I received the following email in response to a query:
Dear customer,
Thank you for visiting our site.
We are writing to inform you that in order to celebrate the third anniversary of our company, we will have a ten days’ trip. It stars from 7th Feb to 16th Feb. During this period of time, we are afraid that we could not reply to you promptly. But you needn’t worry, we will help solve your problem as soon as we come back on 17th Feb.
We sincerely apologize for the inconveniences caused by us, any question, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will make you satisfied later.
Happy every day 🙂
Best regards
Customer service
While I applaud efforts to recognize and celebrate attaining milestones, I wonder if closing the business for 10 days was the right business decision. (We won’t discuss the grammar – although that could be fun!). Does it have to be an all-or-nothing decision? There are millions of small businesses trying to operate in a 24×7 marketplace and offering a website offers 24×7 access to the company. The challenge is being able to respond in a reasonable amount of time to our customers.
So what are some affordable options for small businesses to allow them access?
- Continue using the internet to your advantage. Check email twice per day and address customer service concerns. Advice customers that fulfillment will take longer. Enjoy the rest of the day.
- Use a temporary service to handle first tier support. The relationship could provide support for business continuity or disaster recovery situations.
The important thing here is to not forget that the source of value to your company is your customer.