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Mar. 11th, 2009 06:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gurdymonkeySo, you posted your Lost and Found list and who to contact about it all over the Knowne Freakynge Worlde.
Why did it take me three emails and nearly three weeks to get so much as an acknowledgement to my message that, Yes, I'd lost something, I'd like it back, I'm from out-kingdom, I'll pay for shipping and here's my contact information?
Because you didn't plan on how you were going to deal with the aftermath of posting a list of over 100 items and reuniting them with their owners. Did you?
This morning, after said three emails (the latest copied to the seneschal of the kingdom) I received the following:
"Please send me a phone number where I can reach you and Ill call tonight. I have been working through the many requests for help since the war in the order received. So if there has been a delay on yours please forgive the perceived oversight." (I feel really badly for the poor slobs BEHIND me in the queue then.)
I got my phone call. I was polite, I was patient and I let slide the fact that it surely did include an awful lot of excuse making about how swamped they are and how much of the L&F appears to be from out of the kingdom and we'll let you know what to do as soon as we get a chance. I STILL don't know when I'm going to get my circlet back. If it wasn't for the fact that Baubles and Beads no longer carry the monkey charms I used, I'd make another one and forget it. (I feel really badly for the poor slobs who lost a fighter card, the owner of the cell phones, digital cameras and camcorders!)
I just sent the following to the party in charge of L&F, the seneschal and their kingdom Web Minister:
"Thank you for getting in touch with me this afternoon. In an effort to be part of the solution and not the problem, I have the following suggestions to offer.
1. Even a near-Luddite such as myself knows how to set up an automated response to emails on both my home account through Yahoo and on the mail service my company uses. The reason I've copied this note to your Seneschal and Web Minister is to suggest that your kingdom officer mailboxes be similarly equipped, if they are not already. In instances such as this one where the officer anticipates a large influx of mail on a particular occasion, it would be a simple matter to generate a message on the order of "We've received your inquiry, it's going to take us some time to handle it, we promise we'll get back to you on it within [insert reasonable amount of lead time here]." I guarantee it would cut down on repeat messages, not to mention buying you some good will from frustrated users who don't know if you've gotten their messages or not. (We've been experiencing email problems of our very own in this Kingdom as I believe I mentioned in our phone conversation.)
[Why? Because it's f*****g unchivalrous to leave people hanging without a clue for more than 48 hours after they email you.]
2. The item I would ultimately like returned is fairly small. It occurs to me that might be simplest (and cost effective) for me to send you a USPS Priority Mail packet with a return Priority Mail packet enclosed. If this meets with your approval, do let me know. I won't send it out until you tell me you are ready for it. "
[Because I damn well am not shelling out for this only to have you lose the return envelope because you stuck it in a pile to get to later along with everything else, OK?]
In other news:
1. My Princess rocks. Wait, this isn't really news, it is an immutable fact. However, I hope she found what SHE was looking for in the first place over on Craigslist.
2. My flight for the wedding in May is booked. Mayhem will undoubtedly ensue.
3. My website has been around for several years. I get hundreds of questions on Japanese clothing. (I could not tell you how many people have asked for help just with kosode collars over the years. Let's just say "Lots.") Today I got a construction question on sideless surcotes - and it turned up on the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
sca_garb community. I don't know whether that means that sideless surcotes are that much easier or that people who want to do Japanese are less reticent about asking questions. After the day I've had, I'll take a little easy amusement.
4. Someone did the right thing today. Thank you. It almost makes up for the fact that I came home with copier toner all over my white sweater. (If Ricoh gets the RIGHT toner cartridges to me as promised by Friday, I may even forgive them for saddling us with the wrong stuff in the first place.)
5. Fujifilm has a $100 rebate on the camera I've been eyeing since before Christmas, good through March 31, 2009, so I've bitten the bullet and ordered one. Mayhem AND digital piccies will ensue.
