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| Customer Service Kiosk -- Questions for LE vendors. |
2008-12-23, 10:34pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 06, 2005
Location: Shelton Washtington
Posts: 3,256
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cool
[quote=DianaDesigns;2274735]
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Forgive me if I am wrong, but in your first post you asked for generalization, not naming names so I assumed that the suggestions did not have to be from a Frantz ordering point of view.
I was being general, none of the issues I have had are from Frantz as I have never ordered from you.
No I do not live in a tent or mobile home as a matter of fact I live in a very nice detached house, in a highly sought out area, which makes my taxes almost impossible to pay. The addition of this garbage tax grab as an extra on my water bill, is a total of over 200 dollars a year extra just for the bin, THEN if I have an extra bag that doens't fit in the BIN, they charge me an additional 5 bucks per bag. In total I pay over 600 dollars a year to have the city take away my trash, without any extra bags.
People around here, including businesses are really pissed off at this new garbage tax robbery, it is not a viable solution to try and pawn off my peanuts on anyone.
Now again forgive me, but why should I pay to throw away peanuts, which are harmful to the environment and would end up costing me more in the end anyway and when there are other solutions for companies to use out there. Rhetorical. If you don't want to offer other solutions and feel its best to still use styro peanuts, that is up to you.
As for the amount of peanuts. I can show you a picture of a shipment I got for one book, 1/4 pound of glass and a book of silver foil, sent in a GIANT box, stuffed full of peanuts, that filled a large size garbage bag. This is wasteful and I paid for that! Yes I paid 20 bucks to have that order shipped when I know for a FACT, the size could have been smaller, therefore costing less. Oh and when I looked at the postage amount, the company only paid 14.75...again I really did not balk at that as much as I did the wasteful nature.
Again not talking Frantz here, but then again you did not say you wanted to hear specifics in regards to your own company.
The company I deal with now, ships using bubble wrapped glass, and the stuffing is recycled, light weight paper, NOT newspaper. They offer discounted shipping on orders over a certain dollar amount, so I wait and make one large order as opposed to many smaller orders, if I can that is.
Personally, I will pay more for shipping if they use recycled paper or material that can be recycled. I do not want the styro peanuts as they not only fill up land fills needlessly, but they cause a lot of pollution during the manufacturing process and I as the end user end up paying to dispose of them.
You sounded annoyed at my post. Sorry to have annoyed you, but you did ask a General question, in order to help you give better customer service and possibly avoid making the same errors others have.
Carry on. I am out.
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Not annoyed at all. I am probably just numb living with bags and bags of peanuts at work and not anoyed by them..
I never thought you were talking about Frantz Art Glass. But when somebody makes a comment about something where I can say how we do it, I do.
And we carry about 20 different box sizes, trying to never use too big of a box, it wastes too many trees and uses too many peanuts.
Many years ago I did a bit of experimenting with rolling bubble around full length rods. I found it to be difficult to do and very expensive. Now that we sell mostly 13 inch rods it might be worth looking into once again, thanks for your comments.
I thought your post was great. They do charge so much for hauling away garbage. Peanuts are just a start, so much trash consists of packaging, I wonder how much garbage the week after Christmas will bring?.
We do alot of recycling at Frantz, We recycle alot of paper, cardboard and of course peanuts as well as bubblewrap.
mike frantz
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Mike's phone: 800.839.6712 ext 206
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2008-12-23, 10:37pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 06, 2005
Location: Shelton Washtington
Posts: 3,256
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what?
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Mike! Was that before or after you spent the day with my hubby?
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That is yor husbands lap that I am sitting on.
mike
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Mike's phone: 800.839.6712 ext 206
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2008-12-23, 11:02pm
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Run Free Sweet Boy
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Join Date: Jan 29, 2008
Location: Orlando, Fl.
Posts: 2,194
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good service to me is....
good communication- answer my emails, dont make me jump through hoops and push one for english and push 2 for orders etc etc etc on the phone. Give me a heads up if there is a problem with my order. Sometimes I am anxiously awaiting a specific color etc, if you dont have it, I need to order it someplace else fast. I swear I will order from you in the future if you are just up front with me.
