I’d Advise You to Take my Advice

Advise is a verb.  It is something you do or ask someone to do. 

Advice is a noun.  It is a something.  It is a gift freely given, seldom taken into consideration, and on rare occasions, is a clear concise set of directions on how one should proceed to achieve the best results. 

I only bring this up, because I have received seven emails in my work in-box over the past week informing me that either there is an issue with a PO, a customer has a question, or an item I have ordered has been discontinued.  The one thing that all of these emails had in common, is that they all ended with “Please, advice.” 

Now I managed to ignore the first few, but as the emails continued to roll in with the same error from several different sources, I decided that it had become an epidemic.  It was time to speak out.  I was tempted (briefly) to video myself doing a silly dance, hit reply all, and attach the video with the caption, “This is how I advice.”  I decided against it, though, as this would both make me look like a Ms. Smarty Pants and a dancing idiot all at the same time.  So instead, I offer up this advice:  Don’t send me emails asking me to advice.

Advice – Best served with a grain of salt