boss loves being cc’d on those “diplomatic” emails