Email greetings and salutations

[DawnM]

Just curious, particularly for those of you who work, what do your emails look like among coworkers or people you don't know all that well?

In my last job, we simply would start with Something like, "Good Morning," and then end with, "Thank you" or something.

This job that I just ended, people started with things like, "I hope this email finds you well" and ended with things like, "Best" 

I was trying to think of WHY the second set of "pleasantries" makes me cringe and I think I finally figured it out.   I feel like, "I hope this email finds you well" sounds like the beginning of a Nigerian scam letter and does not sound sincere.

Am I the only one?

[Corraleno]

The more formal greeting and sign-off that you mention are common in the UK —  that's exactly how my BIL starts and ends emails to me, even though we're family and have known each other for 25 years.

 

[Arcadia]

26 minutes ago, DawnM said:

 

This job that I just ended, people started with things like, "I hope this email finds you well" and ended with things like, "Best" 

I get that from acquaintances that are in their 70s and up, basically my parents generation, ever since I was a child. They are generally more formal.

Isn’t that also a quote in Pride and Prejudice, just substitute the word letter for the word email. 

[Bootsie]

"I hope this email finds you well" bugs me also.  It is wordy and adds nothing to the communication.  It is not a greeting/salutation.  It just looks like poor writing to me.  I prefer "Hi John", "Hello Molly", or "Good Morning Sally" as an opening.  I know some people who start out an email "morning.  I don't know if you....." that bugs me--telling me what time of day it is is not a greeting (and it may not even be correct for where I am"  I also don't like concluding with "best"--best WHAT?  regards, wishes, friends?????

[vonfirmath]

i don't generally have a greeting on my emails at all. I just bounce into the message and end with my signature.

 

Send email with attachment "Please contact Name if there are any questions"  Signature.

Send.

 

I will put a greeting on there with someone's name if I am directing different parts of the email to different recipients

 

Control guy,

here is the submittal you need

 

George, can you answer the question about the whatchamacallit?

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by vonfirmath

[saw]

"I hope you are well" and similar sound very UK to me. I would feel rude if I just started an email to someone in the UK (other than a friend or work colleague) with business matters or a question. It's usually "I hope you are well" or "Thank you for your email" or "I hope you had a good weekend" or similar. It's not just me either; most of the people I would correspond with are the same. The US seems different though. People just jump right into the email. No judgment from me either way, or one people's reactions.

[AbcdeDooDah]

Best. Ugh. Like Bootsie said above best what?  I wish you the best. Best wishes. Fine. 
Best? Best be adding more to your sign off.

Edited October 22, 2022 by AbcdeDooDah

[Laura Corin]

At work I start with

'Dear X' - or 'Hello' for unknown names

I sometimes add 'Thank you for your email.'

Then end with

'Best regards'

That's on the formal side of the UK standard.

[DawnM]

7 hours ago, saw said:

"I hope you are well" and similar sound very UK to me. I would feel rude if I just started an email to someone in the UK (other than a friend or work colleague) with business matters or a question. It's usually "I hope you are well" or "Thank you for your email" or "I hope you had a good weekend" or similar. It's not just me either; most of the people I would correspond with are the same. The US seems different though. People just jump right into the email. No judgment from me either way, or one people's reactions.

See, I will say "Thank you for your email" or "I hope you had a good weekend" but not "I hope this email finds you well."   

But I usually just say, "Good morning" or "Good afternoon"

Edited October 22, 2022 by DawnM

[DawnM]

6 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

At work I start with

'Dear X' - or 'Hello' for unknown names

I sometimes add 'Thank you for your email.'

Then end with

'Best regards'

That's on the formal side of the UK standard.

Yes, this is what I do too.

[DawnM]

8 hours ago, Bootsie said:

"I hope this email finds you well" bugs me also.  It is wordy and adds nothing to the communication.  It is not a greeting/salutation.  It just looks like poor writing to me.  I prefer "Hi John", "Hello Molly", or "Good Morning Sally" as an opening.  I know some people who start out an email "morning.  I don't know if you....." that bugs me--telling me what time of day it is is not a greeting (and it may not even be correct for where I am"  I also don't like concluding with "best"--best WHAT?  regards, wishes, friends?????

