How to write effective business emails
This is the tried and true method I've used for a year and a half in consumer customer service, and nearly 2 years in a tech role that basically amounted to customer service for software developers.
[The bicycle saddle] came today, so I'm not sure what happened with USPS! Thanks for looking into it. [1]
I compared [the saddle] to the one I'm replacing, and while the old one was too dried out by the time it got to me and flared out at the sides, it seems like the B17 is a lot narrower.[2][3] I bought it to put onto a ladies' 1968 Raleigh Sport.[4] Do I need the B66 instead?[5][6][7] I had thought I could reuse the clamp from the old saddle with my seatpost, but looking at the item summaries for the B66, B67, and B17, I'm no longer sure.[8]
I'd appreciate your suggestions![9]
Step 1: Acknowledge and reply to any points in the previous missive(s)
Step 2: Explain the background of your question
Step 3: Rewrite the background to leave out extraneous details, tempting parenthetical statements, and other nasty habits of oral communication; add in jargon phrases if you understand what they mean and the receiving party will understand them.
Step 4: Provide the details that are important and you forgot to include. You can put these in a bullet point and they'd probably be just as happy, but you can write them in a nice sentence and they won't be too mad.
Step 5: Ask your question
Step 6: Research the issue again, using the information you've collected
Step 7: Rephrase your question
Step 8: Add in any last questions or misgivings you have as a result of your additional research.
Step 9: Thank them in advance for their assistance and compliment them a little by humbling yourself or exalting them.
[The bicycle saddle] came today, so I'm not sure what happened with USPS! Thanks for looking into it. [1]
I compared [the saddle] to the one I'm replacing, and while the old one was too dried out by the time it got to me and flared out at the sides, it seems like the B17 is a lot narrower.[2][3] I bought it to put onto a ladies' 1968 Raleigh Sport.[4] Do I need the B66 instead?[5][6][7] I had thought I could reuse the clamp from the old saddle with my seatpost, but looking at the item summaries for the B66, B67, and B17, I'm no longer sure.[8]
I'd appreciate your suggestions![9]
Step 1: Acknowledge and reply to any points in the previous missive(s)
Step 2: Explain the background of your question
Step 3: Rewrite the background to leave out extraneous details, tempting parenthetical statements, and other nasty habits of oral communication; add in jargon phrases if you understand what they mean and the receiving party will understand them.
Step 4: Provide the details that are important and you forgot to include. You can put these in a bullet point and they'd probably be just as happy, but you can write them in a nice sentence and they won't be too mad.
Step 5: Ask your question
Step 6: Research the issue again, using the information you've collected
Step 7: Rephrase your question
Step 8: Add in any last questions or misgivings you have as a result of your additional research.
Step 9: Thank them in advance for their assistance and compliment them a little by humbling yourself or exalting them.