I wanted to give WNYC a shout-out for replying to my whiny email about missing the beginning of Morning Edition yesterday. Within an hour of my inquiry, a member of their Listener Services team sent me this terrific reply. She gave me permission to post it, so long as I didn’t give her kudos by name. So, no credit for you, NAME REDACTED!
Thank you for writing to WNYC, New York Public Radio, about this morning’s broadcast of Morning Edition. What you heard was actually a mistake, when we inadvertently broadcast The Takeaway on both our AM and our FM stations at 8:00AM. Fortunately, this went on for only about a minute, before it was caught and corrected. Needless to say, we are embarrassed by this error. As you may know, we are in the process of moving to a new office, with new recording studios. This morning, our regular engineer was over at the new building, learning the ropes, and another person, who was not familiar with the protocol, was over here. Unfortunately, we have to accept that we do occasionally make mistakes, and this is especially true when we are working with new programming.
We appreciate your taking the time to write to us. Often, it is listeners who sound the first alarm when such errors occur.
Best regards,
WNYC Listener Services
Why this customer service email is great:
It starts with a thank you. Thanking me for my email is a simple, but classy, touch. Putting the thank you at the beginning, instead of tucking it away in the body of the email, makes the recipient feel that thanking them is a priority.
It reiterates my specifics. The respondent repeated the reason for my email back to me. That proves she really heard me. (Starting Over fans in the house will recognize this as a move straight out of the Iyanla Vanzant playbook.)
It admits embarrassment. It was such a small mistake (perhaps too small to get huffy about — I didn’t realize this went on for only a minute and a half. By that time, I’d turned the radio off). That’s a humanizing touch. It was just a minute, but they were still embarrassed by it. They have the same high standards that I do.
It shares the details. Perhaps the most amazing part of this reply is that the listener services team member actually told me what went wrong in the studio. That’s a level of detail you rarely get from customer service.
It subtly reinforces my valued place in their community. I love the line, “Often, it is listeners who sound the first alarm when such errors occur.” This goes beyond a simple thank you — it’s as though they were hoping a listener would raise the problem to their attention.
Bravo to the WNYC Listener Services team for providing a textbook example of a customer service email at its finest.
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