| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: How do you feel when an email (not mass email) starts with "Hello" without your name? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Lingua 5B 
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 03:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
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| Can’t even be sure with a name included | Dec 13, 2023 |
As far as I know there are mass email codes/programs where X in brackets after “Dear” can be replaced with an individual name, and it’s all automated. So the recepient will believe they had been addressed individually, while they were not. But the email flair is what will really tell you if it’s a mass email.
| | | | | I answer..... | Dec 13, 2023 |
..... all mails directed to me by name. I mostly don't answer mails without my name mentioned (unless I know the client). Those are probably mass emails.
The worse mails IMHO are the ones that start with 'Hi guys', they go directly into the wastebasket.
[Edited at 2023-12-13 17:22 GMT]
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 03:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| The worst ones | Dec 13, 2023 |
The worst ones are “Dear linguist” and “Hello dear”, but my absolute pet peeve is Kindly reply, Kindly send, Kindly contact, anything with Kindly.
| | | | | @5B - Tastes differ | Dec 13, 2023 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
The worst ones are “Dear linguist” and “Hello dear”, but my absolute pet peeve is Kindly reply, Kindly send, Kindly contact, anything with Kindly.
There is no disputing about tastes.
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 03:02
Spanish to English
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I usually think "that's a bit odd, the sender must not be a native speaker"... then shrug it off. In fact, if the e-mail is from someone I don't already know, I probably won't open it.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:02
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Not exactly a compelling differentiator | Dec 13, 2023 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Some PMs remember kindness and politeness, and may as a result turn to me when they intend to send a message to a single translator.
Responding to a mass email with "kindness and politeness" isn't much of a competitive advantage though is it? It won't get you decent rates, sensible deadlines, or well-formatted source material - quite the opposite, in fact.
I don't think there's any moral imperative to respond to unsolicited emails from PMs who clearly have no clue about the people to whom they are sending emails - not even their names.
EDIT I make this point not to have a go at Samuel, whose intentions are doubtless noble, but to disabuse less experienced freelancers of the notion that they should respond to anonymous emails, and the idea that the work offered might be lucrative. They shouldn't, and it probably isn't.
Regards,
Dan
[Edited at 2023-12-14 07:08 GMT]
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...to be addressed as "Hello Team" (with the somewhat better version "Hi Team!"). "Greetings of the day!" would be nice, too.
Catch of the day are emails starting with the names of my worst KudoZ rank competitors, where the sender mistook me with them (mostly with my earlier class mate who often plays tricks with my reputation behind my back) and where I can read with what prices they work (mostly with cheaper ones).
| | | | | It's not just a commercial transaction | Dec 14, 2023 |
Dan Lucas wrote:
Responding to a mass email with "kindness and politeness" isn't much of a competitive advantage though is it? It won't get you decent rates, sensible deadlines, or well-formatted source material - quite the opposite, in fact.
...
Regards,
Dan
Yet you always sign off with your name here when we already know who you are...?
I think taking the time to be polite and friendly does pay off commercially, even with the endless churn of faceless semi-illiterate minions at the big agencies. People generally smile back.
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someone writing me has to start with some sort of greeting. Actually, this sort of question makes me feel as if we all we're a bit paranoid.
"Hello" is Ok in my opinion even when not followed by my name.
[Edited at 2023-12-15 09:58 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 03:02
French to English
I don't get them often enough to have an opinion really. My clients all call me by my name and are invariably polite. Some of them get it wrong (Key or Kate being the most common mistakes) but it doesn't matter, it's not like my name is all that common.
If they don't use my name then I assume it's a mass mail. I'll answer quickly and politely without any expectation of getting the job, and I usually don't.
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