I think I was rude

[MissyMa'am]

 BG: I trained a new coworker to take my former position when I was promoted.  From the start she has been a little negative and acts overwhelmed, and now that she has found her footing she has become a little territorial and bossy, which doesn't sit well with me because I did the job for almost 3 years before she took over a few months ago.  She corrected me on a procedure in a somewhat blunt way this week, and she was wrong (I was doing it right when she corrected me).  Also important to note is that I have jumped in and done some of my old tasks when she has had too much on her plate.  End BG.

Today, my computer wasn't working correctly and wouldn't save a file that I needed to send her.  So I sent an attachment and said, "I'm really sorry to ask you to do this, but can you cut and paste these items together?  My computer won't let me save it."  What I was asking her to do was something I did all the time when I had that job.  It was literally 30 seconds worth of work on a document that she would then have to take and further process anyway.  And I never would have asked her to do it if I could have done it myself.

Her response was that she didn't have time and her boss had told her not to reformat documents for people (not exactly what I was asking her to do - I don't even think she looked at it before she told ne no).  This really bugged me for several reasons, but mainly because she responded as if I was trying to dump my work on her.  I saw it as a coworker doing a tiny favor for another coworker, as I have done for her mutiple times.  I just felt she was being petty.

So, I rebooted my computer (a long and painful process around here), got the program working, and fixed it myself.  Since she needed notified that it was done, I wrote the following email: "I rebooted my computer and got it to work.  I reformatted the file in about 30 seconds." I know it's a little snippy, but I was so annoyed that I sent it anyway.  How bad was I?

[WillyNilly]

I think you were fine.  yes it was a little rude, but you are her superior, and she is supposed to be a team player (I assume, as thats generally how business is done - all employees are on the same "team" - the company - and ultimately have a vested interest in getting the work done).

Personally I would have sent that note as part of the original thread where she pushed it back to you and cc'd her boss on it.  I might not have written the "30 second" part (I'm betting that in reality it took you more like 90 seconds - toggling two screens and cut & pasting more then 1 line item does take about a minute) because it's a tad snarky but then again, rude or not, some people need to be treated with snark because its the only language they speak - your co-worker kinda sounds like she's very fluent in snark.

[Anthera]

I would also rethink doing "favors" for her.  If you are required to help her fine, but otherwise I'd decline.

[farmboy]

Whether your response was rude or not, you shouldn't be doing her work for her. On the other hand, it is quite possible that her boss gave her that order because you had been doing what "took about 30 seconds" for people who got used to it, who should have been told to do it right themselves, and who ended up using a great deal of her time the boss wanted her to spend elsewhere. It's her job now, and she isn't going to do it the same way you did.

[KitKat]

She drew a line in the sand.  I wouldn't pick up any of those old tasks even if she is drowning in work.