Friday 25 November 2011

Merry-Go-Round - Customer Service


Jump on our merry go round and join a group of artists/crafts-women from around the world as they link hands and tell you a little bit about their lives in craft.
Do look up the answers from the rest of this band of crafters (links to your left).
If they haven't all posted yet, remember we all live in different time zones and check again later...
This month:
Customer Service


Customer service is about law, of course, but, to me, it is also about the choice you make when selling handmade, about what someone buying handmade from the the maker has a right to expect.

If you enjoy it that people appreciate your handmade work, you have to keep up the personal side of the relationship. It's not a question of what the law says. It's a question of what you get into whan you decide you are an independent artist / designer / crafter...

The most enjoyable, satisfactory sales I have made online were custom-made. It feels so great having someone trust you with their special wish. It makes me feel "important" in a way no serious job does.
To be quite blunt, in my experience, custom is absolutely not profitable (because profit lies in series). But it still is what I have enjoyed most as a crafter.


The other important aspect of cutomer services is returns.
That is never pleasant, but it is crucial to trust-building.

I am lucky that I have only had a couple in the past few years, and, if I remember well, only one was about an online sale, surprisingly enough. But what strikes me is how incredibly grateful customers for whom I have mended a piece have been. In most cases there was a flaw and of course I was bound by law to mend their purchases (or give a refund, never their choice in my experience), but that didn't seem to be how they took it. They seemed surprised and pleased.

I have also been very lucky so far, I know from the forums on various sites, that I have never had to deal with someone patently dishonest.
Obviously, they are around, as are the dishonest sellers, but I still believe they are a small minority and the vast majority are lovely people who do us the great honour of appreciating our efforts and giving us good money for them, and so they deserve our best efforts throughout.

Thursday 17 November 2011

Breaking Dawn Giveaway at Bacon Time— don't miss out!


Mindie of Bacon Time is organizing this great giveaway with 66 different shops participating, including my Etsy shop, of course : )

Tuesday 15 November 2011

Nouvelles / News

Pour commencer, sachez que les boutiques DaWanda et Etsy fermeront le 15 décembre, jusqu'à une date qui demeure à déterminer et qui sera fonction de mon changement d'approche et de statut.
Depuis quelque temps, il est clair que le statut d'entreprise ne me convient absolument pas, ni financièrement, ni moralement. Je vais donc prendre le temps nécessaire pour revoir ma situation et adopter le statut légal qui convient.
En attendant, les coordonnées présentes sur mes cartes de visites restent valides et je reste disponible pour le service après-vente nécessaire..

Par ailleurs, Le Bar du Vent sera présent au Marché de Noël organisé par Chai, rue du Mirail à Bordeaux, à partir du 17 décembre. : )

In order to think over and operate a change of legal status, aiming at adopting one better fitted to how I like to craft and how much time I can afford to allow for it, I will close my Etsy and DaWanda shops on December 15, until further notice...