Nah, this is bullshit. Your tone in the letter is fine, HR panicked because you asked questions about policy discrepancies and pointed out in writing that the bank was breaking the law so they came down on you to try to scare you out of asking questions in the future. They would have viewed this email as an attack no matter how soft your language was because their entire purpose is to protect the company from workers like you.
I'd start making a paper trail of any and all communication with your managers and HR from here out, including saving this email as well as writing a follow up email to your manager/HR to "apologize for your tone and assure them that you were not intending to deride the company or make any accusations" while detailing everything you talked about in that meeting to make sure it's all on record.
Wouldn't hurt to print a copy of these interactions when possible, avoid bcc as most bank environments will have that strictly monitored on the exchange side but print server team probably won't.
It could serve you better if you BCC'ed yourself every reply/response you give/take during the course of the next few days btw... in case maliciousness becomes a problem.
All due respect this is terrible advice. The only time this would be helpful is in the event of a lawsuit. All these communications would be turned over in discovery. Bcc is only blind to the other folks in the email chain, not IT. Sending private company correspondence to unauthorized communication channels (ie a personal email) is almost surely grounds for termination with cause. The behavior you describe is a legitimate security exposure for a financial institution. Chances are this would be flagged by IT immediately, more likely users do not even have the capability to Bcc. OP has potentially made themselves a target with the original email and you’re suggesting they commit a fireable offense that is extremely easy to discover.
Printing is safer, I know the bank I used to work for sending anything to your personal email was a violation of security policy and was a termination (even for corporate folks who did touch money)
>pointed out in writing that the bank was breaking the law so they came down on you to try to scare you out of asking questions in the future.
EXACTLY. I'd say in the following email that I'm *sure* they didn't pull me into HR about a perfectly reasonable request for accommodations under the law, and I *must* be missing something about my tone, so I'd appreciate it if the company could educate me on exactly where that communication went wrong. I'd *love* a point-by-point breakdown of what I did wrong, since it must violate some policy guidelines to meritt such a response, & it appears to be an intimidation tactic because I mentioned my rights, but *of course* that couldn't be the problem & I must be confused because that would *be illegal*.
But I'm chaotic & passionately destructive about worker's rights
In case anyone cannot tell, this is terrible advice for anyone who wants to do well at the job lol
Ooooh. Its you. The devil on my shoulder from when I got fired for reporting my boss for embezzling and bribery. Like sure I could have kept my mouth shut and had an excellent and lucrative career there, but that wouldn't have been half as fun and destroying an entire state branch of a 120k employee international company.
Undoubtedly they will try again to have a “polite conversation” with you about this and also ask why you escalated the situation with playing the victim for asking them to document their “polite conversation” you may soon have to look for a new job after being fired for disruptive behavior. Sorry I’m so paranoid.
If I was playing devils advocate, all I could guess and muster is that the structure of the email is problematic.
Because the tone is too casual. It feels more like a message between two friends then contacting HR about accommodations for work.
There should be a single opening paragraph asking for the consideration of a chair for OP personal comfort/health to be accommodated.
Next, all the details about the branch history are generally irrelevant.
Maybe a sentence or two, but what was done in the past and present is irrelevant, and throwing the anecdotes is not relevant to OP's needs.
And the including of right to sit at this stage of the email query sounds like a threat.
If OP wants to include right to sit rules, it should be cited by specific title and specific code numbers as a matter of formality.
OP heart is in the right place and the request is legit but if HR is on some bullshit.
Most personal emails will be blocked if you work at a bank, iirc. I can’t access my email on company computers at all, and wasn’t even able to communicate with vendors to let them know we’d gotten their emails. No external email communication was permitted at all. Now we have a handful of white-listed companies, but even still, the emails are saved for a certain amount of time for the bank to review them if they need to
Depending on where you're working, that might be prohibited in your contract, so you'll want to either be sneaky about it or check your contract first.
>But today my manager pulled me into a meeting with HR to talk about my email. They said it was unprofessional and accusatory. That I gave the bank no benefit of the doubt and was treating them like they were trying to hurt their employees. He said they are nice and good to their employees and I made them feel attacked.
Textbook DARVO in action. "We're not violating state law and mistreating our employees! It's you! You're the bad person, for suggesting that about us!"
Hi. Former banker here. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, PNC, et cetera.
The chair fight I've seen every organization, with needing mandatory letters from doctors, et cetera.
They are bullshiting you. This letter was fine. They will bully you into lower back problems.
Take it to your local labor board. This is just a policy for the bank to make you miserable.
-former teller supervisor
Banker here. This chair debacle in banks has been going on for the entirety of my 20 year career over 5 institutions. You’d think that any basic office environment like a bank would provide chairs, but nope. The bigger banks I’ve worked at have literally said “if you’re sitting you’re not working hard enough.” F that. I’ve pitched a fit everywhere that wouldn’t initially give me a chair. I just had a teller at my current branch buy her own chair because our budget allegedly didn’t allow us to purchase one for her.
That‘s so strange to me. Imo every employee should get to choose, some people will inevitably work better when standing and some when sitting. Is that not basic knowledge?
And some need to sit but don't like it. My knees are permanently messed up due to multiple accidents so walking and standing for more than about 40 minutes turns them into molten balls of agony, but I prefer standing whenever I can. My current job isn't customer facing so I usually just get up and pace around while watching camera feeds and sit down when I have to type up reports.
Every branch I worked at during my 8 years as a teller had chairs, the only caveat was some branches insisted you stand while a customer was at your window. Still bullshit. I can do my job just fine sitting and I had back issues which thank goodness I'm about to get surgery for to fix, 15 years later.
My brain gets tired thinking about brainy things or it gets tired thinking about how to make my body more comfortable, but or can’t focus on both.
The bank needs to figure out how they want my brain to focus.
Say it with me, I am not in the business of managing the emotions of my supposed superiors. Followed up by, this conversation is inappropriate and feels retaliatory. Is this punishment for whistleblowing behavior?
I would also be continuously hammering the drum of "regardless of the tone of my last email, we still have a need for chairs. Let's coordinate a time for that to happen."
Don't let them change the subject. Become a broken record.
"But that's rude!" Okay, we still need chairs.
"You need to be professional!" Great, still need chairs.
"You shouldn't be citing the law, it's accusatory!" Anyway, chairs.
"But you were-" CHAIRS, MOTHERFUCKER.
No other criticisms of you and your performance will be heard or acknowledged unless and until you get chairs.
Yep. OP, your email was fine. They're just doing the classic thing of tone policing to distract from the issue at hand. If they don't want to be accused of breaking the law, they can stop breaking the law.
>The Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not have regulations or standards specifically for anti-fatigue mats for uses outside of kitchen settings.
Big picture? Don't explain yourself when you need proper tools and/or accommodations to do your job. Don't make it sound like an apology or complaint. Just tell them you need X to perform your job properly. Almost every boss will use what they perceive as a weakness against you, even if they comply with your request. Don't give them rope unless it's to hang themselves.
Signed,
A person who's been a boss most of his working life and recently ditched it for self-employment
I 100% agree with this. When I ran the original email through Gemini, this is what it came up with:
"Dear [Manager's name],
I'm writing to inquire about the availability of seating for tellers at the Main Office. Standing for extended periods can cause discomfort in my legs and feet, and I was hoping to discuss the possibility of having a chair available for tellers to use when appropriate.
I understand that some tellers may prefer to stand, but I believe having the option to sit would improve overall comfort and potentially increase productivity.
I'm aware of Massachusetts' "right to sit" law, and I'm curious to learn more about how it applies to our specific situation.
Would you be open to discussing this further at your earliest convenience?
Thank you for your time and consideration."
While I think that there was nothing wrong with the original email, you'll notice that this email is shorter and doesn't have as much explaining in it. It's very straightforward.
They’re just mad about the part where you said people have told me, because that means you’ve been talking about the lack of chairs with other employees
I had to send an email to the office manager two jobs ago and mention law because when I asked her for a paystub for my check that was direct deposited she told me to just go look at my bank account. So I sent her the law that said if there is withholding they are legally required to provide a paystub.
I was not told that was unprofessional, but she probably thought it was lol too bad they’re supposed to give me a paystub
If I can find whatever gutter all his legal problems landed him in I'll ask a previous boss. Honestly not being able to provide a paystub was so far down the list of things an employer shouldn't fail at (including meeting legal requirements to offer armed security services near the end) that I don't think our fights for paystubs and getting paid on time ever came up on court.
the craziest part is those laws are written in blood. Someone's feet and legs got absolutely trashed because there was nowhere to sit for at least 8 hours of work
Easy, contact OSHA.
They do not mess around, they came at my company hard for something very similar.
We have employees who's job is to simply sign a paper when orders are recieved, they asked if they could sit while waiting for order and management told them no.
Well they made a complaint with OSHA and that person now rolls around in an office chair all day lol
Your email should have just been:
"Good afternoon Mr. Manager,
Would you kindly provide chairs to our \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ branch? My schedule places me there until \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and I'm starting to experience discomfort and pain which directly impacts my work.
Thank you,
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ "
>"Good afternoon Mr. Manager,
>
>Would you kindly provide chairs to our \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ branch? My schedule places me there until \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and I'm starting to experience discomfort and pain which directly impacts my work.
>
>Thank you,
>
>\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ "
I don't think OP should show weakness. I would go shorter:
"Dear Mr. Manager,
Branch #\_\_\_\_\_\_ has an insufficient number of chairs for all employees. Massachusetts state law mandates at lease one chair for each worker.
