My husband and I deal with most of our customer care emails at Door County Candle, and the vast majority of them are incredibly kind. Even when someone has a question or is frustrated, most people communicate with patience and respect.
But this week, a few emails really stuck with me.
One customer was upset about the shipping timeframe for our Wisconsin Strong candles. We had communicated our 7–10 business day timeframe in several places, but I understood the frustration and responded to explain where we were at.
That day, I was packing orders, printing shipping labels, and answering customer emails in between. I responded as quickly and thoughtfully as I could.
The customer told me my response sounded "generic," criticized our communication, and told me we needed to "do better."
I explained that there was a real person behind the email and that I was genuinely doing my best.
It didn't change the tone of the conversation.
A few other emails came in that week with a similar tone, and it left me thinking about something:
Would we speak to someone this way if they were standing in front of us?
It's so easy to type something when we're angry or frustrated and hit send. But on the other side of that screen is a person.
That doesn't mean you can't be disappointed. It doesn't mean you shouldn't ask questions, voice a concern, or expect good service.
It just means we can do those things with kindness.
Words matter. Kind ones matter. Hurtful ones matter, too.
Before you hit send on the angry email, leave the comment, or send the text, remember that a human being is going to read it.
We are all humans. We all have hard days. We all get frustrated. We all make mistakes. And none of us know what the person on the other side of the screen is carrying that day.
You can be frustrated and still be kind.
I think the world could use a little more of that.
💛 Christiana
