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Lost a $2,000 retainer client because I replied to their email from my personal account instead of my work one
I was responding to a late-night client request from my phone at 2 AM during my night shift break at the hospital and accidentally used my personal Gmail, which had my old signature with a different company name, and the client thought I was subcontracting their work without telling them, it took three phone calls and a formal apology to smooth things over how do you guys keep your personal and work emails separate when you are juggling shifts
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caseywalker6d ago
Wait wait wait. You accidentally sent something from the old signature? That's wild man. I can't believe that one little detail almost cost you two thousand dollars. Clients are so quick to jump to the worst conclusion too, like you're running some shady side operation at 2 AM. I get it though, I've hit reply on the wrong email account before and it's a sinking feeling in your stomach that doesn't go away for days.
The phone setup thing makes sense for sure. I used to have both accounts on my phone too and it was just asking for trouble, especially when you're dead tired. What I do now is use the Gmail app on my phone with work as the main account and I just log out of personal completely unless I need it. Sounds extreme but it beats losing a client over a dumb mistake like that. That three phone calls and a formal apology you had to do sounds brutal, I'd rather just keep things simple and never touch my work email past 10 PM unless the building is on fire.
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tessalane6d ago
Maybe it's just me but do you keep your work email signed into your phone's mail app or just in a browser? Having both accounts loaded at the same time sounds like a recipe for mix-ups especially when you're tired. I've got a rule where my work email only lives on my laptop and my personal is on my phone so there's no chance of crossing the wires. Seems like a small change but could save you from another headache like that.
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Tessalane, you're absolutely right. I used to have both on my phone and it was a disaster. Sent a snarky reply to a client from my personal account once because I grabbed the wrong one when half asleep. Now my work email only goes on my laptop too. Personal stays on the phone, and I don't touch it after 6 PM. Saves so much stress.
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