Writing Matters

Do You Write Customer Service E-Mail That Rates a Perfect 10?

We all know that a good customer service e-mail is one and done: it answers the customer’s questions or solves the customer’s problems so there’s no need for a second round of contact. A great customer service e-mail goes beyond one and done: it anticipates related questions a customer might have and answers them, too. It has a personal and professional tone.

But what’s a perfect customer service e-mail? It’s in the details. A perfect e-mail is easy to read, has no spelling or grammar errors, and has a subject line that does the heavy lifting—previews the e-mail’s content. It offers other sources of help and makes it easy for the customer to contact you.

Download our article How to Write a Customer Service E-Mail That Rates a Perfect Ten (PDF). In it, we've dissected an e-mail exchange between a customer and a customer service agent from a company we’ve called AutoBackup. We’ve identified the characteristics we think make this e-mail ideal. The article also includes "Tips for Writing the Perfect Customer Service E-Mail," so you too can write an e-mail that rates a perfect ten.

Download How to Write a Customer Service E-Mail That Rates a Perfect Ten, which was originally published in this month's issue of SupportWorld magazine.

 

Apologizing to a customer? Write it like you mean it.

A colleague shared this e-mail she received from the company that hosts her website, which I'll call ABC Web Host. While the intent of this e-mail is to apologize for an outage, it doesn't sound genuine, and the order of information is all wrong.

Subject: Further explanation regarding 5/20/10 outage

Dear ABC Web Host Clients,

(you are receiving this message because you have a current or past helpdesk account with ABC Web Host.).

We’ve assessed the circumstances around the db connectivity issues ABC Web Host experienced yesterday.  Apparently the server farm has misconfigured a block of IP addresses; something that went undetected until we ran out and requested a new block. The new block was configured correctly and this revealed the issue and broke sites using the problematic configuration.

XYZ Server Farm, Inc. (the worldclass service we employ to host our servers) has admitted culpability in this issue and given us their assurance that maintenance to check the current state of affairs as well as to put in place a tighter monitoring system so any similar outage will be discovered sooner, will be put into place today.

The total outage was approximately 20 minutes. We regret the inconvenience and understand there is no worse time to have an outage, of any kind, than at noon on a workday.  If you’d like further information or to discuss anything additionally please respond to this message and it will be directed to my attention.

Regards,

Jane Doe, CEO
ABC Web Host

Here's why the outage apology e-mail just doesn't work:

• It's been sent to too many or the wrong people. If you have to explain to me why I am receiving the e-mail, should you be sending it to me?
• The tone is off-putting. I feel like a grim techie-lawyer is writing to me when I read phrasings such as "assessed the circumstances around the db connectivity issues" and "admitted culpability in this issue."
• The empathy is buried in the last paragraph: "We ... understand there is no worse time to have an outage, of any kind, than at noon on a workday." If you really feel my pain, let me know up front.
• I can't e-mail the CEO directly. How sorry can the CEO be about the outage if my e-mail will merely be "directed to" her attention?

My Rewrite of the Outage Apology E-mail

Subject: Apologies for May 20 service outage

Dear ABC Web Host Clients,

We’d like to follow up on and apologize for last Wednesday’s brief service outage. We regret the inconvenience and understand there is no worse time to have an outage than at noon on a workday. 

Here’s why the outage occurred. The server farm we use misconfigured a block of IP addresses. This error went undetected until we ran out of IP addresses and requested a new block. The new block was configured correctly, which revealed the issue. Sites with the problematic configuration suffered the outage.

XYZ Server Farm, Inc.  (the worldclass service we employ to host our servers) has taken responsibility for this misconfiguration. They have assured us that today they will put a tighter monitoring system in place, so they can discover outages sooner.

We’re really sorry your site was down. If you’d like more information or want to discuss this, please contact me directly at [email protected] and 800-555-1234.

Regards,

Jane Doe, CEO
ABC Web Host

What do you think of my rewrite? Let me know or try your hand at a revision and post it here.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

BlueHost: Great Customer Service Starts on the Home Page

Mention customer service to almost anyone, and you’ll get a litany of complaints that include interminable wait times for phone support as well as incorrect or unsatisfactory responses to phone and e-mail queries. That’s why I’m singing the praises of BlueHost, the company I chose to host a new blog. (More on that to come.)

I considered a number of highly recommended hosting companies. But BlueHost’s website clinched the deal. It was well written, logically organized, and had a clean user-friendly design. What’s more, the website provided a wealth of help options:

• Customer support numbers featured on every page: “QUESTIONS? BlueHost specializes in customer satisfaction. Call us with your questions Toll Free 24/7."
• Live Chat button prominently displayed on the home page.
• Help Center that offered a wealth of support options: A searchable knowledge base, getting started wizard, video tutorials, user forums, and an e-mail option.
• Contact Us page with phone numbers for each department (Sales, Technical Support, Billing) as well as a mailing address.

The day I signed up, I called them five times. My first call was to Sales to clarify rates and the process of signing up. I also wanted to test out their customer support before signing on. (They passed the test.)

Four calls were to Technical Support after I signed up. Those calls dealt with installing blog software—WordPress and the Thesis theme. Each time my call was answered promptly, and knowledgeable technical support people quickly solved my problems. The person I talked with the fifth time was as pleasant and helpful as the person who fielded my first call, though I’m sure by that time I was flagged in their database as pain in the butt. 

A few days later, I tried out BlueHost’s e-mail support. My question about moving an existing blog to BlueHost was answered within a few hours. It was well-written and provided links to “how-to's.”  A follow-up question was answered within an hour. 

I know the dangers of falling in love at first sight.  But based on the first date, BlueHost looks like the model for great customer service. I’m optimistic about a meaningful long-term relationship.  

(Note: I am not a BlueHost affiliate. My only relationship with the company is as a satisfied customer.)

--Marilynne Rudick

Announcing System Outages: There's Got to Be a Better Way?

On behalf of my colleague and friend Marie DiRuzza (Assistant Director of Desktop Services at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and V.P. of Programs for HDI New England) I am reaching out to all of you to ask for your input: what's the best way to write a system outage announcement?

Marie's group at WPI is responsible for letting everyone on campus know when a system or network will be unavailable. They use a format for these outage announcements that's dictated by, in Marie's words, "an ancient (and free) posting system," which you can take a look at in the thumbnail, at left. She's less than happy with the outage announcement format and is looking for other options. If you've developed a method for writing system outage announcements or if you receive helpful, easy-to-read announcements from the service desk at your company, please let me know or post a comment. Of course, if you want to share a terrible system outage announcement, you can do that too.

I don't know how to tell Marie this, but I think her outage announcements are, in fact, quite good. They give the bare facts of the outage, the reasons behind the outage, and the details of the outage. The two-column format works because the left column presents headings for those who like to scan:

• When?    
• How long?    
• Why?    
• Groups Affected    
• Impact    
• Questions    
• Details

And the right column presents explanations for those who want to read. When appropriate, the announcements include a Frequently Asked Questions section, so those super-interested readers will get all the detail they need. Take a look at a recent announcement: "myWPI Planned Downtime – System Upgrade (3/12/10)" or, if you feel the need, scroll through eight years of archived announcements (!).

-- Leslie O'Flahavan