This is how a great auto-response message looks like

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=805864

by waleedka • 17 years ago

26 6 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

This auto-generated email was so nice that I though other startups here might benefit from learning one more way to keep your users happy:

We bet your email was intended for someone else - likely the person who started or invited you to sign a GroupCard.

Alas, your email landed here with me, your loyal GroupCard autoresponder. Though I'm friendly, it's unlikely that I'm who you really wanted to reach.

You should re-send your email, but directly to the intended recipient.

But if you're having difficulty, or if you have any feedback about GroupCard, we're here for you. You can email our team at feedback@groupcard.com. Heck, you can even reach us on the phone at 1-800-505-0810. . We'll amaze you with how much we care and want to help.

Happy GroupCard'ing !

-Your Loyal GroupCard Autoresponder

swombat• 17 years ago

"This is how a great auto-response message looks like"

No.

This is how a great auto-response message looks

This is what a great auto-response message looks like

waleedka• 17 years ago

Thanks :) I tried to fix it, but I guess it's too late.

dpcan• 17 years ago

I think this is technically a custom bounce-back message because you replied to their default "do not reply" address.

This is a great approach - especially over sending a standard bounce with an error like most mail servers are setup with by default.

Plus, this goes back to a past argument about whether to use do-not-reply addresses at all, and since it's very difficult to get around, this is a nice approach.

mahmud• 17 years ago

I can top that. I shot an email to Rentoid, an Aussie startup in Melbourne, after it came up on HN yesterday and here is auto responder message I got back.

Thanks for your curiosity!

We don't get nearly as many questions as you might imagine at rentoid. We reckon it's because our site is pretty easy to use and hasn't got a million confusing things on every page, or maybe people think we won't answer the query and some computer will.

Sure it's an automated response this time, but a real, living, breathing, person who hasn't nearly had enough sunlight will respond to your question within a day or so. We figure if you cared enough to ask something, we should care enough to respond personally.

If your question is super-urgent give Steve a call on [private number] or Luke on [private number].

Cheers, The Rentoid team.

Me likes a company with first names and mobile numbers :-)

thesquigglyline• 17 years ago

Yeah - this is just the first part of it. The Rentoid crew are quite transparent here in Melbourne. Steve makes himself available for pretty much anyone who wants to run an idea past him and Luke is just an all around good guy who participates in the scene down here.

Rentoid are tops :)

biganderson• 17 years ago

Wow - as the guy who wrote that email, i'm honored by the praise on this thread!

In the case of this autoresponder- the people who get this actually were trying to send a message to a friend. So, we really wanted to handle this with care and make sure folks knew we anticipated what they were trying to do.

feel free to reach out to me directly at john@groupcard.com

This is how a great auto-response message looks like

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