There’s a theory that a million monkeys sitting at a million typewriters will eventually type the works of Shakespeare. Can a million robots holding pens write the best collection letters? A company that specializes in sending collection letters that are hand written by robots has noted that response rates are up to 50% higher using that format than traditional collection notices that look like official letters.
The retailer, which is based in the United Kingdom, had a 50% increase in the number of individuals who contacted it about their past-due debts and a 30% increase in the number of payments it received, according to RoboQuill, the company that provides the service.
RoboQuill uses robots holding real fountain pens using real ink to write its letters, and are not letters typed out on a computer and printed using fonts meant to imitate handwriting. The robots have “totally authentic natural writing,” according to the company.
Handwritten letters are less formal, cold, and impersonal, according to RoboQuill and stand out to help get envelopes opened and letters read, it claims. The service offers writing on post-it notes which can be attached to actual letters, envelopes, and longer-form collection letters.
The company advises against using “unnecessarily formal” phrases that make it clear the letter was not likely written by a human intent on reaching out to the recipient. Phrases like “as we haven’t heard back from you yet, I thought to write again personally…” tend to “reinforce” the personal and customized nature of the letters and help boost response rates, the company said.
RoboQuill did not include details as to the type of message that the retailer used which led to the spike in inbound calls and payments.
