I have no customer service skills, please help.

[aussie.grazing.boards]

Hi guys

Can someone help me out? I have very poor customer service skills, and I need nicely worded text that I can "cut and paste" and email to customers who ask "where's my item I bought from you, it's 2 days past the ETA". 

I am am getting tonnes of emails like this  over the course of the last few days, and I'm not coping. 

Here are the points I need to cover:

* I live in Cairns, Far North Queensland, so delivery takes longer than it would from sellers in southern states (and even Brisbane).

* Australia Post new changes to their delivery schedule. (Maybe a brief explanation of the new changes).

* I ship out on the same business day when purchased before 3.00pm

* I do everything to get the items to the customers as soon as humanly possible, I dMon't dilly-dally

That just about covers it, unless you can see something I missed. 

If you want to PM me the draft, that is totally fine, and thanks in advance

Sincerely, David

[springyzone]

I don't think you're as bad as you think you are.

I had a look at your feedback.

You answered some of the negs very professionally.

* eg to one who called you a bad seller simply for not getting the item there on time, you answered.

Item sent promptly, delayed by Australia Post due to Christmas rush

* one complained they never got their item. You said

Goods posted to address supplied. Returned unclaimed by Australia Post. Refunded

* Another neg'ed you over a watch not being waterproof. You said:

You're correct, it isn't Waterproof, it is WATER RESISTANT, its not a Dive watch

* Another neg'ed you for sending the wrong size watch. You said

c00ly, I sent you the size you ordered, YOU ordered the wrong size

All informative, factual answers. As a buyer, I would be reassured to read them & I can clearly see it's the buyers there who are the numpties.

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I also had a quick look through some of your listings.

Let's be honest here, a lot of it is cheap & I imagine is imported from Asia. People just aren't going to get a watch with all the bells and whistles and fantastic features for about $6-$9. Some of your feedback reflects that fact. You're not going to be able to avoid the fact the quality of some things isn't great, so you'll have to accept a certain level of neg.

What I would do is what some of the others here have said.

*Remove that banner about same day postage. The one about being an aussie seller is fine though.

* Your ads look fine, I would just add that bit pennyforum said. Something in a bigger font,  like  Please bear in mind my location is Far North Queensland and postal services to some parts of Australia from here are slower than others.  Please allow a few extra days above eBay's delivery estimates for your item to arrive.

* Track your negs and neutrals. If you find that it's one or two items that are over-represented in the trouble category, consider deleting them from your range.

* And Tippy toes had it right with her email response template. If someone writes to you about a problem, don't start off your reply with a defence (eg I have never had complaints about...). Always start by acknowledging the problem, acting concerned. Depending on what the problem is, you may like to replace the item if it was broken etc but really, all you need to do is keep it polite on your part, just in case ebay have to read through any of it in a dispute.

[ausbargainbasement]

Seems to me the cheaper the item the **bleep**ier the customer.

[aussie.grazing.boards]

Hey guys, thanks for your advice, there's some reall gold there.

ive changed my turn around time to 3 days as you suggested, and I didn't know that you can send bulk emails through the Singapore site so I will give that a go too.

The major problem is that I'm selling a product that has 100's of moving parts, (watches) and is manufactured in a country (China) that doesn't set quality controls to the standard that we accept as normal here in the west. There's always one or two in a hundred that will be problematic.

What annoys me the most is that you bust my guts to get to the Post Office everyday before they close. If I waited 2 days before I bothered to send them, I would take all these negs on the chin.

anyway, I'll try your suggestions and update you as I go

Thanks again.

[aussie.grazing.boards]

Tippy, those responses are great, thanks so much

[digital*ghost]

Just for some general communication tips, the main things people want to see in replies from sellers is an acknowledgement of the problem, and what can and/or will be done about it, without using an accusatory tone - a couple of little pleasantries can make the same information etc come across completely differently. 

For example, the difference between:

It's only been 4 days since I posted it, mail always takes a bit longer from where I am, please wait until at least Friday.

Thank you for contacting me, I certainly understand the frustration when an item doesn't arrive in the expected time frame. I can confirm your order was posted on XX and is currently still in transit with Australia Post so will most likely be delivered soon. If you would like to follow the progress of the package, you can use this tracking number XXX on the Australia Post website where you can also sign up for updates via email (if applicable - not all services allow that). Unfortunately, due to my location, deliveries can often take a little longer than eBay's estimated dates, so I'd like to give it until XX for it to be delivered, but if you have not received it by then please let me know and I'll be happy to provide further options and assistance.  Kind regards, XXXX

[dazzledayz]

Lots of really good advice above and Tippy's replies are very good (and similar to mine).

Communication is key to keeping customers happy.

Some observations on your listings for mobile viewing:

1. Try centering your template contents (images and text) as mobie devices will display them better

2. Try and keep your text to around 60 characters per line (inc spaces)

    (that's around the length of the text line above)

3. Do the same with emails as they will often be read on a mobile too.

    (probably around 50% of the time)

An edit of Digi's reply suited to mobile:

Thank you for contacting me,

I know it can be frustrating when an item doesn't arrive as expected.

I can confirm your order was posted on XX and is currently still in transit.

eBay tend to underestimate but Aus Post should deliver it soon.

If you would like to follow the progress of the package:

Use this tracking number <insert here>on the Australia Post website.

You can also sign up for updates via email on their tracking page.

Due to my location, deliveries can take a little longer than eBay's estimate.

If you could give it until DD/MM I'm sure it will have arrived by then.

If not,please let me know and I'll be happy to provide further assistance.  

Kind regards, XXXX

You would need 2 versions of this as I imagine some parcels are letters.

Omit paragraph 2 and replace with:

I do my best to keep postage costs as low as absolutely possible.

For this standard service there is, unfortunately, no tracking available.

[lane-ends]

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@ausbargainbasement wrote:

Seems to me the cheaper the item the **bleep**ier the customer.

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It is because there is less investment to try to reach a resloution, far easier to throw in a bad fb and cut losses.