Use of emojis in email from Eon - inappropriate and unprofessional?

[RottingInBed]

Hi all,

Maybe I'm just getting old but I don't find the multiple emojis in this email from Eon very appropriate.

The multiple exclamation marks and the mistake on "you're" and "your" is irritating too.

Any thoughts?!

(PS the attachment was still blank!)

Are you sure you're not being scammed? How did this conversation start?

I don’t mind the emojis, but Thank you is two words, so those two grammar errors are not great.

I work for a bank and some of the email responses and online messaging responses I see from colleagues are shocking. Then we have the cheek to try and advise on scams, such as a bank wouldn't send you an email with spelling errors etc, ours would!

Probably someone WFH and getting their 8 year old to help them.

No, it's not a scam. But the reply does seem illiterate enough to be one!

I used the email address on my bills.

I agree, not appropriate. I'm with Eon and have had similar messages, sending me positive vibes and energy, first name usage, I dont like it either.

I'm reminded of Bill Bryson in one of his books who gets annoyed at the US equivalent of HMRC saying "Hi Bill". He says words to the effect that he is not their pal down the pub and it should be "Good morning Mr Bryson, esteemed taxpayer".

It’s not just eon but Octopus (who sign everything as love and power or similar shite) and now EDF are starting.

I just had a look at their negative TrustPilot reviews and they sign off a lot of their responses with this emoji: 😀

I mean, read the room, the person is complaining and you are basically laughing at them! Have these morons had ANY customer service training?!

That's the way the world's going now though, it's just a race to the bottom.

I had the same when dealing with vinted customer support recently- coupled with a poor standard of English, it was difficult to actually understand their messages.

Perhaps it's meant to come across more relaxed or friendly? In my view, it looks amateur and reminds me of an MLM company (neither of which I would think are a good look)

Hopefully someone who works for one of these companies will be along to enlighten us.....

I will now sit here and wait to be told I'm an old fuddy duddy with ridiculous expectations

@Saintmariesleuth yes, at my work we call clients by their first names, in an attempt to be friendly and approachable (despite being a law firm who are often not seen as such). We explain our approach on our website. We don't cross the line, however, into being overly familiar and disrespectful. (And if someone preferred to be called Mr or Mrs X, that's fine).

So I suspect that someone at Eon and similar has had the bright idea to be "friendly" in emails but this is Too Much.

Oh yes, doubtless we are just dinosaurs!

I think they are just taking this piss now, this is the response I got (bold mine):

"Here at Eon Next we are encouraged to use emojis to keep conversations with customers more informal, I have noted your account that you do not want us to use emojis.

I do apologise for the inconvenience that this may of caused you."

Oh and their Twitter account sent me this:

"Please be advised, as we are a digital team emojis are often used but we understand it is not for everyone!"

Comms person here working in a similar organisation. I think it’s a couple of things - firstly, messaging and general ‘business communication’ is changing and is becoming much less formal. In some newer digital businesses, emojis and a much more casual ‘tone of voice’ will be positively encouraged to suit their presumed customer demographic.

Secondly, most of the people doing this job are young (most, not all) and language and standards are constantly changing. They have so many regulatory hoops to jump through and record in all of their interactions with customers that spelling sometimes takes a less important role than it should.

I’m pleased to see that they have taken note of your request to lose the emojis. At least they have recognised that for you, it’s not wanted. However, loads of their customers will love it and respond in kind. That’s the challenge of interacting with such a large and demographically diverse audience (and I love it!).

‘I hope YOUR well’ bothers me more than if they put 100 laughing faces!

Or drunk. I’m not joking.

What, or whom, is the presumed customer demographic?

@Piffpaffpoff thanks for your post.

Don't you think emojis need to be used appropriately though? Ie not as a matter of course, especially when a customer is dissatisfied?

When you say standards are "changing" you mean lowered right? Employing illiterate people to answer emails is now acceptable?

And agree with a pp. What is the presumed demographic of someone using an energy company? Isn't it literally everyone in the UK? Average age presumably in their 40s? As opposed to 14 year olds?

I feel the "casual tone of voice" leads to a casual approach to one's job.

Anyway, thanks for clarifying that I can expect more of this bullshit from companies in future during this race to the bottom.

Perfectly put.

That is just awful. Strikes me as completely unprofessional.

The excessive use of exclamation marks is jarring.

A"n exclamatory sentence is one that expresses a strong or forceful emotion, such as anger, surprise, or joy." Doesn't really fit in with the content of your email. Clowns.

@EatCrow Businesses often set out to attract a “desired” demographic - so for example, some newer digital/online only will target a younger, more tech-savvy group who are happier to communicate in emojis and text speak and use apps for their interactions. Eon’s issue here is that as a utility provider, they will have the broadest of demographics i.e. customers in all age groups and other categorisations, and so whilst some of their customers will love emojis in correspondence others, and I include myself in this, want a more formal tone and correct spelling. Personally, I would be advising them to only ever use emojis where the customers have used them first in their correspondence (to reflect that customer’s desired communication style) but I don’t work there so 🤷‍♀️….

@Piffpaffpoff exactly. The company needs to "read the room" and "match the customer's energy". [vomit]

They probably use customer service agents based in South Africa.

The company I work for do this (finance, not utilities).

Their grammar and empathy is poor. Inappropriate use of emojis is common.

But they are dirt cheap, so companies will continue to outsource customer service abroad.

Thanks piffpaffpoff, I completely agree.

Sheesh, everything is so crap. I’m losing the will.