Current Order Delays

[Shanatink]

First I want to apologize for this very lengthy post. I was not blessed with the ability to sum up thoughts.
I am writing this to publicly apologize for the current delay TC is experiencing with orders. I also want to go ahead and take this time to better explain the current situation and explain my business. Unlike other companies that have their products manufactured overseas, Tinkerbell’s Closet is currently a small staff of only 2 people (we had 3 but now we are down one, more about that later). We handmake all our Tinkerbell’s Closet designs right here in the USA once the order is placed, in the order that we receive them. Yes I do sell some dog products that I don’t make as well but most of my business is products we make. Almost any order that is ever placed with me consists of at least one item we make. Much of my business is actually from people from the internet outside of Yorkietalk as well as other dog boutiques that sell my products (Yorkietalk however is definetly my best and most appeciated customers ) Because of the volume of orders we recieve on a weekly basis, and becuase of my devotion to detail and obsession with trying to make high quality dog clothes, our orders take awhile to make. Orders placed with my website within the USA usually take 2 to 3 weeks to receive and the website states this in at least 6 different places including the checkout page which requires a box to be checked accepting these terms. However unfortunately the past 2 months we have fallen a bit behind on our order timeframe due to some unusually and extremely large orders I had back in the beginning of May, it threw us off track and we have desperately been trying to get caught up ever since. I don’t ever like posting my personal life in regards to my business as I feel this is extremely unprofessional but given some current circumstances I now feel it is necessary. I know there are a few yorkietalkers whose orders are late are upset with me I really do not want anyone thinking I don’t care or that Im just blowing them off as communication has been rough as we struggle to get caught up and get everyone’s orders sent. My business and what people think of both me and my business is extremely important to me. And since it seems to be one thing after the other for the past 2 months I really just want to post it out in the open hoping people will understand why things are taking a bit longer than the website allocated at the time your order was placed (just a side note- I have updated the website to currently say 2-4 weeks on orders until we are fully caught up). Im not trying to make excuses, it has honestly been one of the hardest 2 months I have ever had in the 3 years Ive been in business.
So here is what has been happening the past 2 months. I hired a new seamstress/assistant a few months ago and just in time because for most of May I was sick and extremely exhausted and fell behind on my own work. My full time assistant pretty much took over most parts of my business for the first time so much of it was a learning experience for her. Well come to find out the reason I was so tired and sick is that I was pregnant, much of a surprise to me and my husband as we were not trying and I was on the pill (although we are very excited ). As soon as I get on prenatal viatmins and changed my diet to healtier foods Ive regained most of my energy back and have been back to work 50+ hours a week. However being that I have severe anxiety and being that I am pregnant and unable to take any medication for this problem my assistant (also my best friend and right now I can not say enough good things about her) she is still handling certain parts of my business that may cause me anxiety such as customer service (emails, etc) For anyone whose orders were falling behind we sent personal emails to them but technology seems to be failing me more and more everyday adding to my list of problems. I found out from my webhost that yahoo(amongst others) is blocking most mail from my business server so that was many people that are not receiving our mail. I also have a problem that many people send emails inquiries to the wrong email account (long long story) and sometimes its apparent that emails just get lost or spammed out altogether, Im not sure as I don’t know much about how all that works. All I know is it fails me So naturally calling people is the next best thing but my phone has been out for a week as one of the many nasty storms we have been having took it out and Im still waiting for a guy to come out and look at it. I thank goodness my my internet is not through our phone. Speaking of storms this has been a nother big problem, especially laltelly. The constant flash flooding we are having here in Texas for the entire month of June have made it a struggle to make it to the post office to drop off my packages, not to mention causes constant short power outages. But the worst problem I have had is I had to fire my newest assistant last week. Im not going to go into details but it didn’t end well and it was an extremely stressful week last week.
BUT the good news is, it's all really starting to come around, after struggling so hard for 2 months to get caught up I am finally almost there. Looking back I now know maybe I should have shut down the business at some point but it all happened so fast and seriously everyday I thought I was almost caught up before something else would happen. Plus shutting down is hard as I completely rely on my business for our household income and with an unplanned baby on the way finances scare me.
All this is so embarrassingly personal for me to post but if it helps anyone to better understand the situation and ease the way they feel about me it is worth it to me.
Once I am completely caught up which I honestly feel will be mid this week (crossing my fingers), Im updating the website and making changes with products that I sell to make things as easy as possible so everything can run smoother in the future as I have learned a lot from the past 2 months. Yorkietalk is such an important community for me, because I enjoy coming here to learn, laugh and share with others. It is my refuge on a bad day and it is like a second home to me. It pains me deeply to think anyone is upset with me or upset their order is late and while all the stuff I said above doesn’t make it right Im trying to make it up to people. Ive been including free gifts and on larger orders I have also been giving free store credit as my apology for the tardiness of orders, I’m trying to make amends to those with late orders however possible. If you are someone that did not receive an email response from me and you order is at 3 weeks or more please pm me here on YT and I will be happy to give you the status of you order. I will be busy getting orders out during the day today and wont be back on YT until later this evening.
I love you all guys and I thank you so much for your support, patience and understanding.

