Sticky social situation — how to handle

anomander
Wed, 06 Apr 2016 16:38:57 +0000

3 weeks go by with no word from Alice until Monday, when she emails, “I’m just checking in. I apologize for not reaching out sooner, but just noticed it on my calendar. I can be there to help.”

This is where I would reply, copying Betty, and say, “No worries I went ahead and took care of your part for you. See you there!”

Then you can consider it settled but now you know never to rely on Alice for anything ever again. This happens to me every once in a while at work. The job’s gotta get done and you want to keep it professional so I just take care of it and let them know and move on. It’s a little different in a social context but the principle is the same.