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I’ve had a draft article about how to get good customer service lying around for months. I did write something similar back in Aug 2006 about calling 800 numbers, but I keep thinking I should rewrite it to include how to write an effective email.
You ask, “Why?” The easy answer is, I’m on the receiving end of many similar emails. Additionally, I see so many rants in the AC forum about Associated Content being unresponsive. I can honestly say, Associated Content has never been unresponsive when I emailed a concern. Does AC love me more than you? No. AC gives priority to clear, concise emails with enough details to address the problem. That’s the kind of email that gets a response.
You don’t have to take my word for it. The following block is straight from the man who handles all of AC’s incoming emails.
1. BE SPECIFIC. If there is one specific article you’re having trouble with, tell us the title. If it’s already published, having a URL of the live content will help IMMENSELY, and will let us fix the issue faster for you. It will also help EVERYONE on the site, as we will be able to move more quickly between issues.
2. Don’t just rant. You would be shocked at how many emails I get on a daily basis that are just rants, which really don’t give any information. “YOU NEED TO PAY ME FOR THIS ARTICLE” does not describe the problem you’re having. We want you to have a positive experience at AC, but if there is an issue that’s keeping you from getting paid, once again, we need specifics.
3. Be nice. Ultimately, we’re all on the same team here. Every day, I remind myself that what’s best for the CP’s is best for AC. We’re not on different teams, we’re not playing against each other. AC is really not trying to “pull one over” on you. Also, the people reviewing your content are educated, they are smart, and they are good at their jobs. Insulting them isn’t going to help anyone do anything. At the end of the day, we are all in this together.
4. One email will do it. If you’re having an issue, you email, and you don’t hear back in 20 minutes, that’s normal. I get more than 200 emails per day, all of which need to be read and answered. Sending multiple emails about the same issue on the same content really slows the process for everyone.
I feel his pain, so let me expound on this just a bit.
5. Include Details. Dates, URLs, and article titles are very important. If needed, use dates to build a time-line of the events. In describing the problem, include the steps that you took which lead there. For example, “I was using the General template to submit an article on May 6th. I pressed buttons 1, 2, 3 and then got a blank page.”
6. Be Concise. Don’t address more than one concern in the email. Get to the point and stay on track. A bullet-point list is easier for the email recipient to scan than a 500-word ranting paragraph.
7. Use the Subject Field. In the subject field of your email, include something that gives a clue about the email’s contents. For example, are you reporting a technical bug with the web site? The subject line should read something like, “Technical Bug With Web Site. Broken URL.”
8. Include Your System Info. If your problem appears technical in any way, include you operating system (OS) and browser specifics. Don’t know what those are? It’s simple. For Microsoft Windows, right-click the My Computer icon and choose Properties. There’s your OS. “MS Windows” isn’t good enough. Include the version number. To get your browser information, select the Help > About menu.
9. Don’t assume things are FUBAR unless they are repeatable. Stuff happens. It doesn’t mean it’s AC’s problem 100% of the time. Try to replicate the problem before firing off an email. It may have just been a temporary network drop. It may have been something you did. Slow down, try it again, and make notes of what you’re doing. This will help if you do end up sending an email.
These are the things to which AC or any site responds. I’ll go out on a limb and say those forum posts about AC’s unresponsiveness are probably the result of failure to adhere to rule number 2 and 4. When you read those, between the lines is, “I fired off an mindless rant with no details and didn’t hear back so I fired off 5 more emails.” I guarantee you, those emails went straight to the trash folder.
These are the tips from the guys who get emails everyday about problems with web sites. You don’t have to take them to heart, but then you don’t have to have your problem resolved either.
Mississippi House Bill 282, currently before the state legislature, would prevent restaurants with more than five seats from serving obese people as determined by the state’s health department. Repeat offenders would be subject to fines or closure. Even the bills sponsor, W.T. Mayhall, Jr. says he knows the bill has less of a chance at survival than a bucket of KFC at a Weight Watchers meeting. He just wants the large, good people of Mississippi to consider their health and thinks this will get the conversation started. After all, Mississippi was just granted the title “fattest state in the nation,” with 62% of its population defined as obese.
My first thought when hearing this story was, “Why would restaurants want to keep out the fatties? They’re your best customers. This is like banning athletes from gyms.” Then there’s the whole problem of determining who is huge enough to face discrimination. Will Mississippi restaurants have to narrow their doors? Will they install the human-size version of the airport carry-on luggage measuring box? I imagine it will have a sign over it which reads, “If your ass is bigger than this, you are not welcome.” I wonder if signs like, “No shirt. No shoes. No Fatties.” are already being printed in the Magnolia state.
As bizarre as all that sounds, the really funny thing I learned while investigating this story is there is a real organization called The Coalition of Fat Rights Activists (COFRA). A group actually proud of their flab…er…glandular problem, who feel fat people face enough discrimination, they need an activist group. I’m no spring chicken, but I’ll stick with, “I could stand to lose a few pounds,” before I swing over the fence to “Fat is beautiful. RascalTM scooters for everyone!”
