Our first real issue. :-(

Hello Lovelies!

As the title suggests, we have had our first little customer complaint issue. However, it really isn't a complaint towards Tick:Tock. It's a complaint that should have originally been directed towards the customer's local post office. Here's what happened. 

Yesterday, at about 1pm, I received the following message from a customer. I'm not going to post the customer's name or information [for obvious reasons] but I AM going to post the conversations.

I made an order on May 12,2011. I have yet to receive my order. Can you please give me an update on my order? this is my tracking # [tracking number was provided here].
Thank you,[Customer's name]

After receiving this, I will be honest, I was a bit confused. I wasn't sure why the customer was asking me since she had a tracking number. I had obviously shipped the package. And after using the tracking number, which she could and should have ALSO used, I saw that it was marked as delivered on May 21. I was even more confused. I was not angry, but I did want to address the situation and try to get her pointed in the proper direction to get her some answers. A couple of possibilities went through my head. And I send her this reply.

Hey [Customer's name] 

Oh no! That's really strange. Here is the info I have on your package.
We shipped your package on May 17. We just looked up the information on the package and it says that it arrived on May 21. We have attached the screen shot so that you can see what we see. Here is the address you gave us that we used to ship your package. 

[Customer's Address] 

Please let us know if this is the correct address because this is where the package went and was received on May 21 at 10:03 am. You will definitely want to contact your local post office to see if perhaps it was not able to be delivered, but the status was not changed to reflect that. Please let us know what your post office says so that we can figure out a resolution to this issue. And again, we do apologize, we get tracking numbers for this very reason, but we also want to ensure that you happy with the outcome.

Thank for your patience with us, too. This is our first issue like this. And we definitely appreciate you bringing this to our attention.

Thanks again,Tiffany RusinTick:Tock Cosmetics

 I felt this was an excellent reply. She replied with this.

Tiffany,
 Hey Well it just so  happens that on the 21st of May, I met the mail lady at the mail box because we were having a wedding(my wedding) at our house and people were parked along our road and I was afraid she wouldn't be able to get to the mail box. And the mail lady did not hand me a package this day. The address below is the correct address. So I can not say where the package s, but I can say without a doubt, the mail lady didn't have a package from me this day. It would of been great if she would of.Which I guess she did, but I just didn't receive it.
[Customer's name]

I felt pretty bad for this woman, who seemed to be pretty upset with me over something that wasn't my fault. It was Memorial Day, so I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it at the time, but I wanted to reply regardless and ensure her that we did everything in our power at that point and that her best option was to just contact the post office since they were the ones who had messed up somewhere.

Hey [Customer's name],
Like I said, I would recommend calling your post office tomorrow. I apologize again for this issue, like I said we do everything in our power to ensure your package arrives safely to your door. I hope you are able to sort this out with your post office. 
Thanks again,
Tiffany Rusin
Tick:Tock Cosmetics

She didn't like this answer apparently. And I guess she thought I was coming across as accusing her of something, which I hadn't. I just was letting her know what information I had. But regardless, she sent me this reply.

And i am telling you that I met my mail person that day and she did not have a package for me. So if it did get delivered, you are telling me that because the post office could of delivered it to the wrong address, you are not making good my order? 

At this point, she was directly accusing ME of not making good on my order. But I did make good on my order. I sent her this.

Hey [Customer's name] 
I understand that you met your mail person, however, we DID "make good" on our order. You can see that is was shipped, it was processed, it was sent. because we shipped it with a tracking number. This is our part of the transaction. To figure out what has happened after that part of the transaction, you need to contact your post office because it is an issue with their process, not ours. I'm very sorry, but aside from this there is not much I can do. I apologize for the inconvenience this is causing you, however, we can not do much because it shows that it was accepted. Please let us know what your post office says tomorrow, and possibly a phone number for them as well so that we can call them also if you are still having an issue.
Thanks,
Tiffany Rusin
Tick:Tock Cosmetics

It went without a reply over night. However, I was extremely concerned by the issue. It seemed very peculiar to me. So I wanted to get some more information from the Post Office to see if there had been some kind of mistake. I wanted to try to help get this woman's stuff to her properly. Being a small business, I cannot afford to replace a $20 order, especially one that according to the United States Postal Service had be delivered. But it still made me upset that someone was mad at me...cuz I just care I guess. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt as best I could. I located her post office by entering her zip code into the "locate a post office" feature on the USPS website, and it lead me a phone number. I called the number (and was on hold for a little while). The lady was really nice, and she tried to help me get some information. After the phone call, I sent the Customer this message...

