Dear Customer.....

[JackDanielsU]

Hello one and all.

Getting some conflicting answers from grammar websites etc as how to end a letter or email when you start it Dear Customer.

I've always been told if you know who you're writing to (Dear Mr Smith) then its Yours sincerely.

If you dont know (Dear Sirs etc) then its Yours faithfully.

so I would assume Dear Customer falls under the second option?

Any advice etc appreciated.

Yours.........faithfully :)

[hc4361]

Yes, faithfully is the correct choice.

[Electrochem]

Yours faithfully or kind regards are both appropriate.

[Hopkirk]

I don't think e mails have to follow the protocols that apply to letters.

[TonyV]

Agreed
But rules of grammar I was taught was that if you start letter with Dear Mr Brown then you end with yours sincerely and if you start with Dear sir / madam then you end with yours faithfully
Hope I remembered it the right way round because almost all of my communication is by email where ending is either Regards or Best Regards

[CrapAtCryptics]

I was always told it was "Yours sincerely" for formal or business related so consequently been doing that for many years. Haven`t had a visit from the grammar police yet.

[TonyV]

Crap I content of letter is more important than how the sign off is?

[fiction-factory]

The grammar police may not visit but when they are also potential employers they may make a judgement but not give an explanation so I wouldn't advise people to depart too much from the accepted rules in some situations. In the case of sincerely/faithfully, however, I doubt that on its own it is a deal breaker but wouldn't take the risk in a job application. For a letter to the bank/HMRC/council then it makes no difference whatsover.

[fiction-factory]

^whatsoever!

[Prudie]

I always remember it as the two 'S' don't go together ie never sincerely with Sir.

[fiction-factory]

Yes, same when I was at school, Prudie.

[Jackdaw33]

People also used to write Yours Truly but we were taught that that was incorrect.

[TonyV]

Prude that's how I was taught.
Jack thought Yours Truly was for something personal and intimate

[Jackdaw33]

...'and oblige' is another one I remember.

[Canary42]

"Your Obedient Servant" is what I use for Customer.

[twix123]

I can recall seeing letters finishing:

"I remain, Dear Sir, your humble and obedient servant"

but these were usually to and from such institutions as the Bank of England in the 1950's & 60's.

[TonyV]

Twix you are not that old to use those same words today

[twix123]

Tony, when I started my banking career in the early 1960's, we were taught the Dear Sir / Yours faithfully or Dear Mr(s) / Yours sincerely rule, although one of the senior managers would still use the salutation I originally quoted but not always with the "humble" part.

We were also taught the as a bank we had "customers", there were only 2 professions the had "clients" and they were both solicitors (but on other sides of the law).

[Jackdaw33]

I remember the 'client' thing: lawyers and prostitutes.

[stuey]

I think that the term "Yours" is a little too effusive, if that is the correct word. I just end with "Sincerely" and then my name.

[stuey]

At other times, if it fits the context of the communication, I'll end with "Thank You", and then my name.