Yes, I did create a short manual with some guidelines. And for my own purposes had already created several templates of common responses that I would use when people asked the same questions over and over. I simply translated these to our support center knowledgebase.

For faster typing of common phrases or even long e-mails, I use a free program called “Speed Typing” (http://www.colorpilot.com/speed-typing.html). For example, I can type “mthsig” and it will spit out my entire e-mail signature. Or I can type “pmfail” and it spits out the long e-mail I sent to people when their last Paypal payment didn’t go through. It’s been really helpful.

No, seriously, it I’m thrilled that so many of your happy customers also turned into a happy and productive customer support team – it has made a huge difference in your time freedom.

But the key here was you were organized enough to know what you wanted from your customer service team. If I remember correctly, you went to the time and trouble of creating a sort of “manual” for them – guidelines, etc. – as well as standard response emails for them to use and adapt.

It’s inspiring to read the testimonials from your customers – you’ve created something really valuable and unique. Congratulations!