I'm sure you can tell by now, that I like to write very honestly on this blog. In the spirit of being honest...I thought I'd write about something nobody tells you about running a business. What am I talking about? Dissatisfied customers! Something every business owner fears! No matter what kind of business you run, if you deal with people, you are bound to have somebody be dissatisfied at some point. Before I go on, let me say this has not happened to me a lot, but I'm not immune; it's happened! Most people like to keep these incidences hush, hush, but since I'm pretty darn real....so I'm talking about it!
Kelsey Jean Photography
Now if the above message (the sign on the front counter in my shop) could always be true, I would always be fine...but I'm not. I know every business has it's critics and complaints. Look up any company and you are bound to find lovers and haters...but of course, when I opened I was naive enough to think I could avoid it. Wrong! Again, this doesn't happen regularly, but I've been open for over two years now and have had a few "dissatisfaction issues" come up. As a business owner, I think you have to get use to the idea that they will always be there. Why will they always be there if you have a good product?
Because people will try to get away with A LOT...if you let them. I said "dissatisfaction issues" in quotes for a reason. I've had a few issues with being suckered for a gift certificate or people looking for money back when it was not warranted. But out of fear of an upset customer, I gave it to them. I had to learn the hard way...I cannot just give people money or a gift certificate merely because they say they have a problem. I can't throw money back at people for just anything...because that word will spread around in a hurry and I will become a doormat for people to stomp on and get money from. So I have told myself not to...and it's hard! Of course, if it was warranted or my fault I would of course compensate a customer.
Like I said, I learned the hard way....I put up a sign that said any damage to an order once it leaves my facility is your responsibility, not mine ( I check to make sure everything is A-OK before it leaves; I cannot control how everyone transports and chooses to store items). I also cannot refund based on people's personal preferences.
This is why I did a clarification on my Facebook page recently on the difference between my vanilla cake and my white almond cake. There's a big difference...your order should reflect on your preference/taste. I had a very confrontational customer-well not exactly the customer, but their relative-telling me off about the order, insisting they get money, and even threatening to turn people away from me (even though I did specifically ask if they wanted vanilla or white). But guess what? I made several other vanilla cakes at the very same time, very same batch as this persons.
So of course I had to make sure it wasn't something I did wrong (in which case I would have compensated the person), so I contacted others customers from that weekend and asked them to tell me honestly what they thought.....the guests loved the cakes, complimented them, and had no leftovers. So what am I to do??? All I can do is apologize because it is my worst nightmare to have someone upset, but I can't give them money back. That's like going to the movie and asking for your money back because you hated the movie, but everyone else loved it. You can't do it.
Now you may think I'm crazy, and "the customer is always right," but if I did that I would be opening my business up for a whole lot of scamming and people just looking for freebies left and right. I've also had a few people lie about things being wrong (I know because I did my background work and checked to see if things were okay with others, or again, other matching orders for that weekend). You can tell when someone is lying too...because if I tell them I've checked things out, they will come up with a new complaint or a problem that isn't even possible to have with their order.
I'm by no means trying to bash anyone or say anyone who complains to a business is lying...but it happens a whole lot more than one would think. I could never imagine doing that to a business, but maybe that's because I'm a business owner myself and I know the damage it could do to a reputation. I want every customer satisfied always...but it's a business, and I've had to learn you just can't make everyone happy.
For this reason, I've created a binder full of thank yous, positive emails, reviews, etc. For the days something brings me down, brings me to tears, makes me doubt whether or not I'm good enough, or all of the above. My husband is there to pick me back up; make me stop crying; remind me that I am great at what I do; tell me every business has to deal with this kind of thing; and I go through the binder to remind myself the positive FAR outweighs any negative I have ever gotten.
Because people will try to get away with A LOT...if you let them. I said "dissatisfaction issues" in quotes for a reason. I've had a few issues with being suckered for a gift certificate or people looking for money back when it was not warranted. But out of fear of an upset customer, I gave it to them. I had to learn the hard way...I cannot just give people money or a gift certificate merely because they say they have a problem. I can't throw money back at people for just anything...because that word will spread around in a hurry and I will become a doormat for people to stomp on and get money from. So I have told myself not to...and it's hard! Of course, if it was warranted or my fault I would of course compensate a customer.
Like I said, I learned the hard way....I put up a sign that said any damage to an order once it leaves my facility is your responsibility, not mine ( I check to make sure everything is A-OK before it leaves; I cannot control how everyone transports and chooses to store items). I also cannot refund based on people's personal preferences.
This is why I did a clarification on my Facebook page recently on the difference between my vanilla cake and my white almond cake. There's a big difference...your order should reflect on your preference/taste. I had a very confrontational customer-well not exactly the customer, but their relative-telling me off about the order, insisting they get money, and even threatening to turn people away from me (even though I did specifically ask if they wanted vanilla or white). But guess what? I made several other vanilla cakes at the very same time, very same batch as this persons.
