# customer service question



## rubato456 (Sep 5, 2009)

on etsy, i had somone ask me quite a few questions about my soap, most of which were answered in the description, if she would have bothered to read it (like what is the soap made of, does it smell good, and so on) i cheerfully answered her questions. she asked how big were the soaps and i told her approx 4 oz.

well she ended up ordered 3 bars which i sent priority mail. she convoed my this afternoon complaining that one of the bars was way smaller than 4 oz and it was the one she was planning to give to a gift, and it looked to be an 'end piece'. she also complained that her name and address were smeared on the package. 

i don't understand why that would be as far as the smearing, as i use permanent marker to address all my packages. i replied, thanking her for letting me know about the smearing issue and that i would look into this. i remarked that because i hand cut each soap that some bars may be slightly under 4 oz but that some can be quite a bit over......and i hoped she would enjoy the soap.  

should i have offered to take the soap back or send her an additional bar? i honestly don't think that bar that she complained about was under 3.7 oz....

i must say i'm really down about this....i've never had anyone be anything other than thrilled w/ my soap.....   

thx for your advice on this.


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## Guest (Sep 5, 2009)

You will run into these "types " once in awhile , it is part of doing business unfortunately . When we get one of these , we ask "what can we do to make it right for you " ? If we messed up , we of course apologize . There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there that try to take advantage , and  maybe get some free product , kwim . I am not saying that this is the case here , but it does happen . 
  We sell  some glass and breakables and have had people say the item  arrived broken , we simply ask for a photo and 99.9% of the time we never hear back from them .
  One way to avoid the weight problem is to weigh each bar  before you package it and note the weight on your sales record of her purchase . I am trying to cut the soap fresh at a certain weight so it is always a smidge over 4oz  like 4.2 at least when cured . 
  Don't fret over it , it happens , not fun but it happens .

{{hugs}}

Kitn


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## dagmar88 (Sep 5, 2009)

:wink: Don't worry; some people are like that and nothing will ever be good enough  :roll: 
You told her its _about_ 4 oz, not exactly 4 oz. 
I would put on your website your soaps all of your soaps are hand made and slightly differ in size and color form soap to soap.


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## chrisinflorida (Sep 5, 2009)

So sorry this happened.  What I do for my sizes is I weigh every bar out of a batch.  Then I have a range of sizes.  The very smallest one or ends that may not be uniform get put in a pile for cutting into samples.  For my packaging and web sites I put down the range of sizes.  For example, see this listing

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?li ... d=29429314

The bar sizes range from 5.3 to 6.2 ounces.  When pouring into some molds and depending on the thickness of the soap at time of pour some bars will be bigger than others.  The majority of the bars will fall in the middle of the range, but I want the customer to know the lowest possible size in case they get that soap.  It's a toss up.  They may get the 5.3 ounce bar, maybe a 5.8 ouncer, or the 6.2 ounce bar.

Hopes this helps a little.

Chris


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## rubato456 (Sep 5, 2009)

thanks for your advice, all! she sent me another nasty convo and i'm certainly not going to be black mailed by her. let her leave bad feedback, i have the feeling nothing i would do would please her.  i thought she was a crazy when she first started sending me all these convos that were to put it mildly, a bit weird. she also suggested 'exchanging items but not buying so we could leave each other good feedback and it would look like we bought stuff...' which i wasn't going for. i didn't reply to that one at all.....i wasn't interested in that.

i had a feeling deep down inside that she would be trouble, funny how intuition can be so on target......


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## rubato456 (Sep 5, 2009)

grrhh.....i broke down and convoed her and said i was sorry she was displeased with her purchase and that i strive to make every customer happy.  "What can i do to make things right for you? I would be happy to send you another bar of your choice. please let me know if this would work for you and what bar you would like"

uggh.....these words stuck in my throat considering how nasty she was to me. but i don't want unhappy customers floating around. of course i made no guarantee that i was sending a huge bar and i will note that the bar is complimentary and be sure to note the weight on the invoice.
 :roll:


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## JenniferSews (Sep 5, 2009)

I'm so sorry.  I hate running into those odd birds.  The good news is that very often the crazies give you lots of hints beforehand and now you now how it looks.  It sounds like you've resolved it already, which is good.  Some people just cannot be pleased.  I agree with Chrisinflorida about providing a range of weights.


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## SilverMaple (Sep 6, 2009)

I dread running into people like that....  so sorry!

I generally advertise my soap as 'each bar weighs at least 4 ounces', or 5 ounces or whatever.  

I had one woman swear the bar of soap she wanted wasn't four ounces at a farmers market, so she carried it over to another vendor and used their produce scale, and found out it was actually 4.3 ounces.  She shut up and paid up.  Pretty sure she was just looking for a freebie.


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## gardengoat (Sep 6, 2009)

Technically your product can not be below what you are stating.  There is no wiggle room with the labeling laws for something below weight.  They demand a definate weight or volume.
_It can be over the stated weight; but not below._

Which does make it difficult sometimes depending on how wide one cuts, and when you cut your soap as it is still curing.


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## SilverMaple (Sep 6, 2009)

^ That's true.

If you're stating exact weight, you need to weigh each bar after it is done curing, and probably add at least a tenth of an ounce for 'wiggle room.'  You can claim a weight that is UNDER the actual weight, but the produce must weight at or above the claimed weight legally.


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2009)

gardengoat said:
			
		

> Technically your product can not be below what you are stating.



Yep, but it can be over what is stated on the label.
That's why it's not good to assume bottles/jars contain what the label
states--it could be more.

To be safe, you could put the LOWEST, SKINNIEST cuts on the scale to 
determine the weight of your soap. Go with the low number.

Since I came back to soapmaking, twice I've found vendors who short
on ingredients (stearic acid, and lanolin)....doesn't hurt to weigh what
you receive, soap or otherwise.


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## Guest (Sep 6, 2009)

I agree with you on the weighing supply's and some things you buy on line . It is amazing how the actual amounts differ from what is on the label , be it to much or to little .


Kitn


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## Tabitha (Sep 6, 2009)

I bet what happened is that the other 2 were way over 4 making the 1st look even smaller.

I agree, I would have made sure it was a minimum of 4oz though.

You did the right think by your customer. I stinks to suck up, but the last time I sucked up I made a super good customer. It's almost like they are testing you to see if you will give excellent customer service then they will be your best customer ever.

I had that happen w/ lip balm. I sell my tubes at 1/2oz, well I mailed a few to a gal, 2 were over filled at about 3/4oz. rather than thanking me for the fuller ones, she assumed I cheater her on the smaller one that was the correct weight :roll: . Over filling can get you in trouble as well.

I looked at your etsy shop... you should use every last 'tag' they allow you. Each tag is a freeway to your shop. If you do not know what to use, use adjectives "pink"  "white" 'creamy' "dreamy" "fresh" "SAHM" "Texas" "recycled" "original" "international shipping" or any other word that describes your items.


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## rubato456 (Sep 6, 2009)

tabitha;

you are right on about the comparison thing. my husband said the same thing. he said that the other soaps were so large that they made the other one look minute, even though it was barely less than 4 oz. very wise words. so far, i have not heard back from her re my offer to send her extra soap at no charge.  hopefully she'll respond.  thanks so much for your suggestions re my shop and tags, i appreciate it very much!


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