Is there a REAL person on the Receiving End of your email

                                                                
Have you ever been in this position, where you order a product,
you hear nothing within a couple hours, so you send off a email
that is accusing and demand things to be done?

If you have, stop for a second. Do you realize that for the most
part there is a real person on the receiving end of your emails?
Do you realize that there are issues beyond the companies
control as to why you did not receive the product/service? 
 
Due to so many scams out there, people now do not even give the
smallest benefit of doubt because they have been scammed and
lost money so many times and this has hurt their pride and their
pocket book. So the next time something does not happen
immediately, they jump to bad conclusions. They make false
accusations, threaten to go to government agencies or spread the
word while jumping to conclusions before they even attempt to find
out what the problem was and try to get it rectified.
 

I am positive that every company out there that has an excellent
reputation, like ours does, faces these issues day in and day out.
It is a part of doing business online. What I believe, is people
forget that there is a real person on the other end.
 
Do you think these rude and accusing emails would occur if the
business was a true brick and mortar? Heck no! Because these
same people would have to look the other person in the eye and
realize the person is there and real. They know there is a place
of business they can go to and get things taken care of. This
does not hold true for most online businesses. 
 

So what are the solutions to this? There are many solutions for
both the company and the customer but in order to help these
situations both parties need to provide certain clear information
to help the process along. 
 

Businesses:
 

If you are a business that takes pride in providing customer support
and being there for your customers then you must accurately display
this on your website. The traffic coming to your website needs to
see the following:
 

FAQ - Frequent asked questions that address issues that may come
up - If you take the time to provide information on most commonly
asked questions, this will be a great way to help ease your customers
mind about the quality of your company, product and service.
 

Contact Information - This includes a phone number, mailing address
and also a way your company can contact you via email or helpdesk.
This information should be linked on every page of your website, so
there is no issues about how to contact you. Your contact information
should also be provided in all payment receipts as well. By having
your contact information clearly displayed, this eases your customers
and there is a better chance they will do business with you.
 

Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Earnings Disclaimer - These are
key documents that need to be displayed on your website. These
documents inform your customers how you operate, your refund policy,
a way to contact you, what you do with their personal information etc.
This is a must for any business and also clearly shows the customer
that you take your customers and their business seriously!
 

Quick Customer support - If you dilly-dally in responding to your
customers, this leaves a bad taste in their mouths. They start to doubt
your company and you as the owner. I have seen some companies take
up to 10 days to answer. This is uncalled for! Most business
communication should be dealt with within 48 hours if not within 24 hours.
The quicker you deal with your customers, the faster their concerns are
laid to rest. A happy customer is good for the business!
 

These are just a few of the things you can do that will help your
customer with finding information they need but also see how you do
business. The more info you provide to help your customer the more
your customer will know you are not a scam.
 

** Customers:
 

If you are a customer and you submit payments to gain access to
products and/or services, here are a few tips for you:
 
Research - Before you purchase, do a bit of research on the company. Go
to Google, type in the company name or program and do a search. If the
company has a lot of negative issues found in the search, then you may
want to stay away from them. Each company whether good or bad will
have some negative issues, there will always be a customer somewhere
that is not happy no matter what is done for them. So do take this into
consideration when doing your search. If you only find a handful of bad
complaints or negative reviews but a lot of great reviews and responses,
then you can probably be assured that this company is a good one.
Now if you find that the company or product is listed on scam sites etc,
this is probably one you want to stay away from.
 

Use a professional business email address and not your ISP - A MUST!
Many customers use Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, Comcast, MSN and other
email addresses that are notorious for blocking and filtering email you
want.  If you want the business communication about your purchase, it
is up to you not to use email addresses that cause issues. This is the #1
issue most online businesses have. The order is filled, communication is
sent out and the customer does not receive it because their email
account filtered it out or blocked it and they never received it. The next
thing the company knows, is the customer is ranting and raving about not
getting their product and the company is a scam etc etc. This whole issue
could stopped with the use of a proper business email address.  I can not
tell you the times this has occurred to our customers, it is no fault of
our own, but ISPs and many free email accounts, have taken it upon
themselves to decide what you should and should not get. You are missing
email and you may not even realize it. Get your own domain and setup an
email account for it and use it specifically for your business orders
and business communication.
 

Communication - If you have issues or concerns, contact the company as
soon as you have the issues. Best way of contact is to use a help desk
system for customer support if the company has one. This is the best
way, because if their response to your question is not received by you
via email due to blocking by your email account service, you can login to
the help desk and view their reply online! Picking up the phone is another
great way to get any issues resolved. Do not wait to contact the company
after a few months of the original purchase and let them know you had
issues the whole time. How can a company address your issues, if you did
not give them the opportunity to know of these issues in the first place.
 

A negative experience on the net spreads like wildfire. If your issue was
caused by your email address blocking their communication, or you not
understanding the program, or you not asking for assistance when stuck,
then this is not the fault of the companies and you may compromise their
stellar company record by your negative reviews. Research, review and
communicate with the company before you go off the handle with emails
and help desk tickets that can not be taken back once you send them.
 

The main point to remember is this, when communicating with a company
you have ordered from, do not make false accusations, have the full facts
first. Give the company time to answer your questions or concerns. If the
company fails to reply to you despite your attempts, then yes, it is time
for you to move on and find a company that will answer your concerns!

So with your next email to the company you are doing business with,
remember there is a real person on the other end.
 

My Grandma always said..
you get better results with honey then you do with vinegar.