I am kinda old school, I didnt grow up with computers and gadgets, be patient with me, make it easy and user friendly.
Have folks who answer the phone who actually understand how the products are used. If I get frustrated with the web page, I will call you. Hint hint.. make that page easy and up to date on whats in stock, and avoid more phone calls. I find it helpful if glass is labeled on the web page with things like, striking color, silver glass, reactive glass, reduces.
Remember that there is a person on the other end of the email and the phone, friendly and personable goes a LONG way with me. I will forgive a serious goof if you are friendly and apologetic, and act like you care that it has made a problem for me.
I appreciate a good price, but if I dont feel appreciated, and my stuff is slow to arrive and its a hassle to deal with you,, I will take my biz elsewhere, even if it costs me a bit more.
Thanks for asking...
Candice
Make your web page clean and easy to navigate. I want to know right off the bat if something is not in stock.
Ship it quickly.. ship it quickly ...ship it quickly Pack it well. and if it isnt too expensive, use the peanuts that are degradable and wont harm your pets if they eat them.
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NEW FLAMINGO BEACH BEAD TUTORIAL AVAILABLE NOW.CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT AND ICICLE TUTORIAL, VISIT MY ETSY SHOP AT
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"It's not what you have, it's who you are."
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2008-12-23, 11:57pm
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"Sinners have soul too"
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Join Date: Jun 26, 2005
Location: The beachy part of So Cal
Posts: 4,258
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That is yor husbands lap that I am sitting on.
mike
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Haha Mike! I'm gonna show him those pics! To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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Donna
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2008-12-24, 12:32pm
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da General
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Join Date: Oct 05, 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 13,002
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Since you "fessed" up, I am responding directly at you, Mike:
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Well I will have to fess up to that, abecause that was Frantz Art Glass, Mike Frantz, the Glass Cop. For those of you who have never done a trade show, there is so much to do to prepare and set up and nothing goes 100% right.
What happened had nothing to do with how much work it was to prepare and set up a trade show. You asked what perfect customer service was and I told you what you did at the Gathering was not perfect customer service . . . it was not even decent customer service . . . it was BAD, RUDE, HORRIBLE customer service.
Let me first say about Nessi, is a nice color, some think it is great and there really was no Nessi Color, Nessi was a small part of an other Effetre COOL color that reacted unique. Of the 400 pounds of (I think) Blue Lagoon, there was maybe 10 or 15 pounds of Nessi.
I am not going to argue with you about your claim of getting only 10 to 15 pounds of Nessi - making me look like the bad guy for waiting to buy 8 lbs of it! You know the truth . . . you had more than that at the Gathering (Remember you told me the next day that you found another box??? Remember you wanted to trade? I offered to purchased them and you told me "no, I don't need the money.") . . . and you were selling them at the Bash after the Gathering . . . in addition you were giving 3 rods of Nessi for every 1/4 lb. of glass purchased for the month PRIOR to the Gathering. . . .
I think that it was exciting enough to be the next RARE color, but instead of hoarding it, I offered it at a fair price, but failed to put a maximum out. Maybe I forgot to put one out on that color, perhaps I did not think somebody would buy it all. But in any case I am a person that wants to share the color with everyone. I should have just said "I am sorry, but this is all you can have and not have promised you more cause that was a mistake." I do apologize that you did not get what you want, and I know that you are a very talented beadmaker and saw the value of it and I did not handle it correctly, and that will happen from time to time.
I beg to differ. Stores who put a wrong price tag on an item would sell that item at the incorrect price tag and eat the cost - that's GOOD customer service. You made a mistake by not putting a limit on the glass and you made your customer pay for that mistake by TAKING AWAY most of what you customer was in the process of purchasing - that was BAD customer service. My being a very talent beadmaker has nothing to do with this - my being a valued customer of yours and what you did are the issues here.
This is not the only time I have had issues at trade shows, it will not be my last mistake I make, but I try my best and try to learn from my mistakes.
Sincerly
Mike Frantz
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Hayley
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2008-12-24, 3:06pm
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Catchen' the Sun
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Join Date: Mar 06, 2007
Location: Oliver Springs, TN
Posts: 2,841
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Let me say I usually don't get in on this crap but today I am making an exception.