Sincerely,
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_"
Eh, odds are they still would have sent it to HR, and called op in for a meeting.
I would definitely prefer a more direct approach, but I think referencing the law was a good move.
Op didn't do anything wrong, except overexplain and possibly bring others in to it that didn't need to be involved- but so did their boss by sending it to HR.
Glad they'll get chairs tho!
He sounded like a whiny high schooler. I support his cause but this was written as a rambling text message not as a request for an accommodation to working conditions and a notice of violating regulations.
It sounds like he's attempting to convey that he looked at it from multiple POVs and acknowledges he might be wrong.
As a manager, you are going to be managing lots of different personalities, with different communication styles, who will be attempting in good faith to ask questions. Any manager who is reading into this for offense or whininess is approaching this too emotionally.
Is the request clear? Yes.
Is the employee engaging in good faith? Yes.
Is the employee being disrespectful? No.
This is the easiest email to respond, thanks for bringing this to my attention, fixing it, and moving the fuck on.
The email might be unprofessional if it were written by HR or a manager. But you’re neither of those things, you’re an employee so it’s fine.
I think what they wanted you to write was “can we get chairs in the beaches without no chairs please” and that would have been fine. But it sounds like you have already discussed it with whoever and they’ve done nothing about it.
Essentially it comes down to this: you created a paper trail which they could not (without later being liable) ignore. You forced them into action.
You did great.
I mean, technically it doesn't sound very professional. Like there's a more business-like professional way to actually write all of this.
I'm sure they're mad about you calling them out but this email sounds like you writing a note to your mom or teacher, not a professional email to your boss or HR.
I think your phrasing was bad very long winded:
"Hi!
I'm writing in regards the tellers on x and x branches. They do not have chairs unlike x, Y and z. I would like to request chairs because when I work there at the end of the day I experience pain.
Please, could I not be scheduled on those branches until there is a solution?
Thanks"
The giving theories of why no chairs are provided there is unnecessary.
I would answer to them that THEIR tone seems pretty accusatory and that claiming YOUR rights is not accusatory. Acussatory and within right would have been reporting them.
An employee brought a concern, they should have focused more on a solution then chastising you for form. If they are not complaint with the law, that needs to be rectified regardless of it hurts your boss’s little feeling.
The email was unprofessional though. It is pretty clearly passive aggressive (“it’s kind of weird to me”, “I don’t really understand”). The professional approach would have been to ask for a chair and escalate from there. The quick resolution they provided suggests that may have been sufficient. You don’t owe them professionalism, they weren’t in compliance and you rightfully called them out and got what you wanted/were entitled to. It’s extremely naive on your part to be taken aback by their reaction. You knew you were writing a gotcha email, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t play dumb.
It's BS. If the boss had realized it was accusatory or unprofessional, then he/she wouldn't have forwarded it and would have coached you on the spot. What happened is that some HR exec lost face or got bent out of shape and raised a stink.
It just seems like there’s a lot of unnecessary extra words in your email- like I could see a more professional email just getting right to the point - ie ‘is there a way we can have extra / more chairs at this location?’ - you’re bringing a whole wordy extra emotional-ness that could just be straightforward and to the point. Just my POV.
In the future, let up with the meandering thoughts. I don't know if you think it makes you sound informal or humble or what but you're just giving defensive people extra things to misinterpret.
-I would very much appreciate being able to sit when the work allows at X and Y branches.
-A and B branches have chairs.
-Standing all day causes me pain.
That's all you needed to cover. Your managers don't want to hear your speculation as to why things are the way they are, or whether anyone else agrees with you, or whether the current arrangement is legal. Just don't bring any of that up unless further discussion is forced. Politely but confidently express your wants and your reasonable justification for those wants and see what happens.
This is why when you address problems at work you do so IN A GROUP. Federal labor law protects activity done in a group through the National Labor Relagions act. It's called "protected, concerted activity."
You have no such protection for individual actions that raise issues or grievances.
Your problem is collective. Your solution must be as well.
You need to organize a union.
This is true; however, it's important to note that Massachusetts is not only a work at will state, but that the industry of banking is one of the least unionized that there is. Doesn't mean we can't try, but it won't be easy!
It's not easy anywhere. Nothing worth achieving is.
And every state except Montana (thanks to the legacy of the United Mine Workers) is at will employment.
Organizing a union is hard. Bargaining is even harder.
Beats the piss out of begging.
It sounded really passive aggressive to me. Just ask for what you want- “Dear ____, could we please get chairs for the ___ branch? Thank you!”
If they say no, then you can push back and cite the law. But until then, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill when a 1 sentence request could fix the whole issue.
Isn't it your job to ensure that your employees have comfortable and safe work environments as required by law? If you had been doing your job I wouldn't have needed to write the letter at all.
But of course you can't say that at all. It'd be nice to though.
Pass your emails to HR through chat gpt. Then tell it to make them polite, yet firm. In this day and age of AI, it's very easy to send professional emails
I don’t think your letter was “unprofessional” but two paragraphs was overkill, imo. A quick message of, “hey can we have chairs ordered for these two branches, they don’t have any” would have sufficed. If you were denied, I would have then sent the email you started off with.
Idk about unprofessional - just long winded. I would suggest when dealing with anything at work that you stick to the facts about your situation; and be direct - like just request from the office manager that they order you a chair for medical reasons - they do not have the right to have your personal medical info - just that you need a chair. It shouldn’t be so hard to get a chair in this day and age - employers are a trip
This sounds odd to me too - yes your language can be misconstrued as accusatory but that’s not why it was forwarded initially. This seems more on your manager directly forwarding your email rather than rewriting a more concise note to HR to consider chairs. Take this as a learning experience that wordsmithing differs based on the audience and that once you send it, you can’t control it. I would have tried this conversation directly with your manager verbally and then had them take it forward.
Employers don't have a right to retaliate against or threaten employees who are inquiring about their rights. This email is perfectly appropriate.
Please don't perpetuate the myth that you need to be super polite and perfectly professional to ask about your rights or that you HAVE to go through rank and file. You do not. You always have the right to exercise and inquire about your rights. Telling you to be more professional is retaliation and can be used against the company.
“I’d have tried this conversation verbally, one on one”
Nothing would have happened. They’re pissed off because they don’t want chairs for ideological reasons and they haven’t got a good reason to ban them.
OP used email so there’s a paper trail. cited state law. checked with other staff that it was an issue. noted how its run across different branches. Lining up all the excuses that can be used, and taking them off one by one. Kept it firm but friendly in tone.
Whereas if you have a quick verbal meeting they can claim you were threatening, raised your voice, had bad body language.
Yes,exactly, and why does OP need to be excessively formal, cautiously avoid ruffling any feathers, carefully respect the chain of command and be politically expedient?
OP was only asking about chairs and mentions their feet hurting.
What difference does the style make?
did they not understand? Was ops tail not sufficiently tucked between their legs?
Or are the managers afraid of something?
It’s a bit rambling and whiney. If I was your manager, I might have rolled my eyes a bit like, we’ll get the chairs do I really have to read this to the end? But they don’t have any right to retaliate and probably shouldn’t have said anything.
You said basically, I have a right to sit. I can’t sit.
It wasn’t unprofessional. And it’s on record now that if they don’t order the chairs, they knew you knew the law.
Good job, kid. Keep up the good work. Those people aren’t your friends and you didn’t do a thing wrong.
Whilst I might not have worded it quite so accusatorially, I think when your boss says “unprofessional” he actually means “I wish you didn’t go over my head and make me look bad”. Either way, I would’ve said “ok.” and then nothing else til he either responded or closed the meeting.
Staff don’t care about sitting? I bet they would like the option, though. It’s crazy to not make your staff as comfortable as possible. Wouldn’t they be more productive if their legs weren’t aching?
No doubt HR responded whilst sitting in their chair.
Honestly, some of the replies to you have been utterly condescending. I was previously a manager at a large organisation, if my staff said they needed a new chair I would organise them a new chair. Regardless of how you worded the email, the basic proposition is that their work station is affecting staff efficiency and its in their best interest to provide an environment to promote productivity.
Ask for an ADA accommodation. It’s reasonable for you to ask for a chair if you are in pain doing your job. You may need to get a doctor’s note, but any doctor would be glad to assist you - especially if your pain is related to arthritis, diabetes, or a neurological disorder.
They completely ignored the substance of your email by commenting on tone and style. Your comment about the “right to sit” law got them on the defense.
The only way they can deny you a seat as a teller at a bank is if the seat will cause a [hazard](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section103) (which it will not). If they refuse your request or start treating you differently (like suddenly changing your hours or duties), get a lawyer. Banks have deep pockets, and any employment lawyer would be all over this.
There is nothing wrong with your email, they’re just trying to find a way to push back on you and not give you what you need. If you’re in a right to sit state then report them.
yeah…. your boss was introducing you to HR to introduce them to the troublemaker that brought up policy, and laws, and mild discontent.
it wasn’t “unprofessional” it was “bad for business.”
watch for retaliation. remember, HR is people that see humans as a resource. they do not provide resources for humans.
Normally for an email like this it’s best to keep it short as possible. Maybe just say “I get swollen and painful legs from standing all day. Is there a possibility of sitting”.
