Don’t Spread your Money Around

 A while back I sent an email to one of the popular artisan soap makers asking a question about one of his products.  I will not divulge his name or the company's name; but in the past I received a quick response when I ordered product from them.  Now I am sure I will hear a lot of people say give him more time.  I have been doing this for many years and have always received a rapid response form those companies selling products.  Thats how you keep customers.

So to assume that I should not spread my money around is unacceptable to me.  I have 91 soaps and creams from 42 different manufactures.  There are least five companies where I own 5 soaps apiece, one where I own 6 and another where I own 12.  I do want to spread my money around the next time I decide to make a purchase and I may not go back to a manufacture where I can not get an email answered.  To me it is important to know that I am important to the artisan.

I understand the frustration with waiting on a response, but I might be able to offer another perspective, as I'm guilty at times of what you mention.

I don't know of a single artisan that has outsourced customer service. By artisan I mean soapmaker who actually makes their own product. We've thought of it, because as we've grown customer service has become a full time job in itself. The problem is, how do you get all that knowledge of wetshaving and soap production over to an hourly wage customer service employee?  On top of that, most of the emails we get are addressed to Rod or Mandy. Customers want to talk to me. I'm glad for that. I really am. However, I get literally (using the literal definition of literal) 500 or more customer service emails or calls a week. That's not an exaggeration. Mandy or I will personally answer every one, with me doing the bulk of that. It takes time. Finally, even if I did want to hand over customer service to an employee, I don't know that I have the money to even do so without raising prices.

Our 800 number is just a forwarding service that goes straight to my cell phone. We got that because I was getting calls and texts at all hours and on weekends. I got rid of Facebook messenger on my phone for the same reason. I try not to answer emails between Friday night and Monday morning, as even though I usually work out in the shop on weekends, by answering emails on nights and weekends I'm taking time away from my wife and son and giving it to customers. So Monday morning I will typically come into the shop before six and sit down with some coffee and start on the 150 or so emails that came in over the weekend. I have answered over 120 so far today and I'm not done. This means that today if I want to make soap, it's going to be in the evening. Most of these artisans are not the large, well-oiled machines people think they are. I'm not saying that they all provide the best customer service, nor am I suggesting that mine is perfect. I'm just saying that when you run an artisan business like this, customers want to talk to the artisan, not some employee that doesn't know the difference between superfat and lye discount. It's up to the artisan to decide how much time to take away from production to give to customer service. Too much time spent on customer service instead of production can lead to delays, which leads to even more emails from customers wanting to know when items will be on the site or when their order will ship.

I'm not making excuses for myself or for anyone else. I simply don't want you to have a sour opinion of someone needlessly. And if it's the case that I was the artisan who was slow in responding to an email, you have my apologies. It unfortunately happens. However, it 100% would not have been because I did not value you as a customer.

Superbly stated, Rod, and it certainly puts a new perspective on things.  When I order from Stirling or Chatillon Lux or several other artisans here at DFS, I do not expect instant shipment or an instant response to an inquiry, though I have to agree with Tidepool that I would not be happy if I had to wait a couple of weeks for a response or, worse, no response at all.  For me, a few days is reasonable and I have come to respect that for just the reasons you state here.  I, too, have spent my money at several merchants here, including you (my bath soaps and shampoo bars arrived in fine style the other day ), and I don't think I would want to lock myself into one or two of you.  On the other hand, I don't go after almost every new merchant and/or product that comes out and I wouldn't be surprised if that is what the majority of us are like.

Thanks, Freddy .

On another note, in all sincerity I hope the shampoo bars worked well for you. One thing I noticed last summer was that you definitely put good work into both your hair and moustache. I just hope the shampoo bars did nothing to lessen your style.

I understand the frustration with waiting on a response, but I might be able to offer another perspective, as I'm guilty at times of what you mention.

I don't know of a single artisan that has outsourced customer service. By artisan I mean soapmaker who actually makes their own product. We've thought of it, because as we've grown customer service has become a full time job in itself. The problem is, how do you get all that knowledge of wetshaving and soap production over to an hourly wage customer service employee?  On top of that, most of the emails we get are addressed to Rod or Mandy. Customers want to talk to me. I'm glad for that. I really am. However, I get literally (using the literal definition of literal) 500 or more customer service emails or calls a week. That's not an exaggeration. Mandy or I will personally answer every one, with me doing the bulk of that. It takes time. Finally, even if I did want to hand over customer service to an employee, I don't know that I have the money to even do so without raising prices.

