Have you ever sent off an email rife with inside jokes, innuendo, or sassy remarks that could only be understood as humor by the recipient? I do that a-plenty, only to folks I know, of course.
A couple of days ago I received a contact email from my website that had me scratching my head:
We are looking for a talented local designer/corporately savvy type to help us communicate an original message to an investor. I know right….weird ! Call to discuss if sober.
Cheers!
Anthony
WHAT?! Call to discuss if sober? I’ve never met this person in my life. I trucked on over their website and discovered its an upscale salon in Seattle. Very nice, expensive website. Could this be spam? How do I know? Someone clearly took the time to select a reason for the contact via the drop down window on my contact page. Who knows these days. I replied with a brief blow-off just in case:
“Call to discuss if sober”???? Thanks for the inquiry, but I’ll pass on calling. Good luck.
I received reply back from Anthony:
Hi Laura,
Thanks for the rather strange reply to our poor attempt at a creative intro. You came recommended to me from our friends over at *******. I guess “creative” folks are no longer as fun as they used to be.
All the best,
Anthony
Dang! How was I supposed to respond to an cold email like that? And to think I am a humorless clod calling myself a ‘creative’. Hrumph!
I responded back with:
Hi Anthony,
Hate to think I am not funny, let alone not able to recognize anyone’s stab at humor. But things can easily get lost in an email. I honestly thought it was spam. Good to know you are not a robot. That said, I should tell you I am not Seattle-local anymore, but am hailing from Vermont these days. I used to work for the Seattle CVB and most of my clients are in the area.If you are looking for funny – rawkin funny, and a very talented crew of Seattleites, I can highly recommend the ******* agency, downtown. ********.com. You’ll want to talk to *** *****, brand strategist. You will be howling in no time. (206) ***-****
Again, good luck, and apologies for my ignorance,
LaraP.S. You have a killer website.
I passed the situation on to my rawkin funny design firm friends back in Seattle – who thought the whole thing was a riot and would have been all over it. I’m not so sure I would have been immediately ‘all over it’ as it just seems so odd to assume I am a comedian first, professional designer, second.
How does one decide between acting on a random stab at humor, reporting as spam, or writing off as unprofessional?
Maybe if I wasn’t sober at the time, I would now have myself a new client. Next time.
