customer service | Ember Valley Hand Stamping Blog

I knew when I started my Etsy shop that it was impossible to get every order right every time, especially since my items are personalized. Dates come in different formats, names have unique spellings, grammar is confusing. It’s hard to talk about visual things through messaging. Pile on top of that some people are bad at computers or communicating in writing, and I often work at night when I’m tired. Whatever the reason, mistakes happen.

Customer service is a big priority for me. When I wrote my business plan, I thought about who my customers would be and what kind of customer service they’d expect. I thought about the tone I’d use in my messages, response times, and when it would be appropriate to engage in casual conversation and when it was best to keep it strictly business. I also thought about how I’d handle mistakes. I don’t handle criticism well, so I knew this would be a hard one. I expected the customer to yell at me and demand a refund, and I’d be hurt and sob my eyes out over what a horrible hand stamper I was. That’s never happened. Turns out, handling a mistake isn’t all that bad. Most people understand that you’re an imperfect human, and they’re willing to work with you if you work with them.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Own your mistake. Don’t try to rationalize it, explain it away, or downplay it. Apologize for it. Look at it from their point of view. Your customer was excited about their order and you let them down. They have a right to be disappointed, so don’t minimize it. Most of my orders are memorial, miscarriage, and infant loss ornaments, so I can understand how upsetting it would be to order something to grieve my loss and have the dates or name wrong.

2. Make your mistake right. I send my customers a new ornament immediately. I include a hand-written note apologizing and offer a coupon code so they can save on their next order. Make sure your shop policies are very clear on how these situations are handled, including when you offer refunds and who pays for return shipping. My shop policies state that if I make the mistake, I take 100% responsibility financially for fixing it. If the customer makes a mistake, then they are 100% financially responsible for fixing it.

3. Learn from your mistake. How did it happen? What can you do to make sure it doesn’t happen again? What changes need to be made in your processes, listing pics/descriptions, or communication to prevent this? I learned it’s easier to ask for clarification than to make guesses about what the customer wants. Some of the mistakes I’ve made were assuming the customer made a typo, which I corrected, and then learned it was supposed to be “wrong.” I state in my shop policies that the customer can request a pic of their order before I send it. I know some shops don’t do this because they think it’s too much trouble, but I haven’t found that. Only a few customers have asked, and though it takes time and materials to do, I know the customer is happy and getting exactly what they’re paying for.

4. Don’t dwell on your mistake. I don’t know why negative experiences stick to our brains more than positive ones, but they do. Move on. Praise yourself for what you’re doing right. I’ve had over 900 orders, and less than ten where the customer came back to me with a mistake I made. That means I’m getting it right over 99% of the time. Every customer where I’ve made a mistake on their order was happy in the end. None of them left a bad review. Some left five star reviews and have ordered from me again.

I’ve never had an irate customer or one that’s been unreasonable or tried to take advantage of me. I’ve been fortunate that way. My customers are awesome! 😊 The only advice I can give is that you need to protect your business. You work hard for your money, and your time is valuable. Don’t let your customers bully you into a refund or into doing something you’re uncomfortable with because you’re afraid of a bad review. That one bad review will be soon be buried by all the five star reviews that come after it. Customers won’t be turned away by one bad review among hundreds of five star reviews, either. No one gets 100% five star feedback. If you’re stumped on how to handle a situation, the forums are a great place to get advice.

When dealing with an unhappy customer, don’t focus on the mistake, focus on the customer’s experience. You want your customer to remember your shop positively, even if they don’t get exactly what they want. That’s how you build trust and loyalty.