How to Handle Missent Emails

It has happened to all of us. You sent an email accidentally to the wrong person. You hit that send button and immediately know what you did (or it hits you in the back of the head later). So, what’s next? How do you handle your error?

A site visitor writes:

What a great question! I’ve done this myself. You hit reply, glaze over the details, type your message, and click Send. Sometimes, you realize your mistake instantly; other times, it’s a little later.

Several factors will dictate how you should respond. Was the error one that will cause concern or hurt feelings? Will it make it appear that you are petty or an e-tattler?

You need to understand that how you react when you discover your error will build or hinder your trust and credibility. How fast you correct yourself can also impact how your error is perceived.

Context and Content Matters

Say you respond to an email, thinking you were responding to someone else entirely. The content or context is unimportant, and the other side probably thinks, “What the heck are they talking about?”

Here’s what you do: Immediately respond to the misdirected contact and tell them you got ahead of yourself and weren’t paying attention. Then, apologize for the unnecessary email.

You’ll find that most folks will reply, commenting that they understand and have done the same thing. Everyone moves on.

Embarrassing or Petty Commentary

If you hit Reply to All or inadvertently send snarky comments to your boss, whether they are true or not, this will not reflect positively on you. This is where your follow-up reaction is crucial to how things go moving forward.

When you hit Reply to All, and your message doesn’t apply to all, you appear to lack tech savvy or are an inefficient communicator. Again, the type of commentary you add determines how you should proceed.

How often have you been included in “all,” when the rely did not apply to you? What did you think at the time? Use that as a basis to craft your apology.

When you mess up, the only thing you can do is humbly apologize for the error. Don’t make excuses for why this happened. You made a mistake because you were not paying attention to what buttons you were hitting.

Sincerely apologize. It won’t cost you a thing to say, “I’m sorry…

If you compromised trust or hurt someone’s feelings due to your missend, I recommend a personal phone call or handwritten note to the party involved. Throw in a dash of groveling for your lack of attention to detail with a courteous and self-effacing tone.

Apologize with Humility

My sincere apology for that last email. I am embarrassed that you had to experience my temporary lapse of decorum and can assure you that I am not pleased with my actions either. We all learn from our mistakes and I have most certainly learned from this experience. I’ve learned I need to be more thoughtful and detail oriented. I appreciate your understanding and hope this will not impact our ongoing communications.

No excuses – only a sincere and genuine apology will do. Then, pay attention moving forward.

As with most things, there is a silver lining when this happens. The silver lining is that you most likely will not do it again. You’ll be more apt to pay attention to those details that can avoid hurt feelings or abuse someone’s trust.

And that’s a good thing!