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I really hope I'm wrong about this one but...
Last week I got an email from an agency in Pakistan. One of their friends was going to be in New York and wants to buy our software to bring back to the agency.
This is reasonable. Shipping to Pakistan is very costly and risky. However, the friend was only going to be there until Aug. 13. If they order will it be there by that date?
I answered that our standard shipping does not guarantee a delivery date. I outline the two shipping options:
1. 2nd Day Air if the order comes in no later than 2pm today (Monday) for $20.
2. Next Day Air if the order comes in no later than 2pm on Tuesday for $30.
They placed the order today five minutes before we closed. The first thing they did was ask for a discount. They second thing they did was lie about the email quote they got from Dips. I told them I was Dips. That ended that.
Next I tried to get the billing address. It took about 15 minutes and two people to give it to me. That's not their fault. It's a language thing. I'm 99% sure I got it right but asked them to PLEASE send me an email with the shipping address to be 100% sure as the deadline was very firm and screwups would certainly hurt them more than us.
Another 5 minutes to give them my email address. I still haven't seen the email yet. Not much I can do.
Next the shipping address. It's the same as the billing address. THANK GOODNESS!
Finally I tallied up the total and, thinking the 13th was Thursday, gave them the 2nd day shipping price.
Then they wanted to be sure the invoice/packing slip would be labelled a certain way to help them get through customs. They didn't ask us to lie so no problems there.
Throughout this whole thing they mentioned no less than ten times how it HAD to be there by the 13th and practically begged me to gaurantee it. I told them that it would go out tomorrow as long as the address was correct and the credit card went through.
Oh, if the credit card doesn't go through, then we really need to call them they said. No problem I told them. Which of the two numbers they gave me should we call?
The answer was a third telephone number. I'm glad I asked.
So the call ended and then I realized I should have charged them $30 for next day shipping since the 13th is Wednesday, not Thursday. My boss had been listening the whole thing and agreed with me that sending it next day air for the 2nd day price makes more sense than calling them back to ask for $10. He values my sanity more than $10.
Given the complicated nature of the order, the fact that we were having a huge communication issue and the fact that my co-workers who fill orders tend to always be in a rush and don't always double-check things, I'm going to be completely SHOCKED if this doesn't get fucked up somehow and land back in my lap despite my every effort to get it right.
Last week I got an email from an agency in Pakistan. One of their friends was going to be in New York and wants to buy our software to bring back to the agency.
This is reasonable. Shipping to Pakistan is very costly and risky. However, the friend was only going to be there until Aug. 13. If they order will it be there by that date?
I answered that our standard shipping does not guarantee a delivery date. I outline the two shipping options:
1. 2nd Day Air if the order comes in no later than 2pm today (Monday) for $20.
2. Next Day Air if the order comes in no later than 2pm on Tuesday for $30.
They placed the order today five minutes before we closed. The first thing they did was ask for a discount. They second thing they did was lie about the email quote they got from Dips. I told them I was Dips. That ended that.
Next I tried to get the billing address. It took about 15 minutes and two people to give it to me. That's not their fault. It's a language thing. I'm 99% sure I got it right but asked them to PLEASE send me an email with the shipping address to be 100% sure as the deadline was very firm and screwups would certainly hurt them more than us.
Another 5 minutes to give them my email address. I still haven't seen the email yet. Not much I can do.
Next the shipping address. It's the same as the billing address. THANK GOODNESS!
Finally I tallied up the total and, thinking the 13th was Thursday, gave them the 2nd day shipping price.
Then they wanted to be sure the invoice/packing slip would be labelled a certain way to help them get through customs. They didn't ask us to lie so no problems there.
Throughout this whole thing they mentioned no less than ten times how it HAD to be there by the 13th and practically begged me to gaurantee it. I told them that it would go out tomorrow as long as the address was correct and the credit card went through.
Oh, if the credit card doesn't go through, then we really need to call them they said. No problem I told them. Which of the two numbers they gave me should we call?
The answer was a third telephone number. I'm glad I asked.
So the call ended and then I realized I should have charged them $30 for next day shipping since the 13th is Wednesday, not Thursday. My boss had been listening the whole thing and agreed with me that sending it next day air for the 2nd day price makes more sense than calling them back to ask for $10. He values my sanity more than $10.
Given the complicated nature of the order, the fact that we were having a huge communication issue and the fact that my co-workers who fill orders tend to always be in a rush and don't always double-check things, I'm going to be completely SHOCKED if this doesn't get fucked up somehow and land back in my lap despite my every effort to get it right.