What's Melissa gonna do now?

Okay, lemme start off by getting a few things cleared up so that everyone knows what is going on.

The phone number listed on the website is NOT WORKING!!!!! Hasn't worked since we lost power during the ice storm. Our home phone, internet, and cable television is all linked up to the same black box, and it's CRAP! So, whining and complaining that you can't reach me on that line isn't going to get you anywhere. So, do yourself a favor and stop dialing 918-419-2099.

Our outbound email is STILL NOT WORKING! I am still having trouble receiving some emails, so bare with me until I can get a new one set up.Our home is where everything was..and the internet service at home is not the same internet service at the unfinished studio.I'm working on adding either a hotmail or gmail address, I just need one with lots of storage. Gimme a bit to figure it out.

Our internet access is still rather limited. I'm sponging off of someone elses' wi-fi (with low connectivity) to post this message on the blog. I've been disconnected twice since I started.

On Wednesday, I will post a phone number and email address for everyone to utilize to get ahold of me. But please know that I will not tolerate screaming and/or cussing over the phone...noone should have to tolerate that, no matter what they did. I'm a human being, please talk to me like one.

I understand that tempers are flairing right now and that many of you are totally pi$$ed at me because your order was not received in time for Christmas. I understand this. But please, try to understand my situtation as well.

Each case will be dealt with individually. I will do what I can to handle it. I could care less about "damage control". What's done is done. I'm not closing my doors, I'm not going to give some lame excuse as to why I don't want to make jewelry anymore.

You should know that I plan to continue on with H2H. I love what I do, and I know that many of you will continue to order from us. I also know that many of you will throw your hands in the air and say, "I'm done with H2H", and that is fine with me as well. As a photographer, I understand both sides.

I have spent nearly two years servicing many of your jewelry needs, and have come through multiple holidays and deadlines with no major problems. I have provided what many believe is great customer service. I have been upfront, honest, and caring in many of your situations. I have delivered a quality product that many of you keep ordering. I must have been doing something right.

I have heard from many of my close friends that people are "all over the forums" sticking forks in my back, and to be honest with all of you, that is the LEAST of my concerns. Forums are meant for learning and sharing, and many are used for kicking people when they are down. Whatever floats your boat and makes you feel good about yourself. I don't plan to post on any of them, I simply don't have the want nor the time.

I have tried to keep you updated via the blog so that you knew the situation I was facing. I have mentioned it NUMEROUS times in the newsletters (that everyone receives). I have said that the blog is the first place to look when you have questions, ESPECIALLY during the holidays. It is the one thing that I can get access to no matter where I am at. All I need is a pay phone to be able to call someone and shell out my username and password for a post to be made.

As soon as the ice storm started to knock out power and crumble 100 year old trees in my yard, I contacted Pam Steward to post for me and try to let everyone know what I was up against. After 24 hours without power, I began to freak out because I knew I was being counted on by photographers who had pending holiday orders. On day two of no power, (while my kids are wearing three layers of clothing to stay warm in a home with no lights, no heat, and nothing warm to eat), I was busy moving everything jewelry related from our home to our UNFINISHED studio. We have no gas (heat) at the studio, but we had a handful of working electrical outlets and lights. After moving everything, kids included, to the studio, I went back to work. I wasn't working just 8 hours a day...I was up all day and most of the nights finishing the jewlery. My kids were out of school because we were all without power. When I say we were all without power, I mean the entire CITY! Not just my neighborhood, not just my side of town, but the whole city. Gas stations, grocery stores, post office....everything! SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND HOMES in Oklahoma were without power for a week. It was gridlock. My kids slept huddled up in our living room near a fireplace that burns FAKE LOGS! How warm do you think that is? We finished making all the jewelry by Saturday, and our "point of no return" shipping date was approaching on Monday. We began final assembly and packaging those orders and honestly thought we would pull it off. I made the blog post about trying to ship 90% of the orders because I seriously thought it would get done. But when you are faced with all those orders and you start packaging them and after you've packaged 100 orders and it doesn't look like you've made a dent...that's when I started to worry. We dropped off over 200 packages at the airport mail facility on Monday night, and another 50 or so at FedEx. Tuesday, we dropped as many or more. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, everything was shipped via Express Mail, and FedEx, but there were still orders to be packaged.

The emails came in sporadically, and a few people had the studio phone number and began to call. I answered every phone call I could until I left late Friday evening. I was yelled at, cussed at, belittled, and demeaned until I had cried so much I lost my voice. Yes, I cried, and yes...I'm still upset at all of this.

You are all my peers, some of you are my friends, and I let some of you down. I can't apologize enough for that, and I will feel bad about it for a long time. BUT, there is a but in all of this....I did everything I could under the circumstances.

Are there things I could have done differently? Ummm....DUH! Of course there is. But hind site is 20/20. Will I list those things out for all of you? Yep...becasue it is a learning experience.

1. Hired more help when the orders in early November were triple last years business. I did hire two helping hands, but apparently that wasn't enough.

2. Find a way to bridge the contact gap. Without internet, I have no access to the images that were uploaded on the server, emails were unavailable for days when the power went, and many had no clue about this blog.

