Recipient Instructions Send A Thank-You: Fill & Download for Free

Written thank you notes or letters are only required and should only be expected when one has not had the infinitely better opportunity to thank the giver in person. Of course, a spoken, sincere, expression of gratitude would be better than a card with 3-4 sentences, right? I was always taught that a written thank you was as much a notification to the giver that the recipient received the gift as a thank you for it.

Sure, absolutely, who could argue with this very simple stipulation?Also, if you get an email that says “by receiving this email, recipient agrees to immediately take off all their clothes and ride a unicycle naked through the closest downtown area, circling the city hall and post office no less than three times while barking like a dog”, you are obliged to do so. I can get you a good deal on a unicycle just in case, so -click here-.Seriously, no. The only way your example could be considered a legally binding instruction is if you have previously agreed, on the record, not to reveal the contents of any email you receive from that specific sender. If this is the case, then the boilerplate heading on the email is actually a reminder of what you have previously agreed to. (In my facetious example, I am of course just going to extremes to crack the reader up; you can’t be legally bound to an agreement that might force you into doing something illegal or otherwise totally unreasonable. I admit I am just making up my own version of the law here, and planning to apply it universally. If you got this email, sue me.)The thing is, you don’t have any control or knowledge over what emails you receive, so you can’t be compelled in advance to obey their stipulations simply by their stating that you must do so.A good analogy is how going “off the record” with a journalist works. Scenario: journalist is pursuing a story concerning which you have some insider knowledge.Joe Journalist: I’m a journalist for the Daily Dribble. Did your supervisor in the Dept of Highways ask a contractor to build him a free swimming pool in exchange for receiving a highway maintenance contract?Iggy Informer: yup, I was in the office and I heard him negotiating that very deal on the phone.JJ: Thank you very much.II: wha? That was off the record. I hate the bastard but I don’t want to lose my job.JJ: Sorry, that’s not how the record works. You knew I was a journalist on the job. If you want to give me information off the record, you have to tell me first that you want to be off the record, and I have to agree that your following remarks are off the record. Then I will be obliged to not write what you tell me, or say that you talked to me, unless we can come to an agreement on exactly how much of that story I can tell and how I can keep your name out of it. But we have to talk about that before we discuss the sensitive topic of your corrupt boss.Note: the swimming pool story is not an invention of mine. Joey Smallwood, the first premier of Newfoundland, actually said that to a journalist, as I recall, without quite admitting to the direct quid pro quo. He didn’t even ask to be off the record! Different times, me son.

I don't think this person was worried about burning any bridges...source: http://www.microstrategy101.com/?p=114Dear Co-Workers and Managers,As many of you probably know, today is my last day. But before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what a great and distinct pleasure it has been to type “Today is my last day.”For nearly as long as I’ve worked here, I’ve hoped that I might one day leave this company. And now that this dream has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your unending lack of support. Words cannot express my gratitude for the words of gratitude you did not express.I would especially like to thank all of my managers both past and present but with the exception of the wonderful Saroj H*********: in an age where miscommunication is all too common, you consistently impressed and inspired me with the sheer magnitude of your misinformation, ignorance and intolerance for true talent. It takes a strong man to admit his mistake – it takes a stronger man to attribute his mistake to me.Over the past seven years, you have taught me more than I could ever ask for and, in most cases, ever did ask for. I have been fortunate enough to work with some absolutely interchangeable supervisors on a wide variety of seemingly identical projects – an invaluable lesson in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium in overcoming daily tedium.Your demands were high and your patience short, but I take great solace knowing that my work was, as stated on my annual review, “meets expectation.” That is the type of praise that sends a man home happy after a 10 hour day, smiling his way through half a bottle of meets expectation scotch with a meets expectation cigar. Thanks Trish!And to most of my peers: even though we barely acknowledged each other within these office walls, I hope that in the future, should we pass on the street, you will regard me the same way as I regard you: sans eye contact.But to those few souls with whom I’ve actually interacted, here are my personalized notes of farewell:To Philip C****, I will not miss hearing you cry over absolutely nothing while laying blame on me and my coworkers. Your racial comments about Joe C***** were truly offensive and I hope that one day you might gain the strength to apologize to him.To Brenda A**** whom is long gone, I hope you find a manager that treats you as poorly as you have treated us. I worked harder for you then any manager in my career and I regret every ounce of it. Watching you take credit for my work was truly demoralizing.To Sylvia K*****, you should learn how to keep your mouth shut sweet heart. Bad mouthing the innocent is a negative thing, especially when your talking about someone who knows your disgusting secrets. ; )To Bob M***** (Mr. Cronyism Jr), well, I wish you had more of a back bone. You threw me to the wolves with that witch Brenda and I learned all too much from it. I still can’t believe that after following your instructions, I ended up getting written up, wow. Thanks for the experience buddy, lesson learned.Don M***** (Mr. Cronyism Sr), I’m happy that you were let go in the same manner that you have handed down to my dedicated coworkers. Hearing you on the phone last year brag about how great bonuses were going to be for you fellas in upper management because all of the lay offs made me nearly vomit. I never expected to see management benefit financially from the suffering of scores of people but then again, with this company’s rooted history in the slave trade it only makes sense.To all of the executives of this company, Jamie D*** and such. Despite working through countless managers that practiced unethical behavior, racism, sexism, jealousy and cronyism, I have benefited tremendously by working here and I truly thank you for that. There was once a time where hard work was rewarded and acknowledged, it’s a pity that all of our positive output now falls on deaf ears and passes blind eyes. My advice for you is to place yourself closer to the pulse of this company and enjoy the effort and dedication of us “faceless little people” more. There are many great people that are being over worked and mistreated but yet are still loyal not to those who abuse them but to the greater mission of providing excellent customer support. Find them and embrace them as they will help battle the cancerous plague that is ravishing the moral of this company.So, in parting, if I could pass on any word of advice to the lower salary recipient (”because it’s good for the company”) in India or Tampa who will soon be filling my position, it would be to cherish this experience because a job opportunity like this comes along only once in a lifetime.Meaning: if I had to work here again in this lifetime, I would sooner kill myself.To those who I have held a great relationship with, I will miss being your co-worker and will cherish our history together. Please don’t bother responding as at this very moment I am most likely in my car doing 85 with the windows down listening to Biggie.