Writing an Effective Support Request Email

The SpamButcher anti-spam tool offers free support included in the purchase price. Here's a few tips on how to get the most effective and timely support. These tips really apply to any request for help with software.

1. Beforehand - use the free trial.

Not all products work for everyone. For instance, the SpamButcher email spam blocker software won't work for Hotmail or AOL users. A lot of software available online can be test driven before purchase.

2. Is something hard to describe? Send a screen shot.

The first time I got a screen shot from a user I thought it was kind of silly. It then occurred to me that it let me easily see exactly the problem the user was having. It in fact turned out to be a really good idea.

I've had a few users send me actual photos of their monitors. There's no need to do this. If you just press the "Print Screen" key it will place a bitmap of your screen in the clipboard. You can then paste this into your email. See, that key really does something!

3. State the problem / Just the facts mam...

When writing support, tell them what the problem is in reasonable detail. Every time I see an email which reads in its entirety, "My SpamButcher is broken, please help!" a little piece of me dies. On the flip side, a 1200 word story explaining your frustrations with various strategies to stop spam email probably isn't the best idea either.

4. Error Messages

If you're getting an error message, put the entire thing in the email. Not just the first part, and not your summary or paraphrasing of it. Put the whole thing in the email verbatim.

5. Avoid excessive punctuation.

Appending eighteen exclamation marks to statement in order to express frustration with the issue will not get you moved to the top of the support queue. I can promise you this.

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