EP 25. How to Handle Customer Issues on Etsy | A Simple Framework for Every Situation

Good customer service can make or break your Etsy shop. Complaints and bad reviews come with being an Etsy shop owner.  

In this episode, I'm sharing the framework I've developed running my own Etsy shops: every customer issue tends to fall into one of three buckets. And once you know which bucket you're dealing with, you know exactly what to do.

We're talking about legitimate complaints, expectation gaps, and situations that are completely outside your control. For each one, I'll walk you through how to reduce the chances of it happening in the first place, and how to handle it when it does.

I also cover how and when to respond publicly to a negative review, and what to do when a situation becomes truly unwinnable.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hey there and welcome to the Modern Etsy Seller, the podcast where busy women build, grow, and profit on Etsy. I'm your host, Melissa Carroll, a full-time teacher, a busy mom, and an Etsy seller who's built two successful Etsy shops in the small moments of everyday life. Here you'll find simple strategies, real behind-the-scenes insight, and the clarity you need to stop second-guessing and start moving forward one intentional step at a time. Let's get to it. Hey guys, welcome back. Today I want to talk a bit about customer service. It's not something that's often discussed when people teach Etsy, but I honestly think it can make or break your business. As consumers, most of us know what good customer service feels like. We expect things to go smoothly, and if there's a time when it doesn't, we want our questions answered, our concerns taken seriously, and any problems handled quickly and professionally. As Etsy sellers, our goal should be to create that same experience for our own customers. I believe that I learned so much about customer service and about handling customer problems years and years ago when I was a waitress. Or actually, server is probably the more PC way to say it. But I was a server for a lot of years. I worked for 10 years back in my late teens and early 20s at a restaurant called Red Robin. First as a hostess, then as a server once I turned 18. And fun fact, actually, it's where I met my husband. So it definitely holds a special place for me. But when you're waiting tables, you're the face of the restaurant. Good customer service usually falls on your shoulders. It doesn't matter whether you forgot to type no tomato, the bartender made the drink wrong, or the kitchen overcooked the burger. As far as the customer is concerned, you're the person they're looking at. And of course, if I'm being honest, my motivation to provide good customer service at 18 wasn't some deep passion for it. I wanted good tips. And I figured out pretty quickly that the better the experience I created for my tables, the more money I made. So I learned how to spot problems before they became bigger problems. I learned to own my mistakes instead of making excuses. Excuses, excuse me. I learned to acknowledge how someone was feeling. I learned that people usually care far more about how you handle a problem than the fact that a problem happened in the first place. And I learned sometimes the hard way that no matter what you do, there are going to be people you simply can't make happy. And all of these lessons I use now, every single day in my Etsy business. The specifics may be different, but the principles are exactly the same. And something I've noticed as I've grown my Etsy businesses is that just about every customer issue tends to fall into one of three different buckets. And today in this episode, I want to walk you through those three buckets. And then for each one, we'll talk about what it is and how to recognize that you're dealing with that type of customer issue, what you can do to reduce the chances of it happening in the first place or again in the future. And then also I want to talk about ways to handle it when it does happen. While I don't think you can completely eliminate unhappy customers, I do think you can dramatically reduce them. Then when they do come along, having a plan makes all the difference. But before we get into the first category, there are three things that I want you to remember anytime that a customer problem lands in your lap. Whether it comes through Etsy message or a bad review, because yes, some people do head straight to the reviews before they even contact you. Before they give you a chance to make things right, they go right over, give you a one star, and leave their complaint, right? But no matter how you get it, I want these three things to become second nature. First, don't panic. Take a deep breath and do not panic. Seriously, the first unhappy customer you have will probably feel like the end of the world. It isn't. Most customer issues can be resolved, and even the ones that can't, it's not gonna be the end of your business. Second, don't respond immediately. Not to the review and not to the message. Give yourself a little time, okay? Don't fire off an emotional message and definitely don't respond publicly to the review. Super important because once you respond, it locks it in, and then the buyer can't edit it. The third thing I want you to do is reread the message or the review through an unbiased lens. See if there is any validity to