| | | Learning Proper Net Etiquette - How to ask for assistance | Hello! We are glad you are here! In todays modern world, the internet (World Wide Web) has taken over a large portion of our daily communication. Where once we talked in person or on the phone, or wrote a letter, we now have the wonderful tool called 'E-mail'.
With this revolutionary tool came a whole new language, as well as a way to communicate. It was fast, easy, and in a lot of cases, anonymous. As with any tool or new technology, there is a learning curve, not only technical, but also social. Sadly, there are few resources in which to really learn to use email properly, politely, and with social skill. This tutorial is designed to give you new emailers a 'heads up' on how to be successful with your email communications, as well as a 'tune-up' for you experienced emailers that run into communication issues. This tutorial is not in any way, shape or form meant to cast judgement on your communication skills, but rather to give you a standardized way of communicating that the mainstream emailer can understand and appreciate.
This tutorial is geared for people who need to communicate online with people that the typically do not know, such as tech support, customer service, or sales people. Even though this particular tutorial is not geared toward personal communication, it certainly applies. |
When you greet somebody on the street that you wish to talk to, do you immediately begin by shouting what is on your mind to the recipient? I don't think so! Email is much of the same. When somebody first sees an email in their inbox, the first thing they notice is the subject. Here are a few tips:
The most important thing - ALL CAPS ON THE WEB IS SCREAMING. You do not want your subject to be all capital letters. Use proper letter casing when writing the subject, even when you are upset or unhappy. Let your subject mean something substantial. When a tech support person reads an email, they will want to know the basic problem in the subject. A subject of 'I'M HAVING A PROBLEM - FIX NOW' will definately not endear you to the person who is trying to assist you, nor will it get you assistance any sooner. Rather than beginning with a hostility (whether intentional or unintentional), try beginning with the real issue:
'My email is not working properly - can you please look'
WoW! What a difference! Now the person who is trying to assist you knows in a second what the basic issue is, they are not on the defensive, and if they have to forward the email, the person that it is being sent to will also understand the issue. This can make a BIG difference! Don't simply reply to an old email and leave the old subject in place. It's bad form. Change the subject to the current issue. Be polite. When somebody doesn't know you, manners is everything. A rude email header will not accomplish what you are hoping for (a quicker response or a better deal). What it most likely will do is strain relations with the very people who are trying to assist you. Another way to approach this is imagine you are face to face with the very person who is trying to assist you. Would you immediately begin a conversation with this person by being rude? Would you do that in your local store? |
The first line of your email will set the tone of the entire email. The best salutation you can use is the same salutation when you are writing a letter:
Hello Personname, Or if you do not know the persons name:
Hello! This gives the person you are sending the email a sense that you are polite, and know how to communicate nicely. It's very simple to do, and you will have a good result. |
Well, here you are at the all important body of the email. The body of the email is where you explain to whomever you are talking to why you are emailing them. This is really your chance to shine, and to show the person you are talking to that you really understand netiquette!
