Perhaps I am just *that* good, but this year I am not seeing anywhere near the number of customer messages that I did last year. It is still a bit early, so perhaps there is a long line of angry customers just waiting to message me.
Regardless, I am fully prepared for any customer, the Good, the Bad, and the Angry. Are you prepared to deal with customer messages? It is often quite a shock for new sellers when they receive their first truly unreasonable customer, and it is natural to sort of "get angry" at a person who is making unreasonable or impossible demands on you.
I've compiled a list of the most common issues that you will deal with, and a roadmap for you to follow in dealing with them in a way that will make both you and the buyer happy.
Handling Customers for Noobs: How to turn "Karen" into "Grace" 1. Make sure that you have your shipping times clearly posted, and your return policies are available (on Etsy) Amazon tells you that you must accept returns, and it's not negotiable.
2. Don't promise anything that you can't deliver. It's ok to say "I think that could arrive in time, but I can't guarantee it". Shoppers are actually pretty ok with this, and will often order anyway.
3. When you get a crazy, demanding, and unreasonable person, it's totally find to refund, cancel, and block them. Don't get sucked into long conversations about anything.
4. Sometimes a refund will solve a problem, even if it's not really your fault. You might even get a nice review out of it.
5. Custom requests: Your time is worth a lot. Charge accordingly.
6. Be prepared to get a lot of messages about the tracking info, since Etsy does not update or even give the tracking number. I just find the link and send it, and boom, problem solved.
7. Some people's items will be stolen by trolls and orcs, but mostly of the time a "stolen" item is actually delivered fine, but gets misplaced.
8. If (when) you screw up, own it and make it right immediately. See below for some message templates.
Customer demands faster turnaround than you can deliver: "Hi! I apologize but I cannot get that item to you within that time frame. I could offer you a printable mockup that you could give as a "placeholder" gift until the actual item is delivered. Let me know, and I'll do everything in my power to speed up the production.
Customer can't find the tracking info: "Your tracking number is xxxxxx, and here is a link to track your item. It looks like the predicted delivery is (day). Have a good day!"
Customer asks you to make an item that you can't or don't feel comfortable making. "I'm very sorry, but due to the extreme volume of orders, I cannot offer that service for you right now. I do have a number of other types of products and customizations that you might consider, have a look in my shop and see if anything catches your eye."
Customer is crazy/rude/possibly insane: "I regret that I will be unable to provide any products or services for you at this time, or any time in the future." BLOCK THEM
Customer does something stupid, loses, breaks, or gives you the wrong shipping address: "I'm sorry to hear about what happened. Looking at the shipping information, I shipped this item to the address you gave, and it was marked delivered. If something went wrong, I could offer you a replacement at cost, please let me know"
Wrong item, broken item: "I apologize for that! Can you please send me a picture of the item (or damage)? This will allow me to contact my insurance and get you a replacement right away. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."
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