I read this site because of the great new ideas from the authors and commenters. I think some of the best information and new ideas come from differences of opinion. Mr. Thibeau, you make some very great points, but Mr. Oliver brings up a good point.
It's a great article to start with and I think the use of the autoresponder has evolved and will continue to do so.
I do believe in an after-hours autoresponder if for no other reason than to acknowlege we've got the customer's request. Any time you do anything online, you get a confirmation email, so why should contacting a dealer be any different? I don't want a customer moving on to more and more dealers just because they think I'm not getting back to them.
If we remove any emotional/ethical quandaries from the discussion, I still question beginning with a lie for practical reasons. I happen to be one of those people who gets caught every time. With my luck, at some point, I'd wind up in a discussion with a customer about my previous night's activities where I couldn't possibly have been checking my email or something. I just wouldn't want to have to worry about keeping up with a lie.
Wouldn't it be just as effective without that part? It implies that you're checking your email but doesn't assert it unecessarily. Besides, I think in my CRM tool it would likely come out as:
john,
I just happened to be checking my e-mail and I noticed your request for information on the HENWAY 3.5R XLR 401K EDITION MODEL CODE AA75R.