[quote=mikefrantz;2272920]
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I agree with the packaging thing and the peanut issue. We now have to pay extra for our garbage removal and every extra garbage bag costs me almost 5 bucks. I won't be ordering any glass for awhile because of this, as I know at this time of year the garbage piles up. I try to recycle every thing, but they will not take peanuts, period. I never have a use for them and around here, driving up to a shipping place and offering your garbage bag full of peanuts to them, will get you shot nowadays I thought that guns were only used in Canada for shooting animals, not people. What part of Canada do you live in. Excuse me, but it sound like you are saying that since you gather too many peanuts you will not buy any more glass and then stop making beads. I do not know what size order you buy and from who, but if you were to order 5 pounds of glass 12 times a year, you might have enough peanuts to fill ONE bag, that comes to $.48 per month for peanut removal. Of course if you live in a tent or mobil home, then the peanuts might take up too much room. i do not live in Canada but I do live in a 1700 square foot mobile home oh and Good customer service is not pissing off your customers or potential customers with crappy comments like this.
Sincerely
Mike Frantz
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Sincerely
Sharyl King whom will never be your customer just because of that comment!
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Have a great day!
Shari
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SRA # K36 Catchen' the Sun Glass Art
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2008-12-25, 9:33am
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Sparkle Strumpet
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Join Date: Aug 16, 2005
Location: Port Saint Lucie, FL
Posts: 2,666
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Easy and speedy..available...detailed descriptions.....
willingness to do me a favor....even if it isn't really a special favor just for me, I love to feel that way. make it sound like you'd only do "that" for me. When I was an utter rookie, a vendor actually interrupted a class to calm me down. And yes, he gets my business....
Plenty of payment options, sometimes, I don't have money in my paypal account and don't want to wait for a bank transfer....
perfect packaging. I want to be absolutely certain that what I order gets to me all in one piece. (for the vast majority of time, I do get it exactly what way....but the one time I didn't, the truly poor, and truly nasty customer service I got sticks with me.) (No names...)
Don't call something "flibbertigibbet black" if it's just black.
And of course, a vendor could send me lots of free stuff....that would be nice. OK ok....I'll stop now.
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Governor's Road:
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Kindle Edition by Laurie Byrne-Smith
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2008-12-26, 11:04am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jun 27, 2005
Location: Yarmouth, Maine...home of the Clamfest
Posts: 7,693
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Batch/Settle *ALL* the credit card machines & terminals DAILY so any "pre-auths" & amounts run through the bank & then re-credited (particularly for orders adjusted for outs/substitutions/etc) get fixed on peoples debit cards ASAP....otherwise you're tying up REAL money for days on end...
Drives me nuts when the gas station does it, but at least they're only doing it for $1...when it's for entire glass orders, it's crazy-nuts--like paying for it twice for several days while the bank "holds" that money hostage "just in case" a vendor actually settles that transaction out....they won't let ME use the money until the vendor actually settles the batch with the "non-process"/release of funds on it
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(and yes, I know my bank releases "same day"--it's why I bank with them!)
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new purple cricket @ home! minicc @ playing with fire in rockland! Sue & Nikki fighting over who gets to anneal the wonkies
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2008-12-26, 11:24am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Sep 06, 2005
Location: Shelton Washtington
Posts: 3,256
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Hostage Money
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Batch/Settle *ALL* the credit card machines & terminals DAILY so any "pre-auths" & amounts run through the bank & then re-credited (particularly for orders adjusted for outs/substitutions/etc) get fixed on peoples debit cards ASAP....otherwise you're tying up REAL money for days on end...
Drives me nuts when the gas station does it, but at least they're only doing it for $1...when it's for entire glass orders, it's crazy-nuts--like paying for it twice for several days while the bank "holds" that money hostage "just in case" a vendor actually settles that transaction out....they won't let ME use the money until the vendor actually settles the batch with the "non-process"/release of funds on it
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(and yes, I know my bank releases "same day"--it's why I bank with them!)
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I agree with you. Some banks do it quickly, others take days. This does become an issue at times for customers with limited credit on their account.
I will be sure to bring this up at our next company meeting.
Thanks for bringing this up.