Yeah, that "Best" thing at the end irritates me.

[regentrude]

I use Good morning  and Thanks ( if I am asking the recipient to do something), or  Best wishes (responding to someone who informs me about illness or emergency) or Have a nice day.

However,  a family member worked in an office that *required * staff to use thick layers of superfluous pleasantries before they were allowed to come to the point.

Otoh, my former boss wrote extremely short, to the point emails, and it took me a while to figure out he's not abrupt or annoyed, but simply direct and efficient.  I have come to appreciate that - it's a sign of respect for the recipient's time. Cut the sauce, get to the meat. When you handle 100+ emails a day, the wasted time adds up.

Edited October 22, 2022 by regentrude

[El...]

"Best" makes me twitch, but I know people of good will who use it in business emails, so it's probably socially acceptable.  I punctuate while texting, so I'm old. I couldn't possibly use "best." 

[El...]

"I have the honor to be your obedient servant, A. Ham. (A. Burr.)" 😁

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

1 hour ago, El... said:

"I have the honor to be your obedient servant, A. Ham. (A. Burr.)" 😁

This is how my children sign everything now.

But they also believe all political disputes are solved by rap battles and duels, so there’s that.

[Bootsie]

10 hours ago, saw said:

"I hope you are well" and similar sound very UK to me. I would feel rude if I just started an email to someone in the UK (other than a friend or work colleague) with business matters or a question. It's usually "I hope you are well" or "Thank you for your email" or "I hope you had a good weekend" or similar. It's not just me either; most of the people I would correspond with are the same. The US seems different though. People just jump right into the email. No judgment from me either way, or one people's reactions.

I am curious if this is typical for all types of emails in the UK.  If I am sending an email to a friend or colleague that I do not communicate with often, I will often begin the email with some type of pleasantry.  Rather than something generic, the opening would likely refer to something specific about the person--"I hope you enjoyed the conference on Friday", "It was great catching up with you at the meeting yesterday", or "Did you enjoy Saturday's football game?" 

If it is an email to a colleague I saw in the hall an hour before, I wouldn't start with such pleasantries.  Or, if it is a business email that is to someone I do not know, I would not use those types of pleasantries.  

Another thing that bugs me is an email that reads "If you have any other questions please let me know..." and then the only signature/identifying informaiton is "Your Service Team, Office XXX"--

[Hannah]

In the corporate I work in most emails start with Good day XXxx and jump right in.  Emails mostly end with Regards, Y.  Hi Xxx would be a bit more informal to a colleague I know better.

Interestingly, my daughter's university communication to fellow students and lecturers is a lot more 'flowery' and starts with pleasantries and ends with Kind Regards. 

 

[happi duck]

It could have been tongue in cheek because so many people joke about it.

I am irritated that I now I'll wonder about people cringing about the way I choose to write emails!!  

 

[TechWife]

"I hope this email finds you well" gained a lot of traction at the beginning of the pandemic.  That greeting will forever remind me of the pandemic, I think.  

I just checked Emily Post - there's a lot about email in there but nothing about salutations specific to email.

 

[Clarita]

For coworkers, I usually go with what seems to be popular at the company. Usually this was hello so and so, but for the people I'm constantly emailing/talking to I just get right into it no greeting no send off. 

For vendors a simple Hello so and so ending with a Thank you, My Name.

For customers I follow their lead. I usually don't have to cold email clients/customers so I have always had a reference. (Either from sales or the client.)

I do not get offended at what people use as greetings and send offs. In my working days I send and receive emails from many different parts of the world sometimes they aren't even in English. I google translate what I need to know and move one. Plus I think sometimes people just use the default greetings and send offs so I also get a lot of "sent from my device name".

[lewelma]

Here in NZ it is becoming standard in work places to use Māori greetings. So typical greeting is Kia ora and closing with Ngā mihi. I bring this up because standards change, and this has happened over the period of about 10 years.  What sounds odd to an older person will be completely normal for a younger person. 

