Customer service email test, with sample answers

Email support is not slow chat. A chat agent can ask a question and get an answer a minute later. An email agent usually gets one try. If the reply misses a question or forgets to ask for the order number, the customer waits again, and gets more upset.

So test email agents with email. Below is a complete test: a fact sheet, four customer emails, a strong and a weak reply to each, and a way to score them.

What a good support email does

A good reply:

• Answers every question in the customer's email.
• Puts the answer first, before the thanks and the background.
• Asks for everything it needs in one go, so the customer does not have to write twice.
• Says what happens next, and when.
• Promises nothing the rules do not allow.
• Reads easily on a phone: short paragraphs, plain words, no wall of text.
• Sounds like a person and ends with a name.

How to set up the test

• Use emails from your own inbox. Change names and numbers so no customer can be recognized. Keep the tone.
• Give a short fact sheet. It holds what a new agent would know on day one. Applicants should answer from it, not guess.
• Add what the system shows. Under each email, say what your order or booking system says. Matching the two is part of the job.
• Set a fair time. Email is not live, but it is not a take-home essay either. One set time for the whole test keeps it fair.
• Say the rules up front. For example: "You may use a spell checker. Please write the replies yourself."
• Decide what a strong reply looks like before you read any. Otherwise the first good answer becomes your standard.

Here is a sample fact sheet for an online kitchen store. Copy the shape and fill in your own rules.

Fact sheet
- Orders ship in 1 to 2 business days. Tracking is emailed when it ships.
- An order can be changed or canceled only before it ships.
- Returns: within 30 days, unused, in the box. The customer pays return
  shipping unless the item was damaged or wrong.
- Refunds go back to the original payment 5 to 10 business days after the
  return arrives at the warehouse.
- Engraved items cannot be canceled or returned once engraving starts.
- You may NOT offer discounts or refunds outside these rules. Exceptions
  go to the store manager, who replies within one business day.
- We ship to the US and Canada.

Email 1: Three questions in one

Hi, I ordered the blue kettle on Monday, order 48213. Has it shipped? Also can I add a second one to the same order? And do you ship to Canada, my sister wants one too. Thanks, Dana

The system shows: order 48213 shipped Tuesday; tracking was emailed.

What you are testing. Do they answer all three questions, correctly?

A strong reply:

Hi Dana,

Thanks for writing. Here are your three answers:

1. Your kettle shipped on Tuesday. The tracking link went to this email
   address. If you can't find it, just reply and I'll send it again.
2. Because it has shipped, I can't add to this order. The quickest way is
   a new order for the second kettle.
3. Yes, we ship to Canada. Your sister can choose Canada at checkout.

Best,
Sam

A weak reply:

• Answers the first question and stops.
• "Please check your tracking link." Correct, but cold, and two questions are left.
• Says the second kettle can be added. The fact sheet says it cannot.

Email 2: Angry, and no details

Subject: STILL WAITING

This is ridiculous. I sent my return back weeks ago and I still have no refund. I want this sorted today.

The system shows: no order under this email address.

What you are testing. Do they stay calm, ask for everything they need at once, and avoid promising a refund today?

A strong reply:

Hi,

I'm sorry you're still waiting. Let's find your refund.

I couldn't find an order under this email address, so I need two
things from you:
- your order number, or the email address you used at checkout
- the tracking number from your return, if you have it

As soon as I have those, I'll check where your return is and tell you
when to expect your refund.

Best,
Sam

A weak reply:

• "Please provide your order number." Then, after the customer replies, asks for the tracking number in a second email.
• "Your refund will be processed today." Nobody has found the order yet.
• Three paragraphs of sorry before any question.

Email 3: The answer is no

Hello, I ordered an engraved cutting board yesterday as a gift but I spelled the name wrong. Please cancel it and I'll order again. Regards, Marco

The system shows: engraving has started.

What you are testing. Can they say no early and kindly, and offer the only real next step without promising it?

A strong reply:

Hi Marco,

I'm sorry, but I can't cancel this one. Engraving has already
started, and engraved items can't be canceled once that happens.

What I can do is ask our store manager whether there is anything
else we can offer. The manager will reply to you by email within one
business day.

If you'd like a new board with the right name in the meantime, you
can order it now and it will ship as normal.

Best,
Sam

A weak reply:

• Hides the "no" in the last paragraph.
• "No problem, I've canceled it." This breaks the rule and leaves the store with a board it cannot sell.
• "Per our policy, engraved items cannot be canceled." And nothing after it.

Email 4: The follow-up in a long thread

Give the applicant a short thread first. In it, a teammate wrote on Wednesday: "Your replacement mug will arrive by Friday." Then the customer writes:

It's Monday. Nothing arrived. This is the second time you've let me down.

The system shows: the replacement shipped Friday afternoon; the tracking says Wednesday.

What you are testing. Do they read the thread, own the missed promise, and give the real date?

A strong reply:

Hi Priya,

You're right. We told you Friday, and that didn't happen. I'm sorry.

Your replacement shipped on Friday afternoon, and the tracking now
shows delivery on Wednesday. Here is the link: [tracking link]

I'll check the tracking again on Wednesday afternoon. If it hasn't
arrived, I'll write to you that day with what we'll do next.

Best,
Sam

A weak reply:

• Ignores the earlier promise, as if this were a new question.
• "My colleague made a mistake." Blaming a teammate does not help the customer.
• Promises Tuesday to make up for it. The tracking says Wednesday.

How to score the replies

Score each reply on the same five points, from 0 to 2:

Point	0	1	2
Answered everything	Missed the main question	Missed a smaller one	Answered every question
Correct	Broke a rule or promised wrong	Unclear about a rule	Followed the fact sheet
Clear	Hard to follow	Answer buried	Answer first, short paragraphs
Tone	Cold or rude	Polite but stiff	Warm and calm
Next step	None	Vague	What happens, and when

A few habits keep it fair:

• Score Email 1 for every applicant, then Email 2, and so on. You compare like with like.
• Hide names while you score, if you can.
• Read the replies on a phone. That is where many customers will read them.
• Weigh "Correct" most. A small typo matters far less than a refund promised by mistake.

If the job is chat too, add a few live tests. Five chat tests to give before you hire a support agent has them, and screening 150 applicants without reading 150 résumés shows how to fit a test like this into the rest of your hiring.

If you would rather not build it yourself

HireFlow does this part for an email job. Ava, its job builder, writes an email practice from your kind of business: the customer writes emails, and the applicant answers each one as they would at work. Ava reads every reply, scores it with its reasons, and puts the strongest few in front of you. Apart from the "Are you 18 or older?" question every application starts with, a person on your team makes every decline and every hire; Ava can only move a strong applicant on to the next step.

In short

• Give a short fact sheet and what the system shows, and ask applicants to answer from them.
• Use four emails: several questions in one, an angry one with no details, a no, and a follow-up in a thread.
• Look for every question answered, the answer first, one round of questions, and a real next step.
• Score each email the same way for everyone, and weigh correctness most.