Our 800 number is just a forwarding service that goes straight to my cell phone. We got that because I was getting calls and texts at all hours and on weekends. I got rid of Facebook messenger on my phone for the same reason. I try not to answer emails between Friday night and Monday morning, as even though I usually work out in the shop on weekends, by answering emails on nights and weekends I'm taking time away from my wife and son and giving it to customers. So Monday morning I will typically come into the shop before six and sit down with some coffee and start on the 150 or so emails that came in over the weekend. I have answered over 120 so far today and I'm not done. This means that today if I want to make soap, it's going to be in the evening. Most of these artisans are not the large, well-oiled machines people think they are. I'm not saying that they all provide the best customer service, nor am I suggesting that mine is perfect. I'm just saying that when you run an artisan business like this, customers want to talk to the artisan, not some employee that doesn't know the difference between superfat and lye discount. It's up to the artisan to decide how much time to take away from production to give to customer service. Too much time spent on customer service instead of production can lead to delays, which leads to even more emails from customers wanting to know when items will be on the site or when their order will ship.

I'm not making excuses for myself or for anyone else. I simply don't want you to have a sour opinion of someone needlessly. And if it's the case that I was the artisan who was slow in responding to an email, you have my apologies. It unfortunately happens. However, it 100% would not have been because I did not value you as a customer.

Superbly stated, Rod, and it certainly puts a new perspective on things.  When I order from Stirling or Chatillon Lux or several other artisans here at DFS, I do not expect instant shipment or an instant response to an inquiry, though I have to agree with Tidepool that I would not be happy if I had to wait a couple of weeks for a response or, worse, no response at all.  For me, a few days is reasonable and I have come to respect that for just the reasons you state here.  I, too, have spent my money at several merchants here, including you (my bath soaps and shampoo bars arrived in fine style the other day ), and I don't think I would want to lock myself into one or two of you.  On the other hand, I don't go after almost every new merchant and/or product that comes out and I wouldn't be surprised if that is what the majority of us are like.

Thanks, Freddy .

On another note, in all sincerity I hope the shampoo bars worked well for you. One thing I noticed last summer was that you definitely put good work into both your hair and moustache. I just hope the shampoo bars did nothing to lessen your style.

Not on your life, Rod.  I didn't just order three new Shampoo bars (and three extra bath soaps) because they're not doing their job.  I really like the way they make my hair feel after I've washed it and it dries.  I know I sound like a TV commercial but, honestly, it makes my hair feel soft and clean without making it feel dry and straw like, if that makes any sense.

By the way, the next shave up will be Stirling's Gin & Tonic Shaving Soap whipped up by my Stirling Kong synthetic. Your Unscented Beard & Pre-Shave Oil is a given and your Unscented Post Shave Balm will be on tap, as well.

This reply is to "steeleshaves#1"

I neither agree nor do I disagree with your thread "Don’t Spread your Money Around".  A while back I sent an email to one of the popular artisan soap makers asking a question about one of his products.  I will not divulge his name or the company's name; but in the past I received a quick response when I ordered product from them.  Now I am sure I will hear a lot of people say give him more time.  I have been doing this for many years and have always received a rapid response form those companies selling products.  Thats how you keep customers.

So to assume that I should not spread my money around is unacceptable to me.  I have 91 soaps and creams from 42 different manufactures.  There are least five companies where I own 5 soaps apiece, one where I own 6 and another where I own 12.  I do want to spread my money around the next time I decide to make a purchase and I may not go back to a manufacture where I can not get an email answered.  To me it is important to know that I am important to the artisan.

Playing Devil's Advocate. How important are THEY to you if you deal with 42 different makers?

The 42 venders span over a period of at least 6-7 years, before many of the new artisans began making soaps. If I only concentrated on say 10 vendors that would mean I would have a dozen or more soaps from each vendor. That does not interest me. Many artisans use the same formula with different scents. I would rather have more diversity. There have been a couple that I have tried and did not like the product for various reasons, so the one or two I purchased were the last I purchased.

It seems like all of this is way over thinking the issue. If you like a soap, want to use it, have some spare change, and the vendor has has good customer service, then buy it. Otherwise don't. It really is that simple.

The best way to ensure a given vendor, artisan or otherwise, stays in business is to buy their products and sing their praises. Some of the 5,948 shaving soap brands will be here five years from now, others won't. That is just the way the cookie crumbles, and not worth losing any sleep over. You will always have dozens of great shaving soaps at your disposal. The traditional shaving marketplace is still growing, as is demand for premium shaving products from cartridge shavers. The possibility of a "shavepocalypse" long ago faded in the rear view mirror, and then disappeared.

Well, that does it, Freddy.
You just made me give up any thought of becoming a rich soap maker.
Your description of the labour involved and my total lack of knowledge of soap making and my inability to tell the difference between a scent an odour a fragrance a smell and a stink have caused me to think again about my prospects for glory.
Retirement is much easier.

Thank you, Freddy.

P.S.
No need to answer this. Take a break instead. You really earn it.
M.O.

Phew!
(Mopping brow)