Just to be sure. When we say canned response, we don’t mean those boilerplate emails like “We got your request and will respond as soon as possible.” The number of your ticket is 345678. “
This is an auto-response, not a canned response (and one of the worst, for that matter). People are biased towards canned responses because they perceive them to be robotic and impersonal, as in the above example. However, nothing could be farther from the truth if you take the time to produce an excellent draught. Canned comments should not be impersonal, nondescriptive, or even annoying. They should be amusing and useful, and they should always be customised.
Of course, not everyone devotes that much time. So here’s your chance to outperform the competitors. As a result, we’ve developed 16 customer care canned replies that can be used in both chat and email interactions. See Top 20 Business Process Management Software In 2022.
What exactly are canned responses?
Canned responses are fast answers to frequently asked queries that you may keep in your customer support tool and use whenever necessary.
Assume you are a support operator. Every day, you get a large number of client requests, maintain 4-5 conversations at the same time (as support operators do), and continually answer a large number of inquiries.
To be honest, a lot of those queries and demands aren’t that unusual. What is the procedure for adding a credit card to my account? We accidentally subscribed; please issue a refund. How long does shipping take?
Such questions do not need a great deal of personalisation. So you just compose some canned responses and put them into a chat thread with minor changes. This way, you save a lot of time and effort, clients get a speedy response, and your customer care team’s performance improves dramatically.
Overall, support personnel respond to common queries quickly while being amusing, personable, and helpful. Everyone benefits.
Canned response examples for chats and emails
Nowadays, the distinction between customer support platforms is so hazy that it’s tough to distinguish canned responses for email, live chat, or even call centres. All chats and emails are sent to the same discussion queue, and you can switch between them with a simple click. You may also forward any chat message through email or have it forwarded automatically.
As a result, the canned messages listed below can be used for both chat and email conversations. We will also share some samples of canned email templates that will be useful for following up and getting feedback towards the conclusion of this post.
Canned customer service replies for every situation
So, let’s take a deeper look at the top 16 canned customer service replies for every situation.
1. We are currently resolving the problem.
Customers are the sole force that can assist you in growing and improving. They are the ones who use your product or website, weighing its advantages and disadvantages, reporting errors, and asking for critical features. So make sure they understand how much you value them.
Something as simple as identifying the problem and providing an anticipated time of resolution will have a significant impact. and might even prevent some consumers from leaving.
We reviewed your request and discovered that the [ISSUE] indeed exists and that the fault is on our end. Not to worry, our crew is already on the case.
2. The problem has been resolved.
It’s much preferable to notify clients after the problem has been resolved. If a consumer has left a conversation by then, simply send an email follow-up.
3. The requested functionality is on our plan.
Customer feature requests are most likely the most crucial aspect of any product development approach (especially if your company is customer-oriented).
It is critical to exercise caution with each incoming request. Mark each request in your customer care software and place them all on a specific board.
But it’s even more crucial to keep your users up to date on where your firm is headed. A simple canned response, such as the one below, can assist in making your consumers feel appreciated:
4. Unfortunately, the requested item is not in our plan.
What clients see as a problem is sometimes a perk. Customers may request something that you are unable to provide. You just don’t always have the time. And the art of refusing may be quite difficult.
You may just say ‘no’… Customers, on the other hand, will be dissatisfied. They’d like specifics, apologies, and, even better, an alternate solution to their problem. So, brainstorm with your team an appropriate canned response:
Some visitors arrive at your website with a specific inquiry or problem in mind, and they get right to the point. Then there are those that just say ‘Hi!’ and wait for your response before proceeding. It’s a lot simpler to deal with them if you’re online and can respond promptly with a simple ‘Hi!’ and ‘How may I assist you?’
But what if you’re offline and don’t receive the message? You can follow up on them by email in HelpCrunch, and you can use a canned response for this:
6. You mistook us for someone else.
We frequently receive communications that were plainly intended for someone else as a customer service tool.
People click the ‘Powered by HelpCrunch’ link at the bottom of a chat window, are routed to our website, and much too frequently ask us about taxis, computers, and casinos.
This can also happen with your support personnel. Because they aren’t your customers, there’s no need to waste time simply respond with a canned response stating what your organisation does and go on to the next request. Furthermore, in HelpCrunch, you can see their user route and where they came from, which might assist you in redirecting folks to where they need to go.
7. Here are seven reasons why we outperform our competition.
What sets you apart from [COMPETITOR X] or [COMPETITOR Y]?
It is, after all, a natural inquiry. Nowadays, there are several items that perform nearly identical functions. Or so it appears to someone who does not have the time to conduct an extensive investigation. Even though they are identical, each product provides something distinctive that other rivals do not.
