Ugh, So Annoyed!

[DawninCal]

Before we left on our trip, I put my Etsy shop on vacation. Like I always do, I checked my shop to be sure it was on vacation and it was.

Today, I received notification that I had a sale. I was shocked. Sure enough, when I checked, a pair of earrings had sold. Then I looked at vacation mode and saw that my shop was indeed active, but my vacation message stating that the shop would be closed until February 10 was there. I have no idea what made it become active, but it must have been some sort of glitch.

I sent the customer a message that I was out of town and unable to ship until February 10. Then I offered her the option of waiting until I get back at which time I will ship immediately or a full refund. I also apologized for any inconvenience the delay causes her. Other than that, I don't think there is much more I can do.

It's been almost a year since I had a sale on Etsy, so I'm happy to get the sale and to see that my shop actually still works and my items apparently show up in search some of the time. But, I'm really annoyed because it makes me look like a scatter brained flake even though I took all the steps necessary to prevent something like this happening.

Doesn't it just figure that after a year of nothing, a sale would come through at the worst possible time? Ugh, just ugh!



Dawn

[caeterle]

All sites seems to be glitchy these days.
At least you had the vacation message in there, if your customer has read that, they should be aware that you would not be able to ship. I get why you are annoyed, though.
On eBay, shops usually leave everything up (especially those not having auctions, but a regular shop) and you get the notification that the seller is away and won't be able to ship until soandso if you buy something, so if I had been your customer, I would have expected the same. Maybe they do, too.

[DawninCal]

Cat, I'm not positive, but I think that because my shop has somehow become active, she did not see the message. It only shows up when an Etsy shop is on vacation mode.

Hubby was telling me the same thing about Ebay. I would like that a lot better since the merchandise would not be hidden from view and customers could still browse and buy even though shipping would be delayed.

In this case, things have worked out for me as the customer responded that she was not in a hurry and doesn't mind waiting until I get back to ship the earrings. But, it still made me look flaky and I'm not happy about that. I may be flaky and a bit scattered in real life, but I put in a lot of effort to run my shop in a professional manner.



Dawn

[caeterle]

Oh, okay. I don't remember much about Etsy. I thought you had put in the introduction blurb directly in your shop where you can see it all the time. Is that different?

It's good that it worked out. How about adding a little extra to your parcel to show you're sorry (although you don't need to be)? Chocolate, wine gums, a nice sticker, whatever.

[DawninCal]

Yes, that's different. What you are referring to is the Shop Introduction and one could put up a message in that space if they left their shop up and running while out of town. But, shops that are on vacation become essentially invisible to the public except for the vacation message.

You have read my mind about putting something extra into the package. I think that would be nice gesture. I'm leaning away from food items since there are so many food related issues these days, but a non-food item would be perfect. Do you think a pair of simple, easy to make earrings would be over the top? Building on your sticker idea, maybe a post-it notepad. Whatever it is should probably be scent free too. I dunno - keeps those ideas coming!



Dawn

[caeterle]

Yes, that's true. Having something in the parcel doesn't necessarily mean the person doesn't appreciate the thought, but can still give it away. My sister and I have done that a lot over the years (although I think I usually got the better deal ).

The earrings would have to be very simple depending on the earrings she bought, so you won't create the thought that your work isn't worth enough to not just give it away. I only do that for good return customers. Maybe just earwires with a single bead drop? We all know out you churn out perfect loops in 24 seconds each!

[DawninCal]

Ha, you are too kind! But, yes, I like your idea of simple bead drops. It would have to be something I can make without spending a lot of time at it.

And, you are absolutely right about the thought counting more than the gift itself. I could give her a nice discount coupon, but that sort of forces her to come back to my shop and buy something she may not need or want.



Dawn

[DawninCal]

Another thing I forgot to mention, and I think it's an important bit of information, is that the customer mentioned that her birthday is on February 14. The earrings are a gift to herself. That is what made me think a little gift might be nice since she probably won't get the earrings in time for her birthday.



Dawn

[DawninCal]

Update: We arrived home late Friday evening and I mailed the earrings along with a cute tin of five cranberry/ginger flavored tea bags on Saturday. The buyer received them today. I was impressed that the post office delivered them from California to the customer in Florida in just two days.

Tonight, the customer left me a lovely, lovely review. She not only loves her earrings, but she also really appreciated the tea which I included as a thank you for her patience and as a birthday gift. I think both of us are feeling pretty good about a transaction that could have easily gone completely wrong.



Dawn

[caeterle]

That was perfect timing!
What a lovely review, I can imagine your smile when you read this, and you deserve each word!

[Irith-Rita]

Dawn, I am glad you made a sale in spite of your going on "vacation mode". In my help groups on Facebook (Israeli and in Hebrew) it was recommended NOT to put the shop on "vacation mode", because it is damaging. I don't remember exactly why but I can find out. It was also offered to do exactly what you did - explain and give the option of a refund.

Unless you are going on a really long vacation, such as for a month or so, if you have someone buy something from your shop, keep in touch and explain as you did to your customer. You did the right thing by being honest and open, and the customer appreciated it.

[DawninCal]

Thank you, Cat! She really made my day by leaving that review.

Good advice, Irith. In this case, we were gone for a month so I chose to use the vacation option. I'm really glad it all worked out with this customer and that she was such an easy person to deal with.

After poking around in the Vacation Mode options, I think next time I'll leave the shop open and change my shipping dates. There is an option to customize the dates to pretty much anything you want. Although, I don't think I'd do that if we were going to be gone for two or three months.

I once had a sale when we were out of town for a week. The customer bought a pair of earrings for her daughter's birthday, and once I notified her that it would be a week before I shipped, she chose to cancel the sale and take a refund. I guess these things can go either way.



Dawn