My sweet love

A few years back our marketing department had a secretary with social skills rivaling those of Napoleon Dynamite, not to mention all the charm of Joseph Mengele. I'd never seen anyone so cold and abrupt in her interpersonal dealings. Greeting her with a soft "good morning" when walking by her desk might get you a barely audible grunt on a good day.

Latrelle would occasionally be tasked with the duty of notifying the rest of the office whenever new marketing materials or other items became available. These emails would usually consist of the following, as an example:

Go get new user guides in the storage room. (Unsigned.)

One time we had all ordered a supply of personalized desk calendars to hand out to our biggest customers, and they were all sent to Latrelle's attention. The day they arrived I received the following personalized email, with a cc: to her manager:

Come pick up your calendars.

After chuckling for a minute over Latrelle's unparalleled charm, I received an email from Latrelle's manager, albeit in error. (You know, the dreaded Reply All misstep.) This is what it said:

Latrelle, my sweet love. Can you please try to sweeten the tone of these emails a little? They come across a bit harsh. Perhaps you can simply mention that the calendars have arrived, and at their convenience they can stop by your desk to pick them up. Thanks!

My sweet love. Especially when used in an email to correct someone's behavior. I love it! And I have adopted its use as an all around practice. So don't be surprised, both ladies and gentlemen, when I address you as such in both posts and comments. Not to mention real life.

My sweet loves.