Good Morning, [Customer's name]
I just got off the phone with the Navarre Post Office. She asked for all the information I had on the package (Name, Address, Tracking Number) and told me that she was going to find the person who delivered the package. The woman who made the delivery was named Carry, and she said that she remembers putting a small package in your mailbox on May 21 at 10:03 am. This means that it was indeed MY package that arrived, since MY tracking number was used to deliver it. I'm very sorry you are having trouble finding your package, but I am afraid that I did everything within my power to get it to you, and according to the post office it DID get to you.
However, I made a promise when I started my business that my customer service would be the best I could possibly make it. Please let me know what it would take to make you happy with the outcome of this situation, and I will do my best to make it up to you, even though it was not my fault at all. I do hope you can understand how this situation looks from my perspective, and why I made the effort to resolve it as well by calling your post office myself instead of waiting for you to let me know what they told you. Most likely, they would have told you the same thing. But if we could possibly work out a solution in which we are both happy with the outcome, I would really appreciate it!
I look forward to hearing back from you! Have a great day!
Thanks,
Tiffany Rusin
Tick:Tock Cosmetics

It was at this point that I was talking about it to some friends of mine on a facebook group. They informed me that this customer was complaining on ANOTHER facebook page....and it was a page that I was ALSO a part of. Here are the screen shots....

Somewhere towards the end of all the convo here, I was feeling pretty hurt, so I sent this message via email....

I just wanted you to know that I am a part of the ____________ group and I never said that was the end of it. I understand you are disappointed. But I am not sure where you got the impression that we aren't doing anything to help you out. We called the Post Office because we wanted to try to help you out. 
However, I am hurt that you feel the need to go and say things that are not accurate. I called your post office because I wanted to know for myself what had happened to see if there was a way I could fix it and get the products that I shipped to you.
You are failing to understand that I am a person, just as you are, who is trying to make a living doing something I love.
If you could be understanding and patient with me, I would greatly appreciate it. I am trying to fix the situation for you, but you are being very hurtful and not being understanding. You have to understand how this looks from my perspective. I am also trying to be understanding by figuring out what happened as well. But posting things about it on facebook, and not posting the whole story, is not the way to do things. It is not the way to get someone to want to help you. I truly want to help you get your package. I understand that $20 is not much to you, but to me it is a lot.
I am trying very hard to figure out this situation and get a solution for you, but I am also not going to do it without first doing some investigating into it myself. I have also asked what you thought would be a fair resolution, to which you have not given me a reply.
Also, I understand you were not handed a package. Which matches the story. The women did not hand it to you personally, she put it in your mailbox.
If you would like to give me a call, my number is___________ I truly want to resolve this issue, but it also needs to be fair at this point.
Thanks,
Tiffany

To which I received this reply.

FYI 20.00 is alot to me not to mention I was oping for the package before my wedding day due to the purple  that was in it I wanted to wear.And I NEVER order make up ever since the whole GS bull crap thing.
Another FYI since you had the whole story when you call ed the post office.I  spoke with the post office and explained how this isnt not the first package to get lost, but luckly I got the first one back. And how the mail lady was met at the end of the drive that day and how I can see how she could get her days mixed up since I had about 5-6 different packages come to the house that were all little. So you keep the 20.00 and the make up since you oviously think i am lying. And there is NO way the post office would ever make a mistake and why would she say she did, if she knows it could be garnished out of her wages.

And so I sent this message...

I saw what you posted and you yourself said that $20 was not much. I don't think you are lying, but I also am not going to send you products based on the info you have given me. If you would like a refund, I will do it through the post office thing, but since this is not my fault, I am not sure why you are blaming me for it and taking your frustrations out on me. You need to be understanding of others, but you are not. I am sorry you have had an issue, but I am not going to be able to do any more at this point because of your attitude towards me the whole time. I have tried to find a solution. If you do not want to recieve replacements through the post office thing, then that is your decision.

I also asked her to please give me a call in another short message, which she did not do and has not done yet either. She then replied with this message.

To be honest with you, I have "liked" your page before you even got your product up and going. I apologize to you for my upseted ness. I just know that I didnt recieve my package. And it seemed like you didnt belive me. I have no reason to lie to you. Especially since there was a tracking number. The lady @ the post office was not the one I toalk to but the one who answered the phone when you called and I explained to her that we did meet the mail lady this one day.(due to all the cars) and that I there was no package. She said you can resend it and send them the invoice by fax ____________. But I am not sure of all the process. So it is really up to you if you want to have to deal with the post office about it. I will just have my orders sent to my office from now on..Because THERE is no telling what the mail lady will do now.. My husband and her have had thier share of run arounds.

So according to this customer...this is not the first time she has lost a package. And I am also sure that this is not the first time she has emailed a company asking for replacement products in this manner...perhaps people have sent her replacement products in the past, and if so I guess that is their prerogative. I'm someone who wants to make people happy, but not at the expense of possibly being taken advantage of. I accepted her apology. 

