The Death of ‘Reply All’
Email is a powerful tool for business. However, the ease of using email can also be a curse when mistakes are made. In my experience, one of the most seemingly innocent, yet problematic tools in email is the ‘Reply All’ feature.
How many times have you received an email that you probably should not have seen, only because the sender hit Reply All instead of just Reply. In my practice, I have seen this time after time and on some occasions, the message sent has been very detrimental to the relationship or the transaction. For example, while working on a contentious transaction, one of the parties on the other side intended to send an email to his colleague, but instead hit Reply All and broadcast his disgust for the seller to the entire working group. On another occasion, I saw an email chain where an employee, intending only to reply to certain coworkers, hit Reply All and shared his critical comments on his boss with his boss and the rest of the company.
In addition to all the possible mistakes, how flooded is your in-box with multiple replies from a group email with a message like “Thanks.” These seemingly simple (and unnecessary) responses can bog down an email system and frustrate an email user having to delete endless emails.
I believe that the ‘Reply All’ button should be removed from most if not all email devices. In my opinion, the potential harm outweighs the benefit and I think a little thought going into replying to an email is a good thing.