Posts within the category: Customer service e-mail

November 28, 2011

Avis e-mails to an unhappy customer: From flawed to perfect?

Well, maybe not perfect, but much better. After my friend Steve's abysmal car rental experience with Avis, he gladly completed an online customer satisfaction survey. He wanted Avis to know he was a most disappointed customer. Little did he know that he was about to become a more disappointed customer.

First e-mail from Avis: Lots of errors!
Here's the e-mail Steve received after he submitted his survey.

From: Smith, Ms. Anne <anne@budgetgroup.com>
To: SteveJones@aabbcc.com
Subject: Your feedback about your recent rental (Reference: -123456789)

Thank you for taking the recent survey from your past rental.  I appreciate your feedback; it helps us serve our customers better. I sincerely apologies for you not being satisfied with your rental car experience, at your convenience if you have need to further discuss any other items or any future rental needs; you may reach me at 860 627 3700 ext 1234 or email asmith@budgetgroup.com

Yours truly,

Anne Smith

Oooh, Anne, you have got to proofread before you send. Your second sentence is OK, but all the others contain errors:

• Write about your past rental not from your past rental.
• Change apologies to apologize.
• Brush up on your punctuation. You're misusing the comma and the semicolon.
• Tighten your wording. You wrote if you have need to further discuss any other items when to discuss any other items would do..

Second e-mail from Avis: Trying harder!
This e-mail is much better:

• Personal. It uses Steve's name twice and the pronoun we several times. It restates exactly where and when he had his unsatisfying experience.
• Positive. Avis assumes it can keep Steve's business and that he will book another Avis car. The e-mail uses phrases like look forward and your next experience.
• Proofread. In contrast to the first e-mail, this writer has spelled and punctuated correctly.

On the you-might-want-to-rethink-that list:

• The banner photo is odd, just odd. I am not sure what Avis is trying to convey by pairing the words We Apologize with a shiny black Chevy, but I am pretty sure Chevy won't be happy.
• We're in the business of treating people like people. As opposed to what?

.

I'm interested in your thoughts. What do you think would be the effect of the first, flawed e-mail on an unhappy customer? In your opinion, does the second e-mail's offer of an upgrade, $10 coupon, or bonus award miles offset the damage done by the first one?

April 8, 2011

E-mails about the Epsilon security breach: Marriott got it wrong, but Target and Hilton got it right

A couple of days ago, hackers stole data (customers' names and e-mails) from Epsilon, a company that manages e-mail marketing campaigns for some of the nation's biggest retailers. (Read the WSJ article "Breach Brings Scrutiny.") I must be a downstream customer of Epsilon's because within a day of the breach I had received explanation e-mails from Marriott, Target, and Hilton. (Scroll to the bottom to read the three e-mails.) Overall, Marriott's was the least effective. After a close read of these three samples, I've come up with some advice.

Four tips for writing e-mail that explains a security breach ...  or other bad news

1. Write a clear subject line. Target and Hilton used the same subject line: Important message from [Target, Hilton HHonors]. Marriott used Important Notice from Marriott International, Inc. These subject lines are truly inadequate and likely to get lost in my inbox. And they do nothing to offset the torrent of phone calls each company's contact center must have received from nervous customers. Even Explanation of Recent Security Breach would have been a better subject line.
2. Use a specific greeting. Marriott got this right. But Target addressed me as a valued guest. I have never understood this euphemism for customer. Yes, one treats guests nicely, but one doesn't usually try to sell them things or protect their e-mail addresses. And Hilton's Dear Customergreeting is just blah. It's anonymous.

    

3. Explain what the customer should do. Marriott's advice is weak: continue to be on alert. Marriott does nothing to help customers gauge the severity of the breach or to take steps to protect themselves. In contrast, Target and Hilton give bulleted, specific instructions.

    

4. Sign the e-mail. When your customers become concerned about their personal data, it's time to bring in the big guns. Marriott blundered again. Their e-mail isn't even "signed" with a person's title, such as Marketing Director or Customer Service Manager. Hilton's and Target's VPs took personal responsibility in their company's e-mails.

On a related topic, Epsilon's news release on the breach -- "Epsilon Notifies Clients of Unauthorized Entry into Email System" -- is pure blunder. The worst thing a company can do when something bad has happened is use language that hides ownership. Plain language is a must. If ever Epsilon should have chosen active voice, this would be the time. But Epsilon's news release is full of the company's hysteria-induced use of passive voice: "On March 30th, an incident was detected where a subset of Epsilon clients' customer data were exposed by an unauthorized entry into Epsilon's email system." Who detected? Who exposed?

********************************************************

Marriott's E-Mail

Dear Marriott Customer,

We were recently notified by Epsilon, a marketing vendor used by Marriott International, Inc. to manage customer emails, that an unauthorized third party gained access to a number of Epsilon's accounts including Marriott's email list.

In all likelihood, this will not impact you. However, we recommend that you continue to be on the alert for spam emails requesting personal or sensitive information. Please understand and be assured that Marriott does not send emails requesting customers to verify personal information.

We take your privacy very seriously. Marriott has a long-standing commitment to protecting the privacy of the personal information that our guests entrust to us. We regret this has taken place and apologize for any inconvenience.

Please visit our FAQ to learn more.

Sincerely,

Marriott International, Inc.

********************************************************

Target's E-Mail

To our valued guests,

Target’s email service provider, Epsilon, recently informed us that their data system was exposed to unauthorized entry. As a result, your email address may have been accessed by an unauthorized party. Epsilon took immediate action to close the vulnerability and notified law enforcement.

