To me, giving top notch customer service is what my business is all about.
But sometimes the giving of it is harder than others.
It starts with a phone call from a customer. Her order was placed on Monday.
I’ve heard nothing from you, she says. You say on your website that you’ll send an email when my parcel has been despatched. I’ve received nothing. From you.
My rural property is a one way, one hour drive to the post office. It’s not possible for me to post every day. But we do post twice a week. Wednesday. And Friday.
Because I receive so many orders over the week-end, it takes all of Monday and Tuesday to get the parcels ready to post on Wednesday.
Friday’s posting is all the orders received after my close off on Tuesday at 5pm to Thursday at 5pm.
It’s been our posting schedule for many years. And it’s clearly stated on my website that we make every effort to post twice a week. But if that’s not possible, we guarantee that all parcels will be mailed within 7 days of our receiving the order.
We live on a winding, and sometimes dangerous, road in the bush. We have fatal accidents that can close a road for most of a day. We have several bridges to cross that can be washed out with heavy rain.
You name it. If it can happen. It will happen. On our twisty. Winding. Two lane rural roads.
Considering all that. We make every effort to not let our customers down when it comes to receiving their parcels.
Once the parcels are lodged at Australia Post, I send an email the next day notifying my customers their order is on the way.
As I did with this customer.
Looking at the email report from MailChimp, the third party email service provider I use to send all notifications, I see that not only did her email go without a hitch.
But it was opened.
I can only presume that it was opened by her.
Not possible, she says. I’ve never received that email from you.
But it was opened, I say.
Not by me, she says. I’ve never received it.
Three times I confirm with her that the email address we’re both talking about is correct.
Finally, in despair, I say to her that I’m concerned that someone is opening her emails without her permission. Aren’t you, I ask her.
I’ll deal with that later, she says. At least now I know my parcel is on its way.
And she hangs up.
I’m not happy with this scenario. Customers shouldn’t hang up annoyed.
I go back to my list. And resend her email.
It’s essential she receive her email because it has her Australia Post tracking number. And a link to the Australia Post website so she can track the progress of her parcel in the mail.
It also contains the address we mailed the parcel to. And what was in the parcel.
If any of the above is incorrect, I need to know that.
Believe me, people do key in incorrect addresses when they place an order online!
It also tells her how long it should take to be delivered. And if it doesn’t arrive by a certain date, she needs to ring me so I can ring Australia Post to see where the parcel is.
I ring her to let her know I’ve sent another email. I get Voice mail. Leave a ten second message. So I leave my phone number.
No return call from her.
I ring again. This time Voice Mail allows me to leave an extended message.
Shortly before 5pm I receive an email from her.
The mystery is solved.
Her emails are vetted by the large firm she works for before she receives them. It was opened. Not by her. But by ‘the system’. And put into their Spam Folder.
Until today, she never knew her emails were intercepted before she received them.
She thanks me for my persistence in following up.
She’s happy.
And I’m happy.
I also learned something I didn’t know before.
An email can be opened. But not by the person it was sent to. I’ll remember that.
As I said. Sometimes things just never go as planned.
~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤
I Am The Purveyor Of The Tantrum Free Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies
Made with love and care in RURAL Australia by men and women who have a disability.
It’s not for everyone.
But it’s definitely for you if you’re fussy about the cover you iron on.
And if you love to support Australian made.
And want to put something back into the community when you make a purchase.
The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover cover has more than 350,000 customers in 29 countries. Because it lives up to its name. It ‘Fitz Like A Glove™’ every time you iron.
And these are the ‘Other Goodies’
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Have a question? Email me.
Or phone me, Carol Jones, in rural Australia on 02 63 588 511.
Photos of my rural property are courtesy of me, Ironing Diva – who is also known as Paddock Paparazzi – and taken at sunrise every morning.
PS. And I have a fabulous newsletter ‘A Smidgen Of Gossip’. This is what a subscriber says about it. “Carol. Just had some time to read it and found that it is, as with everything you do, rather wonderful. A great read. W” You can subscribe to it by clicking this link. It’s FREE! This is not a lifetime commitment. You can Unsubscribe at any time. Don’t miss out. Click this link now!
