I have to get something off of my chest that's been eating at my insides (that's kinda gross now that I read that back, but whatever) ever since my lunch time Friday. This is going to be a little bit of a different post than you are probably used to from me. I'm speaking my mind and it may not sit well some people and that's okay. You don't have to like it.
Friday, someone left a not so awesome review on an item that was purchased through my Etsy shop. I'm offended. I'm embarrassed. I'm shocked. I'm angry. I take pride in what I make and I think I do a pretty awesome job at creating affordable, fun, unique jewelry for a low price. I don't really like to price gouge people. I'm not in this for the money. I'm in the Etsy hobby (I would call it a business but it's not a business for me.) because I love to do it. I love creating. I love buying new beads or paper and seeing the final outcome. I love taking something old and breathing new life into it - maps, keys, bathroom tile.
So, when that person left their not so awesome review. It hurt A LOT. How dare they?
I made a rookie mistake. I responded to their not so awesome feedback with a message that I thought was polite and I defended my work.
I defend. DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE! (Yay, sports!)
I posted this response in an Etsy support/promotion group on Facebook and asked what their opinions were.
Support, right? One of them actually "eye rolled" me. Seriously? Are we a hormonal teenager? Um, no. We are all adults and you should probably act like one. A lot of them were very helpful and I do appreciate those helpful opinions and remarks but people are so rude. Didn't your mother teach that if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say nothing at all?
While watching this all unfold in front of my eyes, I sit back and think, "Why do their snarky opinions matter at all? They aren't running my shop. They aren't creating my jewelry. They aren't cutting my decals. They aren't buying my supplies." If I'm proud of what I do and I feel that I do a good job, then why do I give a hoot about what someone 2,345 miles from me thinks of a response I left on a customer review?
I don't understand why I get so offended by childish people.
I have to say that I really don't care what they think.
Ahhhhhhh...that feels good.
The Etsy community in a whole is a helpful bunch of people. However, if you go against the grain and don't kiss everyone's rear ends and try to make everything right when someone sends you a bad review, I think you are considered somewhat of a freak.
The biggest things, I think, that other Etsians consider weird are:
Oh, you don't do custom orders? That's odd. Well, how do you make any money?
Well, like I said before, I'm not really in it for the money. I'm in because I like to do it. I have a full time job and I don't have to "do" Etsy. It's not my main source of income. I don't like doing custom orders because I like to have creative freedom. Also, it's not really worth the headache. I don't have to and I'm not going to. Sometimes, I do make exceptions but for the most part, my Etsy shop is not based on custom orders.
You should offer that person a refund.
No. They didn't request it. I didn't do anything wrong. Nothing broke. What they left in their review is their opinion. Now, let me say this, I will be the first one to admit that I made a mistake. I'm a horrible liar. I don't like to deceive people. So, if someone tells me their item broke or I made their order wrong, fine, I will go to the ends of the earth to make it right but I'm not jumping on the refund wagon to make a peace offering based on an opinion.
So, what did I learn?
1. 2 Star reviews are pretty sucky.
2. People's opinions of how I run/handle my shop really doesn't matter. It's none of their business. It's between me and the customer.
3. I'm proud of my response. I'm proud of my shop. I'm proud of my product.
4. There's always going to be people that you can't please.
5. Plant the hurt from the bad review and make it bloom into something beautiful. Use it for motivation.
6. I need to make my descriptions a little better on my bangles.
So, there you have it.
...until next time...
-Sam
