Support autoresponder… 🥁 7/10
Over the course of your life, how many times have you got an automated email confirming that you’ve submitted a customer support request?
Eleventy thousand? Three squintillion? The numbers fail us.
It’s one of those common types of message we see almost daily out in the wild. One of the many workhorses in an organisation’s communication ecosystem that help keep the lights on.
Our repeated exposure to these types of messages has led to something I call default phrasing. They’ve developed into a “standard” way of being written.
When you need to write such a message yourself, it’s easy to sleepwalk into the exact same phrasing everyone else uses. By default.
Often, this is not a problem.
Default phrasing is handy. It’s stood the test of time. It will meet the minimum bar for good enough, functionally. If you’re in a pinch, default phrasing is your friend.
But what if you’re aiming for better than good enough?
In those cases, default phrasing is your enemy. It activates the autopilot setting in your reader’s head, leaving you unlikely to get noticed, let alone remembered. I spent years with this blind spot as a copywriter. *Wince*
By building an awareness of default phrasing – its prevalence, its limitations, the risk of sleepwalking into it – you can make a conscious choice. Do you use it or throw it away?
Which brings us to today’s teardown.
If you enjoy it, please consider flicking it on to someone else who’d get a lot out of it ✌ (and if someone fabulous forwarded it to you, you can subscribe here, it’s free!).
Sender anonymised to Xxxx out of courtesy. Have a hunch? Guess away...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Subject: “Good to hear from you!”
Well I never! In a world of “we have received your enquiry, humanoid, exterminate, EXTERMINAAAATE”, I find myself charmed by this opener. I’m listening.
“Thank you for reaching out to the Xxxx team. We know it's a tricky time right now, but we’re still online and here to help.”
Reassuring. Tell me more!
“Our office hours and 10am to 5pm GMT, Monday to Friday. During these times we will try our best to respond to all emails within 4 working days, although there’s every chance we’ll do it sooner.”
This is clunky, but at least it sounds like an actual human wrote it. Which counts for a lot. Yes, typo included.
“Take care, and stay safe.”
Argh. I admit it, I’m allergic to “stay safe”. Has it lost its sheen of earnestness since covid first came on the scene? Has it turned into a default, and one that’s more unpalatable than average because of its lectureyness?
Maybe I’m being unfair. Maybe the writer really did dig up this sentiment from the bottom of their heart. Regardless, I think there’s something to learn here about the life span of contextual language.
---------- End ----------
Conclusion:
Email Teardown Club score = 7/10
They had me and then they lost me. But I can’t deny that they got me to pay attention.
Is default phrasing your friend or your enemy? What patterns might you break in future?
Cheerio,
Corissa
Did you know…
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In these teardowns, I mix my gut reaction as a customer with my background as a copywriter to investigate how messaging really lands out there in the Real World™. But as a sample size of one, I’m interested in hearing other perspectives. Do you agree or disagree with my take? Hit reply and tell me!