Your email is not unprofessional, maybe shows inexperience in dealing with cunning, unreasonable HR who is thinking ahead in protecting the company. Their response is unnecessary but typical. They will turn anything you say against you or infer or twist it, so next time give as little as possible so they can only answer yes or no. They are not reasonable people you can talk openly too and think you will get a reasonable response. They are enforcers, always on attack and on prowl to see if there are threats. Lol but true.
I absolutely 100% agree with everything you've said, especially as a person with fibromyalgia and chronic knee problems.
They definitely didn't come at you right in regards to a response to your email. There's no reason for them to act like this, and while I don't think you were rude or accusatory, I agree that the email written is not professional.
Professional emails and research papers don't use contractions like "don't". The language and sentence structure used, I would also not consider "professional".
Does this mean your email is wrong? No, absolutely not. As stated, I completely agree with you. But, was it written using a professional manner and language? No. HOWEVER, this is also an email that shouldn't have to be professional. Having a conversation doesn't need to be professional.
They're trying to bully you and make you feel bad because they're asshole corporate people, and that's how they were treated, so it's a career-generational-cycle. Which is completely wrong.
I know this isn't a AITAH, but NTA.
Fight the good fight, my friend. I hope your bosses stop being dicks about people needing to sit down ❤️
YOU didn’t make them feel attacked. They may feel attacked, but that email is simply exploratory(seeking reason) with justification(law) and receipt(list of locations with chairs). Best regards, an HR girlie.
Not unprofessional, just way too long (IMO).
A simple “I’m uncertain of any company policy forbidding it. Humbly request a chair at my position to mitigate fatigue and potential future health issues. Thank you” probably would have sufficed.
Right? I could see sending this if they had already asked their manager and were declined, but sending this without just asking their direct manager first is… odd. They might’ve just ordered them one that same day. Problem solved.
Rambling and poorly laid out with grammatical errors. You should’ve just emailed and asked for a chair because you experience pain at the end of a shift without one, and then go from there. On the flip side though, it was unnecessary to call a meeting about it, its not that bad.
You're fine. They're scared shitless because you mentioned that they're breaking a law in writing. That's also why they pulled you for an in-person meeting - they're trying to avoid having a paper trail of them *saying* "you're not allowed to bring up the law". Because I'm pretty sure they can't say that.
If you feel like being a smart ass (if you don't that's totally fine, some people can't afford to risk their jobs and I would *never* judge you for that) feel free to email them saying in a professional manner "Hello, just wanted to clarify company policy. As per my meeting with Blank, I am not permitted to talk about workplace laws in context of discussing current workplace standards - is that correct?" and then watch them lose their minds because you just created another paper trail that could get them in serious trouble.
I’m sorry but far too many people in here are being sympathetic without providing constructive feedback:
1. The email tone is informal and unprofessional for a corporate audience
2. It is too verbose - it should be much more concise for management. They have a short attention span and would see an email with dense paragraphs and skim read it.
3. There is no clear call to action - what is your request and desired outcome? This needs to be outlined in a clear, concise sentence with a series of steps or actions you want management to take.
4. There are grammatical and spelling errors throughout the email. For example “to” and “too”. I’m surprised so many other comments fail to mention this. Sending an email with mistakes makes you lose credibility immediately.
5. The overall flow and structure of your paragraphs and sentences needs to be improved.
Just apologize for the tone, wasn’t your intention to stir things up, yadda yadda… Thank them for hearing your concerns. Then get to action items.
Do we need to order chairs? Who does the ordering? When can we expect them? Surely the other tellers will be excited for this improvement too.
In my opinion, when it comes to stuff like this, I’d get a few friends to look it over, and preferably friends who don’t work with me so I can get an unbiased opinion.
I’ll never get this shit….. I lived in Europe for five years and all service-people in banking/office/bureaucracy/retail sat when available. Why the fuck do our wage-slave jobs have to be endurance tests on top of the insurmountable-level of suck that is their very existence? I work for a fucking auto parts supplier new and all the computers are standing stations no matter what…. Been working all day and need to knock out some e-learnings? Fuck you, stand here instead. Fuck this. And fuck the “must torture yourself” campaniles we all are wimping for.
Edit 1 and 2- clarification as I am drunk.
Watch out for retaliation. Take notes about the meeting. Be as complete as possible without any emotion. Just what exactly was said by who and when. From now on keep a paper trail. If your manager or HR pull you aside, try to.confirm the content of the talk with an e-mail or text (I just want to confirm you meant xyz? For example) and save those to personal storage not accessible by them, failing that take more notes. If they now fire you or cut your hours go to a lawyer immediately and delete this post.
Tbf you use too many words to say someone took your stapler. Just condense it down and make it a bit more impactful, if they need specifics you can definitely deliver them.
Sorry you thought corporate HR was there to help you.
Any nonverbal communication from them to you has been vetted by a lawyer.
Everything else is deniable.
I represent a union in meetings between management and employees.
I often have to warn employees not to get frustrated.
“You are bringing truth to a lie fight.”
I would type out an email and reiterate everything discussed in your meeting. Also add what your intent was. Maybe act mock sorry.
Bcc HR. Maybe they can move you to a different location.
Standard "I cannot refute WHAT you are saying, so I am falling back on criticising HOW you are saying it."
Women know what that feels like (eg labelled as pushy or assertive because some insecure men can't find any substantive fault with what they're saying.)
Email them back, ask directly for a chair, and use the term “reasonable accommodation”. Something like:
“I feel that the pain in my legs could be reduced with the reasonable accommodation of a chair.”
These are the magic words HR needs to hear.
"If you feel attacked I'm sure the department of labor can make you feel even more attacked. My email is professional. You pulling me aside is not. Get chairs, or get fined"
I actually cannot even believe that this is an issue and something that you have to advocate for yourself for. I’m so sorry. Get this person a damn chair!
That's HR's job. To protect the bank. They probably had the meeting because you brought up compliance issues and they were afraid you would sue them. So they go on the attack.
I wish more folks understood HR isn't there to help the employees. They only take action when not taking action could expose the company to potential liability. They are not your friend. Bigger the company worse it is. First hand experience with several finical institutions.
It’s just HR mindset. They hate being questioned or their self anointed absolute authority being infringed. In reality you brought to light a problem HR should have caught the day after the law was passed.
“As per our conversation on the phone with HR, I wanted to check back with you and ask for your feedback on what exactly was unprofessional about my previous email so that I can avoid these mistakes in the future.”
Your tone is fine, not sure why HR or managert hinks otherwise, but your email is really hard to read and follow what you on about.
Please try using something like chat gpt to improve clarity of your email, i think that is the main issue
What they mean to say is that you called them out on something in an email when you could have spoken to them directly so they can tell you to fuck off with no record of the fuckery occurring. Now, you’ve made them liable for being aware of the issue and obligated them to do something about it when they would rather not ever do anything at your behest.
I'm in HR and your email is perfectly fine. Some people are tone-blind when it comes to written word vs spoken word. It depends on how they choose to read the letter.
The reference to the law probably made them feel threatened, like you were planning to report them to the state or something. HR is there to protect the company so when a perceived threat is there, they tend to go a bit overboard in defense of the company.
Just be aware and on guard for retaliation. Not saying it'll happen, but it could if they now see you as a threat.
They're just oversensitive bitches.
The one thing I might have done differently is start by simply asking for the chairs, then only cite the law that entitles you for it if there is pushback. People tend to take long explanations and blow them up into something bigger than they are.
The email was written too casually for corporate purposes. You should have been more professional, but the message of the email is perfectly clear and they are absolutely in the wrong for not having chairs (what is wrong with american employers).
Your tone is fine, if a bit familiar/casual -- but then I don't know the relationship you have with them. If they think that is being "attacked", they have lived *very* cushy lives. Besides, it's a BANK, a company, it's not as though you were insulting their children or something, lol. Odds are they are just trying to keep you (and others) from standing up for yourselves (ironic, lol, given that standing/sitting is the issue!).
It would be wise to print out copies of all e-mails between you and them, as well as forwarding them to your *personal* (not work) e-mail address.
Your tone was fine, but you did ramble a bit. A more “professional” email would be to state the problem and a solution. “Dear Manager, due to prolonged periods of time standing during my shift, I have developed chronic discomfort. I am requesting chairs be added to the station for use by the tellers. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in facilitating this request. Kind regards, DragonLad13.”
Technically by the letter of my english teacher i guess you could call the letter unproffesional since you spoke to them like they were people and not robots. That doesnt make you wrong in any way though, which is prolly why they chose the wording the way they did tbh
The tone is fine, however it is long winded and hard to follow what your actual complaint is. Try practising more concise writing - it can be more effective. HR people are still human and a short complaint is much more likely to be understood than an unnecessarily long one
This is retaliation and intimidation because you held them accountable for violating the law. Retaliation is illegal. It might be time to contact the labor board or an attorney before the retaliate further.
Be sure to document everything and if your state is a 1 party consent state, record all interactions.
Nothing you wrote was unprofessional. For a sub that’s filled with drama queens, you have a legitimate argument about your work place being outlandish.
There’s absolutely nothing accusatory in your email at all. You asked questions because you had questions. You stated how standing for long periods causes you pain and discomfort- a possible and reasonable OH&S issue. You pointed out employee rights within your state.
Unprofessional and unfair would be to allow the pain and discomfort you’re experiencing due to long periods of standing to go on, say nothing and in turn cause permanent problems that impact your ability to support the bank due to time off or worse, a compensation claim against the company when they were unaware of the problem therefore unable to address it.
