“We will respond in 5 business days”

Jan 21

Chasing down broken emails

Just this morning, I filled out a form on the Holiday Inn Express website because they're sending me email messages I can't read.

Here's what I see:

Broken in the browser, too

I use Outlook, which presents this message for all emails with images: "If there are problems with how this message is displayed, click here to view it in a web browser."

Well, I did that, and saw an identical image in my browser. (I'm not uploading the image here; it looks identical to what you see in the previous screenshot.)

The reason I even bothered to fill out IHG's contact form in the first place is because this is the second such email they sent me:

The first when I published a review about one of their properties in Charlotte
The second to notify me that someone had commented on my review

Broken everywhere!

Yet after I filled out the online form to ask for help in viewing the emails they're sending -- because I can't find the reviews area on their website so I can see my review and how someone replied to it -- this is what I saw:

"Please allow 5 business days for us to review and respond to your concern"?

IHG, that's pretty crappy.

If you have so much customer email that it takes your people up to five days to respond, then you should task more people with answering emails.

The lesson to you, and to me?

Respond quickly enough to people, and you may delight readers.

Respond within four hours, and you'll be meeting expectations, as I discussed in a previous blog post.

Respond in 5 days? Your readers may feel, as I do right now, disgusted.

Photo source: Holiday Inn Express

And speaking of tribes....

Join my tribe?

Do you sweat the small stuff? Do you want your online presence to inspire trust and confidence? Do you grit your teeth when others don't care enough about YOUR web experience? Are you all about creating an excellent website and excellent content that makes it easy for people to get to know, like, and trust you and buy your stuff?

I think we might be soul mates. And I'd love for you to join my tribe.

When you do, I'll alert you to new blog posts, new programs and products, and new ways for you to create excellent, frictionless, online experiences that lead more people to YES! I promise to be relevant and real, and to send only thoughtful content and advice.

YES! I'm in.

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About the Author

Renae Gregoire is a marketing writer, editor, critical thinker, obsessive questioner, and excellent-results deliverer. Although writing is her talent, empathy is her Super Power; she combines both into a potent formula for creating content experiences that lead more people to YES!

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