[Wheres Toto]

I start work emails with "Hello" or "Good Morning/Afternoon"

I finish with "Regards," or "Thank you"

[Ausmumof3]

I’m a hi at the start and thank you at the end person. Although when I worked where a lot of stuff was done via email I would do greeting the first time for the day and then any subsequent emails would just have the subject matter. Kind of like chatting irl - the first time you saw someone you’d say hello but you wouldn’t if you saw them multiple times.

[Resilient]

It's contextual, to some degree. Maybe regional.

I worked for a F50 company and when we emailed, it was cut-to-the-chase, no salutation or closing. 1 mail or if 2, the reply was "Done." or "Will do." 

Later I worked for a company based in the Deep South, and it was the Full Meal Deal.

• Dear ___, Hope all is well. (State business.) Talk soon, OK? Pat the dog for me. (Sig).
• The reply had all the salutation and closing and not only "will do" but when it will get done.
• Then an email when the job was done.
• A thank you from the initial requester (more salutation, closing)
• The final response was a "you're welcome."  

How many emails is that? 5? All with salutations and closures.  It was sweet, but time-consuming!

[saw]

7 hours ago, Bootsie said:

I am curious if this is typical for all types of emails in the UK.  If I am sending an email to a friend or colleague that I do not communicate with often, I will often begin the email with some type of pleasantry.  Rather than something generic, the opening would likely refer to something specific about the person--"I hope you enjoyed the conference on Friday", "It was great catching up with you at the meeting yesterday", or "Did you enjoy Saturday's football game?" 

If it is an email to a colleague I saw in the hall an hour before, I wouldn't start with such pleasantries.  Or, if it is a business email that is to someone I do not know, I would not use those types of pleasantries.  

Another thing that bugs me is an email that reads "If you have any other questions please let me know..." and then the only signature/identifying informaiton is "Your Service Team, Office XXX"--

IME, I would start with a formality for emails to kids' schools, activities, tutors, doctors, etc. When I receive emails from schools, tutors, doctors, etc, I get the same level of formality. This is for the UK, where I also get emails from people who make it clear that they are to be addressed as "Mr X" or "Mrs Y". 

I wouldn't use this with friends or work colleagues; for friends, I would be more friendly and personal, for work colleagues, depends on the relationship and number of people on the email chain. If it's a work thing where I'm dealing with someone I know well, I'd just saying something like Hi X, here's the document you asked for" or similar.

[Bootsie]

At one time a "business communication" class was a standard part of collegiate business programs.  It has gone by the wayside, to make room for "more important" things, but I think a lot was lost when this was done.  Although emails are used much more than the letters we learned to write in those classes, some of hte basics still apply.  

When an email (that is not sent to a broad distribtuion list) does not have a salutation of some sort, I sometimes wonder if the email was meant for me.  I have several people at work who have names start in similar ways (such as I am Kendra, and there is a Kenneth and a Kenny).  People will start to put a name in the TO: spot and the computer starts making suggestions and they send something to me that I think probably was meant for Kenneth--or perhaps Kenny.

I received an email last week at work announcing a coffee and donut appreciation coffee break in the "banquet room".  I did not recognize the name of the person who sent the email.  Was this an event for the business school faculty and staff, and if so was it in the banquet room in the business school--oh, that isn't even clear because we have a banquet room on the first floor in one wing of our comple and on the second floor in another wing.  Was it for the entire university and in the large banquet hall in the University Center?  Was it something that the alumni association was doing and in the banquet hall at the alumni center???  Or was it in one of the many other banquet rooms on campus???

Or if you are asking if I am available on January 23, could you put Thursday, January 23?  It is very easy to mistype a number, so putting the day of the week and the date is a simple way of doublechecking errors and of making people notice the actual date.  And, it saves me time from going to look at my calender to see what day of the week January 23 is.  Attention to these types of details which make communication clear and minimize error that was emphasized in a business communications class.  

