Be polite when you’re contacting people and companies.

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I’m at Whole Foods in Garden City, Long Island. I was using my debit card and it took a few tries for it to work. The reason is that the debit card is slightly scratched. 

I was sending a secure message to my bank and I thought I’d create a blog post about it. The following is the message I sent to my bank:

Greetings, 

Can you please send me a new debit card with the same number? I still have my current debit card and it’s working. Don’t cancel my current card. 

Please just send me a new fresh one before the current one stops working because it’s a little scratched. If you require any additional information please let me know. 

Thank you and have a great day. 

Ever upward, 

Mark Pine

I contact companies all the time via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the corporate support pages on their websites. Sometimes I’m in a rush. There are instances when I’m unhappy with the product or service. 

Regardless of what is going on I always slow down a little bit while I’m sending the request or information to the company. I make sure my message is clear. More importantly, I always go out of my way to construct the note to be ultra respectful. 

The same thing goes for when I’m contacting the staff and professors at The City University of New York. Anytime I send a message to a staff member at my college I go above and beyond to be respectful. I also take my time to make sure the message is clear so they know what I’m requesting. 

In my humble opinion, if you go through life sending half-written emails and messages to people that give the impression that you’re stressed out, people are not going to respect you. Moreover, you can potentially miss out on important details. 

Be friendly. Be polite. Be respectful. Be clear. You never know who is going to be reading your messages and emails. Furthermore, you might miss out on crucial information if you are sending out the wrong impression while reaching out to people. 

Regardless of what is going on, it’s safe to say the person fielding your messages didn’t create the problem you are inquiring about. If someone gives you an attitude, ignore it. Continue to treat the individual with the utmost respect, keep it brief and professional, then move on.

Someone giving you an attitude is not an excuse to act disrespectfully. Bring them up to your level and move on. 

Published by

Mark Pine

New York City startups, web marketing, and Baruch College journalism major. 917-815-5415 social@markpine.com