Well, this past week has been humbling.
It started off great! We “remodeled” our website, with bigger photographs of my jewelry, some lovely photographs of models, easier ways to get around, and so on.
But…(and this was a rather LARGE “But”)
Our site had trouble loading photographs and in some cases, made it next to impossible to make a purchase. We didn’t realize the trouble until we had a recent sale, and then all heck broke loose.
YIKES!
I’m not used to frustrated customers. I pride myself on NOT having frustrated customers, as a matter of fact. So when I started getting calls and emails from people who wanted to buy and couldn’t, it made for some sleepless nights, apologetic emails and red faces. (which my customers couldn’t see, but trust me, I blushed a lot in private)
To say we felt foolish is to put it quite mildly. The worst part was that our developer couldn’t seem to figure out what the problem was, and it seemed to go on day after day, despite desperate emails, chats and phone calls. To put it mildly, we felt terrible.
So Now What?
Meanwhile, our website developer kept digging for the source of the problem And guess what??? He finally FOUND IT! Now it just had to be fixed. And he even promised to do it while we slept. (They are in a vastly different time zone)
Ed was up at 4AM this morning to see the results of his efforts. I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I joined Ed in our upstairs studio. I was afraid to ask the question, so I put it euphemistically.
“Anything new?”
“They fixed it.”
“WHAT??!!!”
“They actually fixed it.”
I felt like cheering and crying at the same time. But since that was a little too energetic before the sun even rose, I responded, “Oh wow.”
I sat down at my computer and immediately “ordered” something just to see for myself. It worked. Big sigh, lots of grateful thoughts, then we both went back to bed and slept till 7:30.
To my Wonderful Customers
I want to say, you are the very, very best. Most of you were so patient and kind throughout this ordeal. Many of you have been my customers for over 20 years, and you know how much I care about you, and do not take it lightly when something on our end goes wrong. For those of you who are newer customers, I want to apologize sincerely for any frustration.
And to all my customers, please contact me anytime, with anything you want to say to me, either through this website blog, or by emailing me through my website. I truly, really care about you, and want your experience with The Magic Zoo to be a good one. And I do answer every email.
Your animal loving artist,
Merry
Thanks for your help with the website. Luckily I got it to work for me and got some cute charms for my bracelet. I’m waiting for a toy poodle with a normal poodle cut. Not the show cut. Maybe someday. Thanks Merry.
Good to know it worked OK for you, Suzanne! Enjoy your charms, and enjoy your new poodle!
I am a repeat customer. Love everything I have gotten from you. The latest…rainbow bridge earrings. You always ship so promptly. Thank you. Sorry you have had troubles with some ordering. Hope all gets better.
Thanks, Billie! Yes, things seem to be going in the right direction now!And thanks for being such a loyal customer.
Ms. Merry,
Please don’t feel bad! You are so sweet, accommodating, and caring (not to mention talented!). It’s really not your fault… COMPUTERS can’t live with them, can’t live without them!
Ah, thank you so much Mary! And you are so right about the “can’t live with or without them” part…especially when you have a business!
Hi Merry and Ed,
I appreciate your concern but it was well worth it to keep on trying with the order……and it all went through anyway. I didn’t really need the photos as I know your work quite well, and have loved it for many many years…….probably close to 30 at this point. No worries, I’ll be back again. Glad you were able to solve the problems, though.
Dr. Pazderski, you are one of my longest-time customers, and you have no idea how much I appreciate you. Yes, I bet it has been about 30 years! Thanks so very much for your kind words, and I hope to continue making my jewelry for another 30 years!
Life happens. I haven’t ordered in a long time but I will always remember how kind and helpful you were to get me the owl pendant so quickly. Thank you for being so wonderful at customer service in a world where customer service is often lacking
Aw, thanks so much, Jo! You are one of those special customers for sure. I have a big smile on my face now!
Merry! No need to apologize! Technology is GREAT when it WORKS PROPERLY! But, as we ALL know, that isn’t always the case! So RELAX and continue to make your BEAUTIFUL JEWELRY!!!
Kathleen, you were so understanding and gracious for sure! Thanks for being so wonderful, and thanks for making me smile! And yes, I will continue to create…in fact, I have 7 new designs in the works right now!