Mike Frantz
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Mike's phone: 800.839.6712 ext 206
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2008-12-26, 11:38am
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jun 27, 2005
Location: Yarmouth, Maine...home of the Clamfest
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It's why I
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PayPal (yes, they're the devil for some stuff
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)--they don't do "pre-auth" *giggle*
My bank was "down" last night due to power issues (silly windstorms from the temp changes!) & my card wasn't working to get gasoline! (eep!) as a "debit card"--good thing I knew the "run it as a credit card" trick to try on the gaspumps (different database, doesn't actually contact the bank itself, just runs the $1 preauth off of visa/mc database vs. the "acutal amount"--I knew there was a small amount of cash in there & I wasn't overdrawn!) or I'd have been stuck @ my sister's house overnight!
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new purple cricket @ home! minicc @ playing with fire in rockland! Sue & Nikki fighting over who gets to anneal the wonkies
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2009-01-01, 12:46pm
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Jul 05, 2008
Location: wisconsin
Posts: 348
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Well, I sort of like it when my order comes I find out that I got the stuff I ordered in the quantities I ordered. I like it when the stuff I ordered is in stock. I don't like paying double shipping and sometimes I have a design in mind and I don't want delays, so if you don't have it I can order from somewhere that does. I like the fastest shipping at the best price.
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2009-01-03, 12:29am
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member
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Join Date: Nov 24, 2006
Posts: 524
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For me, great customer service is made up of
accurate product descriptions, including photographs,
decent prices -- not necessarily the lowest,
lightning-fast responses to questions and orders (ship in a day or two, not a week or two),
lots of payment options (whatever works to get money from the customer! - yep, PayPal),
flexible shipping methods to meet different customers' needs,
and, very importantly, making good on terms confirmed by a company representative.
This should include anything from wacky special orders to confirmed shipping costs. Sometimes the supplier loses $$, but makes up for that in invaluable good will
At times, when something goes wrong, it really goes wrong. Live and learn. However, almost every company I have purchased from (and there have been quite a few!) has provided great to perfect customer service.
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2009-01-03, 9:14am
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Lampworkaholic!
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Join Date: Apr 22, 2008
Location: Cornelius, NC - because weather
Posts: 5,158
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Answer the phone. Return calls. Answer e-mail. One of my favorite vendors - great products, prices & packaging - loses points here.
Realistic shipping charges. I was charged more than $7 to ship an item that weighed 1.3 oz and cost under $10. It came in a box, priority mail and insured, which was overkill. That makes me wary of ordering small items from this vendor again.
Agree with the comments that back-ordered items should be so listed online.
And nothing beats a surprise free sample with an order!
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"And all will turn to silver glass, a light on the water, grey ships pass into the west." Annie Lennox
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2009-01-03, 5:39pm
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KY red
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Join Date: Jan 13, 2008
Location: Richmond, KY
Posts: 8
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As an online customer, good customer service is a website that is easy to navigate; I tend to get very frustrated when I have to search all over the site to find what I want. Information on the site should be easy to read with a minimum of spelling and grammatical errors. I expect the inventory to be managed so that if an item is not available I know immediately, and do not have to wait for a day or two for a telephone call telling me the item is out of stock. I want a same-day e-mail confirmation of my order; and an e-mail notification of shipping and tracking information. I like good pictures of the colors of the glass and the tools. Clear, easy to find shipping and payment policies are a must. Discounts and specials are easy to find and interpret. If there is a problem, I expect a telephone call or an e-mail ASAP after the problem is found. If I send an e-mail inquiry, I would like for the e-mail to be acknowledged/addressed within 24 hours. I agree with some of the others that timely communication is very important.
As a call-in customer, good customer service is a friendly greeting by a real person who can direct my call appropriately. At the very least if an automated answering service is used (I personally hate them), keep it to a minimum. It is very irritating to be told by a weird voice to punch 10 different numbers to get a simple question answered. I expect the person who handles my request to be knowledgeable about the subject. If they don’t know the answer, they tell me, offer to find the answer and get back to me. Then they follow up with me ASAP.
Good customer service means that my small order is given the same consideration as a very large order. It also means that if a problem occurs, it is taken care of with courtesy and respect for the customer.
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