The best way to approach the body is to act like you are writing a newspaper article. Have you ever seen a news article that began with: I don't know why this is happening, but you need to look at it now! The above line give no inkling of what your issues are, or any steps you have taken. Lines like this actually increase the time it takes to look into your issue, as well as strain relationships. Please remember if the reason you are emailing is to ask for help, it is up to the technician at the other end to decide how much help to give you, and when to give assistance. Manners are key. The first line(s) of the body are best spent giving information of the issue. An example: I changed my email address recently and I have not recieved any email to the new address. When I try to email myself there, I get email there, but when somebody else emails me I don't receive it. I changed the email address 30 minutes ago. Now there is a body starter a technician can use! It's not done yet, but it is getting there! After the initial recap of the problem, a technician is going to want to be able to 'see' the problem for themselves. Your next step is to give the technician the tools to do so: The old email address was: oldemailaddress@email.com. The new email address is: newemailaddress@email.com My username/password for the account is #####/######. My username/password for the email address is: #####/####. Allright! Now the person who needs to help you can see your problem, it is clearly described, and he can go into your account and actually help you! All in the same email! This is the way to get things done! You're almost there! Now all you have to do is wrap up the email with any additional pertinent information and close it off: Your assistance is appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes,
You Now you will see the email in it's entirety. This is only an example, but it will show you how to get the assistance you need in a single email: My email is not working properly - can you please look (Subject) Hello Personname, I changed my email address recently and I have not recieved any email to the new address. When I try to email myself there, I get email there, but when somebody else emails me I don't receive it. I changed the email address 30 minutes ago. The old email address was: oldemailaddress@email.com. The new email address is: newemailaddress@email.com My username/password for the account is #####/######. My username/password for the email address is: #####/####. Your assistance is appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes,
You Notice that each portion is broken off into it's own paragraph. This makes it easier to read. When speaking to a technician/helpdesk, the shorter the sentences the better. A technician will typically skim the email to get to the important parts (the parts where he can actually help you!), so make your emails as short and clear as possible. There you go! With less work than it takes to write an email a technician an email they can't use, you can write an email that will get a fast response time! Plus whomever you are talking to will be more anxious to assist, as they can see you have done your homework, and created them less work. It's a win-win! |
With any issue, the communication is not complete until the issue is resolved. This is where most people (both the person trying to assist as well as the person asking for assistance) will have the most issues. After the first email, proper communication is just as important as the first. If the first email is excellent, but each succeeding email is lacking detail, is hostile or belligerant, the whole purpose of the communication is lost. Each email after the first one can assist in building a relationship with the person you are writing to, and set them up for future business, or will get you better services/prices in the future as you are easier to deal with. Believe it or not, many established businesses will rank your discount (or whether they will retain you as a client) in part to your communication skill. Everybody wants an easy to deal with client. Nobody wants a difficult client. Where do you think you fall? Below are a list of common 'do's' and 'don'ts'. You may feel they are common sense, but in actual practice, it is surprising how often they are broken. DO write clear emails. Review your email before you send it to ensure it has everything you feel the person trying to assist you will need. If the technician needs to quiz you (you recieve an email with several questions), this is your clue you are leaving some things out. Note them for the future. DO provide 'complete disclosure'. If you changed something, broke something, altered something, let the technician know. A technician can assist a lot quicker if the technician knows what you have done. DO keep it professional. Hostile, rude emails will typically not end with the result you are looking for. Stick to the issue. DO remember that assistance is never as fast as you want, but as fast as you need. Many times a technician needs to troubleshoot the issue and that can take time. DO understand that a technician will not email you constantly with updates, but will inform you when the issue is repaired. DO remain patient. DO allow for the fact that people are not perfect, nor is machinery, electronics, software, or hardware, and let your emails reflect that. DO understand that you have to remain within the terms of whatever contract you have signed up for. If a technician emails you and informs you that your request is outside the terms, DO understand that there is a reason for those terms. Remaining polite may just get you some extra help that was not in the terms in the future, DO remain polite and professional. DO NOT constantly email the person trying to assist. You may actually be slowing down your assistance. DO have patience. DO understand that each of your emails must be read, and that can take time away from the very thing you are asking for. DO NOT behave in a rude or hostile manner. DO remember the person is trying to help you. DO NOT lie. It's obvious, and all the technicians send your emails around and laugh at you behind your back. Plus the technicians will note it in your record. DO NOT try to give a false sense of urgency. Technicians know what is urgent, and what is not, and will act accordingly. Many times they are working hard just to keep your equipment running. A good example is your email is down. You email (from another account), receive a response, and a whole twenty minutes has gone by. You email a frantic tale of clients leaving you by the dozen, of your impending bankruptcy and homelessness, and of your kids needing medicine that only by repairing the email can they provide. When not known to you, the technicians are all working very hard to find a spammer or some other malcreant on the server, and have had to shut email off as part of the troubleshooting. Again, technicians know a false sense of urgency, and will pass your email around and laugh at you behind your back. Plus the technicians will note it in your record. DO NOT forget to say please and thank you. It is always returned. | | Thank you for reading this all the way to the end! It shows you really want to learn and practice good Netiquette! We are sure that once you begin using these simple instructions, your communications with your technicians, vendors, and online sales people will improve tremendously! It is a great benefit for you as over time you will save money, time, and a lot of effort!
Again, THANK YOU! |
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