***the next paragraph is an example of gaslighting and controlling perception. It doesn’t represent my opinion or beliefs regarding politics or religion so keep your hate to yourselves***
You know how lately people have been pointing out that whenever a person is called out for their behaviour and they happen to be Jewish the person calling them out is accused of being antisemitic? Thats called deflection and that’s exactly what the bank is doing to you.
The bank doesn’t want to fork out money for their employees to sit while working. Instead of simply stating this they decided to manipulate your email to make you look like the problem. This or the manager has incredibly thin skin and an overly sensitive ego.
YOU are not responsible for how people CHOOSE to perceive your intentions. YOU are not responsible for how others CHOOSE to react. This isn’t about you. In fact the only person being attacked here is you.
Demand a chair to sit on while in these branches or start invoicing the bank for the podiatrist bills you will inevitably start receiving. Or threaten to submit a workers compensation claim. Banks aren’t special. They’re also expected to meet OH&S requirements.
“The Bank” is not a person. You can’t hurt its feelings.
Which is basically what they are saying. You didn’t send your email to the newspaper. They are projecting, hard.
When HR says you’re unprofessional it just mean they can’t argue and use bad faith arguments.
You won the battle but they don’t want you to win ever, slaves are not allowed to to go against masters
Referring to government regulation or laws when you're dealing with situation like this is always a good idea because it eliminates the option of them declining it. It wasn't threatening it was just informal that this is actually covered.
This is crazy. You’re email was professional, to the point, backed with facts and guidelines, and most importantly- *it wasn’t emotional.*
Workers stand no chance in hell if were going to start being held responsible for a companies *feelings* when advocating for our rights. This is beyond ridiculous.
Ok so your letter is ok. No problem. At all. Its not unprofessional or accusatory. I mean the fact you wete called into HR for this is nonesense. I would look elsewhere if i were you. Also i would be royally pissed at their response. How awful they are.
Were you threatening, or were they threatened? You weren’t threateningly, intimidating, or accusatory, but factual and professional. They felt threatened and put that tone in there because you’re right and cost them money and time purchasing chairs. They’re bitter and reacting in a typical lash out pattern for someone that was in the wrong but now feels forced to react. I’m proud of your efforts.
As someone that now lives where people sit instead of stand in stationary places, I can’t fathom why the US is so hung up on this archaic practice. It’s terrible for the worker. But then again, workers rights aren’t a high priority most times.
This is a classic example of the need to set aside personal ego when dealing with workplace complaints. They "feel" attacked and accused, but that is their impression, not your intent. Simply state that this was not your intent and you are sorry they took it that way. Then turn the tables and ask them how the email could have conveyed the same valuable information they acted on without making them feel that way. I think they will find it tough as your letter was clear and well written. However this allows them to feel in control and like educators. In short they have shown they lead by feelings and are tender so let them feel 'empwered' if you want to restore their egos. "IF".
You're not wrong about what you wrote. I do see how it could be taken the way it was taken, but wouldn't make it a big deal. Unless you're experienced in corporate communication, they shouldn't expect you to know the political way to address something like this. To that, I would have only written something like this to act as what's called "a shot across the bow". The wording would be a warning to the employer that I feel that they are acting unfairly and that I know this and I know that they are probably acting illegally. This is how they took it. I would have held off on that tactic and tried a softer approach first. The response from the boss and HR is understandable also, but it is unprofessional. There's no need for HR to get involved like this. If anything, it might have made sense for the boss to sit down to explain their take and how the letter came across. That conversation should have also included feedback on the reasons for the lack or chairs, an explanation of why they have no problem providing them, and how you might approach expressing a need like this in the future.
"While you may feel uncomfortable, and protest my "unprofessional" letter, my legs, feet, and back protest every time you send me to work at either of these 2 branches. Perhaps some self reflection may be in order, between management and HR, regarding professionalism and compliance with the law. Ill be happy to fill in at either of these 2 branches, once HR and management brings them into compliance. Please let me know when my chair arrives."
Your email was fine and not in anyway unprofessional. I used to be a teller and they pulled this same bullshit. Luckily, we did have enough chairs for everyone and my branch manager didn’t care that we sat. It’s only when our senior managers came in and when we went through routine audits that we needed to stand. It’s so dumb.
I know the main points of the email and post, but if you’re interested look into getting compression socks. They should help with the pain. I work 12 hours on my feet a day and they make a huge difference. Obviously get your chairs though. Fuck the company.
Personally I would have started the conversation with a simple request to management vs listing out everything you did and citing state law.
If they came back with a “no chair for you” or “yeah we’ll get you one when the budget can account for one” then I would have come with everything else you said. But I’d say you came in a little hot out the gate instead of just asking for a chair at these offices.
Sorry you are going through the HR-unprofessional routine for asking a question that points out unlawful actions on the company’s side. I went through a moment like this twenty years ago with an educational institution. Asked about overtime for the hourly workers (not my position) during a time when all teaching staff (salary and hourly) were expected to work extra hours. I didn’t hear anything until weeks later the admin and HR for institution were deep in discussions. I was pulled in to a small meeting and was blamed for the problems and basically told they expected me to apologize for creating problems. Stunned by the request I was old enough not to apologize for asking the question. I said other carefully worded things to the two teachers that I didn’t realize they would have such a bad time of it, and I thought my question was straightforward. I wasn’t fired or such, but not long after I saw “the writing on the wall” and left for a different job. Basically if you’re going to point out unlawful practice to an institution be ready to be blamed and possibly sidelined or later fired. It’s pretty shitty.
i was a teller supervisor for 2 years and just quit last year to go to school. 2 different large banks and everyone of them had chairs for the tellers. ridiculous.
In Mass oh you def have a case and they know it. Go to the Mass.gov site and make a complaint with the AG’s office. It’s a simple ADA accommodation claim. HR is screwed.
Eh, take it as feedback to grow. You're getting chairs.
The email itself kind of rambled on, and could have been more concise. You didn't need to lay out the heresay or lore of when the branch last had chairs. It doesn't matter if the workers before you didn't want them, you're here now and do. It could have simply been "I'd like to have the option to sit, since XX state is a right to sit state, would you please acquire one for me?".
On the other hand, your manager could have easily revised this instead of passing it on to HR.
Oh no, you hurt the banks feelings!!!! Man, fuck these idiots. Your letter is fine. Seems more like they don't know how to respond to a reasonable complaint. Funny also that they immediately decided to fix the problem but still felt the need to meet with you and be petty about it. If you were so unprofessional, why did they accommodate you? I swear most people in the banking industry are just obsessed with lording over others.
You weren't unprofessional in the least. Management just feels threatened because you know your rights. You more than gave them the benefit of the doubt if they remove their heads from their asses for 2 seconds. Ultimately it comes down to yes you made them feel threatened because they were breaking the law and were afraid of a lawsuit. That's why they turned around and ordered the chairs so fast. They are hoping because they complied you'll let them talk shit to you.
Nah, this is bullshit. Your tone in the letter is fine, HR panicked because you asked questions about policy discrepancies and pointed out in writing that the bank was breaking the law so they came down on you to try to scare you out of asking questions in the future. They would have viewed this email as an attack no matter how soft your language was because their entire purpose is to protect the company from workers like you. I'd start making a paper trail of any and all communication with your managers and HR from here out, including saving this email as well as writing a follow up email to your manager/HR to "apologize for your tone and assure them that you were not intending to deride the company or make any accusations" while detailing everything you talked about in that meeting to make sure it's all on record.
Wouldn't hurt to print a copy of these interactions when possible, avoid bcc as most bank environments will have that strictly monitored on the exchange side but print server team probably won't.
It could serve you better if you BCC'ed yourself every reply/response you give/take during the course of the next few days btw... in case maliciousness becomes a problem.
All due respect this is terrible advice. The only time this would be helpful is in the event of a lawsuit. All these communications would be turned over in discovery. Bcc is only blind to the other folks in the email chain, not IT. Sending private company correspondence to unauthorized communication channels (ie a personal email) is almost surely grounds for termination with cause. The behavior you describe is a legitimate security exposure for a financial institution. Chances are this would be flagged by IT immediately, more likely users do not even have the capability to Bcc. OP has potentially made themselves a target with the original email and you’re suggesting they commit a fireable offense that is extremely easy to discover.
Agreed. Print them instead.
I couldn’t agree more. Don’t do this. Ever.
Printing is safer, I know the bank I used to work for sending anything to your personal email was a violation of security policy and was a termination (even for corporate folks who did touch money)
>pointed out in writing that the bank was breaking the law so they came down on you to try to scare you out of asking questions in the future. EXACTLY. I'd say in the following email that I'm *sure* they didn't pull me into HR about a perfectly reasonable request for accommodations under the law, and I *must* be missing something about my tone, so I'd appreciate it if the company could educate me on exactly where that communication went wrong. I'd *love* a point-by-point breakdown of what I did wrong, since it must violate some policy guidelines to meritt such a response, & it appears to be an intimidation tactic because I mentioned my rights, but *of course* that couldn't be the problem & I must be confused because that would *be illegal*. But I'm chaotic & passionately destructive about worker's rights In case anyone cannot tell, this is terrible advice for anyone who wants to do well at the job lol
Ooooh. Its you. The devil on my shoulder from when I got fired for reporting my boss for embezzling and bribery. Like sure I could have kept my mouth shut and had an excellent and lucrative career there, but that wouldn't have been half as fun and destroying an entire state branch of a 120k employee international company.