So of course I had to make sure it wasn't something I did wrong (in which case I would have compensated the person), so I contacted others customers from that weekend and asked them to tell me honestly what they thought.....the guests loved the cakes, complimented them, and had no leftovers. So what am I to do??? All I can do is apologize because it is my worst nightmare to have someone upset, but I can't give them money back. That's like going to the movie and asking for your money back because you hated the movie, but everyone else loved it. You can't do it.
Now you may think I'm crazy, and "the customer is always right," but if I did that I would be opening my business up for a whole lot of scamming and people just looking for freebies left and right. I've also had a few people lie about things being wrong (I know because I did my background work and checked to see if things were okay with others, or again, other matching orders for that weekend). You can tell when someone is lying too...because if I tell them I've checked things out, they will come up with a new complaint or a problem that isn't even possible to have with their order.
I'm by no means trying to bash anyone or say anyone who complains to a business is lying...but it happens a whole lot more than one would think. I could never imagine doing that to a business, but maybe that's because I'm a business owner myself and I know the damage it could do to a reputation. I want every customer satisfied always...but it's a business, and I've had to learn you just can't make everyone happy.
For this reason, I've created a binder full of thank yous, positive emails, reviews, etc. For the days something brings me down, brings me to tears, makes me doubt whether or not I'm good enough, or all of the above. My husband is there to pick me back up; make me stop crying; remind me that I am great at what I do; tell me every business has to deal with this kind of thing; and I go through the binder to remind myself the positive FAR outweighs any negative I have ever gotten.
Which brings me to the next thing you may not think of when running a business..the internet! Everyone has instant power to make or break your business with a click of a button and a few taps on the keyboard. You never know if the person behind the review or post is being honest or not. I can look at some of my favorite places on Facebook or other websites and find mean reviews or experiences that are completely different from my own with the company or restaurant.
When I first started my Facebook page the mobile version was different than it currently is. You'd go to my page (or any page) and the first thing you'd see was stars for reviewing. This setup meant a lot of people were trying to scroll down or "drag" the page and would unintentionally click a star rating....low ratings! Since these were left before I even opened or at the very beginning of my business, I knew most of these people had never heard of me or had anything I had ever made before...so I contacted them. Most people wouldn't go that far, but lets face it... internet ratings make a big impact on a business. Every one of those people had no idea they left the ratings, it was a mistake, and they deleted them.
That is all except for one. If you go to my reviews on Facebook, you'll notice a one star review. Now why am I calling this reviewer out?? Well one, they'll never see this...and two, it's bogus. I have figured out who the person is, but they have never met me, never had my baked goods, and just want to hurt my business. Why? For very childish reasons. The person is the ex mother-in-law to my cousin. Crazy right?! Apparently the relationship didn't end well and she wanted to take it out on my cousin and their family...even if we've never met, never had an issue...and even if I know nothing about the situation...it was still taken out of me. I've tried several times to have them take it down and tried several different ways. First I messaged them and they proclaimed "oops" and they'd remove it...nope. Nothing has worked, so I've given up. It's just another example of how people can take down a business whether what they say or do is the truth or not.
If you operate a business you can probably relate...if you can't, then you have been beyond lucky and I bow down to you. I hope you've enjoyed this bit of honesty; it's been kind of therapeutic I must say! Dealing with any negative makes all the positive I get regularly receive that much more cherished. Thank you all so much for all the love and compliments you send me; and thanks for another week of orders.
Sorry for the long-winded post! Hope to see you Friday and Saturday for your Valentine's Day cupcakes!!
When I first started my Facebook page the mobile version was different than it currently is. You'd go to my page (or any page) and the first thing you'd see was stars for reviewing. This setup meant a lot of people were trying to scroll down or "drag" the page and would unintentionally click a star rating....low ratings! Since these were left before I even opened or at the very beginning of my business, I knew most of these people had never heard of me or had anything I had ever made before...so I contacted them. Most people wouldn't go that far, but lets face it... internet ratings make a big impact on a business. Every one of those people had no idea they left the ratings, it was a mistake, and they deleted them.
That is all except for one. If you go to my reviews on Facebook, you'll notice a one star review. Now why am I calling this reviewer out?? Well one, they'll never see this...and two, it's bogus. I have figured out who the person is, but they have never met me, never had my baked goods, and just want to hurt my business. Why? For very childish reasons. The person is the ex mother-in-law to my cousin. Crazy right?! Apparently the relationship didn't end well and she wanted to take it out on my cousin and their family...even if we've never met, never had an issue...and even if I know nothing about the situation...it was still taken out of me. I've tried several times to have them take it down and tried several different ways. First I messaged them and they proclaimed "oops" and they'd remove it...nope. Nothing has worked, so I've given up. It's just another example of how people can take down a business whether what they say or do is the truth or not.
If you operate a business you can probably relate...if you can't, then you have been beyond lucky and I bow down to you. I hope you've enjoyed this bit of honesty; it's been kind of therapeutic I must say! Dealing with any negative makes all the positive I get regularly receive that much more cherished. Thank you all so much for all the love and compliments you send me; and thanks for another week of orders.
Sorry for the long-winded post! Hope to see you Friday and Saturday for your Valentine's Day cupcakes!!
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