Oh, mercy! Part of me says to go back to bed and don’t write this post. However, that is not me. I have run this company publicly from day one {and cannot wait to get back to blogging the fun stuff}.
I have made two mistakes recently that we are going to get through and learn from but I want to be upfront about them. While running a Living Social deal. I know that posting this could be the kiss of death, but I am who I am and can NOT post it.
First, I hired a group of sewers from a guild that met in a church meeting hall. I thought I was brilliant. A group of lady sewers who love to sew raising funds – woo hoo! WRONG. The sample they did was perfect. I met, I demonstrated, I left diagrams. 90% of the quilts were perfect. 10% we spent hours {actually days but whose counting?} picking stitches and redoing. Apparently there were some older members that in the words of the leader “needed their eyes checked”. If I missed one – let us know. We stand behind our workmanship and I will fix it til it is right.
Second, we have a huge snafu in shipping. 
You might have seen this on Facebook last week. You see, about 3 shipping cycles ago we had a couple of quilts go to the wrong people. I did that last summer with two quilts and since that time we are really, really strict about how we ship. One quilt at a time, double check it matches the invoice and address, etc. We could not figure it out. I was certain I had done it because we had two names that were very close together and I thought I had a senior moment and got confused. But then there were two more. And they weren’t matching up to the other persons -
We were panicked. You see, we have the right head count of quilts {how many invoiced and waiting to pay vs. how many on the shelf}. NO QUILTS ARE MISSING. Sorry to type in all caps, but someone will email me that they are certain we have lost their quilt. And yell and threaten. So I will repeat NO QUILTS ARE MISSING.
When I sent out the last shipping notice we asked for a brief description of the quilt so we could triple check. Most were nice. Some totally ignored the request. And then there are those that have been rude since before we got their tees and will be rude until the day we ship them out the door and still didn’t describe the tees. One person even told us it was the tees they sent us 
We have been staying late sorting it out, racking our brains. Then last night a boy who belongs to me but who for his safety will remain nameless confessed. By Sunday afternoons I need a nap. Usually it is short lived but a nap nevertheless. He and his deviant siblings decided they would play a joke on me and switch order forms with quilts. They thought I knew who was who because they hear us talking about the quilts and different ones we love.
They didn’t do it once. They did it twice. To their credit, they skipped a week in between.
They are all going to military school tomorrow.
Please know I am not joking {well, about military school I am}. We are a small business that has always been between our dining room table and the shop. Sometimes the only way I see my children and get things out on time is to work from the dining room.
I know that this is inexcusable. I know that there will be someone or three or four who emails and tells me what a horrible person I am.
What I am asking is that one you be patient with us – if we ask you for a description it is because we are trying to make sure we ship you the right quilt the first time. If you by chance get the wrong quilt, email us so we can arrange to ship it back and clear it up. We have over 200 quilts on the shelf that are waiting on people to pay or pick up {sadly, some sitting since October} and we have to sort through them to determine if they were before the prank or after.
As in all other things in life, this will get sorted through. It may take time and tears and frustration. But we will get it right and do it as quickly as we can.
Your very weary mom-in-chief,
Bev
Bev, sounds like a nightmare to try and figure out! But, I know how much you care and will get everything right down to the last one. You are not some big nameless company–you have a heart and love every quilt you make. The reason it happened is just so human! Your kids were just trying to be funny and probably lighten your day, but boy what a doozie! Hang in there–get some sleep and take each day one at a time.
So sorry to hear of this nightmare you’re in the midst of. I should hope people understand that these things do happen; the difference here is that it was due to kids being kids (which we’ve all fallen victim to!) rather than a systemic or computer crash, as is the case with huge corporations.
These things undoubtedly happen to all companies, what matters most is how you handle it.
Best of luck getting it sorted.
Bev, the fact that you have taken the time to post about the situation shows that you care. It may take some time, but you will get it sorted out. Some people will never be satisfied with their service but most will understand the situation. You have a great desire to always do what is right for your customers, and that is much appreciated.