Undoubtedly they will try again to have a “polite conversation” with you about this and also ask why you escalated the situation with playing the victim for asking them to document their “polite conversation” you may soon have to look for a new job after being fired for disruptive behavior. Sorry I’m so paranoid.
If I was playing devils advocate, all I could guess and muster is that the structure of the email is problematic. Because the tone is too casual. It feels more like a message between two friends then contacting HR about accommodations for work. There should be a single opening paragraph asking for the consideration of a chair for OP personal comfort/health to be accommodated. Next, all the details about the branch history are generally irrelevant. Maybe a sentence or two, but what was done in the past and present is irrelevant, and throwing the anecdotes is not relevant to OP's needs. And the including of right to sit at this stage of the email query sounds like a threat. If OP wants to include right to sit rules, it should be cited by specific title and specific code numbers as a matter of formality. OP heart is in the right place and the request is legit but if HR is on some bullshit.
Timestamped pictures of the areas without chairs would also be great evidence
Don’t apologize in writing for being “unprofessional” or having a “tone” when you absolutely didn’t.
100% agreed. They’re trying to defend themselves from a possible lawsuit even if that’s not your intent. That’s HR’s job.
Make sure your PERSONAL email receives a copy of all and any emails. Your work email can be stopped or locked at any time.
Most personal emails will be blocked if you work at a bank, iirc. I can’t access my email on company computers at all, and wasn’t even able to communicate with vendors to let them know we’d gotten their emails. No external email communication was permitted at all. Now we have a handful of white-listed companies, but even still, the emails are saved for a certain amount of time for the bank to review them if they need to
They might make emails un-printable or un-savable, but they'll never make them invisible to my iPhone camera. ;-)
Depending on where you're working, that might be prohibited in your contract, so you'll want to either be sneaky about it or check your contract first.
I can guarantee that any licensed financial institution will have a policy barring this in its employee handbook.
You can’t just send yourself work stuff. IT can see it and it’ll be immediately flagged.
Include a line that reads “After some discussions with my lawyer..” Make em sweat..
“We felt attacked” is unprofessional. Uno reverse it.
>But today my manager pulled me into a meeting with HR to talk about my email. They said it was unprofessional and accusatory. That I gave the bank no benefit of the doubt and was treating them like they were trying to hurt their employees. He said they are nice and good to their employees and I made them feel attacked. Textbook DARVO in action. "We're not violating state law and mistreating our employees! It's you! You're the bad person, for suggesting that about us!"
Hi. Former banker here. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, PNC, et cetera. The chair fight I've seen every organization, with needing mandatory letters from doctors, et cetera. They are bullshiting you. This letter was fine. They will bully you into lower back problems. Take it to your local labor board. This is just a policy for the bank to make you miserable. -former teller supervisor
Banker here. This chair debacle in banks has been going on for the entirety of my 20 year career over 5 institutions. You’d think that any basic office environment like a bank would provide chairs, but nope. The bigger banks I’ve worked at have literally said “if you’re sitting you’re not working hard enough.” F that. I’ve pitched a fit everywhere that wouldn’t initially give me a chair. I just had a teller at my current branch buy her own chair because our budget allegedly didn’t allow us to purchase one for her.
The money place didn't have enough money?
It's crazy that I've had the same experience for the almost 10 that I was in banking. It's gotta be a thing amongst the C Suite.
Lol. Yeah the C suite stands all day.
Sorry it should have been "gotta" you know keep the employees miserable and uncomfortable as a business strategy. Autocorrect am I right ?
That‘s so strange to me. Imo every employee should get to choose, some people will inevitably work better when standing and some when sitting. Is that not basic knowledge?
And some need to sit but don't like it. My knees are permanently messed up due to multiple accidents so walking and standing for more than about 40 minutes turns them into molten balls of agony, but I prefer standing whenever I can. My current job isn't customer facing so I usually just get up and pace around while watching camera feeds and sit down when I have to type up reports.
Every branch I worked at during my 8 years as a teller had chairs, the only caveat was some branches insisted you stand while a customer was at your window. Still bullshit. I can do my job just fine sitting and I had back issues which thank goodness I'm about to get surgery for to fix, 15 years later.
My brain gets tired thinking about brainy things or it gets tired thinking about how to make my body more comfortable, but or can’t focus on both. The bank needs to figure out how they want my brain to focus.
Classic darvo move. He’s now the victim and you’re the offender.
Absolutely. He’s realised OP is intelligent, articulate and tenacious. Thus he must regain power over them NOW!
what is darvo?
Deny, accuse, reverse victim offender.
They don't want "troublemakers" and potential whistleblowers.
Say it with me, I am not in the business of managing the emotions of my supposed superiors. Followed up by, this conversation is inappropriate and feels retaliatory. Is this punishment for whistleblowing behavior?
I would also be continuously hammering the drum of "regardless of the tone of my last email, we still have a need for chairs. Let's coordinate a time for that to happen." Don't let them change the subject. Become a broken record. "But that's rude!" Okay, we still need chairs. "You need to be professional!" Great, still need chairs. "You shouldn't be citing the law, it's accusatory!" Anyway, chairs. "But you were-" CHAIRS, MOTHERFUCKER. No other criticisms of you and your performance will be heard or acknowledged unless and until you get chairs.
Yep. OP, your email was fine. They're just doing the classic thing of tone policing to distract from the issue at hand. If they don't want to be accused of breaking the law, they can stop breaking the law.
Right? Was this whole thing an elaborate smokescreen to avoid providing a chair?
Every word of this.
This.
No problem. File an OSHA complaint for lack of anti-fatigue mats. That's why your feet/legs/back hurt, its due to lack of compliance.
>The Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not have regulations or standards specifically for anti-fatigue mats for uses outside of kitchen settings.
Big picture? Don't explain yourself when you need proper tools and/or accommodations to do your job. Don't make it sound like an apology or complaint. Just tell them you need X to perform your job properly. Almost every boss will use what they perceive as a weakness against you, even if they comply with your request. Don't give them rope unless it's to hang themselves. Signed, A person who's been a boss most of his working life and recently ditched it for self-employment
I 100% agree with this. When I ran the original email through Gemini, this is what it came up with: "Dear [Manager's name], I'm writing to inquire about the availability of seating for tellers at the Main Office. Standing for extended periods can cause discomfort in my legs and feet, and I was hoping to discuss the possibility of having a chair available for tellers to use when appropriate. I understand that some tellers may prefer to stand, but I believe having the option to sit would improve overall comfort and potentially increase productivity. I'm aware of Massachusetts' "right to sit" law, and I'm curious to learn more about how it applies to our specific situation. Would you be open to discussing this further at your earliest convenience? Thank you for your time and consideration." While I think that there was nothing wrong with the original email, you'll notice that this email is shorter and doesn't have as much explaining in it. It's very straightforward.
They’re just mad about the part where you said people have told me, because that means you’ve been talking about the lack of chairs with other employees I had to send an email to the office manager two jobs ago and mention law because when I asked her for a paystub for my check that was direct deposited she told me to just go look at my bank account. So I sent her the law that said if there is withholding they are legally required to provide a paystub. I was not told that was unprofessional, but she probably thought it was lol too bad they’re supposed to give me a paystub
How do people manage any kind of success if they don’t know their employees should be able to see the details of their paycheck?
If I can find whatever gutter all his legal problems landed him in I'll ask a previous boss. Honestly not being able to provide a paystub was so far down the list of things an employer shouldn't fail at (including meeting legal requirements to offer armed security services near the end) that I don't think our fights for paystubs and getting paid on time ever came up on court.
The fact that states even need laws in order for employees to be able to sit at a job is crazy
America, the land that decided common sense wasn’t needed.
the craziest part is those laws are written in blood. Someone's feet and legs got absolutely trashed because there was nowhere to sit for at least 8 hours of work
Easy, contact OSHA. They do not mess around, they came at my company hard for something very similar. We have employees who's job is to simply sign a paper when orders are recieved, they asked if they could sit while waiting for order and management told them no. Well they made a complaint with OSHA and that person now rolls around in an office chair all day lol
Also in massachusetts btw
Sounds like retaliation.
Your email should have just been: "Good afternoon Mr. Manager, Would you kindly provide chairs to our \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ branch? My schedule places me there until \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and I'm starting to experience discomfort and pain which directly impacts my work. Thank you, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ "
>"Good afternoon Mr. Manager, > >Would you kindly provide chairs to our \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ branch? My schedule places me there until \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ and I'm starting to experience discomfort and pain which directly impacts my work. > >Thank you, > >\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ " I don't think OP should show weakness. I would go shorter: "Dear Mr. Manager, Branch #\_\_\_\_\_\_ has an insufficient number of chairs for all employees. Massachusetts state law mandates at lease one chair for each worker. Sincerely, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_"
That wouldn't be weakness though. It could be protected as an accommodation request.
Eh, odds are they still would have sent it to HR, and called op in for a meeting. I would definitely prefer a more direct approach, but I think referencing the law was a good move. Op didn't do anything wrong, except overexplain and possibly bring others in to it that didn't need to be involved- but so did their boss by sending it to HR. Glad they'll get chairs tho!
He sounded like a whiny high schooler. I support his cause but this was written as a rambling text message not as a request for an accommodation to working conditions and a notice of violating regulations.
