Why ‘Great, Thanks!’ is the bitchiest email response to ever scorch the earth

You’re sitting across from Carla on a Monday morning. You hear Carla aggressively typing, and then you receive a message:

“Could you turn your volume down? I can hear your music through your headphones.”

You respond: “Sure,” and look up to give a polite smile. She curtly smiles back and responds, “Great, thanks.”

Carla wants you dead.

“Great, thanks” may have been an appropriate response in-person before ’90s sarcasm killed everything, and now it’s just a wasteland of irony and negativity. It’s rare when “great” is used in any other term than just passive aggression, so though “thanks” is typically harmless, the combo is absolutely lethal.

Aside from the bitchy tone, people who are ballsy enough to send “great, thanks” are usually older and more experienced coworkers, maybe even supervisors. Don’t cross them after this message—they have the power to take you the fuck out, and clearly you are on thin ice, so do their bidding and nothing else for approx. two weeks.

If you get a “great, thanks,” don’t be scared. You’ll be okay. Just don’t fuck up anymore, and maybe watch your back for a little while.