Customer service

I have a bulletin board in my studio where I pin up thoughtful quotes, pictures that inspire me and ideas for future projects. When my Etsy business suddenly took off several years ago, I found myself pinning up quotes about providing the highest level of customer service that I could. These are my favorites:

"Make a customer, not a sale." ~ Katherine Barchetti
"Your customer doesn’t care how much you know until they know how much you care." ~ Damon Richards
"Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you." ~ Chip Bell
"Always give people more than what they expect to get." ~ Nelson Boswell

Lately, I received several really nice feedback notes from recent customers. They touched me and got me thinking about customer service once again. The first one is feedback that a customer emailed me about paper that I make with Chinese Forget-Me-Not seeds for funerals and memorials. The idea is that you plant the paper in memory of a loved one:

"Thank you so very, very much for doing all of that ... I am so happy to have found such a lovely shop. I know my friends will really love the sentiment. What a wonderful idea you've come up with...a distraction, a way to give new life in a time of loss, and a pretty remembrance. All in such a thoughtful "package". Thank you again, I truly appreciate it."

I was so appreciative of the time my customer took to thank me. Then I got another message a few hours later, from a repeat customer who came back and purchased again, simple and straight-forward but so meaningful to me: "I love your work and I am back again... Thank You, S."

I am always tickled when I get a repeat customer. To me, a happy customer is not one who is happy after the first sale, but one who is happy enough to come back a second time.



I love the feedback I get about my handmade paper products, but equally important is the feedback I get that shows me my customer felt cared for with my customer service. Here are some recent ones:

*"Exceptional service."

*"Love this seller and will be a return customer."

*"Very responsive customer care."

*"Perfectly done. Excellent paper quality with just the right amount of seeds. I'm a returning customer."

*"The customer service was amazing. I let the seller know that I needed the item I purchased within days. She went above and beyond to get them to the post office within minutes of placing my order."

*"I needed these very quickly, and the seller helped make sure they got to me on time. I have used [PulpArt] before and never been disappointed in the beauty or quality."

*"Excellent customer care from the shop who went out of the way to accommodate my order."

*"The seller was amazing to work with and the item arrived in perfect condition in time for the services. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!"

*"This seller is completely awesome."

*"The seller was great in answering my questions... i loved the natural personalized look of the card. My friend loved it and cried at how sweet it was. Highly recommend."

If you have shopped with me and given me feedback, I want you to know that I have read what you said, I took it to heart and I appreciate your time for doing so. Even though I have never received poor feedback, I would feel the exact same way! If you are considering shopping with me, I hope you will trust me to take very good care of you.