Shana

PS-----SOOOO sorry for how long this post is

[Shadow]

I think most people will be understanding and appreciate you coming forward with this.
I wish you the best in your businness and your personal life as well. I bet you make a great Mommy!

[KristiC]

Shana I am sure no one is mad or upset with you, we all understand stuff happens in life and we all get behind so please dont be hard on yourself, and plus bringing a new life into the world is very hard (been there once)! I emailed you about your carriers but no worry I will wait until stuff gets caught up I cant make my mind up between two of them anyways
Just try to take it easy it helps alot being Pregnant.

[TootiesMom]

Shana, I would hope that everyone would understand, sometimes life is like that.... I do have an order in but it is VERY recent and I would never worry that you wouldnt fill my order...
you did a good thing, explaining yourself... it is much better than silence even if it is a long story!
Good Luck!
d

[nvnvgirl]

Shana~ I am so sorry you've having to go thru all these ups and downs, but it WILL get better! I know you're not making excuses; everyone goes thru periods where it seems like everytime you make some headway, something else happens to put you even further behind! I hope you find a really good assistant and that everything starts coming together; sounds like you're on the road forward! You're going to make a great mom and what you do is done with integrity and class, so I, among so many others here, admire what you're doing and have complete trust that you will do the right thing.
Good luck to you and just take care of you and that (going to be) beautiful baby!

[JCarlson2004]

Hey girl. Sorry to hear you're going through a rounh time. Things will get better, just try to keep positive. And please don't push yourself. Remember you have a little one to take care of now.

[Tiggerwit]

It's all good.

[omega]

I think you are doing a great job considering all you have been/are going through! People expect such lightening fast service now a days... (ok, me including sometimes ) that to wait a tiny bit longer throws us out of whack. So silly when there are so many more important things going on.

You will always have my business ~ whether you want it or not ~ !!!

Make sure you take good care of yourself and that little one inside you! Don't stress yourself - your baby is more important.

[red98vett]

Shana this site would not be the same without Tinkerbells Closet - you're like the founding Clothing site here - (you and Jodie @ Chloe Bella) and ANYTHING that's going on in your personal life IS just that - personal. You've been blessed with a baby on the way and who could ever find fault in a little delay ?

I know people get excited over their orders but BE PATIENT ....Shana has a GREAT Reputation for honesty and I think does a fantastic job....I've seen her site go from a very small one-woman site to a real force on the net. She didn't get this way without good customer Service.

I do agree - the awful weather in your part of Texas must be making an impact on things too - I know how it's been here in Houston and holy cow have we had rain. You're a good person to post and keep people up to date on your business Shana but all I can say is for as long as you've been running TC - you've done a great job. Anyone who orders from you is dealing with a top notch small business.

[JCarlson2004]

Originally Posted by red98vett

Anyone who orders from you is dealing with a top notch small business.

This is so true. ANYTHING from Shana is well worth waiting for. The quality of her work is so amazing. Everything that she had made for my babies has been extremely excellent quality (the stitching, the fabric, the size, etc.) She's just awesome and if you want great quality clothes, trust me she's worth the wait.

[Dartprincess]

Chin up girl. Enjoy be a mother to be. We love you here.

Hugsss Carol

[Jenn218]

Hi Shana! I just wanted to send a big HUG your way.

I placed an order recently w/ you, but we have been in communication several times, so I know so much that you are dealing w/ in your life.

If it will help you, you can hold off on my order until you are caught up. We won't mind at all.

[Sukoshi's Mom]

Shana - Speaking from someone whose recent order took 4 weeks to receive, I know you got it out as soon as you could, and I never PMed to ask you the status because I've only heard great things about Tinkerbells Closet, and I had no doubt you would get it out as soon as you could (plus, like you said, you are very upfront about your shipping timeframes on your website). I think the great things I've heard about TC still stand true, even if your products take a little longer to get to us. When I did PM you with a question about one of the things in my order, you got back to me quickly and were very responsive, so I certainly have no complaints. My items were all beautiful once they arrived, and I definitely won't hesitate to order from TC in the future!

I think you will be a wonderful mommy, but you need to stop stressing over this so you can take proper care of that little bundle of joy you're having. Obviously SOMEBODY wanted you to have that baby since you were taking precautions not to, so rest up and take care of the two of you! Good luck! and Congrats!

[chloeandj]

Shana, take care of yourself. YOu have many stressful things on your plate right now, but the most important thing is you and your baby.

I'm sorry you had to let one of your employees go. That's a shame after all the work to train her. I hope things settle down for you soon.
((hugs))

[yorkiemalt]

I'm sorry everything is so stressful for you right now......here's a great big HUG!!!