Shutterfly earns scorn for mistakenly sending new-parent congratulations

Congratulatory emails are a part and parcel of running an online business, particularly one that relies on people celebrating major life events with print-to-order cards.

However, the online card and photo printer Shutterfly learned Wednesday that if you send one of those mass emails, you’d better be sure the recipients have experienced the life event for which you’re lauding them.

Shutterfly sent an email Wednesday morning congratulating a huge number of customers on their new babies. Specifically, the email read:

There’s nothing more amazing than bringing a new life into the world. As a new parent you’re going to find more to love, more to give and more to share—we’re here to help you every step of the way.

Now it’s time to send thank you cards. Find one that matches your birth announcement.

Quite a few of the people who got that email had not recently given birth. Worse yet, many have dealt with the pain of having a miscarriage, a child’s death, or infertility.

“I lost a baby in November who would have been due this week,” wrote one commenter on Shutterfly’s Facebook page. “It was like hitting a wall all over again.”