Writing Matters

A Strict Policy On CC-ing Can Prevent Unwanted E-Mail

Many of the participants in the e-mail writing classes I teach complain about being CC-ed in too many e-mails. They say their inboxes are overflowing with CC e-mails that leave them wondering "Why did I receive this?" and "Am I supposed to do anything after reading this?"

I have two suggestions for solving the CC problem:

• Talk to the person who's CC-ing you too often. Ask why she's CC-ing you each time. If she has a practical reason, you'll be glad to learn about it. If she just thought you might want to be in the loop on all the various e-mail discussions, set her straight. Tell her when you want to be CC-ed and when you don't.
• Develop a CC policy for your group or company. I'm not suggesting that you establish an e-mail police state, but developing a policy (or "guideline" if you need something softer) can improve the CC situation. After all, many people CC others because they think they're doing the right thing. An agreed-upon policy will help everyone in your group know what to expect when sending and receiving CCs.

Six Options for a CC Policy
As you'll see, these six options vary in strictness. Adopting any one of them will result in fewer CCs overall.

You may CC a recipient only if ...

1. ... the recipient knows why he’s receiving the e-mail. This policy may be somewhat difficult to apply. You might wonder "How do I know if the recipient knows why he's receiving the e-mail?" That's the point. If you're not sure whether the recipient knows why he's getting your e-mail, put his name on the To line. People read more closely when they're not merely CC-ed.
2. ... the recipient’s name is mentioned in the text of the e-mail. This one will keep you honest. If you haven't mentioned the recipient's name anywhere in the e-mail, whether addressing him directly or talking about him, then you can't CC him. With this policy, few CC-ed recipients will wonder why they've received the e-mail.
3. ... the recipient doesn’t need to reply. This policy helps recipients know what to do when they're CC-ed. They should read the e-mail, but the sender isn't expecting a reply.
4. ... the recipient doesn’t need to do anything. A clear, simple policy that's likely to truly boost productivity. If you've CC-ed me, I know you're just keeping me up to date. You don't expect me to do anything at all.
5. ... the recipient doesn’t have to read the e-mail. This policy doesn't imply that the recipient shouldn't read the e-mail, merely that he doesn't have to. This policy would certainly help people prioritize their e-mail tasks, as CCs would fall to the bottom of the to-do list.
6. ... the recipient must delete the e-mail, not archive it. With this policy, CC-ing deems the e-mail so inconsequential for the recipient that he's not even expected, or allowed, to keep it. This policy may be practical for companies that place strict limits on inbox size.

Let me know what you think about these policies. Which one do you prefer? What do you predict would happen if you adopted one of these? Remember, the policy requires your colleagues' buy-in if it's actually going to work.

Does your company have a policy on CC-ing? If so, would you be willing to share it here? Post a comment or send me an e-mail.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

For Double the Value, Cut Your Web Content In Half

Sometimes the best solution to a problem is the simplest one. Overweight? Eat less.  Low on funds? Sell the flowery china you inherited from your great aunt.

Flabby, non-engaging web content? Cut it in half. Sometimes the best thing you can do to your web content is just make it shorter by half.

My experiment: halve the word count at consulting company's web page
Through a random Google search, I found Blue Jay Consulting's "Approach" page and decided to use it test my edit-with-machete technique. (Full disclosure: I don't know anyone at Blue Jay Consulting or anything about the company; I'm not a hater or a fan.) Here's the original content at 153 words:

Approach
Our goal is to optimize the performance of every organization with which we work. We figure out how to maximize the capability of systems and personnel alike. Our techniques are proven, our consultants are respected and our clients benefit from quantifiable results.

We base all of our efforts on the following general approach:

1. Conduct a thorough assessment of the department. What's not working, what's not making sense? Where are the problems, where are the opportunities?
2. Dive into day-to-day operations to gain insight into your organization's performance.
3. Present a set of recommendations for department-wide improvements.
4. Partner with personnel from all areas of the hospital -- including administration, physicians and front-line staff -- in problem-solving efforts.
5. Remain in place during the implementation of new process and system improvements in order to manage the change and provide support.
6. Maintain ongoing contact with clients to ensure sustainability of achieved successes.

My 50-percent-shorter version (76 words)  
 
Approach
We improve your organization’s performance by maximizing the capabilities of your systems and personnel. Our consultants employ our proven six-step approach to gain you quantifiable results:

1.  Assess the department to discover problems and opportunities.
2.  Analyze day-to-day operations to understand the department’s performance.
3.  Recommend improvements.
4.  Partner with administration, physicians, and front-line staff to solve problems.
5.  Provide support while you implement new processes.
6.  Maintain contact so you can sustain your successes.

What I learned from my cut-content-by-half experiment

• This was hard work, which I couldn't accomplish in one sitting. I had to do this word whittling in several rounds. 
• I may have inadvertently altered the meaning of this content, so if you're cutting your own content by half, be careful.
• Shorter isn't always better. I kind of liked the original sentence "Our techniques are proven, our consultants are respected and our clients benefit from quantifiable results." My version is shorter, but it doesn't have the rhythm of the original: "Our consultants employ our proven six-step approach to gain you quantifiable results..."