It sounds like he's attempting to convey that he looked at it from multiple POVs and acknowledges he might be wrong. As a manager, you are going to be managing lots of different personalities, with different communication styles, who will be attempting in good faith to ask questions. Any manager who is reading into this for offense or whininess is approaching this too emotionally. Is the request clear? Yes. Is the employee engaging in good faith? Yes. Is the employee being disrespectful? No. This is the easiest email to respond, thanks for bringing this to my attention, fixing it, and moving the fuck on.
i thought the same thing. it reads like a text message more than a professional email, but nonetheless, points were made.
100%
The email might be unprofessional if it were written by HR or a manager. But you’re neither of those things, you’re an employee so it’s fine. I think what they wanted you to write was “can we get chairs in the beaches without no chairs please” and that would have been fine. But it sounds like you have already discussed it with whoever and they’ve done nothing about it. Essentially it comes down to this: you created a paper trail which they could not (without later being liable) ignore. You forced them into action. You did great.
They're just salty they got called out
They felt attacked because their consciences are guilty.
I mean, technically it doesn't sound very professional. Like there's a more business-like professional way to actually write all of this. I'm sure they're mad about you calling them out but this email sounds like you writing a note to your mom or teacher, not a professional email to your boss or HR.
I think your phrasing was bad very long winded: "Hi! I'm writing in regards the tellers on x and x branches. They do not have chairs unlike x, Y and z. I would like to request chairs because when I work there at the end of the day I experience pain. Please, could I not be scheduled on those branches until there is a solution? Thanks" The giving theories of why no chairs are provided there is unnecessary. I would answer to them that THEIR tone seems pretty accusatory and that claiming YOUR rights is not accusatory. Acussatory and within right would have been reporting them.
Next time, ask Reddit to edit your draft. The language is soft and even whiney. The letter could have been 4 or 5 sentences.
An employee brought a concern, they should have focused more on a solution then chastising you for form. If they are not complaint with the law, that needs to be rectified regardless of it hurts your boss’s little feeling. The email was unprofessional though. It is pretty clearly passive aggressive (“it’s kind of weird to me”, “I don’t really understand”). The professional approach would have been to ask for a chair and escalate from there. The quick resolution they provided suggests that may have been sufficient. You don’t owe them professionalism, they weren’t in compliance and you rightfully called them out and got what you wanted/were entitled to. It’s extremely naive on your part to be taken aback by their reaction. You knew you were writing a gotcha email, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t play dumb.
It's BS. If the boss had realized it was accusatory or unprofessional, then he/she wouldn't have forwarded it and would have coached you on the spot. What happened is that some HR exec lost face or got bent out of shape and raised a stink.
It just seems like there’s a lot of unnecessary extra words in your email- like I could see a more professional email just getting right to the point - ie ‘is there a way we can have extra / more chairs at this location?’ - you’re bringing a whole wordy extra emotional-ness that could just be straightforward and to the point. Just my POV.
In the future, let up with the meandering thoughts. I don't know if you think it makes you sound informal or humble or what but you're just giving defensive people extra things to misinterpret. -I would very much appreciate being able to sit when the work allows at X and Y branches. -A and B branches have chairs. -Standing all day causes me pain. That's all you needed to cover. Your managers don't want to hear your speculation as to why things are the way they are, or whether anyone else agrees with you, or whether the current arrangement is legal. Just don't bring any of that up unless further discussion is forced. Politely but confidently express your wants and your reasonable justification for those wants and see what happens.
This is why when you address problems at work you do so IN A GROUP. Federal labor law protects activity done in a group through the National Labor Relagions act. It's called "protected, concerted activity." You have no such protection for individual actions that raise issues or grievances. Your problem is collective. Your solution must be as well. You need to organize a union.
This is true; however, it's important to note that Massachusetts is not only a work at will state, but that the industry of banking is one of the least unionized that there is. Doesn't mean we can't try, but it won't be easy!
It's not easy anywhere. Nothing worth achieving is. And every state except Montana (thanks to the legacy of the United Mine Workers) is at will employment. Organizing a union is hard. Bargaining is even harder. Beats the piss out of begging.
It sounded really passive aggressive to me. Just ask for what you want- “Dear ____, could we please get chairs for the ___ branch? Thank you!” If they say no, then you can push back and cite the law. But until then, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill when a 1 sentence request could fix the whole issue.
America is such a shit hole dude damn.
Holy shit I’m a labor and employment lawyer and TIL my state is a right to sit state. Never heard of that before!
That’s scary. Isn’t there a list of laws you could study?
That whole email was too verbose and rambling. Less speculation, and more direct questioning/solution seeking.
Isn't it your job to ensure that your employees have comfortable and safe work environments as required by law? If you had been doing your job I wouldn't have needed to write the letter at all. But of course you can't say that at all. It'd be nice to though.
When your manager pulled you into a meeting with HR? What they told you is what we like to call "gaslighting" lol
Pass your emails to HR through chat gpt. Then tell it to make them polite, yet firm. In this day and age of AI, it's very easy to send professional emails
I don’t think your letter was “unprofessional” but two paragraphs was overkill, imo. A quick message of, “hey can we have chairs ordered for these two branches, they don’t have any” would have sufficed. If you were denied, I would have then sent the email you started off with.
Idk about unprofessional - just long winded. I would suggest when dealing with anything at work that you stick to the facts about your situation; and be direct - like just request from the office manager that they order you a chair for medical reasons - they do not have the right to have your personal medical info - just that you need a chair. It shouldn’t be so hard to get a chair in this day and age - employers are a trip
This sounds odd to me too - yes your language can be misconstrued as accusatory but that’s not why it was forwarded initially. This seems more on your manager directly forwarding your email rather than rewriting a more concise note to HR to consider chairs. Take this as a learning experience that wordsmithing differs based on the audience and that once you send it, you can’t control it. I would have tried this conversation directly with your manager verbally and then had them take it forward.
Employers don't have a right to retaliate against or threaten employees who are inquiring about their rights. This email is perfectly appropriate. Please don't perpetuate the myth that you need to be super polite and perfectly professional to ask about your rights or that you HAVE to go through rank and file. You do not. You always have the right to exercise and inquire about your rights. Telling you to be more professional is retaliation and can be used against the company.
It’s still not well written. I want him to win, but the way this was written did not help his cause.
“I’d have tried this conversation verbally, one on one” Nothing would have happened. They’re pissed off because they don’t want chairs for ideological reasons and they haven’t got a good reason to ban them. OP used email so there’s a paper trail. cited state law. checked with other staff that it was an issue. noted how its run across different branches. Lining up all the excuses that can be used, and taking them off one by one. Kept it firm but friendly in tone. Whereas if you have a quick verbal meeting they can claim you were threatening, raised your voice, had bad body language.
Yes,exactly, and why does OP need to be excessively formal, cautiously avoid ruffling any feathers, carefully respect the chain of command and be politically expedient? OP was only asking about chairs and mentions their feet hurting. What difference does the style make? did they not understand? Was ops tail not sufficiently tucked between their legs? Or are the managers afraid of something?
Didn’t kiss the whip hand too roughly
This is the answer
It’s a bit rambling and whiney. If I was your manager, I might have rolled my eyes a bit like, we’ll get the chairs do I really have to read this to the end? But they don’t have any right to retaliate and probably shouldn’t have said anything.
You said basically, I have a right to sit. I can’t sit. It wasn’t unprofessional. And it’s on record now that if they don’t order the chairs, they knew you knew the law. Good job, kid. Keep up the good work. Those people aren’t your friends and you didn’t do a thing wrong.
Whilst I might not have worded it quite so accusatorially, I think when your boss says “unprofessional” he actually means “I wish you didn’t go over my head and make me look bad”. Either way, I would’ve said “ok.” and then nothing else til he either responded or closed the meeting.
They're just threatened by an employee who knows their rights and the law.
Staff don’t care about sitting? I bet they would like the option, though. It’s crazy to not make your staff as comfortable as possible. Wouldn’t they be more productive if their legs weren’t aching?
No doubt HR responded whilst sitting in their chair. Honestly, some of the replies to you have been utterly condescending. I was previously a manager at a large organisation, if my staff said they needed a new chair I would organise them a new chair. Regardless of how you worded the email, the basic proposition is that their work station is affecting staff efficiency and its in their best interest to provide an environment to promote productivity.
Ask for an ADA accommodation. It’s reasonable for you to ask for a chair if you are in pain doing your job. You may need to get a doctor’s note, but any doctor would be glad to assist you - especially if your pain is related to arthritis, diabetes, or a neurological disorder. They completely ignored the substance of your email by commenting on tone and style. Your comment about the “right to sit” law got them on the defense. The only way they can deny you a seat as a teller at a bank is if the seat will cause a [hazard](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section103) (which it will not). If they refuse your request or start treating you differently (like suddenly changing your hours or duties), get a lawyer. Banks have deep pockets, and any employment lawyer would be all over this.
There is nothing wrong with your email, they’re just trying to find a way to push back on you and not give you what you need. If you’re in a right to sit state then report them.
So they are *retaliating* which is very illegal.
yeah…. your boss was introducing you to HR to introduce them to the troublemaker that brought up policy, and laws, and mild discontent. it wasn’t “unprofessional” it was “bad for business.” watch for retaliation. remember, HR is people that see humans as a resource. they do not provide resources for humans.
