So I’ve just gone through my daily ritual of checking my messages and explaining to various customers that I can’t make changes for them after they’ve placed and order. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’d like to suggest that Zazzle make some attempt to explain to customers how the process works.
A non-trivial percentage of customers assume when they fill out the form to personalize their design, that what they are doing is sending me instructions for how they want me to customize their invitation (or whatever.) They don’t understand that they are actually doing the customization themselves, and that it’s an automated WYSIWYG process.
It seems like a great deal of confusion could be avoided if Zazzle gave them a quick message when they put something in their cart. Maybe a screen that showed them the product mockup and said something like “Congratulations, your design is complete! Here’s what your printed product will look like!” Just something to make it clear that what they see is what they get, and that the design process is over once they finish the purchase.
To be clear, my issue is NOT that I have to deal with these customers. Trust me, by now, I have simple cut and paste answers for this situation because I have to deal with it at least several times per week. I just think that a lot of customer unhappiness and frustration could be avoided if some attempt was made to explain the process so they’re not assuming that I’m going to tweak and perfect their design after they submit it.
@CreativeLeahG Not a bad idea. My in-cart blurb currently reads:
Thanks so much! I’m happy to help with any matching items you might need. NOTE: Orders cannot be modified once completed. If you need help with a design, please contact me BEFORE placing your order.
But I like the idea of adding something about it printing exactly the way it looks. Hmmm… perhaps I’ll try to reword it again. How to communicate complex ideas in as few characters as possible! 😀
So I decided to update my in-cart blurb, and it occurred to me that what I need to say is different depending on whether they ordered a physical product or an instant download. Hmmm… this is what I came up with, but I’m thinking that the fact that downloads can be modified after ordering while physical products cannot might cause confusion, especially since I can’t create different messages for those different situations:
_ Thanks so much! Printed products can’t be modified once ordered, and will print exactly as they appear in your cart. For design help or matching product requests, please contact me before ordering! _
@CreativeLeahG Well, I’ve now reworded it about a zillion times, but I decided to also change my after purchase message to try to make it clear that it’s out of my hands at that point.
Congratulations! Your order is now complete and has been handed off to Zazzle’s team for processing/printing & shipping. For help, please choose “Customer Care” below, & thanks for choosing my design!
I don’t know how many people actually read those messages, but maybe this will help them understand the process?
How can it be that after nearly 14 years on this website…
I’m still learning things lol. I had no idea the feature to add a message to the customer was available to me so let me first that both of your replies that educated me here.
I wish I had realized this was available sooner as it could have helped e avoid questions from customers I get once in a while such as this one I get…
Can you please correct my phone number on the order for _____ that I just placed
@igiftcenter Well, don’t get your hopes up too much in terms of it heading off that sort of thing. I mean, I’m sure some customers read and understand those messages, but no matter what I do or say, a certain percentage of folks are just convinced that it works like Etsy, and nothing I do or say seems to dissuade them! 😬
Was thinking the same thing. Im new just started 2 days and coming from Teespring i was like omg Ima miss that. Im old I have to see the before. lol im not alone tho i c