Here in Alabama, we have an expression for when people make fun of our state, “Thank God there’s Mississippi.” Having Mississippi as our neighbor really lowers the bar and takes all the pressure off.
One of my first articles submitted to Associated Content was a rant about the treatment my wife and I receive at pharmacies (Pharmacist’s Opinions Now Out Weigh Doctor’s Orders, July 2006). As far as the writing goes, I could have done a better job getting my point across. As far as the topic goes, it persist to this day and is getting worse.
My wife called our local Walgreens three days ago to get a refill of her Xanax prescription. She was told that it wouldn’t be refillable until Saturday, 1/26. That was cool. No problem. It’s always good to call ahead and have things waiting.
She called Saturday morning to make sure it was ready. The pharmacist on duty told her it couldn’t be refilled until Sunday, 1/27. Grrrrr! Who died and made you God, Ms. Pharmacist? Why would your people tell us the 26th when you are going to make a personal decision to not fill it until the 27th?
That is my main complaint with the chain pharmacies…no consistent policies. Everything is left up to the whim of the pharmacist on duty. Getting a refill is like playing Russian Roulette. I’ve even had one pharmacist refuse to fill a written prescription at 7AM because he knew he was going off duty at 8AM. The shift change made all the difference and the 8 o’clock guy had no problem counting out the pills.
Knowing the system means you can game the system, though. My wife simply made a phone call to the next Walgreens down the road and they had no problem filling the script on Saturday.
I’m not bashing Walgreens as a whole. Just the inconsistent policies. I regularly go to a particular Walgreens every month for a reoccurring prescription and John, the PharmD, is the nicest guy in the world. The people at the Walgreens where I picked up the Xanax today were very polite, friendly, and quick. But the Walgreens at 7813 Highway 72 W Madison, AL apparently only hires cold, hard bitches who have their own policies about what scripts are valid and when they will fill them.
This isn’t the first time we’ve been treated with complete and utter disdain by the staff at that particular store. So don’t give me any bullshit about “pharmacist are professionals who are trained to look out for your well-being.” This crew at this particular Walgreens is just a customer dis-service nightmare. I vow before the internet gods, I will not set foot in that store again. I’ll drive the extra 6 miles or go across the street to Publix.
Personally, my view on drugs is very Libertarian. Make it all legal and available over the counter. Let Darwin deal with the rest. If you’re so ill informed and stupid to take a fist full of sleeping aids and wake up dead, then the world is free of 23 chromosomes that won’t dumb down the herd. Sure it would put the pharmacist out of a job, but they’re always hiring check-out clerks at Walmart.
Do the expressions we use really make sense? Some expressions, when taken to their logical conclusion, don’t mean what we intend. Some are just flat-out wrong and people continue to use them…wrongly. Other expressions are simply annoying. Maybe I’m over thinking some of these, but hearing these clichés is like having a cheese grater scraped over my ears. We all have peeves and these are some of mine.
Here are a couple of excerpts. If you like these, you’ll love the rest:
Better late than never.
That really depends on what it is. I doubt you would say this to the paramedics if they showed up 4 hours after you called 911. I bet your boss never says this either. Bosses tend to want things now or a least on time.
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
If we didn’t, life would be much more complicated than it is. We make snap judgments and quick decision based on the superficial everyday. If we didn’t have our prejudices, simple things like ordering dinner in a restaurant would take hours while we weighed every entrée’s attributes and compared the balance of herbs in each dish. Looking at the dessert menu would drive us insane. You know you love chocolate, so you can quickly order the double-fudge brownie á la mode and not worry about the other desserts or your cholesterol, apparently.
Self Help Book.
Unless you wrote the book, it’s just regular help. If you are not the author, you are getting help from someone else; therefore you are not helping yourself. I really hate this section of the bookstore, too. Every new-age whack job with a theory about an Oedipus complex or eating disorders has a 150-page tree killer about how crystals can make your poop smell like roses while good writers starve.
Between work and a much needed mini-vacation, I haven’t put anything on AC in quite a while. Now that things are returning to something close to normality, I was able to punch this out over coffee this morning.
Tonight we shall dine in finery at Ruth’s Chris. I’m treating my 25-years-tomorrow partner and the 1-year newlyweds to dinner.
What to get for the big silver anniversary? Eyewear of course. She hasn’t had her eyes checked in over 3 years. I don’t think she’d have gone if she hadn’t slept in her glasses and bent them. All the gentle badgering in the world didn’t seem to work, but blindness is a great motivation.
The newlyweds are having their own life-building struggles. Jenn’s doctor didn’t fill out a form correctly and Public Safety suspended her license. It’s good that her husband adores her so much. He’s having to tote her everywhere now. I hope they are using the togetherness to build a stronger relationship.
Jenn isn’t as upset about not driving as she is about the doctor filling out the form incorrectly not once, but twice. Now the doctor has reversed her decision on the matter and refuses to sign off. That makes the first form a fraud. Jenn is hopping mad and plans to file complaints with the state medical board. Damn, I raise a spitfire.
