How do you tell your boss someone is a horrible writer?

[Rick Lee]

I don't know who wrote this thing, but it's an invite to an event our company is hosting. It's written at about an 8th grade level and poorly at that. It reflects very poorly on our company and I wouldn't be caught dead with my name on it. But I don't know who wrote it. I know my boss would never write such a thing, but whoever did is certainly not below me in the pecking order. Do you go to HR or the trainers with this kind of stuff? Sure, I hate my job and all, but I take some pride in professionalism, no matter where I work. And I'll probably be attending this event to meet with a lot of clients in the area that same week. I can't stand the thought of a client or prospect reading such a thing and then wondering how we're gonna handle their own news copy. I would post the text here, but I don't think I can edit it in such a way that it'd not reveal too much info.

[vash]

i am a very untalented writer. it takes agonizing effort to not turn out a turd everytime i have to write something. so............

post up a sentence!

[Rick Lee]

There's nothing wrong with being a bad writer.....as long as you don't work in the news distribution and editing business. I can't weld, so I don't even try it professionally.

opening line here:

Hi XXXX,

I want to make sure that you received the invitation to our seminar that we are hosting.

another snippet

YYYYY has given this seminar in cities ranging from London to Buenos Aires to San Francisco and in large number of corporations, nonprofit organizations and PR agencies around the world. The program discusses the current evolution in the PR industry in regards to emerging media, and the tools that are helping to change the landscape.

It just goes downhill from there.

[nostatic]

yikes

That is going out for public consumption? The irony is thick...

[masraum]

Wow, here, maybe I can help.

Hi XXXX,

I wAnt 2 mak3 sUr3 th@t U receaved the envite 2 hour seminal that were HOsting.

[MotoSook]

Is that why the News sucks these days?

Rick, if your boss didn't write it I'd just go tell him you have concerns it.

[Rick Lee]

I emailed him that it's not fit for public consumption. He replied, "I agree. But rather than criticize, why don't you come up with something better?"

So, since I have nothing better to do after two days out of the office and putting off the follow-up for my 10 meetings in LA, I guess I'll do someone else's job now and bring this up to a college freshman-level event invite. And of course, it will be passed off as the fine work of someone other than myself. I swear, this company encourages everyone to just keep quiet and go along to get along.

[Scooter]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I emailed him that it's not fit for public consumption. He replied, "I agree. But rather than criticize, why don't you come up with something better?"

So, since I have nothing better to do after two days out of the office and putting off the follow-up for my 10 meetings in LA, I guess I'll do someone else's job now and bring this up to a college freshman-level event invite. And of course, it will be passed off as the fine work of someone other than myself. I swear, this company encourages everyone to just keep quiet and go along to get along.

Welcome to my world.

[nostatic]

Let me take a crack:

We write goodly but now is time to party with us! Then you give us money to do stuff for you. Werd.

[Rick Lee]

Oh, it gets better now. I just redid the whole thing, sent it to my boss and he said, "Don't sent it to me. Send it to so and so and his boss." Yeah, I'm just aching for a pissing match and some new enemies today. I don't even know one of these guys and the one I do know is certainly no friend.

[dhoward]

Your boss is a nutless weasel.

Edited to read "nutless weasel".

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Oh, it gets better now. I just redid the whole thing, sent it to my boss and he said, "Don't sent it to me. Send it to so and so and his boss." Yeah, I'm just aching for a pissing match and some new enemies today. I don't even know one of these guys and the one I do know is certainly no friend.

Dear xxxx,

I had some suggestions re the invite to our corporate event.

XXXXX, (your boss) thought they were valuable contributions and has encouraged me to pass them along for your consideration.

CC your boss.

[Rick Lee]

This is the boss's response to my suggestiing he send it along.

"Rich - if you're going to complain about the quality of information/writing coming from other depts, you have to be prepared to offer suggestions. Just send it as an "fyi...read through the letter and had some suggestions to maybe help make it a bit more compelling).

As always, don't bring me or anyone else problems/complaings...bring solutions/suggestions."

[dhoward]

Since when did this become SOP?
It happens here all of the time.
"Yes, Mr. / Ms. X is incompetent, so instead of pointing out what we have so cleverly hidden over the past few years, to hide our OWN incompetence, YOU do their work for them."

[VroomGrrl]

Originally Posted by nostatic

Let me take a crack:

We write goodly but now is time to party with us! Then you give us money to do stuff for you. Werd.

[MotoSook]

Man..you need a new boss, Rick. If you have nothing to lose by risking offense to the other parties, just shoot it off in e-mail. But do it as a suggestion from a humble co-worker. Pump/fluff and stuff....pump them up and stuff it in without bruising their ego.


Otherwise drop it...and laugh your arse off at the event with your clients while pointing in the offender's direction...just kidding.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Just remember: "it's all about the revenue". Apparently by extension this means "it's not about the grammar".

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Souk

Man..you need a new boss, Rick. If you have nothing to lose by risking offense to the other parties, just shoot it off in e-mail. But do it as a suggestion from a humble co-worker. Pump/fluff and stuff....pump them up and stuff it in without bruising their ego.

Ah, but I am supposed to attend this event and even forward the invite to my clients and prospects in the area. Hell, it's probably already gone out in some blast email. The guy running the event, while not an executive, has been with the company forever, doesn't like me (I think) and is generally difficult. The guy who I think wrote the invite is a complete stranger to me and I have no idea how he'd take it or who his boss is. I do know he works in the same office as my boss's boss and I see nothing good at all coming from trying to do the right thing. My boss is a VP and has some power. He can be fearless in flexing it at times, but is somewhat bi-polar and I question whether he'd come to my defense if this thing got passed around to other bosses. There really is no way out of this. Ignore my boss and risk having him ask me later if I did anything about it. Do what he says and wait for the $hitstorm to rain down upon me.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

As always, don't bring me or anyone else problems/complaings...bring solutions/suggestions."

What an asshat.

I have a friend in corporate America who sends his boss a FedEx box full of dog poop whenever he feels the need. Not suggesting this, just sayin'.

[ruf-porsche]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

There's nothing wrong with being a bad writer.....as long as you don't work in the news distribution and editing business. I can't weld, so I don't even try it professionally.

opening line here:

Hi XXXX,

I want to make sure that you received the invitation to our seminar that we are hosting.

another snippet

YYYYY has given this seminar in cities ranging from London to Buenos Aires to San Francisco and in large number of corporations, nonprofit organizations and PR agencies around the world. The program discusses the current evolution in the PR industry in regards to emerging media, and the tools that are helping to change the landscape.

It just goes downhill from there.

What's wrong with it?











LOL