Assuming an average handling time of eight minutes per e-mail, one person can handle 50 messages in 6.75 hours. Including breaks and lunch, this is almost a full working day. At the low end, Mustang's Internet Message Center manages and routes e-mail messages. A central quality assurance program will be needed to monitor and ensure good customer service practices. Companies should also devise a process for routing and handling problematic requests, such as messages asking several questions.
Most systems answer the first question only and send off the response.
Too much reliance on automated responses could result in sending out the wrong answer the first time, and then bombarding the customer with wrong answers every time he complains about it. Setting up a response management system can be challenging. For the system to be truly valuable, it needs a library of responses, so the company must collect and analyze its e-mail. Companies that don't have this expertise should consider paying the software vendor for assistance. Nobody said it would be easy.