Are you game? Try this 50-percent-less experiment on your content and let me know whether the task was difficult and whether you like the shorter version. If you'd like, we'll link to your new, streamlined content here (especially if you'll show us the longer version too).

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

The Award for Worst Tone in a Business E-mail Goes to. . .

As a collector of poorly written e-mails, I thought I'd seen everything: egregious spelling and grammar errors, poor organization, bloated language, and unprofessional tone. So I have to admit that I was shocked by the e-mail my friend "Chris" sent me quoting e-mails that an accountant in her financial services firm sent to a client.

Here's what Chris wrote:

Thinking of you today because I just came across some poorly written business e-mails, generated right here in my own office! These e-mails are from one of our accountants to a new client -- a woman who was divorced about two years ago. She is filing taxes on her own for the first time this year.  I think the client is a little over 50, and the accountant is in his mid-60s. This is a woman he's never met in person, so we can't even say that they have forged some sort of relationship. Nor does she write in such an informal fashion.

Here are some selections from his e-mails:

• "Hey Girl"
• "Just move on girl, he wins on this one. When you coming by??"
• "Giving ___ to your hubby"
• "If you have been a bad girl and didn't do your homework. . ."

Anyway, nothing I can do about it, so I thought I'd share with you, instead. Of course, I realize that you must have seen much worse."

Actually, I haven't seen worse!  Chris wasn't privy to the client's reaction to these e-mails, so I can only imagine how quickly she found a new accountant.

Before I award the Worst Tone Award (a tin ear) to this accountant, I thought I'd ask: Have you received e-mails that top this for unprofessional and offensive tone? If so, send them on to me, and I'll share them with our readers. (Names will be changed to protect the whistleblower and the writer with the tin ear.)

-- Marilynne Rudick

Tips for Writing Customer Service Chat

A week ago, I did something very brave. I engaged in a customer service chat with Comcast, my cable and internet access provider. Why was this brave? Because Comcast is known for spectacularly bad customer service:

• In MSN Money's 2010 Customer Service Hall of Shame, Comcast was number 3 of the "10 companies we love to hate,"  and the Consumerist named Comcast Worst Company In America 2010.
• The 2006 classic YouTube video: A Comcast Technician Sleeping on my Couch (1,542,556 views)

I was chatting with Comcast because my cable service was still out one week after a 3-day power outage. I had web access but no TV. I'd had no luck getting through to Comcast by phone or e-mail, so I figured I'd give chat a try.

Overall, the chat experience was OK. It took a long time, more than 30 minutes from start to finish. Some of that time was spent waiting in the queue before the chat started, and some was spent running the stairs between my office and living room and doing various things to my cable box to try to get it working. The customer service agent (or "analyst Dean") was pleasant enough. Dean's solution to my problem didn't work, so it's difficult to consider the chat a true success. 

But I did take a critical look at the chat transcript and can offer some tips on writing customer service chat:

1. Avoid glib empathy. Before I even had a chance to explain to Dean what my problem was, he fell all over himself apologizing for it: "... I understand the trouble that this has caused you and I want you to know how sorry I am for the inconvenience. As your service representative today, I want you to know that your satisfaction is of my topmost priority..." These scripted empathy statements sound insincere. If he had empathized only half as much, he would have sounded twice as genuine.
2. Don't pitch offers to customers who need help. After asking for 1-2 minutes to pull up account information (which I'd already provided), Dean launched into this marketing pitch: "... Are you a big movie and TV fan? Comcast now has the best free online streaming and extensive video collection of television shows, movies, trailers and clips online. For you to experience this great entertainment site please visit..." I firmly told him not to provide marketing information during the chat, but he and the scripts he's given to work with could not resist. Near the end of the chat, this upsell slipped in: "... Do you want to watch full TV shows and movies online? Go to ... "
3. Respond directly to what the customer writes. The benefit of chat, for customers and companies alike, is its two-way quality. The agent should always respond to the customer, even if a time lag or a script briefly gets in the way. Dean did a good job of this. When I asked how to schedule a service call, he responded concisely: "You can chat back or call 1-800-XXX-XXXX."
4. Don't sweat the small stuff (like an occasional grammar or spelling error). While I can't excuse typos or mistakes that impede understanding, I can forgive the agent's occasional errors during a live chat. As a customer, I'm more interested in getting a correct answer or a solution to my problem than I am in copyediting the chat. Even as a "connoisseur of fine writing," I'm not bothered by minor errors in chat because I realize that the agent is probably multitasking wildly: chatting with more than one customer at a time, inserting scripts, offering links, troubleshooting, even taking control of the customer's browser. Dean made some errors. He wrote "I am glad I was able to assist you you today" and "Every information on what we have done is noted in your account..." But these errors did not alter the overall quality of the chat.

If you'd like, you can review the transcript of my chat with Comcast. I'm interested in your experiences with customer service chat. Which companies do it well? Poorly? In your opinion, what is a well-written chat? Post a comment or e-mail me your thoughts.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan