How How to Use E-mail to Impress Your Customers

I’m in the middle of a run of pretty bad customer service experiences. I’ve bought two laptops, one DOA, that had to be returned immediately, then had a devastating Rent the Runway experience that had me running out the day before an event to buy a formal gown. Not cool.

Then, shopping for a gift for a family member on uncommongoods resulted in this:

I love the clarity of communication, the notice that there will be four e-mails from them, and what they’re telling me along the way. It was just what I needed to see to restore my faith in online retailing and customer service. Way to go, uncommongoods!

What can we learn from this? Be clear, be brief, and tell customers what to expect. I appreciate this and the no-nonsense approach to getting this done. Think about how you’re e-mailing customers. Are you telling them what to expect? How about how often they should hear from you? Making a promise like that, then keeping it, can go a long way toward brand loyalty. Now, if uncommongoods only sold laptops and formal gowns . . .