You are an intern in the User Experience and Optimization division overseen by Erik Nordstrom, the current president of stores. You are learning about the "Nordie" ethos of truly believing in helping others and genuinely loving customer service.

As the former chairman, Bruce A. Nordstrom put it: "We can hire nice people and teach them to sell, but we can't hire salespeople and teach them to be nice."

The intern supervisor wants you to study Facebook interactions among customers and Nordstrom representatives to learn about the friendly, casual tone employed in such virtual encounters.

Read several days' worth of Facebook posts. Summarize what you learned through your observations in an e-mail.

• Be sure to select two or three specific posts representing a pattern or strategy.
  • For example, discuss particularly successful responses, whether they are prompted by an inquiry, complaint, or praise.

Keep the following in mind when developing your email:

• Opens with informative but concise request
• Organizes body in bulleted lists
  • Utilizes specific examples from posts to represent patterns or strategies
• Closes with a call for action