May Day has past us yet again. What is May Day? International Worker’s Day. A day that every good socialist loves to celebrate not with a May pole, but with a megaphone. Were we were celebrating the spring flowers or the guy who planted them? >> read the rest. it’s the best.
If you are an Associated Content member and haven’t found the forums yet, you’re missing some great information. The forums have tons of tips and plenty of people willing to help. They’ve got the obligatory gripes that any forum has, but are more helpful than not.
To find the forums simply click the “Community” tab. Before you start posting, it’s a very, very, very, good idea to scan the existing threads and read some of the posts. Before you start your journey into the AC forums, read this article. These are the basics for forum etiquette. Following these simple suggestions will ensure that you have a productive and enjoyable forum experience.
I’m still bewildered by people who have not learned the ins and outs of forum etiquette. People who join a group and immediately start asking questions, griping, or generally acting like they know what’s going on with their very first post don’t add value to the community.
Don’t wait until you have a gripe or problem to join the forum. Become a member and contribute something first. Yesterday, I had to call my Forum’s Anonymous sponsor so she could talk me down from bitch-slapping a newbie.
Nothing grabs my nads harder than seeing the first forum post from someone who has been an AC member for almost a year that asks a question that is floating around in 9 other threads. It normally goes like this:
Newbie — Hey, anyone one else having [insert gripe of the day] problem?
OldTimer — Welcome to the forum. I see this is your first post. Thank you for joining our community and jumping right in, starting a new thread that 13 other people have active right now, posting your question in the wrong folder, and making yourself look like a complete idiot. You’ve been here a year and waited until you had a problem before even looking for the forum. Don’t we feel special to be graced with your presence? We’ve just been sitting here, doing nothing waiting for you to stop by with your stupid question. But now that you’re here we can get busy addressing your petty concern.
Thankfully that response is rare in the AC forums, but by following the rules you can guarantee it will never happen.
Read first. I can’t stress it enough. Read the FAQ. Read the other posts. Take 10 minutes and scan the thread titles. 9 out of 10 questions that are asked are answered in the FAQ.
Again, don’t wait until you have a problem or question before you join. You will find that you have something positive to offer in the forums. You are doing others a disservice by not participating and sharing your knowledge.
Now the fun part. Here is a video that explains the rules (flash required). Happy posting.
El nino? La nina? I don’t know who, but some Hispanic kid is messing with the weather. We had 88F days here last week. This weekend’s forecast is freezing with lows in the upper 20’s (F). Why mention this? Is this a rant about “global climate change?” (Note: the term “global warming” in no longer in vogue.) It is not.
This is to let everyone know that Easter is canceled. Why? Because God himself wouldn’t get out of bed on a freakin’ cold day like today. Sunday is slated to be colder. God will be sleeping in. The good news is if he doesn’t see his shadow, Spring will be here soon.
Now someone bring me the head of John the Bunny! I figure since I’m blaspheming, I might as well go for broke.
I finally buckled down and did the annual tax dance. I’ve been using Turbo Tax for the last few years, but this year kind of threw me when there was nothing to download. You do it all online. It’s just a wee bit sneaky of Intuit to do it this way, but still cheaper than the human services.
You start of by picking a product. No problem. I’ll take basic software for $40, Alex. Once I get to the Schedule C, the site recommends a better package. Read “$80″ software for “better.” I decline.
Next it asks me if I want to enter deductions on my own or use their “Deduction Maximizer.” There’s no indication that their will be a difference so I pick the guided help. All said and done and the total charge is around $80. Huh? I guess the Maximizer isn’t free.
Oh well, it could have been a lot worse. I don’t have any dependents to claim this year at least not as the IRS defines “dependent.” The girls are out and on their own now. “On their own” means that I can’t claim them, but they still stop by to mooch of their old man. Maybe I can claim that as charitable contributions?
My fear was that the loss of those dependent deductions were going to spank me hard because I never updated my W-4 withholdings. Thank Jebus I only have to pay a couple of hundred bucks to the Feds.
Now I have to go figure out why my State refund went from $600 to $5 when I answered two questions. Hopefully the hair will last, but it’s coming out in clumps. I’m not going to do the fair/flat tax rant, but the tax code is way out of hand.
Get a low-flow toilet. You’ll save water and mother earth. BAH!
I hate these freakin’ low-flow toilets AND they don’t save water. It’s simple math. A 5-gallon flush is all you need. Press. Walk away. Done. A 3-gallon low-flow uses 6 gallons of water because you have to hang around (use the time to wash your hands) and flush the stinking thing again.
They never get it all on the first flush. I’m constantly flushing every toilet in the house 2 and 3 times to make sure they are acceptable for the next occupant. Low-flows clog more than their big brothers. If I’m not flushing, I’m plunging. Not a week goes by that I don’t spend 15 minutes trying to unclog one of the toilets in my house.
Here’s my suggestion for all you hippies that can’t grasp the concept of math, water savings and cleanliness: Get the ultimate low-flow solution. Dig yourself an outhouse. You can save the earth by braving the cold on a winter’s night. Leave me and my 5 gallon guzzler alone. Dirty hippies! Quit trying to save my world with your silly ideas.