Why did it take me three emails and nearly three weeks to get so much as an acknowledgement to my message that, Yes, I'd lost something, I'd like it back, I'm from out-kingdom, I'll pay for shipping and here's my contact information?
Because you didn't plan on how you were going to deal with the aftermath of posting a list of over 100 items and reuniting them with their owners. Did you?
This morning, after said three emails (the latest copied to the seneschal of the kingdom) I received the following:
"Please send me a phone number where I can reach you and Ill call tonight. I have been working through the many requests for help since the war in the order received. So if there has been a delay on yours please forgive the perceived oversight." (I feel really badly for the poor slobs BEHIND me in the queue then.)
I got my phone call. I was polite, I was patient and I let slide the fact that it surely did include an awful lot of excuse making about how swamped they are and how much of the L&F appears to be from out of the kingdom and we'll let you know what to do as soon as we get a chance. I STILL don't know when I'm going to get my circlet back. If it wasn't for the fact that Baubles and Beads no longer carry the monkey charms I used, I'd make another one and forget it. (I feel really badly for the poor slobs who lost a fighter card, the owner of the cell phones, digital cameras and camcorders!)
I just sent the following to the party in charge of L&F, the seneschal and their kingdom Web Minister:
"Thank you for getting in touch with me this afternoon. In an effort to be part of the solution and not the problem, I have the following suggestions to offer.
1. Even a near-Luddite such as myself knows how to set up an automated response to emails on both my home account through Yahoo and on the mail service my company uses. The reason I've copied this note to your Seneschal and Web Minister is to suggest that your kingdom officer mailboxes be similarly equipped, if they are not already. In instances such as this one where the officer anticipates a large influx of mail on a particular occasion, it would be a simple matter to generate a message on the order of "We've received your inquiry, it's going to take us some time to handle it, we promise we'll get back to you on it within [insert reasonable amount of lead time here]." I guarantee it would cut down on repeat messages, not to mention buying you some good will from frustrated users who don't know if you've gotten their messages or not. (We've been experiencing email problems of our very own in this Kingdom as I believe I mentioned in our phone conversation.)
[Why? Because it's f*****g unchivalrous to leave people hanging without a clue for more than 48 hours after they email you.]
2. The item I would ultimately like returned is fairly small. It occurs to me that might be simplest (and cost effective) for me to send you a USPS Priority Mail packet with a return Priority Mail packet enclosed. If this meets with your approval, do let me know. I won't send it out until you tell me you are ready for it. "
[Because I damn well am not shelling out for this only to have you lose the return envelope because you stuck it in a pile to get to later along with everything else, OK?]
In other news:
1. My Princess rocks. Wait, this isn't really news, it is an immutable fact. However, I hope she found what SHE was looking for in the first place over on Craigslist.
2. My flight for the wedding in May is booked. Mayhem will undoubtedly ensue.
3. My website has been around for several years. I get hundreds of questions on Japanese clothing. (I could not tell you how many people have asked for help just with kosode collars over the years. Let's just say "Lots.") Today I got a construction question on sideless surcotes - and it turned up on the
sca_garb community. I don't know whether that means that sideless surcotes are that much easier or that people who want to do Japanese are less reticent about asking questions. After the day I've had, I'll take a little easy amusement. 4. Someone did the right thing today. Thank you. It almost makes up for the fact that I came home with copier toner all over my white sweater. (If Ricoh gets the RIGHT toner cartridges to me as promised by Friday, I may even forgive them for saddling us with the wrong stuff in the first place.)
5. Fujifilm has a $100 rebate on the camera I've been eyeing since before Christmas, good through March 31, 2009, so I've bitten the bullet and ordered one. Mayhem AND digital piccies will ensue.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-12 07:17 pm (UTC)Putting a list together of all Lost & Found: 2 hours work.
Putting the list online for people get in touch with you: 15 minutes work.
Putting an email address up so people can contact you: 2 minutes work.
Not thinking through the whole process: Priceless!