Oh geez... something somebody bought broke on me when I was about to ship... help

[amyhoust]

So someone ordered one of my beads, and when I went to ship it, I noticed a crack. It was a goddess bead, and it was at her hairline. She did get dropped the other day so maybe I didn't examine her closely enough at the time? Anyway, I gave it a little poke with my fingernail to see if it was indeed a crack (oh so hoping it wasn't) and of course a chunk of hair came right off. I feel super bad, I immediately torched up a new bead that looks quite a lot like the original. My plan is to send the customer a picture of the new bead, explain the situation, and ask her if she still wants to make the purchase. To sweeten the deal I am going to offer her some free spacer beads to go with the purchase. This way she gets a bit of compensation for a) the fact that the bead didn't get shipped immediately and b) the fact that its not exactly the one she ordered.

I really believe in good customer service, and I don't want my customer to feel like I'm screwing them around or anything. Does anyone have experience with this before? I'm hoping she'll just understand and like the new bead just as much. But goddess beads are so unique, blah I don't know.

My other worry is, am I making these beads strong enough? Is there a way to check if my annealing schedule is actually *working* properly? I guess I'm doing the best I can by giving customers a guarantee on the beads, so if something did happen, they would get a replacement. I don't want to look unprofessional though!

Any advice or words of wisdom?

[Kevan]

I have had this happen a couple of times. I just sent them an email and told them what happened and then sent them their money back.

[squid]

I think your plan sounds like a good one.

I don't think a different annealing schedule will change that fact that beads often break when dropped :)

[Kevan]

Sometimes there is a tiny crack in a bead when it goes in the kiln and you can't see it when it comes out. It takes a few days for it to "grow".

[amyhoust]

I guess that's a good point :) I should have a bit more confidence in my work AND be less clumsy.

[dpglassworks]

I have had similar happen and I offered a new one ( with a little extra something.. I don't remember what) or $$ back... she took the new one...and was very happy..... As a customer I would be happy with your deal

Good luck!

[amyhoust]

Thanks to everybody who's responded so far, I'm already feeling more like this is something that happens from time to time... not the end of the world.

[beadbelle]

You plan sounds good to me. Honesty is the best policy and
I am sure your customer will be happy that you are giving
her options. Accidents happen. :p
Tara

[smutboy420]

Just to Show them that your tottaly honest and not just trying to pass of anouter bead when they thought they where getting anouther one pictured. or so they Don't just write it off as some thing you say to every customer. Maybe offer them the chipped bead for free with the replacment.

BTW Not saying you are dishonest or sound dishonest or even seem it in the least bit. But they will know you can't be pulling a fast one if your offering to send them the broken one too.

But either way as long as you tell them the situation and offer them there $ or the replacment. Every thing should work out ok.

[Bunyip]

I'd send them the chipped bead no matter what they decide. That way there's no question.

[lldesigns]

Accidents happen. Be honest, apologize, and offer her options...new bead with extras, store credit, or money back. I've had it happen myself and thankfully my customers have always been very understanding and gracious.

Let us know how it turns out!

[Lisi]

Don't worry about that, things happen and customers will understand most all the the time.

Here's a really embarrassing one: One of my focals came up missing and someone had already won and paid for it. My kleptomaniac sister picked it up I'm sure, because there was NO way it could have jumped out of my tackle box that I keep ebay beads in.

I had to try and explain that to the customer, and I went ahead and made her another one very similar, plus threw in a few goodies. :)

[Ro]

i think your plan is good, and i would send a pic of the broken one as well as the replacement, and offer a refund if they dont like it. even if they didnt take the replacement i might send them a 'consolation' present with a card. if they feel they had extra special service they would be more likely to purchase from you in the future.
ro

[amyhoust]

yay, she was happy with the replacement. and i will include a gift of some extra beads (matching spacers). all's well that ends well right? thanks again for all the advice!

[ddossett]

My policy is to refund the money AND send a replacement. They get a free bead. It helps me keep my quality control up to know that if something slips by me, I'm the one who pays, not my customer. Yes, it costs me money to do it this way, and once I didn't hear from the customer again, but in the long run it's worth it because the customer knows I'm honest, and is very likely to repeat as a buyer, which is the key.
Doug