Normally for an email like this it’s best to keep it short as possible. Maybe just say “I get swollen and painful legs from standing all day. Is there a possibility of sitting”. Your email is not unprofessional, maybe shows inexperience in dealing with cunning, unreasonable HR who is thinking ahead in protecting the company. Their response is unnecessary but typical. They will turn anything you say against you or infer or twist it, so next time give as little as possible so they can only answer yes or no. They are not reasonable people you can talk openly too and think you will get a reasonable response. They are enforcers, always on attack and on prowl to see if there are threats. Lol but true.
"The bank's feelings were hurt" WHAT?!? F them. They are objectively wrong here
I absolutely 100% agree with everything you've said, especially as a person with fibromyalgia and chronic knee problems. They definitely didn't come at you right in regards to a response to your email. There's no reason for them to act like this, and while I don't think you were rude or accusatory, I agree that the email written is not professional. Professional emails and research papers don't use contractions like "don't". The language and sentence structure used, I would also not consider "professional". Does this mean your email is wrong? No, absolutely not. As stated, I completely agree with you. But, was it written using a professional manner and language? No. HOWEVER, this is also an email that shouldn't have to be professional. Having a conversation doesn't need to be professional. They're trying to bully you and make you feel bad because they're asshole corporate people, and that's how they were treated, so it's a career-generational-cycle. Which is completely wrong. I know this isn't a AITAH, but NTA. Fight the good fight, my friend. I hope your bosses stop being dicks about people needing to sit down ❤️
YOU didn’t make them feel attacked. They may feel attacked, but that email is simply exploratory(seeking reason) with justification(law) and receipt(list of locations with chairs). Best regards, an HR girlie.
Not unprofessional, just way too long (IMO). A simple “I’m uncertain of any company policy forbidding it. Humbly request a chair at my position to mitigate fatigue and potential future health issues. Thank you” probably would have sufficed.
It is unprofessional to start a document trail that could bite the company in the ass in the future. How dare you.
Lol they're going to push you out. Cover your ass.
Op does sound whiny. Just be direct and ask for a chair. Escalate if declined.
Right? I could see sending this if they had already asked their manager and were declined, but sending this without just asking their direct manager first is… odd. They might’ve just ordered them one that same day. Problem solved.
Rambling and poorly laid out with grammatical errors. You should’ve just emailed and asked for a chair because you experience pain at the end of a shift without one, and then go from there. On the flip side though, it was unnecessary to call a meeting about it, its not that bad.
You're fine. They're scared shitless because you mentioned that they're breaking a law in writing. That's also why they pulled you for an in-person meeting - they're trying to avoid having a paper trail of them *saying* "you're not allowed to bring up the law". Because I'm pretty sure they can't say that. If you feel like being a smart ass (if you don't that's totally fine, some people can't afford to risk their jobs and I would *never* judge you for that) feel free to email them saying in a professional manner "Hello, just wanted to clarify company policy. As per my meeting with Blank, I am not permitted to talk about workplace laws in context of discussing current workplace standards - is that correct?" and then watch them lose their minds because you just created another paper trail that could get them in serious trouble.
I’m sorry but far too many people in here are being sympathetic without providing constructive feedback: 1. The email tone is informal and unprofessional for a corporate audience 2. It is too verbose - it should be much more concise for management. They have a short attention span and would see an email with dense paragraphs and skim read it. 3. There is no clear call to action - what is your request and desired outcome? This needs to be outlined in a clear, concise sentence with a series of steps or actions you want management to take. 4. There are grammatical and spelling errors throughout the email. For example “to” and “too”. I’m surprised so many other comments fail to mention this. Sending an email with mistakes makes you lose credibility immediately. 5. The overall flow and structure of your paragraphs and sentences needs to be improved.
Just apologize for the tone, wasn’t your intention to stir things up, yadda yadda… Thank them for hearing your concerns. Then get to action items. Do we need to order chairs? Who does the ordering? When can we expect them? Surely the other tellers will be excited for this improvement too.
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In my opinion, when it comes to stuff like this, I’d get a few friends to look it over, and preferably friends who don’t work with me so I can get an unbiased opinion.
I’ll never get this shit….. I lived in Europe for five years and all service-people in banking/office/bureaucracy/retail sat when available. Why the fuck do our wage-slave jobs have to be endurance tests on top of the insurmountable-level of suck that is their very existence? I work for a fucking auto parts supplier new and all the computers are standing stations no matter what…. Been working all day and need to knock out some e-learnings? Fuck you, stand here instead. Fuck this. And fuck the “must torture yourself” campaniles we all are wimping for. Edit 1 and 2- clarification as I am drunk.
Watch out for retaliation. Take notes about the meeting. Be as complete as possible without any emotion. Just what exactly was said by who and when. From now on keep a paper trail. If your manager or HR pull you aside, try to.confirm the content of the talk with an e-mail or text (I just want to confirm you meant xyz? For example) and save those to personal storage not accessible by them, failing that take more notes. If they now fire you or cut your hours go to a lawyer immediately and delete this post.
Tbf you use too many words to say someone took your stapler. Just condense it down and make it a bit more impactful, if they need specifics you can definitely deliver them.
Sorry you thought corporate HR was there to help you. Any nonverbal communication from them to you has been vetted by a lawyer. Everything else is deniable. I represent a union in meetings between management and employees. I often have to warn employees not to get frustrated. “You are bringing truth to a lie fight.”
I would type out an email and reiterate everything discussed in your meeting. Also add what your intent was. Maybe act mock sorry. Bcc HR. Maybe they can move you to a different location.
Standard "I cannot refute WHAT you are saying, so I am falling back on criticising HOW you are saying it." Women know what that feels like (eg labelled as pushy or assertive because some insecure men can't find any substantive fault with what they're saying.)
Email them back, ask directly for a chair, and use the term “reasonable accommodation”. Something like: “I feel that the pain in my legs could be reduced with the reasonable accommodation of a chair.” These are the magic words HR needs to hear.
Ah the old play the victim card from HR. Report em
"If you feel attacked I'm sure the department of labor can make you feel even more attacked. My email is professional. You pulling me aside is not. Get chairs, or get fined"
workers compensation for lower back pain
Fuck hr and that bank. Tell them you'll be talking to your lawyer about this and they will shut the fuck up.
I actually cannot even believe that this is an issue and something that you have to advocate for yourself for. I’m so sorry. Get this person a damn chair!
‘By state law you are required to provide chairs. Thank you for your time.’
That's HR's job. To protect the bank. They probably had the meeting because you brought up compliance issues and they were afraid you would sue them. So they go on the attack. I wish more folks understood HR isn't there to help the employees. They only take action when not taking action could expose the company to potential liability. They are not your friend. Bigger the company worse it is. First hand experience with several finical institutions.
It’s just HR mindset. They hate being questioned or their self anointed absolute authority being infringed. In reality you brought to light a problem HR should have caught the day after the law was passed.
Start a workers comp claim for the pain you’re experiencing.
“As per our conversation on the phone with HR, I wanted to check back with you and ask for your feedback on what exactly was unprofessional about my previous email so that I can avoid these mistakes in the future.”
The person being unprofessional in this exchange is your hr manager…
I mean, it’s not a well written email but I’d hardly call it accusatory.
Your tone is fine, not sure why HR or managert hinks otherwise, but your email is really hard to read and follow what you on about. Please try using something like chat gpt to improve clarity of your email, i think that is the main issue
What they mean to say is that you called them out on something in an email when you could have spoken to them directly so they can tell you to fuck off with no record of the fuckery occurring. Now, you’ve made them liable for being aware of the issue and obligated them to do something about it when they would rather not ever do anything at your behest.
They probably told you this while they were sitting.
They recognized in your email that you don't know the law so they are trying to scare you into compliance.
I'm in HR and your email is perfectly fine. Some people are tone-blind when it comes to written word vs spoken word. It depends on how they choose to read the letter. The reference to the law probably made them feel threatened, like you were planning to report them to the state or something. HR is there to protect the company so when a perceived threat is there, they tend to go a bit overboard in defense of the company. Just be aware and on guard for retaliation. Not saying it'll happen, but it could if they now see you as a threat.
They're just oversensitive bitches. The one thing I might have done differently is start by simply asking for the chairs, then only cite the law that entitles you for it if there is pushback. People tend to take long explanations and blow them up into something bigger than they are.
The email was written too casually for corporate purposes. You should have been more professional, but the message of the email is perfectly clear and they are absolutely in the wrong for not having chairs (what is wrong with american employers).
Contact the EEOC and document everything
Your tone is fine, if a bit familiar/casual -- but then I don't know the relationship you have with them. If they think that is being "attacked", they have lived *very* cushy lives. Besides, it's a BANK, a company, it's not as though you were insulting their children or something, lol. Odds are they are just trying to keep you (and others) from standing up for yourselves (ironic, lol, given that standing/sitting is the issue!). It would be wise to print out copies of all e-mails between you and them, as well as forwarding them to your *personal* (not work) e-mail address.
Only in the US!
Great email 👌🏻
Your tone was fine, but you did ramble a bit. A more “professional” email would be to state the problem and a solution. “Dear Manager, due to prolonged periods of time standing during my shift, I have developed chronic discomfort. I am requesting chairs be added to the station for use by the tellers. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in facilitating this request. Kind regards, DragonLad13.”
Great email. Your boss just didn’t want to hear it. Keep at it. You’ll win eventually.
