Could Zazzle Send an Instant Message Response Clarifying that we Can't help with Customer Service?

[Cat]

I'm not sure what's going on, but I've been totally slammed with shipping inquires recently - three so far this morning. I really think that calling us "creators" has made this problem worse. 

I would love it if Zazzle could allow us to craft an instant auto-response to clarify, but since that might be difficult, perhaps Zazzle could implement an instant "thank you for your message" note which would clarify that we cannot help with customer service requests, but to stand by if their request is about the artwork/digital template. The current auto-response isn't very automatic so if we're not available to reply instantly, the customer is left hanging, and I think it's very frustrating for them to have to wait hours or days only to find out that we can't help them.

Something like this perhaps:

Thanks so much for reaching out! Your message has been forwarded to the product creator. Please Note: creators produce the artwork/digital templates, but not the products themselves. If you are inquiring about product specifications, the ordering process, printing, or shipping, you'll need to contact Zazzle's Customer Care team via www.zazzle.com/about/ask. Otherwise, stand by and the creator will back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks for considering it!

[Connie]

+100!

[Emma]

Hi Cat, 

Many thanks for your suggestion. I'll be passing this along to our Team now ✍️

- Emma 🌻

[SakuraDragon]

I love this idea! Especially since the majority of messages I get are questions about shipping. 

[Gina]

Every so often I will log out and view things as someone new to Zazzle would. This time around I chose to view what the messaging system looks like. When I clicked "Message" on my profile, this is what I saw. Is this new? Is this what you requested? 

[Cat]

@Gina That's not new. Clearly, people either don't read it or don't understand it. The key piece of info that people don't seem to grock is that we don't make or ship the physical products. Even people who message me with designer related issues still assume that I'm manufacturing the products and can see/modify/cancel their orders. They think they're buying something from us directly rather than from Zazzle, and I think that all of the recent changes designed to put designers up front and center only serve to strengthen this misconception.

I have really mixed feelings about all of it. On the one hand, I resent having to spend so much time explaining how Zazzle works and walking people through how to use the website. On the other hand, I know that it's expensive to pay customer service personnel, and even if people have to wait a few hours for me to see their message and point them in the right direction, they're probably getting a more timely answer than they would if they had to wait for an email response from customer support. And I'm sure that ultimately does result in more sales, even if it annoys me and pushes my "it's not fair - this isn't what I signed up for" buttons.

So, in some ways the misunderstanding is beneficial, and I've pretty much accepted that it's now just part of the cost of doing business here. But I do think that it opens the door for all sorts of negative outcomes as well, especially given the fact that customers don't automatically get an email notification about messages unless they've opted in for it. I think an instant response would go a long way towards making the customer feel like they're not just sending their questions off into the ether, and a simple sentence explaining our role in the company would ease a great deal of the confusion and frustration.

Sorry to rant. Clearly, I've spent WAY too much time thinking about all of this!

[CrazyMermaid]

Zazzle does promote makers in various lists around the site. So I can see where customers get confused. I didn't realize how many there were until I looked at some of their gift suggestion lists. I don't know if there are different messages for them than for "us Zazzle designers." It has made me a bit more patient with customers. It only takes me one sentence to say that they need to contact Zazzle. I don't think I spend more than 5 or 10 minutes a day on it. 

[Cat]

@CrazyMermaid You mean the artisan makers? That's a good point, and probably explains at least some of the customer confusion. At this point it's less about the time I have to spend - which is probably closer to 20-30 minutes per day for me, but it's more about the customer's experience. I frequently get people asking me to cancel or modify orders, but I usually don't get a response to my message, so I never know if they got it and contacted Zazzle, or if they're expecting that it's already been handled. 

I'm curious about your strategy though. When you get the typical "please, please, please hurry with the shipping because my wedding's this weekend" message, do you just send the Zazzle auto response? I always feel some obligation to explain how it works and point them to the tracking on the orders page. 

[mylittleeden]

Agree, good idea 😁 I have a standard reply which I send out, but have other work a couple of days a week and as I am the other side of the world so they often have to wait until I am awake to get a reply from me, when it is time sensitive that isn't ideal, this would solve the issue for sure.

[J32Design]

Unfortunately people don't read.

[Gina]

@Cat I had a feeling you would say what you did, but I was hoping that you wouldn't. It is a shame that people don't read.