I understand, we all get upset at times. However, I just did not apreciate that you said I wasn't trying to help you, when I was trying VERY hard. I tried to call the post office yesterday, just to leave a message since it was Memorial day, but there wasn't a way to leave a message. It had just said that I needed to call back during regular business hours. So I called first thing this morning. But I would appriciate it also if you would correct what you had said on the facebook page about the company not doing anything about it. I will call the post office again to figure out how I can get the info to them without fax because I do not have a way to fax. I'll get back to you shortly about what they say. Thanks agian, please try to be patient with me. I really am trying to get this figured out for you..

I gave the post office another call, then replied with this.

I just called them again. She said that it would only refund the postage cost, not the product because the product was not insured. What she is going to try to find the package for you and let me know when she does. They are probably going to be slow, and it is also the day after a holiday so they are probably a bit backed up. I would give them a day to call you back, and if they don't call back today, I will be calling again tomorrow until the issue is resolved somehow. Let's try to figure this out together, okay? I really don't want you to be mad at me for something that isn't my fault. I had a similar issue happen just about a month ago. I ordered from ________ to get the supplies I needed for making the pigments. Well, THEY addressed my package incorrectly. However, I knew that they couldn't do anything from California, that it was an issue I needed to fix with the mailing company. So i called the company (several times) and finally was able to pick up my package. It took a little extra effort, but I never got upset because the second I started getting upset, they stopped helping me. So I definitely understand shipping issues. Which is why i'm trying so hard to help get this figured out before I go and ship $20 worth of stuff out of my own pocket. I just can't afford that right now with my business as small as it is. I hope you understand and I hope you are feeling a bit better about things. We are working together to get the situation resolved. And if you want to call me, please do not hesitate. I am more than willing to talk as well. Take care!

She seemed to become a bit more understanding at this point, which I truly appreciated. I think she had gotten over the irritation of "blargh, wherez mah stuff!?" and realized I really wasn't the enemy here. She sent me this.

 Well crap...... How do they think she is gonna find the package? I mean it would be GREAT if they did find it, but knowing my neighborhood....The druggies have proably tried to sniff it.

That eased the tension a bit. So I tried to ease it a bit more with a joke towards it as well. It was also mentioned in the fb convo part too.

Lol. I guess just keep an eye out for people with glittery noses. ;-) We'll get this sorted out. I know that when I had my issue, they said they tried to deliver it, but the address was incorrect and was also not a real address. So it was just in a storage area hanging out. At first they said they couldn't find it, but then they magically did and i was able to get it. Just give it some time...but I'd seriously keep an eye out for the glittery noses...just in case....:-)

I had hoped the post office would call me with information about finding the package and getting it back to her. But when I received the call, i still got the same information, only confirmed...

Hey _________,
I just spoke with the post office again, they called me back. They said that the mail lady remembers putting the package with that tracking number in your mailbox, but that there were some teenagers near the mail box waiting. I don't know if it has anything to do with it, but that is what she said. 
Since nothing about the situation is my fault, I do not feel that it is my job to send another order. However, what I WILL offer is that for every order you make in the future, I will personally pay the cost of adding signature confirmation and item insurance every time. I also want to give you a coupon code for 50% off your next order, I've attached it for you.
I'm sorry you have had these issues with your post office. I hope that it is somehow able to be resolved with them. I hope you can understand that as a small business owner, given all of the information I have been given, that I can not send replacements for free, but I can offer a compromise and offer more protection on your items in the future.
Thanks,
Tiffany Rusin

I feel that I personally have done more than some people might have to help this woman out. I feel also that this is a fair way to resolve the issue at this point. She may or may not be happy with it, but I am officially making this my final act towards resolution. But I thought I would place my side of the story in a place where anyone who wanted to know more about it could read it. Please be kind with your comments, [both towards me and towards the customer] and keep names out of it if you know who the customer was. I went through a lot of effort to hide everyone's name and info. 

It's terribly discouraging to have something negative like this happen, but it also teaches us a lesson. Something more that we needed to take into consideration. 

This past Sunday at church, we talked about dealing with trials...it's funny how this particular week had such a trial already. I guess my little nose needs to be reading up in James this week. I don't want to sound preachy, but it's something that goes deeper than just a customer service issue for me. It's something I need to be doing more, just to be a better person. There are lots of great lessons in the bible about simply treating others right. I think people of any religion can learn from lessons like that, regardless of whether or not they believe in Jesus. I hope I also haven't offended anyone with this little addition to the blog as well. It's just my personal feelings towards things. 

I guess that's all I have to update with for now. If the issue continues, I will let you all know. All like 5 people who will probably make it this far into the blog. Lol. This is super long. Sorry about that. I guess I just needed to vent, too. :-)

Have a great night, I love you all.

Hugs,

Tiffany