Customer Ordering Santuko Knife: Shipping Costs Higher Than Expected

[krzymomof4]

I have a customer who ordered the Santuko knife for a Sept catalog show. She lives a little ways away and ordered from the website. She then told me that she would rather have it directly shipped to her, which is fine, until I entered it in and the knife with s&tax is going to be like $90. I don't have the heart to tell her it is going to be that much, plus she booked a catty show for herself for next month. I want to do something nice and maybe pay part on her shipping. How much would you comfortably chip in if it was you?

 

[GourmetGirl]

How far away does she live? You could always bring it to her yourself if it isn't too far. I'd bring it with her host packet in person and then you have a reason for the trip. or place a personal order by tomorrow and direct ship it then the knife will be 20% off and not quite so bad... good luck!

 

[krzymomof4]

Only downside to that is she does live 3 hours away and if I put the order in for AUgust, the host will not get the credit for her Sept show.

 

[GourmetGirl]

ahh... got it. it's for a show. well, I would just tell her the truth. To eat shipping on that takes the entire commission, and while it would make her happy, you didn't do anything wrong. I would call her tomorrow and be honest about the situation. Maybe she doesn't realize the cost of direct shipping? and if she does, then obviously she accepts that cost. You could always mail her a SB to thank her for her order and let her know you look forward to working with her on her show next month... maybe someone else will have another opinion in the morning... sorry I'm not much help

 

[Christ Follower]

How much is the shipping? You could pay whatever is over the standard $4.00 rate. But really, you should just tell her how much the direct shipping is first. I've been suprised by people when it comes to shipping cost. Sometimes they gripe about the $4 (which is VERY resonable) and other times people pay $10 to Direct ship without blinking an eye!

 

[Christ Follower]

We must have been posting at the same time Alison!

 

[GourmetGirl]

As we are both night owls, it doesn't surprise me, as there aren't that many threads to post on right now

 

[Christ Follower]

I can understand me being up late (it's 12:52 a.m. here), but it's REALLY late for you!

 

[GourmetGirl]

crap... I always forget that for some people it's not waaay too late. Here I was thinking I wasn't alone, and yet for you it's still a reasonable time of night I made the mistake of trying to figure out why my washing machine wasn't getting all parts of my clothes wet while washing... so then I had to send an email to my landlord (my cousins) about it, and I hate telling them that something isn't working right... who knows, maybe it is me doing something wrong... See, I start talking about it and then get frustrated again and then wake myself up even more... stupid road trip tomorrow and having to wash a load of laundry tonight... :grumpy: :indif: :grumpy:

 

[Christ Follower]

So is it 3 or 4 there? I always get the time change thing screwed up.

(we are hi-jackers!)

 

[GourmetGirl]

It is 3:04 here in MN... and time for me to go to bed, as a consultant-friend of mine is to be calling me at 9am so I can try to sqeeze in a run to her place to pick up some MK (she got it at a discount for me through a friend)...














*and we are totally hijackers, but since we are strippers, it is to be expected of us *

 

[Christ Follower]

Good luck on your road trip! Good night.

 

[Christ Follower]

Okay ~ End Hijack!

 

[krzymomof4]

The shipping is $14.

 

[cathyskitchen]

Take the "kindness of your heart" out of the equation, and what do you have left? The need to make money and not spend more than you make. I would just call/email her back and let her know that to have it direct shipped will be $10 more, and can you apply that to her credit card or would she like to send you a check? That's it. It's a business transaction, and you're not in business to throw away your commission check every month, right? I know it's hard and I know I'd love to be able to save everyone money all the time, but I have to do what is reasonable and make sure I'm still making more money than I'm putting out, or my time and effort on PC is just not worth it. HTH!

 

[krzymomof4]

I gave her $5 off shipping and told her it was a gift for her having her own show. I hope she keeps her order the same. She is a former consultant and for some reason, my experience with them haven't been that great.

 

[cathyskitchen]

Former consultants are probably "ootsie" b/c they're used to getting a discount and it "hurts" when they have to pay full price again. It was nice of you to give her a discount on the shipping, but in the future, don't feel obligated. Talk to them first and explain the "rules", and if they say they are going to cancel their entire order, then maybe "make an exception", but I wouldn't make it a general practice for all orders. I know - it's a tough call to make, but remember, this is a business, and if you let one person "take advantage" of your kindness, more people may expect it, too.