Thank You for the Email

One of the best classes I took for my business degree was Business Communication.  The whole point of the class was to draft memos (I know, using the word 'memo' dates be a bit), letters and other business correspondence.  Our professor would drill us on all kinds of communication- responding to letters from angry customers, memos where you have to give employees bad news, and letters you would send to vendors or suppliers with whom you had a dispute over a price or damaged product.  It was a great class, and even though email has replaced memos and letters, I still use the skills learned in class every day.

Out all of the things I gained from this class, none has been as important as starting most (if not all) communication with the words "Thank you".  Now it's easy to thank a raving fan for her note of appreciation, but what do you with do the customer who wants to bite your head off?  How do you thank him for that?!  By thanking him for the communication.  Our prof would say here you have a real customer, someone who has taken the time to write you, and while you may not agree with the contents of the communication, you thank the person for the communication.

Staring at a difficult email or a critical letter?  Start with thank you.