Thanks to the pathetic levels of customer service that people are experiencing today with most major corporations, a quick and friendly response from a real human being actually surprises customers and makes them exclaim - Wow that was fast!

When you are a startup, (and for as long as possible) try to respond to customer queries as quickly as possible. You will be surprised by the amount of positive feedback that you will receive from customers.

Even if you are not able to provide an immediate resolution to the problem, just replying to the customer, acknowledging their problem and being honest about what you are going to do about it will go a long way in making customers want to do business with you.