what the review is saying. Your first instinct might be to defend yourself or explain why the customer is wrong. Try to resist that urge. Instead, see if you can figure out where the problem actually lies because that's going to determine how you then handle it. And that's where these three categories come in. So I want to get into those now. First up is the legitimate complaint bucket. This is the bucket where something genuinely went wrong. Some examples are the personalization was spelled wrong, or the print came out faded or off-centered or smudged or something like that. Ah, they received the wrong item, or maybe it arrived damaged. Situations where, if you were the buyer, you'd probably be upset too. And that's actually what makes this category a pretty easy one to identify. So let's talk about how we could prevent some of those things in this legitimate complaint bucket. If the problem wasn't something you caused, like a damaged item, there may not be much you can do to prevent it from happening, but you can prevent the customer from feeling abandoned. I recommend making it very clear in your listing description and in one of your informational listing images that if the customer receives any issues or experiences any issues whatsoever, they should reach out to you and you'll take care of it. That alone may keep someone from heading straight to a bad review before giving you the chance to make things right. If, however, the mistake was on your end, then you want to start putting safeguards in place so it doesn't happen again. A lot of my current process came directly from mistakes that I've made over the years. So for example, actually, early, early on, I sent someone their item and the name was spelled incorrectly. Ever since then, I copy and paste the customer's personalization every single time. I never trust myself to type it, even if it's my own name. That way I know it's going to appear on the product exactly as they entered it. Another thing I do is double check the image imprintify against the Etsy order before I hit submit. I have some products with very similar wording, and I have accidentally submitted the wrong one. I specifically remember one where it was supposed to be for a sister, and I sent the one for a sister-in-law instead. It was super frustrating, but it led to a better process for me to mostly eliminate these issues. None of those safeguards existed. When I first opened my shop, I didn't really have all of those procedures and ways of making sure I could prevent mistakes. They're existing now because I made the mistakes and learned from them. Now, let's say something slips through anyway because it will, or it's a legitimate complaint that wasn't your fault, like a damaged product. This is where it is time to make things right. I always start by reaching out through Etsy messages. If I found out about the issue through a review because they never messaged me first, I'll start with something like, hey, I just saw your review and I'm so sorry this happened. Then I acknowledge their frustration or disappointment. And after that, I try not to assume I know what the customer wants. Instead, I like to offer options whenever I can about how to make things right. Maybe they still want the item and a replacement is what they're hoping for. Maybe it's the birthday gift that arrived after the party and another one isn't going to solve the problem. And in that case, a refund might be the better option. If I'm dictating exactly what the solution is and it doesn't fit what they want or what's going to help them, then they're not gonna walk away feeling like things have been solved. By offering choices instead of deciding for them, you're giving the customer some control over how the situation gets resolved. In my experience, people appreciate that and walk away happier than if I decided the solution and it wasn't what they had hoped for. Does it sometimes cost me money? Absolutely. But I look at that as part of the cost of running a business, and I'd rather lose a little bit of money solving a problem than lose a customer because I handled it poorly and potentially more customers because they then leave a bad review. And one final thought on this category. My goal isn't just to fix the order, it's to leave the customer feeling like they were genuinely taken care of. In my experience, when people feel that way, many of them do choose to update their review without me ever asking. Okay, now the second bucket is what I call the expectation gap bucket. This is when the product itself is perfectly fine, but the customers' expectations didn't quite match what they received. So maybe they say it was smaller than they expected or the color wasn't what they imagined. Or sometimes they'll simply leave a review that says something like, not what I wanted. When you first read reviews or messages like these, it's really easy to think, well, they should have read the listing. And sometimes that's true. But before you jump to that conclusion, go back and try to look at your listing with fresh eyes. Ask yourself, could I have done a better job setting expectations? Could I add another size comparison photo or a different mock-up? Could I explain things more clearly? Is there anything I could change that would help the next customer understand exactly what they're buying? These types of reviews have honestly helped me improve my