Comments on: How Not to Respond to Customer Emails

By: Joe Rawlinson

Joe Rawlinson — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:38:44 +0000

Jason- Round and round we go. Where we stop, nobody knows! Sorry you got hit with the endless loop of no answers. I've found that with consumer companies, you'll get a better response if you call them up on the phone. That worked with me for DiGiorno pizza, Huggies diapers, and Nabisco.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 18:05:47 +0000

I actually had a great example of this last week. My wife and I bought a bottle of the new Tide “Simple Pleasures” scented detergent. We couldn’t stand the smell of our clothes after we washed them and made my wife sick to her stomach to wear them. So, I e-mailed P&G’s customer support to see if they had a “satisfaction guaranteed” policy.

This was the reply I got:
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Thanks for contacting us, Jason.

I’m sorry about your wife’s recent experience after using Tide Simple Pleasures in the Vanilla & Lavender scent. Our products are thoroughly evaluated to be safe when used as directed, and we wouldn’t expect the results you described. I’m sharing your report with our Health and Safety Division. If allergies are a concern for your family, you may want to try Tide Free. It doesn’t contain any dyes or perfumes.

Your satisfaction means a great deal to us so I’m also responding by postal mail. Look for my letter to arrive in 7-10 days.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us.

Mary Lou
Tide Team
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Thinking it was a canned response, I replied back personally anyway:

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Thank you for the thoughtful reply, Mary Lou. However, you didn’t respond to my question regarding returning the product. Should I return the remaining portion to the store of purchase or can P&G issue me credit toward the purchase of Tide Free?

–jason
——————————————————————————-

This is what I got back:

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Thanks for contacting Tide, Jason.

I’m sorry about your wife’s experience with Tide Simple Pleasures Vanilla & Lavender. Our products are thoroughly evaluated to be safe when used as directed, and we wouldn’t expect the results you described. I’m sharing your report with our Health and Safety Division.

Your satisfaction means a great deal to us so I’m also responding by postal mail. Look for my letter to arrive in 7-10 days.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us.

Melissa
Tide Team
——————————————————————————-

Not exactly a two-way conversation. If you’re not going to take the time to understand me, why bother responding at all?

Cheers,

–jason

By: Joe Rawlinson

Joe Rawlinson — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 02:36:54 +0000

Andrew-
Automated systems are great when they are mutually beneficial to both the company and customer. Your policy of direct contact with customers is excellent.

Craig-
You’re welcome! Hats off to both you and your team.

By: Craig Newmark

Craig Newmark — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:11:52 +0000

thanks, much appreciated! but I’m only one part of a customer service team, and they do a great job.

thanks!

Craig

By: Andrew Breese

Andrew Breese — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 22:03:57 +0000

Agreed in full, and I find it as frustrating.

That said: there is a place for automated responses. Technical support emails are bound to arrive in volume, and I found being given an automatic ticket number sometimes is helpful.

However this also creates a mess of problems if staff depend on them for the interaction with clients.

My policy is to make as direct contact as possible when talking to customers; especially prospective customers. If they ask via email, but also supply a phone I will respond using email first, and often follow up with a call.

You can use a system to your advantage, and not the customers disadvantage.