Agent support manual
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At Bushland Blooms you use e-mail (electronic mail) to correspond with internal and external customers.
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Certain protocols apply when sending e-mails to colleagues and external customers.
When writing an e-mail, you should generally follow the guidelines relating to business letters. Read about this under Correspondence - business letters in this Agent support manual.
When writing an e-mail, you should be aware of the following:
Clearly summarise the contents of your message in the subject line
Properly titled messages help people organise and prioritise their e-mail.
Don't use CC (Carbon Copy) unless it is essential
These days everyone receives too many e-mails. Only send your message to the people who really need to read it.
When responding to an e-mail, do not respond to all recipients unless it is essential
Be careful not to choose Reply to All or a similar button, when you only want to reply to one person. Otherwise, you may end up broadcasting your response to the entire company!
Use BCCs (Blind Carbon Copies) when addressing a message that will go to a large group of people who don't necessarily know each other. For instance, when you send an e-mail message to 30 people and use To or CC to address the message, all 30 people see each other's e-mail address. By using BCC, each recipient sees only two - theirs and yours.
Don't give out someone's e-mail address by mistake
You should never give out a person's e-mail address without their permission.
Keep your messages short and focused
Most people prefer not to read long messages on their computer screens. If you want to get your point across, think carefully and focus your message. If you need to send more information, consider sending your message as an attachment.
Avoid using all capital letters
USING ALL CAPITALS MAKES IT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING! IT'S ALSO MORE DIFFICULT TO READ.
Don't write anything you wouldn't say in public
Your message may be passed on to other recipients. This could leave you in an embarrassing position if you divulge personal or confidential information. If you don't want to risk sharing something you write, consider using the telephone.
Don't use a smiley (or emoticon) in business correspondence
Smileys are typically used in personal e-mail and are not considered appropriate for business.
Check your spelling, and proofread
To make sure that your message isn't compromised by misspelled words, use your e-mail software's built-in spell checker. Never send out any written correspondence without proofreading it first.
There are different rules governing internal and external e-mails. These are listed below.
You can use first names in the salutation.
For example, "Hi Annette."
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The complimentary close is different depending on the context.
Informally, among colleagues, some common closes are "Cheers", "Regards", "Bye for now", "See you later", or simply the name of the sender.
Formally, to supervisors and other staff, a common close is "Kind regards" or "Regards"., bullet point.
Acronyms may be used. , bullet point.
Emoticons such as :-) are acceptable between colleagues who know each other well, but are not appropriate for e-mails from staff to supervisors. , bullet point.
Abbreviations like 'BTW' (By the way) and 'FYI' (For your information) are acceptable for internal use at Bushland Blooms.
The correct salutation is "Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms [surname] ". If you are acquainted with the recipient, you may wish to say "Dear Laura" or "Hi Laura", depending on how familiar you are. When writing e-mails, it is important to think carefully about your relationship with the recipient before writing. This way you can avoid being too formal, or too informal.
Always use 'Ms' when writing to a female, unless you know specifically that they like to be called 'Mrs'. When in doubt as to the gender of the addressee use the title Mr. , bullet point.
The official complimentary close for someone you know is "Yours sincerely" and for someone you don't know "Yours faithfully". It is more common, however, to end an external e-mail with "Kind regards" or "Regards". , bullet point.
Use formal and polite language. Remember, this is a business e-mail. You can still be held legally responsible for what you write. , bullet point.
 ASM
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