3.Better organization of shipping receipts, tracking numbers, and delivery confirmation slips. Typically, those tracking numbers and such are entered into the ordering system and an email is sent to the person who placed the order.This way you all have what you need to locate your packages. Because of our limited connectivity, we were unable to update the orders as we went. This is why it was so hard for me to lock down exact dates/times that your order was shipped. My mind doesn't recall tracking numbers  or order numbers as well as it recalls images. I asked many of you on the phone, "what is the picture of?" Once you said, "teenager on a black background" or "little 3 year old in a white dress", I instantly recalled the order and the fact that the kid was wearing a leonard skynard t-shirt, or how the little girl had a big ole' southern bow in her hair....and then I was able to tell you that it had shipped or that it would make the FedEx plane that night. But my memory should not be relied on in this business. I need another way.

So, now that I've laid out most of the major issues, I'll see if I can't share with you how we plan to fix some of those issues in 2008.

Once we get everything finalized at the new studio (early January), everything jewelry related will have it's own area outside of my home.

I am currently speaking with a few computer geeks about possibly changing our ordering system a little bit to have it show your uploaded images on your order. This simple idea (not so simple programming for the geeks) will allow us to print the orders out and allow us to match up orders if the internet goes down. This way we aren't relying on my memory alone.

Shipping and tracking: I'm seriously considering changing ALL shipping to FedEx and/or UPS. There were a few rural towns that we shipped to that don't do Saturday deliveries, but you can't beat the tracking they offer as well as the organization of tracking numbers on my end.

Hiring help. This is a definite must. H2H started out as a small business. After the first month, we had 100 registered photographers and we filled 40 orders. By Christmas, 6 months after the doors were opened, we had 500 distributors and filled about 200 orders. One Year later....now....it had tripled. What started out as manageable, became scary. We were on track to ship everything out a few days early when the power went. Two days later, we were behind, but thought we could catch up. We learned a valuable lesson in physics. A snowball rolling down a snow lined hill does not shrink. Simply put. I will be hiring a part timer after the first of January. One month preceeding any holiday deadline, I will have enough full time staff to adequately handle the demand. I've learned that I can't do it all anymore. I'm only one person, and my husband just doesn't want to become a full time portrait jeweler!

I'm staying true to what I said. You won't see me closing the doors because we had a blip on our record. I can name at least 3 vendors (handbags, labs, etc) that had major holiday issues, but have rebounded. I will do whatever is in my power to remedy the issues, and soldier on. Will we lose clients, yes. I'm sure of it. But this situation will teach us to be better and to be better prepared.

I'm still here working at 2 am on Christmas Eve. I'm leaving in 2 hours so that I can go home, eat, shower, and try to spend what is left of Christmas with my family. My heart weighs heavily with the work I need to finish at the studio, but I need to rest and be with my kids for a day. Surely you can understand that.

On Wednesday, I will post the email address and phone number for you to use to contact me with questions and issues. I will reiterate what I said before...I will not, under any circumstances, tolerate unprofessional behavior.

If you have emailed since Friday afternoon, I have not read it and I can't guarrantee that it was received due to our limited connectivity. It would be best for you to wait until Wednesday to submit a new email to the address listed.

Sincerely,

Melissa

Comments

[Amanda Stone]

I hope you know that everything will be okay. I wish you a happy holiday and call me when you get a chance. I just want to give you a hug.

[Nessa Higley]

I hope that you will be able to push this horrible situation out of your mind on Christmas and be able to enjoy the time with your family.

Christmas is about celebrating what is good in the world, the customers that choose to focus on their own needs and anger about your misfortune have missed this meaning and should not be missed from your client roster.. This is my first order, but if the quality is as good as I have been told I will order again. Life happens sometimes you just have to roll with it.

[Irene V.]

I have been ordering jewelry from you for nearly a year and have been pleased with everything. I am one of those who hasn't received my order, but I have no doubts it will arrive shortly after Christmas. I'm sorry to hear that everything snowballed on you, but you should hold your head high and push through this. We are still with you.

[Megan]

I too have been pleased with what I have gotten from you Melissa! While I was very sad that I did not get the items before Christmas and yes I did have a panic attack about it all because the items were not for me, I did realize that you were working hard to get it all done. I hope that you were able to just be with family and celebrate what the day is really all about.

[Monica B.]

Although I didn't have any orders this Christmas, Melissa, I know that you have done everything you could to get those necklaces done. I am outraged by the people that are trashing you on the forums. I'm glad that you aren't going to let a bunch of idiots keep you down! Blessings!

[Heather Buckner]

Do not let this get you down. I don't place alot of orders for jewelry because it is not in high demand in my area, but every time I order and receive my pieces I am amazed. I did receive my holiday orders thanks to you shipping them out on Friday for overnight delivery. And my customers were so happy with what they received. The pieces were all top of the line. Under the circumstances I honestly expected them to have flaws but each peice was perfect. I will be back and those customers who do leave will only make room for more understanding customers.

[Jill Caren]

Hey Melissa...I just saw this...and please know that I am with you as long as you are around! Please do not let some not understanding customers get in your way...Your customer service is the best and in over 2 years of working with you I have never had one complaint! I am sorry for all you went through this Holiday....I cannot even imagine how hard it was....but there are many of us who know you did everything you could!

[Lisa French]

Melissa ~
I was so shocked to read about your experience this past Christmas. Having relatives in the Tulsa area, I was well aware of the horrible situations that people endured during the ice storm, and frankly, am surprised and saddened by the reactions of some customers. The only thing I can say is that some people need to put things in perspective - not only did many Tulsans have a miserable holiday, lives were lost during this tragedy.
I'm happy to hear that you and your family were able to remain safe (albeit a little chilly!).
I love your product and customer service, and will remain a loyal customer - just hang in there!