>>Looking
for tips on email customer service
We
are handling 170% more emails from customers this year
than we did this time last year and we need to ensure
our emails are professional. Can you provide email
writing tips I can take back to my email response team?
Myra's
answer to: Looking
for tips on email customer service
1.
Check emails as frequently as you check the phones.
You answer the phones every time they ring and emails
should be treated the same way. It's not acceptable to
check customer emails one or two times daily or hourly.
Email response must be a priority.
2.
Reply via email. Customers contacting you by email
are suggesting that email is their preferred method of
communication. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid
calling or sending a response via postal mail.
(Obviously, refunds or token items would still be sent
postal mail.)
3.
Activate the spell-check feature. Spelling counts.
Always, always proof emails.
4.
Quickly get to the point. Customers await responses
from companies with great anticipation - so quickly get
to the point and when possible, be brief. Don't waste
words. Simply express appreciation for the feedback,
apologize for the problem and quickly offer your
resolution strategy or explanation.
5.
Plz Don't Abbrvt. We're all familiar with email
shorthand - U instead of you, 2 instead of to, plz
instead of please, and thanx instead of thanks. It's
fine for personal email. Business email should be more
formal. Of course, frequently used abbreviations such as
Mr. and Mrs., FYI (for your information), inc., and etc.
are fine.
6.
Keep Sentences Short. A good average sentence length
for business correspondence is in the range of 14 to 20
words. Readability studies show that people can quickly
comprehend a 20-word sentence and move on to the next
thought. A 30-word sentence causes them to slow down,
however, and a 40-word sentence may require rereading.
7.
Avoid Jargon. Make sure your letter doesn't contain
acronyms or terms not easily interpreted. All customer
correspondence needs to be simple and crystal clear.
8.
Avoid writing your message using all uppercase letters. It
looks like you're shouting.
9.
Keep your email to one screen (page) if possible. Email
readers do not like being forced to scroll through
several screens.
10.
Signal clearly the end of your message. Readers
resent being left hanging or scrolling to an empty
screen, wondering if they have missed something. End
most emails in two clear ways. First, conclude with a
brief summary or review of the content. You might
restate a request your response or resolution. Second,
give your email a quick complimentary close - Sincerely,
at your service, thanks.
11.
Capture and archive emails in your contact management
system. It's critically important to log a copy of
all email communications (both to and from the company)
in your contact management system with dates and times.
This helps you when emails are escalated, information is
misinterpreted or there is an accusation of no response
from the company.
You
might also want to check out my response to "How
to build rapport through email."
See
also Email Grammar Help
I
just want to take a moment to "thank you" for
your very valuable Tuesday Morning e-mail newsletter.
Our Customer Satisfaction Department finds it extremely
valuable and helpful in our mission to satisfy customers
every day. We also share the many great ideas and tips
for handling customer complaints with our franchise
owners. Thank you again... we hope we can continue to
look forward to Tuesday Morning for a long time to come.
Beth
Vickers
Director
Customer
Satisfaction Department
McDonald's
Corporation
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