As a customer service professional, your job is to convey this distinction in one or two phrases. Create a canned response that summarises the most relevant facts in a few phrases.
8. We don’t give discounts, but…
The most common questions for any support team are generally concerning various types of discounts. Simply be honest and direct. There’s no need to apologise if you’re not offering discounts.
9. You will get a refund within (X) business days.
There are times when an argument is pointless. If someone decides to go, there is nothing you can do to keep them. So just be courteous and kind — and repay them.
At the very least, they will have a favourable opinion of your goods (and without negative reviews of your service all over the internet). And a beautiful canned response will allow you to focus that time on paying customers:
10. We’re having technical difficulties.
What could possibly go wrong with a service or website? Something so awful and unpleasant that the whole team (especially the customer service staff) will be immobilised.
I’m referring to the world’s most dreaded three digits – 404. When your service is down and everything is falling apart, customers will notice and begin hammering your customer service with queries.
It can happen to anyone. And when it occurs, being prompt with explanations is critical. That is why it is preferable to have a canned response on hand. I hope you never need to use it (but you will):
11. How satisfied were you with the service?
Issues are occasionally reported and resolved. The questions have been answered. What else is there to do but assess everything? Let’s see how satisfied your customers are!
There are programmes that accomplish this automatically, such as HelpCrunch. Simply enable the “chat rating” function, and users will be prompted to assess their chat experience using one of three emojis: awful, average, or wonderful.
You may even take the assessment game a step further if you see that things are going well and that a customer is overjoyed with your customer service. Why not solicit further input or a couple of reviews?
12. Is there anything else we can do?
It became customary practice to always ask a wrap-up question at the end of every client discussion. Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you have any more questions? Is there anything more I should know?
These questions keep the conversation going by demonstrating your eagerness to continue speaking. They also assist you in determining whether the issue has been fixed and you may close the ticket.
As a result, it makes sense to immediately save the following canned message.
Pre-written email answers
If you offer omnichannel assistance, you can generally reuse and resend live chat canned response examples via email as well. It even makes sense to maintain the same tone and writing style across all communication mediums.
However, in some cases, only a pre-programmed canned email response will suffice. Here are some samples to help you with your email customer service:
13. We apologise for missing your communication.
Even though chat assistance implies real-time contact, providing it around the clock might be difficult. Furthermore, if your staff is overburdened, many chats may be ignored for extended periods of time or be missed entirely.
It’s not an ideal circumstance, but a decent canned email response explaining the cause of the delay and giving an immediate solution to the problem will assist.
14. The feature you’ve been looking for is now available.
There are usually major aspects that a lot of people want to know about. For example, your most frequently requested items. Naturally, when you launch anything this significant, you notify your whole user base, most likely through a newsletter or a blog post.
But don’t dive right in. What about those who directly inquired? It’s a good idea to give them a heads-up before the official announcement.
15. The problem has been resolved (canned email edition)
When an issue or malfunction in your system has been repaired, you should contact everyone who reported it. It’s not only polite, but it’s also a smart way to re-engage churned customers.
Even if it has been a while since the incident was reported, you still have their email addresses. So why not send a short alert?
16. You left us a message a while back.
It’s common for first-time visitors and even customers to ask you a question and then leave once you’ve answered it. But you can’t just abandon them like that.
You should undoubtedly send a follow-up email to everyone who left you a note and try to re-engage them in any way you can. People who have taken the effort to visit your website and leave you a message are highly valuable leads.
Although it’s a long shot, any salesperson will tell you that follow-ups are incredibly successful. So just store the following canned email response and make it a weekly habit to send follow-ups to dormant conversations.
How to Make Use of Canned Responses
There are two methods to save your message as a canned response in the HelpCrunch customer communication tool.
- You can store any chat message you’ve previously delivered to a customer without stopping the discussion.
- In the HelpCrunch Settings, you may also store an unlimited number of replies. Click the ‘Add new’ option under Settings->Team-> Saved Responses.
Each canned response in HelpCrunch may be personalised by using user data such as the first name. Don’t forget to give relevant tags to each canned response so that you can discover them easily while speaking with a customer.
When speaking with a customer, just type # and select the canned response you want from the selection that appears.
In conclusion,
Canned replies may save you a lot of time if you know how to use them correctly.
Just don’t make them seem robotic or generic. A poor canned response will destroy whatever relationship you build with your consumers. Pre-written responses may and should be just as nice and meaningful as handwritten responses.
But it isn’t all.
The entire purpose of using canned replies is to save time. It might be really inconvenient to learn that your preferred tool fails to assist you in accessing your saved responses. So here’s a solution: sign up for a free HelpCrunch trial right now, save those canned replies to your dashboard, and begin performing your job more quickly.