'I'm one of the people who slipped through the cracks' Image copyright Sian Melonie. If you have been affected by the furlough scheme, email: [email protected]. View comments. Related Topics. ‘Slipped through the cracks’: Dexter’s death still a mystery. Danielle Buckley, Quest Newspapers. June 30, 2020 9:38am. Share this by Email. All latest local news to your inbox. Feb 06, 2020. May 21, 2020.
You’re going through your inbox, deciding which emails should be archived and which should be saved, and there is it: an email from a week ago (or even further out). Maybe it came in during an onslaught and this is the first time you’ve seen it; or perhaps, you remember thinking you’d come back to it — and then it fell off of your radar. Regardless, someone sent you an email, and you never responded.
Let’s get your first question out of the way: Do you still need to reply? While it’s tempting to blame it on your SPAM filter and pretend it never happened, the answer is yes — assuming the email comes from someone you know. (Naturally, I’m not suggesting you reply to every newsletter or cold email you receive.) According to Emily Post’s list of the “Top Ten Email Manners,” the number one rule of email is: “Always Respond.”
Here are four questions to ask yourself before you send back your reply:
1. It is worth saying why?
An excuse doesn’t make your lapse any better. In fact, it can backfire and make it seem like you think it’s no big deal. In other words, if you say, “I’m so sorry: I’ve just been so busy at work!” it won’t make your contact feel any better. But it could make him feel like responding to him is low on your list of priorities or like you think it’s OK to take 10 days to reply when things get hectic.
See also: Why signing your emails with 'best' is actually the worst
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However, sharing something can soften the blow, because it reminds the other person that you’re human and we’ve all been there. For example, sometimes people will go weeks without getting back to me on Facebook or LinkedIn and after a “Please excuse my delay in response,” they’ll add that they “don’t sign into LinkedIn nearly as often as [they] should” or “never check Facebook messages.” Another example might be including that you went on an impromptu vacation and forgot to set an away message, or that you had a family emergency and lost track of emails sent while you were out of the office.
Including these humanizing details can make your lapse more relatable.
2. Do you answer the original question?
If it’s been more than a week since your contact sent his or her email, you can’t just get down right down to business. Because if you skip the apology, you risk her thinking that five (or more) day response times is how you do business.
Frankly, it doesn’t really matter what line you choose. You can go with “I’m sorry for just getting back to you now” or “Apologies for the delay in response,” or anything in between. Then, per the point above, decide if it’s worth including one more line on the matter.
However, the next, essential step is that you move on and handle the matter at hand. Over-apologizing makes the missed email a bigger deal than it is, and it distracts from the real reason you’re writing the person back, which is to answer his or her email.
It looks like this: “Apologies for my delay in response. I’m just now catching up on emails from while I was vacation! As far as your questions regarding the upcoming event…” By getting to the matter at hand, you — and your contact — can move forward. After all, a brief apology and a well-thought-out answer to her inquiry will prove much more useful than a long apology and no concrete answer (yet again).
3. Is this particular email chain still relevant?
Of course, there are times when emails go an absurdly long time. You know the kind: You view it one morning while you’re making breakfast, forget about it by the time you get to the office, and are only reminded of it two months later when searching for something else.
See also: Why your email font is ruining your life
If the request is fairly evergreen (e.g., someone asked you if you’d ever like to meet for coffee), you can write back apologizing for the delay and then share if you’re interested. However, if someone had asked for your notes on a letter that went out a month ago, she clearly doesn’t need your feedback anymore.
In this case, you have two options. The first is to reply, saying sorry for letting this fall off of your radar and offering future assistance. The second option, if let’s say, you realize you accidentally dodged an email from someone you have — or would like to have — a strong working relationship with is to fold this into a different email, or even a phone call. It can actually serve as a great “excuse” to reach out to someone.
4. What do you plan to do moving forward?
OK, this one is just for you. Because, while most people will overlook one missed response, you don’t want become someone who is known for being terrible with email. Or worse, look like someone who writes, “Apologies for the delay in response,” and then continues to be inconsistent.
So, remember that actions speak louder than words and set up a new system. It may mean being meticulous about scrolling through emails after time away from the office, or keeping a list of emails you open after business hours so that you’ll be sure to actually write back the next time you’re at your desk. Missing an email happens to everyone — just don’t let it become a habit.
FBI investigating Orlando gunman for terror ties
Phil Keating reports from Fort Pierce, Florida
The security company that employed Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen also is a federal contractor for the Homeland Security and State departments -- raising more questions about how he passed background checks despite being on the FBI’s radar screen and the level of security at a firm handling sensitive U.S. operations.
Mateen, who killed 49 people and wounded dozens more early Sunday inside the gay nightclub Pulse, started working for G4S Secure Solutions in 2007 and until the attack was employed as an armed guard at a gated retirement community in South Florida.
The U.K.-based firm has a far-reaching portfolio that goes well beyond retirement villages, however, with its U.S. arm having become of the biggest government contractors since 9/11. This includes helping secure 40 U.S. embassies worldwide and working with U.S. agents on border patrol.
In a statement released Monday, the company expressed shock at the tragic attack and said they are cooperating with law enforcement.
But the FBI acknowledged having interviewed the 29-year-old Mateen in 2013 and 2014 about possible terror ties, raising questions about what G4S knew and what, if any, action the company took.
The company said Mateen passed company screenings -- including psychological and criminal checks -- when hired in 2007 and again in 2013. Spokeswoman Monica Lewman-Garcia said G4S in 2013 “learned” the FBI questioned Mateen and later closed its inquiries.
'He was also subject to checks by a U.S. law enforcement agency with no findings reported to G4S,' the company said.
The company also states on its website: “Every G4S security officer participates in a training program that far exceeds industry standards, becoming a specialist trained to both recognize and react to unique hazards of an assigned post.'
Email Slipped Through The Cracks
At least one former G4S employee, Daniel Gilroy, says he raised numerous concerns with supervisors about Mateen’s hateful and potentially dangerous behavior.
Kodak esp 9250 drivers for mac. Gilroy told Fox News that he and Mateen had worked as security guards at the same South Florida resort and that Mateen, a Muslim, used “horrible words” at the sight of women and blacks and was in a constant state of “anger and rage.”
However, the company refused to take action on his complaints, and Gilroy was forced to quit last year after Mateen began sending him harassing text and phone messages, according to Florida Today.
Email Fell Through The Cracks
“The company wouldn't do anything,” Gilroy told the paper. “This guy was unhinged and unstable. Adobe premiere pro cc keygen mac. He talked of killing people.'
FBI Director James Comey on Monday also detailed the nature of the original complaints the bureau received back in 2013.
He said co-workers were concerned about 'inflammatory and contradictory' statements he had made, including claiming family connections to Al Qaeda. Mateen later admitted making the statements but said he did so out of anger because he thought his co-workers were discriminating against him. The FBI closed the preliminary investigation, before briefly looking at him one more time in 2014.
G4S did not immediately respond to a request Monday by FoxNews.com asking whether Gilroy had indeed complained and if the company took any action in response.
But the history of co-workers' complaints at a company that last year alone reportedly had $89.3 million in federal contracts raised more questions about Mateen’s continued employment and access to government information and sites.
G4S became one of the U.S. government’s biggest contractors after the 9/11 attacks.
G4S has 623,000 employees in 110 countries, including 54,000 in North America, reports show.
The company’s U.S. headquarters is in Jupiter, Fla., about 150 miles southeast of Orlando, and offers a range of security services including guards and technology to several industries including retail and residential.