Guest Blog: 6 Reasons An Email Template Delighted Me

This week on our Friends on Friday guest blog post, my colleague Jeremy Watkin shares an experience that reinforces the importance of internal customer service. As I always say, what’s happening on the inside of the company is felt on the outside by the customer. – Shep Hyken

Do you ever have a moment where an interaction with a company strikes a chord with you on a seemingly subconscious level and you’re not sure why?  That just happened to me and I feel inclined to take a moment to break it down.

I’m working with one of our clients on a project that requires me to have access to some of their systems. I received an email from the IT department regarding my access, and for whatever reason, I was almost instantly delighted by the email.  And it was most definitely a template no less.  Here are the elements that made this such a great email:

The Subject

The subject of the email was “Welcome!”  No more, no less.  A simple subject line of “Welcome Email” would have told me what the email was about, but this felt more like a statement that I was a guest at a party and they were happy I was there.

The Personal Introduction

The very first line in the email gave me the names of two gentlemen in IT and let me know that they will be my IT support personnel.  How great is that?  I have my very own IT people to work with.  That is so much better and less daunting than trying to work with an entire IT department.  People connect with people, not departments or companies.

The Tone

The next line said, “Just wanted to give you a little information to get you started.”  The tone of the email was conversational, friendly, and informal.  That’s a whole lot better than a bunch of tech speak for me to decode.

The Information

The email had all of the important links and information I needed to get started, as well as a phone number and email address to reach my IT personnel if I needed help.  The follow up contact information conveys an attitude of, “I think I’ve provided you all of the necessary information, but if questions arise, I’m owning this situation until it’s resolved and you are happy.”

The Follow Up

So yeah, I’m a little embarrassed that an email template got that kind of reaction out of me.  Just remember that the best of email templates isn’t worth a whole lot if the company can’t back it up.  I ended up calling my IT personnel to ask a question and he assisted me quickly and efficiently.  I think I made him a little uncomfortable when I told him how much I loved the email he sent.

Internal Customer Service

My favorite part about this exchange is that it was from IT to an employee.  That my friends is called Internal Customer Service.  If that little email put me into this frame of mind, how much more likely will I be to pass that along to the next customer or colleague I speak with?

It’s no wonder that this particular client has a stellar reputation for delighting their customers.  They focus on great internal customer service first.

If you’re not serving the customer, your job is to be serving someone who is. ~Jan Carlzon

Jeremy Watkin is the Head of Quality at FCR, the most respected outsourcing provider. He has more than 15 years of experience as a customer service professional.  He is also the co-founder and regular contributor to Communicate Better Blog.  Jeremy has been recognized many times for his thought leadership.  Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn for more awesome customer service and experience insights.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com. Read Shep’s latest Forbes Article:

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