[Laura Corin]

2 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

At one time a "business communication" class was a standard part of collegiate business programs.  It has gone by the wayside, to make room for "more important" things, but I think a lot was lost when this was done.  Although emails are used much more than the letters we learned to write in those classes, some of hte basics still apply.  

When an email (that is not sent to a broad distribtuion list) does not have a salutation of some sort, I sometimes wonder if the email was meant for me.  I have several people at work who have names start in similar ways (such as I am Kendra, and there is a Kenneth and a Kenny).  People will start to put a name in the TO: spot and the computer starts making suggestions and they send something to me that I think probably was meant for Kenneth--or perhaps Kenny.

I received an email last week at work announcing a coffee and donut appreciation coffee break in the "banquet room".  I did not recognize the name of the person who sent the email.  Was this an event for the business school faculty and staff, and if so was it in the banquet room in the business school--oh, that isn't even clear because we have a banquet room on the first floor in one wing of our comple and on the second floor in another wing.  Was it for the entire university and in the large banquet hall in the University Center?  Was it something that the alumni association was doing and in the banquet hall at the alumni center???  Or was it in one of the many other banquet rooms on campus???

Or if you are asking if I am available on January 23, could you put Thursday, January 23?  It is very easy to mistype a number, so putting the day of the week and the date is a simple way of doublechecking errors and of making people notice the actual date.  And, it saves me time from going to look at my calender to see what day of the week January 23 is.  Attention to these types of details which make communication clear and minimize error that was emphasized in a business communications class.  

All of that. Plus, I have a senior colleague who doesn't put titles on her emails. I assume she has disabled the reminder. This makes them very easy to miss in a busy Outlook box - I  monitor four to six boxes, depending on the day. I've asked her to add titles, but she doesn't,  putting extra work onto me to rescue her semi-invisible message and entitle the reply.

[saw]

21 hours ago, Bootsie said:

At one time a "business communication" class was a standard part of collegiate business programs.  It has gone by the wayside, to make room for "more important" things, but I think a lot was lost when this was done.  Although emails are used much more than the letters we learned to write in those classes, some of hte basics still apply.  

 

The Scout leaders in our former Troop got so disgusted with the Scouts' complete inability to write remotely civilized emails that we (me) started running annual "how to write an email" session. It actually worked very well, as we had the Scouts read very old-fashioned overdone letters and write emails in that style, and then write the rudest emails they could come up with. Then told them the sweet spot was in the middle. It was one of my favorite sessions to run as we always had a good laugh. 

[SKL]

I rather like different email greetings and salutations.  It keeps life a little more interesting.  I don't find the ones in the OP cringey.

Personally I usually start with the addressee's name and end with "Best regards, [SKL]."

[TexasProud]

On 10/22/2022 at 5:22 PM, Resilient said:

It's contextual, to some degree. Maybe regional.

I worked for a F50 company and when we emailed, it was cut-to-the-chase, no salutation or closing. 1 mail or if 2, the reply was "Done." or "Will do." 

Later I worked for a company based in the Deep South, and it was the Full Meal Deal.

• Dear ___, Hope all is well. (State business.) Talk soon, OK? Pat the dog for me. (Sig).
• The reply had all the salutation and closing and not only "will do" but when it will get done.
• Then an email when the job was done.
• A thank you from the initial requester (more salutation, closing)
• The final response was a "you're welcome."  

How many emails is that? 5? All with salutations and closures.  It was sweet, but time-consuming!

Yeah, I may be that person. LOL.  

[skimomma]

I am a "good morning" and "thanks" emailer for work stuff.  I have to be careful about greetings that include the name of the recipient because I work in a job in which the titles of most of the people I email are tricky to navigate.  As in, I have an informal enough relationship with some/most to use first names, rather than their official title, but there are a handful in which that may or may not be appropriate and I am never for sure who I am going to tick off.  Like some would get ruffled if I used their formal title and others will get ruffled if I don't and there is no predicting.  It took a while for me to get used to that.

I don't at all mind "I hope this email finds you well" or other vague references to well wishes.