I have to send an email to my entire department about the shared coffee maker.
By @danaok2 · Work
Someone in my office keeps leaving the empty coffee pot on the heating element, creating this awful burnt smell. It's been happening for weeks, and now my manager has asked me to send a department-wide reminder about proper coffee etiquette.
The full story
This feels like such a small, petty thing to be policing at work. For the last month, maybe more, someone has been brewing a pot of coffee, taking the last cup, and then just putting the empty glass pot back on the hot plate. By the time the next person comes along, the whole breakroom smells like burnt, acrid coffee. It's a small office, maybe 30 people in our department, and we all share one kitchen space. I’ve mentioned it in passing to a few coworkers, the ones I'm friendly with. They've all noticed it too and are equally annoyed. We even have a little sign taped to the wall above the machine that says, 'If you finish the pot, please turn it off and rinse it out!' but the phantom coffee-burner ignores it. I'm a pretty quiet person at work. I just want to do my job, be left alone, and not get involved in any office drama. But yesterday, my manager pulled me aside. He's noticed it too and said since I sit closest to the kitchen, he wants *me* to write a 'gentle reminder' email to the whole department about it. they said I have 'a good, neutral way with words.' I don't know if that's a compliment or just a way of him avoiding doing it himself. Now I'm completely overthinking how to phrase this email without sounding like a passive-aggressive scold or the office narc. I have to CC my manager on it, so it feels official. How do you write an email that says 'please stop being an inconsiderate slob who is ruining coffee for everyone' in a professional way? Every draft I write sounds either way too aggressive or so meek that it will be ignored. I'm dreading hitting send.
How people voted
- Totally Cooked — 23% (7 votes)
- It’s Complicated — 47% (14 votes)
- You’re Fine — 30% (9 votes)
Readers say “It’s Complicated” (47%) — 30 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@gabekay — lmao
@ehhmaybe — I'd start leaving passive aggressive notes on the coffee maker until they confess.
@remykindof — soft.
@gabeactually — Why doesn't your manager just send the email?
@bryceok — Your manager put you in such an awkward position! It's not your job to police the whole office.
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