PA and Secretary Community - Deskdemon.com

Frustrating times when trying to find a suitable date for a meeting with several people.

I send email to 8 people with suggested dates on which to hold a meeting asking if they can get back to me with their availability. A simple request which usually works well.  However, on at least three occasions this week, rather than reply to me only as I am the one organising the meeting, they reply ‘to all’. 

This then prompts ‘A’ who cannot do one of the days that ‘B’ can do to send another reply ‘to all’ saying ‘but I cannot do that day so we can’t hold it on that day’. ‘B’ then replies ‘to all’ but suggests another day and so on and so on........... . A complete muddle as they are now talking amongst themselves and seem to be ignoring me.

Why cannot they just reply to me, I collate the dates they can do/can’t do, and send another message out with the chosen date.

Guess I will have to ask them to reply only to me and not ‘to all’.  If I was sent such an email, I would only reply to the person who sent it, never to all.

Or put their name in the bcc field so they can't reply to all.

That is what I do, use the bcc feature. 

Definitely use the bcc field!  Seems that these days folks don't understand that there is a difference between "Reply" and "Reply to All", or the general understanding of how a meeting is coordinated between a number of different folks.  I swear, I keep wanting to offer an class on basic Outlook "To-Do's/Not To-Do's" for our office just to get away from the stupidity of some of the stuff I see in this office.

Good luck on getting that meeting all straightened out!

Thank's for this tip -  why hadn't I thought of it!! I use bcc for e-shots to different organisations but never to the same team.

Just wish that the meeting organisers to a working group I'm on would do the same - I think I'll suggest it.