Good day to all,

I work in a technical sales position. My job is to respond to leads, make equipment selection and to some extent provide technical support on products. Generally speaking I've quite good interactions with colleagues. I receive between 5 to 10 leads per day and these are generally coming via phone, emails or live chat. I think of myself as a serious contributor who strive to deliver to quality and schedule, well at least stick to that.

A while ago, I had frictions with a colleague who manage the logistic side of things and who happens to be closely related to the line manager. Frictions have never been verbal, but we've had some sort of heated email exchanges where we disagreed on the handling of some tasks, on who should be doing what, etc. One particularly difficult exchange was in the context of a stressful situation which involved big delays in delivery of an equipment and that made the client very upset.

Long story short, in my written communications with the colleague in question I've stated my dissatisfaction at few occasions and on a chain of replies back and forth I stated something like "which part of my answer don't you understand?". At some point, I involved the line manager to let him know my frustration with the colleague. I do not remember otherwise having used any harsh language, offensive words, demeaning terms, etc., never ever. I was then invited to attend a meeting with HR and line manager and they made a case against me stating that I did hurt the feeling of the other colleague, that my behavior was disrespectful and that I lacked professionalism. The colleague sent screenshots of all communications to HR but this was expected.

HR qualified the quote "which part of my answer don't you understand?" as being the main issue and that it is the main reason for me being qualified as disrespectful. They qualified this as "the incident" (using HR own word). In general they stated that they appreciate me to stay on board but have problem with "my behavior". For what it matters, I am in my fifties and the colleague I've a conflict with is in their twenties or early thirties. Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that age matters or should matter, should never been the case, but really wanted to give you some more context.

Finally, at the end of that meeting, I was asked by line manager to acknowledge that I was disrespectful and showed lack of professionalism. Probably to state this in writing on the meeting records but I am not sure, because the meeting just ended without any written minutes (at least so far). He said if I cannot acknowledge immediately he is expecting me to think about it and can acknowledge later.

I think this is all to it. Would you be so kind to share your opinion on this situation: could you advise if it is correct I was disrespectful towards the person and do you think I have to acknowledge the qualifications as disrespectful and unprofessional as stated ? (like I stated, probably I will be asked to sign for some sort of "acknowledgment form" but honestly I don't know what they want to do exactly - just seen them typing on their respective laptop during the said meeting).

Thank you kindly.