A Customer Service Story

This stamp was in my mailbox today. It's a wood-mounted stamp, "Gossamer," by Penny Black. I saw it on the Stamper's Dream website and liked it so much that I added to my cart the last time I ordered. I've ordered from Stamper's Dream twice and am relatively certain I commented about how fast I received my first order. The second order came just as fast but with a little glitch. There was a picking error. Instead of receiving the Gossamer flower stamp I'd ordered, I received Penny Black's Gossamer Butterfly stamp. Having received an order confirmation with an email address, I promptly sent a message explaining the error. A couple days went by, and I didn't hear anything. I resent the initial message. A few more days went by. Hmm . . . I went to Stamper's Dream website to check out the return policy, etc. For problems with one's order, one was directed to email customer service. I'd been sending my email to Michelle. OK. Maybe that was the problem. I resent the initial email yet again, this time sending it to customer service. After not receiving a response in a few days' time, I tried yet again all the while thinking to myself, "They're not receiving my messages." My intention this past Monday was to try the message from work but forgot about it when I got busy.

The problem was taken care of on Monday anyway, when shortly after I got home, the phone rang. It was Michelle from Stamper's Dream. Sure enough, my email messages had ended up in her SPAM folder. While she was mortified by the whole thing, I was understanding and told her I had an inkling that she hadn't received my messages. We ended up having the nicest of conversations, exchanging information about ourselves. She's a single gal, about my age, whose kids are grown up. She works full-time, mostly for the benefits, and has her Stamper's Dream business on the side. We talked about blogging and how it's changing the face of the stamping business. Certainly, I know that there is a lot of "influence" in the blogosphere. Anyway, it was a really fun conversation, which I sincerely appreciated. Her business is a dream come true for her, which I think is awesome. Of course, by the time she spoke to me, she'd already put the right stamp in the mail and graciously let me keep the wrong one. There will be no hesitation on my part from ordering from her again, and I encourage others to do so as well.

As for the stamp, I love it. I don't have very many large floral stamps, and this one is perfect for watercoloring with ink pad ink and a waterbrush. I've always been a Penny Black fan, too, even though this is my first stamp from her collection.

Materials & Tools: White Daisy, Hydrangea, and Breeze cardstock; Black, Hydrangea, Bubblegum, Breeze, and Topiary ink pads; Penny Black Gossamer stamp and CTMH Spot-on Backgrounds stamp set; Sparkles; Waterbrush; Cuttlebug w/Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Cameron and I decided that we would take the boys back to the fair tomorrow. The weather is cool and very windy today, not at all conducive to outdoor activities. Luckily, the little ones were OK with the idea, too. Thus, I'm having a quiet day to myself, which I'm kind of enjoying after such a busy week. The forecast for tomorrow is very favorable, and I'm looking forward to a fun afternoon with the little guys. In the meanwhile, I'll enjoy the opportunity to catch my breath a bit! That said, later . . .