listings over the years because they point out places where I might unintentionally leave room for confusion. Now, if you look at your listing and realize there really is something you could make clearer, don't just fix it for the next customer. Think about that customer who's already disappointed. I'll usually reach out, apologize for the confusion, and let them know that I'm making the change and you know, thank them for bringing it to my attention. Depending on the situation, I may also offer a partial refund or another solution that feels appropriate. Now, there are other times you'll go back and look at your listing and think, you know what? I actually think this is pretty clear. This is not on me. The dimensions are clearly listed, I have a size comparison photo, the description explains exactly what they're buying. At that point, I've done my job as the seller. That doesn't mean I stop being kind. If the customer reaches out, I'll still apologize that it wasn't what they expected, and I'll gently point out where that information was included in the listing. But I also don't feel obligated to refund a purchase when I've clearly communicated what the customer was buying. The third category is when the problem is outside of your control. So this is the outside your control bucket. Maybe the package gets lost in the mail, or the tracking says it was delivered, but the customer can't find it, or it took a really, really, really long time to get delivered. Sometimes it's a customer mistake. They enter the wrong shipping address, or they made a mistake when they were entering the personalization, or they decided they wanted to cancel and you had already sent it to production and it was impossible to cancel it. You couldn't have prevented those situations, and of course, none of them are your fault. But here's the important part: just because something isn't your fault doesn't mean it isn't your problem to help solve. I know that not every seller feels that way. Not everyone's going to agree with me about that. But honestly, I try to handle customer service exactly the way I would want someone to handle it for me if I were the customer. I think as a seller, you're still the person they're coming to for help. They're not frustrated with USPS or the print provider. They're frustrated because they ordered from your shop and something went wrong. So the first thing I do is acknowledge the situation and let them know I'm going to help however I can. So some examples here. Like if the package is marked as delivered, where they tell me, you know, it says it's arrived, but I don't have it. I start by suggesting that they check with neighbors, maybe it was delivered to the wrong address, family members, sometimes a family member will take it in and they don't even realize it's arrived. Tell them we should give it a couple of days because sometimes it's marked delivered a day or two earlier. And if it still doesn't show up, I'll help them figure out the next step. So that's usually going to involve reaching out to USPS. So I might send a message to USPS through their like tracking thing, and I'll recommend that the customer does that as well. Another example is if I notice a package has been delayed in transit. I actually like when I notice it before the customer reaches out to me, before they notice it. In those situations, I like to send them a quick message letting them know that, hey, I'm keeping an eye on the tracking and I notice that there's a delay, I'm gonna keep monitoring that for you until it arrives. I have found that customers really appreciate that. I have reviews where they'll even mention that I have done it. That's usually around the holiday times where it happens more frequently. But they appreciate knowing that someone is paying attention and that they don't have to be the one to bring it to my attention. But if they reach out to me first, I let them know what the tracking is showing and that I'll continue to monitor it, and then that's exactly what I do. I continue to monitor it. If the customer did something wrong, if they entered the wrong shipping address or want to cancel the order and they requested that cancellation too late, I'll explain the situation honestly and let them know what the options, if any, are available. Sometimes I'll offer a discount on a replacement order, sometimes I'll accept a return. It really just depends on the exact situation. Recently I had a customer reach out because she had just been let go from her job and the item that she had purchased, which she hadn't received yet at that point, had been a going-away gift for someone she worked with, and now she no longer needed it and really couldn't afford it. According to my policies, I didn't have to accept a return, but I offered anyway. She never ended up sending it back, which has happened to me other times where I've allowed returns and they didn't send them back, but anyway, she didn't send it back, but she was incredibly appreciative that I was willing to work with her. The key with this bucket is empathy. Your customer is already disappointed. They don't need a list of reasons why it isn't your fault. They just need someone who's willing to help them navigate the situation. Now that does not mean you have to refund every order or replace every package. I am absolutely not saying that. Sometimes there simply isn't a perfect solution. But