Building a Better Business

    Service: Phone and E-mail Etiquette - Don’t Leave Your Customers Hanging

    Are you answering your customers calls and E-mail promptly and politely? Why you must — or suffer the consequences.

    by David Lewis

    As we all know, if you have a business that has a phone line, when it rings, you answer it. It’s just expected. But, when you get on-line, what do you do with your E-mail?

    The reason I bring this up is that I do much of my research, and a lot of buying, online. Years ago we were in the market for a DVD player for our car. We take long trips in the summer and have two little kids (who are now much bigger)  ... such a gadget saves us from “are we there yet” repetition. :)

    So, I found the product we were interested in, looked up the local dealers on the corporate Web site. Well, I called the first place, on a Saturday, and the phone rang and rang ... no voice mail or answering  machine. Bad. So I E-mailed the next place because they had an E-mail address. Two weeks later I heard from them. No professional response, just a curt E-mail. Guess where I didn’t buy from.

    Answer Your Customers

      My point? Well, if you are doing business, be it a one-person shop, like mine, or with dozens of employees, remember that you are there for the customer. So, my words of wisdom:

      Phone: Get voice mail. Most telco’s offer such a service for a reasonable price, or, at the least, get an answering machine. The voice mail route is better as, even if the phone is busy, a message can be left. Busy signals drive me nuts when I’m trying to spend my money. But even if I call after hours, give me a place to leave my message.

      E-mail: If you list an E-mail address or have a form, place a little note that you will get back to the person within one business day. I always assume at least a one-day turnaround, but it’s always better to provide that information for your visitor. I would think that few consumers expect an answer on a weekend however, so the “business day” route is a safe one.

    Make Sure Your Tone Is Professional

    When you respond, remember that how you say something can be as important as what you say. We’ve all called some company only to think they were rude or unpleasant. With so much competition, no one has to spend  their money at a company that isn’t nice to them.

    E-mail can be trickier, because you can’t convey intonation. You _can_ use underlines, like that, to emphasize a word—and that can help make your meaning more clear—so that it reads like you want it to sound.

    Whatever you do, make sure your responses are clear and there’s little doubt as to what you’re saying. If the customer E-mail is unclear, and you’re not completely sure what they’re asking, make sure to politely  and precisely explain the additional information you need to answer their question.

    And just as it’s good business to answer the phone on the first ring (or as close to it as you can), it’s also good business to answer your E-mail as soon as possible.

    A bad impression via an E-mail is just as bad as one over the phone.

    About the Author

    David Lewis - HeadshotDavid Lewis owns and operates an 18 year-old electronic publishing company, taybridge.communications that provides a broad range of online services.

  • Prior to starting his own business, David did several tours in the private sector - selling everything from e-learning to guns. Yes, guns. For the past several years, David has been in the public sector.
ARCNet - The Aboriginal Resource Centre | Networking the Nations since 1996
a taybridge.communications project | a mohawk-powered company