How postal service issues led to better customer service!

[@judybreedlove5348]

Excellent, excellent advice, Ellen. Having been a small business owner since 1977, I can attest to how important communication is. And I agree, the US Postal Service is sooooo frustrating....I sent out a small painting on April 16 of this year from South Carolina to New Mexico, Express Flat Rate with an arrival date of April 19. I communicated that to my customer. I tracked my package when it didn't arrive on time and saw it go from one state to another. I kept advising my customer and thanking them for their patience....it has now just been delivered to New Mexico, Sunday, April 25th. Of course my customer can't get it until Monday because the post office there is closed on Sunday. My customer is very nice and has appreciated my daily tracking and advice; but, come on......there is no one to complain about this service to. End of Rant. Thanks for listening and for the great advice, as usual.

[@EllenBrennemanStudio]

Judy, always lovely to hear from you! And I'm so sorry you're having issues with them as well. I'm in the middle of another 'where's the package' fiasco as I type this....soooo frustrating!

[@kguentherart]

Such good advice. I've never had a customer complain about TOO MUCH communication!

[@starvingartistscollective]

An excellent video Ellen! It's amazing, but not surprising, that in this day and age of fast, impersonal online shopping a little thoughtfulness and consideration for a customer's experience can go such a long way. You deserve the recognition of your customers! TFS!!

[@EllenBrennemanStudio]

Thank you for your comment!

[@LOVE.IS.THE.ANSWER.54]

I agree, Ellen, customer service is so important, thank you for sharing 🙏🏻❤️💕

[@EllenBrennemanStudio]

Thank you for your comment! :)

[@johncollado1151]

Hi Ellen.... glad you are feeling better from your last video. In my neck of the woods FedEx is also dropping he ball, but USPS takes the cake for the past year. This is from a buyer's perspective though, as I don't sell merchandise like you do. USPS has even gotten to the point that one of my packages came in empty, just the packaging was there, and that was after a month of trying to locate it from the time it was sent. I had thought of selling a few of my studio things on Ebay months ago but I didn't want to deal with the aggravation of deliveries and unhappy customers. Good to hear the upside of this nightmare and how you handled it.

[@EllenBrennemanStudio]

It is truly hurting small businesses, and I hope something can be done about it. There isn't much recourse since they make filing a claim so incredibly difficult. I'm sorry to learn you're having issues as well, John - thanks for your thoughts 😊

[@barrybark3995]

i use a tip you mentioned in a previous vid ,[add a note with a penny glued to it with each order."a penny for your thoughts blah blah] . iv since been getting great reviews. thanx a lot ellen !!

[@EllenBrennemanStudio]

I'm so glad it's helped!

[@francineh.7825]

Customer service is everything! I ordered a 1/2 pan of watercolour paint a few years ago (a very simple order) but it came with a hand written note and I always think about that for some reason and the fact she took the time to do that. A totally unrelated topic, but have you made any videos on the topic of making prints at home vs. having them done. I'm just in the process of trying to gather information regarding that.

[@EllenBrennemanStudio]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

[@ladyliddie7721]

I live overseas, and OH BOY, is it impossible to ship outside the country. I have a commission waiting to send to America for over a year but I just can't send it! Luckily, due to good communication, the buyer has no problems with the situation. But it's such a bummer for everyone!