I do think there's a big difference between saying, sorry, there's nothing I can do, it's your problem, and saying, well, here's what we can try next. One is going to leave the customer feeling dismissed, and the other leaves them feeling like you cared enough to try to help, even when the situation was outside your control. And that's really what good customer service is. It isn't about taking the blame for things you didn't cause, it's about being the person your customer can count on when something goes wrong. That's what I want as a customer, so that's what I want to provide to my customers. Okay, um, I want to talk quickly about responding to negative reviews. So this is the public response piece. Throughout the episode, everything I talked about involved trying to resolve the situation privately first. As I said earlier, that's because once you respond publicly to a review, it's locked in. They can't edit it, they can't change it, you resolve it, they want to change it, and if you've already responded, it can't happen. So first you reach out, try to understand the situation, do everything you reasonably can to make things right. Sometimes the customer will update their review. Like I said, this has happened to me more times than not. Sometimes they won't, but either way, I don't make the decision about responding publicly until I know the situation has reached its conclusion. Then I ask myself one question: Would a public response help future buyers? And that is so important because we have to remember that the response isn't for the customer who left the review. They are not gonna get a notification that you responded. They will likely never see your response. So you are not responding for them. You are responding for every future buyer or potential buyer who reads it. So keep it short, stay professional, never argue or become defensive. And if you were able to resolve the issue, say so. Something as simple as, I'm so glad we were able to get a replacement to you, or I'm glad we were able to find a solution. That's going to tell future buyers everything they need to know about how you handle problems. And sometimes, especially with expectation-based reviews where I've already determined my listing is clear, I don't respond at all. I'm comfortable letting that review stand because I think it actually encourages other buyers, future buyers, to slow down, read the listing, and make sure the product is the right fit for them before they purchase. And then that way, hopefully I don't continue to have that type of problem. All right, before we wrap up today, I want to leave you with a final thought. Sometimes, despite doing everything right, a situation becomes unwinnable. You can apologize, replace an item sometimes, offer a refund, spend days going back and forth, and they're still unhappy. When that happens, I go back to one of the big lessons I learned waiting tables all those years ago. No matter what you do, there are going to be people you simply cannot make happy. And you do not need to stress yourself out trying to, especially if it's in hopes of avoiding a negative review. It's not worth it. It doesn't mean you stop being professional, it just means you stop chasing a resolution that probably isn't coming. And if they end up leaving a review and that review violates Etsy policies, report it. But if it doesn't, remind yourself that one unhappy customer doesn't define your shop. What defines your shop is how you consistently treat people. Your job is not to make every single customer happy, though you can try for sure, but you do need to treat every customer with kindness, professionalism, and respect. If you can honestly say you've done that, then you've done your job and it's time to let it go. So hopefully, the next time a customer issue lands in your inbox, instead of immediately panicking, you can step back and ask yourself one simple question. What kind of problem am I dealing with? Is it a legitimate complaint? Is it an expectation gap? Or is it something simply out of my control? Once you answer that question, you'll usually have a much better idea of what to do next. The truth is, customer issues are just part of running a business. Every successful Etsy seller has dealt with them, and every successful Etsy seller will continue to deal with them. The goal isn't to avoid every unhappy customer. That's impossible. It's to build a business that's known for treating people well. Because here's the thing: your products might get someone to buy from you the first time, but your customer service is often what determines whether they'll buy from you again, recommend you to a friend, or leave a review that gives the next buyer the confidence to click buy now or purchase. So don't be afraid of customer issues. See them as opportunities to strengthen your business, improve your systems, and show your customers exactly what kind of shop they're buying from. All right, thanks so much for listening. And if you're not on my email list yet, I'd love to have you there. Every week I send one email that's not a recap of the podcast or another list of Etsy tips. It's a story from my business or my life, along with a lesson that's hopefully helpful as you build your business. You can sign up using the link in the show notes or by heading to melissacarroll.co slash newsletter. Thanks again for listening, and I will see you next time.