While no personally identifiable information, such as names and credit card information, was involved, we felt it was important to let you know that your email may have been compromised. Target would never ask for personal or financial information through email.

Consider these tips to help protect your personal information online:

• Don’t provide sensitive information through email. Regular email is not a secure method to transmit personal information.
• Don’t provide sensitive information outside of a secure website. Legitimate companies will not attempt to collect personal information outside a secure website. If you are concerned, contact the organization represented in the email. 
• Don’t open emails from senders you don’t know.

We sincerely regret that this incident occurred. Target takes information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken to protect personal information. Please contact Guest.Relations@target.com should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Gross
Vice President, Marketing and Guest Engagement

********************************************************

Hilton's E-Mail

Dear Customer:

We were notified by our database marketing vendor, Epsilon, that we are among a group of companies affected by a data breach. How will this affect you? The company was advised by Epsilon that the files accessed did not include any customer financial information, and Epsilon has stressed that the only information accessed was names and e-mail addresses. The most likely impact, if any, would be receipt of unwanted e-mails. We are not aware at this time of any unsolicited e-mails (spam) that are related, but as a precaution, we want to remind you of a couple of tips that should always be followed:

• Do not open e-mails from senders you do not know
• Do not share personal information via e-mail

Hilton Worldwide, its brands and loyalty program will never ask you to e-mail personal information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers. You should be cautious of "phishing" e-mails, where the sender tries to trick the recipient into disclosing confidential or personal information. If you receive such a request, it did not come from Hilton Worldwide, its brands or its loyalty program. If you receive this type of request you should not respond to it but rather notify us at fraud_alert@hilton.com.

As always, we greatly value your business and loyalty, and take this matter very seriously. Data privacy is a critical focus for us, and we will continue to work to ensure that all appropriate measures are taken to protect your personal information from unauthorized access.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Diskin
Senior Vice President, Customer Marketing
Hilton Worldwide

********************************************************

March 21, 2011

A customer service e-mail from Southwest is about to kill the LUV

I love Southwest Airlines: best prices, best schedules, best customer service, hands down. But the e-mail I received from them yesterday (click to enlarge, below) is pure blunder:

• It guarantees me a personal response within 10 business days. This is an absurdly long time for a customer to wait for an e-mail from an airline's contact center. In fact, no customer in her right mind will wait 10 days for help with rescheduling a flight, finding lost baggage, or adding a Rapid Rewards number to an existing reservation. That customer is going to call the contact center, so the unreasonable wait time cripples the chance for first contact resolution. And don't get me started on the way the number is written. It shouldn't be "Ten" or "ten." It should be "10."
• It tells me not to "reply." The quotation marks are truly weird, as if the desire to reply were ironic, not practical, or an exotic response some customers have to e-mails from companies.
• It mentions a mystery link that may help me. When Southwest writes "We have provided a link to information on southwest.com that may help you find answers...," the company sends me on a wild goose chase around its homepage to find the mystery helpful link. Why not put it in the e-mail? And, by the way, the bolded southwest.com in the e-mail was not a link.
  

 I hate to say it, Southwest, but our LUV may be on the rocks.

 

 

December 9, 2010

Princeton Review: Don't send me a huffy e-mail when I unsubscribe

So, it's like that, Princeton Review. You loved me when I subscribed to receive your weekly School Research Service e-mails, but now that my daughter's been accepted to college and I've unsubscribed, you can't even be polite.

Here's the let's-destroy-our-business-relationship e-mail I received from Princeton Review when I unsubscribed:

From: Unsubscribe
To: LESLIE O'FLAHAVAN
Subject: Your unsubscribe is being processed...

We are processing your request to unsubscribe from our email services. Please make sure that you are sending your request from the email address subscribed to this service, otherwise we will be unable to process your request. Please allow up to 7-10 days for your request to be processed.  At that point you should receive no further email from us.  If you have any other issues, please let us know.

The Princeton Review

That is one cold e-mail:

• The subject line implies that unsubscribing me is a complex task that requires "processing," akin to reviewing a grant application or a Freedom of Information Act request.
• They scold me for (possibly) having used one e-mail address to unsubscribe from another. Can't they tell whether I've done that and only scold me if I have? (I haven't)
• They invite me to "let them know" if I have "other issues," but they fail to provide any contact information.

Oh, how my relationship with Princeton Review has changed. Here's the friendly, welcoming e-mail I received from them a few short months ago when I subscribed.

From: School Research Service from The Princeton Review
To: Leslie O'Flahavan
Date:  Tue, May 25, 2010
Subject: Colleges Looking For Students Like You

• Are you a junior or sophomore exploring the right college for you?
• Are you a senior still deciding where to go to college this fall?
• Are you a returning student, or looking to transfer to a new school?

We can now provide you a personalized list of colleges, looking for students like you. Just answer a few questions to complete your profile, and you'll be able to select and request more information from schools that want to hear from students with your background, and that offer your preferred major.

• See matching colleges by completing your profile [I removed the link here]
• Update your profile on PrincetonReview.com [I removed the link here]

So Princeton Review could be friendly to me when we started "dating" but barely civil when I broke it off. Don't they realize that I might re-subscribe? Purchase books from them? Sign up for their Graduate School Research Service, Law School Research Service, or Medical School Research Service for either of my two college-age children?

The response to a customer's unsubscribe request presents an opportunity to maintain a business relationship and build rapport. Princeton Review's response really missed its mark.

-- Leslie O'Flahavan

December 2, 2010

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.

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