How to Write an Email to Customer Service

When there is a need to email customer care, some people find it difficult. How should you write a letter by email when you have always written on paper? What conventions or protocols are there for customer care requests? While each profession, region, and culture will have different rules, there are general guidelines to ensure that you’re on target when emailing customer care.

Table of Contents

Website Research

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Search for answers. Before writing an email to a company’s customer service department, you should make sure that the company’s website doesn’t already have an answer to your question. Many companies have answered common questions on the FAQs and Support pages.

These support sections are easily accessible on the company website by hovering your mouse over the bottom of the page and clicking on the “Contact”, “Help” or “Customer Care” links.

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Find the Customer Care page. If you can’t find the Customer Care link at the bottom of the website, you can use the search box. It could be a text field for data entry or a magnifying glass symbol in the top right corner of the homepage. Type a search term, such as “customer care” or “contact,” and press the Enter button.

Usually, on the “Contact Us” page, companies will provide an email form for customers to submit comments or complaints.
- Check this page to make sure you get a copy; if not, find an email address where you’ll use your personal email account to send messages, this helps you archive messages.

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Use the search bar. Find the topic you need to ask in the same search bar that you used to find the customer care email address. Searching for a topic or question this way will help you get an answer without having to send an email. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Careful searching helps you to get appreciated when you really need to send an email. If you write an email about an issue that’s already on the website, customer service will probably think of you as a difficult and passive guest, and therefore a non-potential customer.
Check out Frequently Asked Questions. In many cases, your question has already been answered in the Frequently Asked Questions section. Many websites support this section to minimize the number of emails sent to customer care.

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Research company policy. If you can’t find the answer to your problem in the search bar or the FAQ, you can find more in the “About Us” section or the Return Policy page. Hover to the bottom of the web page and find the links. Find any link that contains answers to your questions including: About Us, Table of Contents, Credit Cards, Products Available, Return Policy, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, etc.

Even if you don’t find the answers in these links, reading through the information will help you use your additional knowledge of the company to get the support you want via email.

Write email

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Determine if this is a complaint or compliment email. Not all emails sent to customer care are complaints or questions. Maybe you just want to thank them for their enthusiastic support. Most companies happily accept these positive emails as well as question emails.

In fact, sometimes calling a complaint is quicker and more direct than an email. Email is only suitable when you send a thank you or ask a question without an immediate answer, but if you want to solve the problem immediately, the best way is to call.

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Write a clear title. Write a title that makes sense and gets straight to the point. This will help customer service reps see your email first in the inbox, thus responding faster. Write a concise subject line, include a summary of the email message, and ask for candid feedback. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Example: “My Lifetime Warranty Chacos shoes were bitten by a dog—Exchange required”

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Start with a greeting. Once you’ve written a clear headline, the next step is to greet the customer service rep. Do not rush to raise the issue. You won’t skip the greeting part when calling or meeting in person, right? You can simply write “To Customer Service”. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Find a name to write greetings. Some small and midsize companies list the names of their customer service reps, and writing an employee’s name makes them happy to support someone as lovely and kind as you.
You can end the greeting with a comma or a colon. For example, To Customer Service, OR To Customer Service:

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Use standard spelling. Show respect to the recipient by writing to the right standards. Don’t use all caps, messy upper and lower case combinations, or fonts designed to look like handwriting. You just need to type with standard punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. This will help your email be appreciated. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Maintain a polite tone. Be polite whether you are writing an email complaining or expressing anger. You will be a valued guest and receive more polite treatment in return. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Introduce yourself. After the greeting, you need to introduce yourself. Introduce your name and present you as a first time customer or have purchased several times. In either case, the employee will want to please you. If necessary, mention your geographic location (for outdoor products or services).

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Be specific. Use specific words in the email. Avoid using generic terms, such as “my product”; Instead, you should describe the product or service in detail and why you need to write the email. Please describe any product/service related incident so staff can pinpoint the exact problem. Including this essential information in the first email will help avoid extra lengthy emails.

Use product links where available, so employees can instantly refer to what you’re describing. ^{[6] X Research Sources}
Write the order number in the email, as most employees will ask for that information. This code is used to track orders and store in the system. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Ask clear questions. Straight to the point in the email. Don’t talk around. Once you’ve greeted the employee and introduced yourself, start writing a new paragraph that states exactly what’s going on, using specific words.

Directly request the offer if desired. However, you may feel shy about asking for a discount, let’s leave that aside in the email. If you would like to receive something in return for a defective product, please ask directly.

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Write short paragraphs. Write concise paragraphs. Write 1, 2, or up to 3 sentences in a paragraph for easy reading. This also helps employees quickly skim through emails to know how to prioritize. If the email contains too many words, they will often give it a low priority because they don’t have time to read and understand what you want.

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Finish with a simple signature. End the email with a closing sentence to summarize the request or compliment, and then say goodbye. A “Sincerely” closing would be appropriate, but you can also skip the goodbye and simply insert the email signature. You can also indicate urgency by ending with “I’m looking forward to your response”.

The email signature includes your name, occupation, and contact information. You can format your email signature in your email settings and set it to appear automatically when you write new emails.

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Do not attach files. You should not include any documents in an email sent to someone for the first time. Many websites have spam filters that target emails that contain files, causing emails to be sent to the Spam Box before being read. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Of course you should attach the file if you are emailing a job application and are asked to attach a resume in Word format.
Do not provide your username, password, or credit account/payment information.

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Read carefully before sending. After writing the email, don’t rush to hit the Send button. You need to read the email carefully, making sure that there are no sloppy errors affecting your select words. Whether writing emails on the phone, the automated tag “sent from my iPhone” cannot be an excuse for grammar and punctuation errors, thus undermining your professionalism.

Always be polite

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Write with correct grammar and spelling. You may not realize this, but part of maintaining a polite tone is using correct grammar and spelling. Paying attention to convey your message coherently shows that you respect the recipient, and that you are a polite person.

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Show qualifications and knowledge. Don’t be arrogant, but show your qualifications through the right use of words. Also, if you’ve researched the company’s website and know a bit about their policies, say you’ve read through but can’t find an answer to your problem.

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Avoid roundabout jokes. Witty comments and jokes need to be used properly, so they shouldn’t appear in a serious email, at least on the first send. Witty language is considered inappropriate and should be avoided in business.

Once you’ve built a rapport with the employee through a few emails, the joke will be more acceptable and understandable.

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Express yourself without being aggressive. Even if you’re angry about a bad product or service, expressing emotions in an email won’t produce the desired results. Presenting the problem with respect and courtesy is far more effective than an annoying or aggressive email.

Remember that you may not be able to express your exact feelings in words. If you’re upset about a problem that needs an immediate solution, a phone call will be more effective.

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Mention your attachment and appreciation. Finally, mentioning your commitment to the company and your appreciation for their service over the years will make it easier for employees to read your emails and respond. faster.

Warning

Do not provide username, password, or payment information (credit card, debit card, or bank account) in emails to customer care.

Steps

Website Research

Write email

Always be polite

Warning

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