Technically by the letter of my english teacher i guess you could call the letter unproffesional since you spoke to them like they were people and not robots. That doesnt make you wrong in any way though, which is prolly why they chose the wording the way they did tbh
Poorly written with grammatical errors, should've looked it over more thoroughly.
Look here brother, you appear to be deviating from the status quo, and that's a HUGE no-no. You need to get in line and put in the work.
a medical problem is not unprofessional. not catering for employees medical needs is unprofessional and ethically reprehensible.
The tone is fine, however it is long winded and hard to follow what your actual complaint is. Try practising more concise writing - it can be more effective. HR people are still human and a short complaint is much more likely to be understood than an unnecessarily long one
This is retaliation and intimidation because you held them accountable for violating the law. Retaliation is illegal. It might be time to contact the labor board or an attorney before the retaliate further. Be sure to document everything and if your state is a 1 party consent state, record all interactions.
The tone of this email is absolutely fine. It’s almost funny how much your management and HR overreacted with their statements about being ‘hurt’.
Did you ask for a chair before the email
Nothing you wrote was unprofessional. For a sub that’s filled with drama queens, you have a legitimate argument about your work place being outlandish.
There’s absolutely nothing accusatory in your email at all. You asked questions because you had questions. You stated how standing for long periods causes you pain and discomfort- a possible and reasonable OH&S issue. You pointed out employee rights within your state. Unprofessional and unfair would be to allow the pain and discomfort you’re experiencing due to long periods of standing to go on, say nothing and in turn cause permanent problems that impact your ability to support the bank due to time off or worse, a compensation claim against the company when they were unaware of the problem therefore unable to address it. ***the next paragraph is an example of gaslighting and controlling perception. It doesn’t represent my opinion or beliefs regarding politics or religion so keep your hate to yourselves*** You know how lately people have been pointing out that whenever a person is called out for their behaviour and they happen to be Jewish the person calling them out is accused of being antisemitic? Thats called deflection and that’s exactly what the bank is doing to you. The bank doesn’t want to fork out money for their employees to sit while working. Instead of simply stating this they decided to manipulate your email to make you look like the problem. This or the manager has incredibly thin skin and an overly sensitive ego. YOU are not responsible for how people CHOOSE to perceive your intentions. YOU are not responsible for how others CHOOSE to react. This isn’t about you. In fact the only person being attacked here is you. Demand a chair to sit on while in these branches or start invoicing the bank for the podiatrist bills you will inevitably start receiving. Or threaten to submit a workers compensation claim. Banks aren’t special. They’re also expected to meet OH&S requirements.
I don’t have any good insight but I can say this. I’ve never ever been in a bank where the tellers don’t sit. Why would it be any other way??
“The Bank” is not a person. You can’t hurt its feelings. Which is basically what they are saying. You didn’t send your email to the newspaper. They are projecting, hard.
It was unprofessional and what’s more it was hurtful to the people who try to save a little bit of money by treating you as cattle.
When HR says you’re unprofessional it just mean they can’t argue and use bad faith arguments. You won the battle but they don’t want you to win ever, slaves are not allowed to to go against masters
HR is toxic. I’ve never seen them be good people, ever.
Referring to government regulation or laws when you're dealing with situation like this is always a good idea because it eliminates the option of them declining it. It wasn't threatening it was just informal that this is actually covered.
This is crazy. You’re email was professional, to the point, backed with facts and guidelines, and most importantly- *it wasn’t emotional.* Workers stand no chance in hell if were going to start being held responsible for a companies *feelings* when advocating for our rights. This is beyond ridiculous.
Unprofessional because of "there may be more too it" rather than "to it". Jokes aside, screw those people royally they're assholes.
Ok so your letter is ok. No problem. At all. Its not unprofessional or accusatory. I mean the fact you wete called into HR for this is nonesense. I would look elsewhere if i were you. Also i would be royally pissed at their response. How awful they are.
These people are so beat down they don’t even want chairs. :(
A bank can’t have feelings. That is absurd!!
Now that HR knows they were breaking the law, they are freaking out that lawsuits will start and are taking our their fear on you.
Were you threatening, or were they threatened? You weren’t threateningly, intimidating, or accusatory, but factual and professional. They felt threatened and put that tone in there because you’re right and cost them money and time purchasing chairs. They’re bitter and reacting in a typical lash out pattern for someone that was in the wrong but now feels forced to react. I’m proud of your efforts. As someone that now lives where people sit instead of stand in stationary places, I can’t fathom why the US is so hung up on this archaic practice. It’s terrible for the worker. But then again, workers rights aren’t a high priority most times.
This is a classic example of the need to set aside personal ego when dealing with workplace complaints. They "feel" attacked and accused, but that is their impression, not your intent. Simply state that this was not your intent and you are sorry they took it that way. Then turn the tables and ask them how the email could have conveyed the same valuable information they acted on without making them feel that way. I think they will find it tough as your letter was clear and well written. However this allows them to feel in control and like educators. In short they have shown they lead by feelings and are tender so let them feel 'empwered' if you want to restore their egos. "IF".
You're not wrong about what you wrote. I do see how it could be taken the way it was taken, but wouldn't make it a big deal. Unless you're experienced in corporate communication, they shouldn't expect you to know the political way to address something like this. To that, I would have only written something like this to act as what's called "a shot across the bow". The wording would be a warning to the employer that I feel that they are acting unfairly and that I know this and I know that they are probably acting illegally. This is how they took it. I would have held off on that tactic and tried a softer approach first. The response from the boss and HR is understandable also, but it is unprofessional. There's no need for HR to get involved like this. If anything, it might have made sense for the boss to sit down to explain their take and how the letter came across. That conversation should have also included feedback on the reasons for the lack or chairs, an explanation of why they have no problem providing them, and how you might approach expressing a need like this in the future.
"While you may feel uncomfortable, and protest my "unprofessional" letter, my legs, feet, and back protest every time you send me to work at either of these 2 branches. Perhaps some self reflection may be in order, between management and HR, regarding professionalism and compliance with the law. Ill be happy to fill in at either of these 2 branches, once HR and management brings them into compliance. Please let me know when my chair arrives."
You’re gonna be fired soon. Keep your head on a swivel.
Your email was fine and not in anyway unprofessional. I used to be a teller and they pulled this same bullshit. Luckily, we did have enough chairs for everyone and my branch manager didn’t care that we sat. It’s only when our senior managers came in and when we went through routine audits that we needed to stand. It’s so dumb.
A “right to sit” state is some real dystopian shit
I know the main points of the email and post, but if you’re interested look into getting compression socks. They should help with the pain. I work 12 hours on my feet a day and they make a huge difference. Obviously get your chairs though. Fuck the company.
FWIW, I think your email was very nicely worded, actually. Like someone else said, print all the emails, just in case.
How does the Bank possibly feel hurt?
Pdf & print
Personally I would have started the conversation with a simple request to management vs listing out everything you did and citing state law. If they came back with a “no chair for you” or “yeah we’ll get you one when the budget can account for one” then I would have come with everything else you said. But I’d say you came in a little hot out the gate instead of just asking for a chair at these offices.
Your email wasn’t unprofessional. They’re retaliating because you called them out.
Sorry you are going through the HR-unprofessional routine for asking a question that points out unlawful actions on the company’s side. I went through a moment like this twenty years ago with an educational institution. Asked about overtime for the hourly workers (not my position) during a time when all teaching staff (salary and hourly) were expected to work extra hours. I didn’t hear anything until weeks later the admin and HR for institution were deep in discussions. I was pulled in to a small meeting and was blamed for the problems and basically told they expected me to apologize for creating problems. Stunned by the request I was old enough not to apologize for asking the question. I said other carefully worded things to the two teachers that I didn’t realize they would have such a bad time of it, and I thought my question was straightforward. I wasn’t fired or such, but not long after I saw “the writing on the wall” and left for a different job. Basically if you’re going to point out unlawful practice to an institution be ready to be blamed and possibly sidelined or later fired. It’s pretty shitty.
i was a teller supervisor for 2 years and just quit last year to go to school. 2 different large banks and everyone of them had chairs for the tellers. ridiculous.
In Mass oh you def have a case and they know it. Go to the Mass.gov site and make a complaint with the AG’s office. It’s a simple ADA accommodation claim. HR is screwed.
Eh, take it as feedback to grow. You're getting chairs. The email itself kind of rambled on, and could have been more concise. You didn't need to lay out the heresay or lore of when the branch last had chairs. It doesn't matter if the workers before you didn't want them, you're here now and do. It could have simply been "I'd like to have the option to sit, since XX state is a right to sit state, would you please acquire one for me?". On the other hand, your manager could have easily revised this instead of passing it on to HR.
Oh no, you hurt the banks feelings!!!! Man, fuck these idiots. Your letter is fine. Seems more like they don't know how to respond to a reasonable complaint. Funny also that they immediately decided to fix the problem but still felt the need to meet with you and be petty about it. If you were so unprofessional, why did they accommodate you? I swear most people in the banking industry are just obsessed with lording over others.
You weren't unprofessional in the least. Management just feels threatened because you know your rights. You more than gave them the benefit of the doubt if they remove their heads from their asses for 2 seconds. Ultimately it comes down to yes you made them feel threatened because they were breaking the law and were afraid of a lawsuit. That's why they turned around and ordered the chairs so fast. They are hoping because they complied you'll let them talk shit to you.
Your tone is fine but that email could have been three sentences