Do you ever check your spam or junk folders? I do not. Or should I say, I didn’t until recently. About a month ago, I got an email from a fellow co-worker stating someone had reached out to both of us, but it went into her spam folder instead of her inbox. I checked, and it happened to me as well. This was surprising considering the email was coming from a third-party both my colleague and myself had worked closely with, corresponding via email on multiple occasions. It remains unclear why GMail flagged this particular email as spam, but it did.
I thought it was just a fluke thing. After all, we cannot expect perfection. However, the problem may be bigger than just a “fluke”. Yesterday, I was on the phone with Rob, when he mentioned having something similar happen to him in the last few days with emails from two different people. These were not new email addresses his account had never seen before. He had actually reached out to them, and their responses got “spammed”. So, what’s the deal?
No one seems to know. But what is clear is, GMail’s detection is off.
The Lesson
Check your junk and/or spam folders. If you email someone and are expecting to hear back, or should be receiving some sort of correspondence and haven’t received it — check your other folders. Relying on 100% accuracy from an email client is not realistic. Up until recently, I did. I have no idea if I missed important emails or notifications. It will take time to make it a habit to check these folders, but it’s important you do.
