| In an effort to better serve all of our customers, we are changing the way that telephone orders are handled on catalog opening day. Most customers use the email ordering system, but those who still call in with their orders often find that the item they wanted was already 'sold' because they spent valuable time dialing and getting a busy signal.. redialing, getting another busy signal, etc., etc. You may actually see the item before anyone else, but still lose it because you are stuck waiting in line. It isn't your fault that the guy ahead of you might spend 5 minutes trying to find his credit card, chatting about what they found at a recent show, etc. In the meantime, someone else placed an email order and 'poof!' You're out of luck. We know that isn't fair, and we're fixing it. |
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| The current system is tough for us to manage, also. The person taking the phone order must not only check to see whether the item is available, but also scan the long list of incoming email orders to make sure that someone else was not first in line before selling it to the customer on the phone. That is complex and slow under even the best of circumstances! |
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| So here is the new plan. When someone calls in, we will take a list of the items they want, double-check their contact information (email, phone, etc.), and submit that on their behalf into the big queue of incoming orders. A quick "Thanks - we'll be in touch!" and then right on to the next caller. We will not be checking on the availability of items during the call, nor will we be taking payment information at that time. The phone orders will be placed into the system much faster, and will now be guaranteed their proper spot in line. Orders submitted this way will have an exact time stamp on them, just as the email orders do. Those of us who are working behind the scenes sort the incoming requests by that time stamp, and the first request gets the item. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. |
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The only down side here is the loss of immediate gratification; knowing right that moment whether you got the item or not. I think that having a better shot at actually getting the item should more than make up for that minor inconvenience.
Well.. the other down side is also for those who just really, really like to carry on extended conversations with Anna. You know who you are! I can hear the disappointment in your voices on the odd occasions when I answer the phone instead of her. C'est la vie. Remember, we'll get in touch by phone or email after the first big batch of orders is processed, and let you know how you did. Perhaps that can be your opportunity to ask about using Pecard's to preserve the wallet you made from the big sunburn peel that your spouse harvested off your back during summer vacation. (Sometimes I think we really should be recording calls!) |
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I also very well-aware that no matter what we do, the customer who gets his item will think that our system is wonderful and brilliant, and the customer who misses it will think that it is the dumbest, most horrible thing anyone could have ever thought of - second only perhaps to Segway Polo.
We quite literally bend over backwards to make this as fair a process as it can possibly be, to the extent of making anyone who works here submit an order for something they might want after the catalog opens and not before. Several catalogs ago I missed out on a number of Imperial Russian items that I had hoped to purchase for my North Russia collection. I got a few, but our friend Gus from Idaho beat me by a minute or two on several nice pieces. That's not the first, nor will it be the last time that I have missed stuff on my own catalog.
This change in phone orders is a solution for something that was a problem only for a small number of customers, since most everyone now uses the email system.. but each and every customer is important to us. We will continue to look at how we do things, and wherever we can make adjustments that are for the benefit everyone, we will do so.
We plan to use the new system all throughout opening day, and probably during the morning of Day 2 as well, depending on the volume of orders. |