I have 3 brothers and we were all raised in the midst of our parents opening and then running their own business. Let me just tell you, at least he who shall not be named doesn’t have access to a forklift and bags if dry concrete! And you don’t need to threaten with military school, those 6 week boot camp programs can be enough to instill the fear of all things holy because getting sent away for a year is far less believable than 6 weeks. I promise all three of them have grown up to be contributing members of society (the really naughty one is somehow halfway through his second masters degree). There is light at the end of the tunnel, even if it seems far away. Hopefully everyone continues to have patience and can keep in mind that we are all human and sometimes kids just call to attention all of the potential week spots. Praying that you continue to find grace from everyone involved!
I work for a huge company that ships 1000′s of orders every day. Even with the most high tech tools and processes, we still make mistakes. All you can do is apologize, commit to fixing it and do better tomorrow. You can’t ‘fire’ your kids, so you’ll just have to make a management decision to demote them to the front office.
good luck! I will keep using your services!
Bev,
Don’t be too hard on the boys…..I don’t think they meant any harm, just a mom prank. Be thankful that they are home, not hurting others, not stealing or fighting. I will make you laugh at this…my son went to a Christian high school that was not extremely large so everyone knew everyone. He was a baseball player and their practice always started before his last class was finished which was English. The teacher would get irritated because half of the class played baseball so she was unable to complete her lectures as scheduled.
One day she made the mistake of telling the senior class that she should just move her class to the baseball field so they could complete their assignments. Well, the next day when she arrived to teach her class, she found a vacant room. My sweet, obedient son managed to persuade the rest of the class to assist him in moving everything, including the teacher’s desk to the baseball field. Needless to say, she had a come a part and went straight to the principal and administator who was the pastor and owner of the school. When the two men got to the field they were in tears laughing and told my son that it was one of the best pranks they had ever seen which made punishment impossible. I was afraid of the consequences and they thought it was amazing, except for the teacher. Trust me…there were several more to follow that year!
Oh BEV! As I was reading, I was FEELING for you big time!
But, when I read that your KIDS did it, my jaw DROPPED! I am sure they thought that was SO funny … BEFORE they realized what a problem it caused. I really can’t imagine the horror of each person (including you) as they came to the realization of what had happened and why.
I know you must be SICK about it right now … but, OH MY, what a great story to tell. THAT is one for the record books. Your grandchildren’s children will be STILL be telling that story many years from now!
Thanks for sharing, and as always, just stay on your knees and keep looking upward. The view is much better that way! You are loved by many … forget the haters – they come and they go. Praise the Lord, they GO!
Keep smiling and have a great day! Joyfully, Barb
Wow, Bev, I feel so bad for you!. Just remember that people are people and come in all types. Some will never be pleased even if everything went according to plan! Hopefully, the people whose orders were mixed will treat you with grace and understanding. Like someone else commented, even if you were a large corporation, they make mistakes too! Don’t be too hard on yourself (easier said than done, I know).
Boys! What can I say about them that you haven’t already figured out? They are mischevious little imps! Think about it, there are much worse things they could have done! They don’t see the bigger picture to realize how bad they can muck stuff up. It was a momentary pleasure that wasn’t supposed to go this far. To see the angst you are in and the headaches this has caused you, I’m sure they feel terribly guilty. Boot camp threat might be a good idea!
You are an honest and upfront person to step forward and blog about this situation. People realize they are ordering from a home based business and not IBM. I wouldn’t hesitate to do business with you because of this mishap. How you handle this situation shows your commitment to get it correct. Take a deep breath, pray and continue on!
Just take a deep breath. Everything will work out fine. Your poor boys must have been horrified when they realized their prank caused so much confusion. It is great that you can do this with your family around and still have fun doing it. Everything will work out fine. But, on one note in regards to those that failed to respond to your email it may be because the email went to their spam folder and they didnt see it. I know that happened to me once with your email. But, anyway, Keep smiling……..everything will be fine.