Hello all,
I am going to stand on a (hopefully) short soapbox to share some thoughts with you. I recently found an email from Wits' End in my inbox. There were elements within that both caught my eye, and struck a chord. Said email is an update from Joey, the owner of Wits' End, and is pasted below. I find his words carrying substantial weight because I was once a small business partner with a good friend, as well as an employee of a home town startup. My own business venture failed, and the one of my former employer exploded and is thriving to this day. Having experienced the toil and stress of building a small business, as well as knowing how many sacrifices you make in the pursuit of the dream you're running down step by step, I am sympathetic to Joey's words. I also think about the amazing convenience that sites like Amazon now provide us. I can sit on my couch, browse endless listings to find just about anything I desire, and then see it arrive on my doorstep with no effort. Oftentimes, packages arrive the very next day. I love it! It is so easy, so fast, and so nearly a complete shopping experience that I always go there first. I have purchased many items on Amazon for use on my 80 Series, but they are mainly generic items for wiring, filters, or will-fit this or that kind of stuff. When I need model specific items to solve a niche problem with my garage hogging queen of a money pit I call Lexi Jo, I look to the collection of small and privately owned businesses that are run by people as nutty as I am for Land Cruisers. Retailers, vendors, machine shops with side jobs making cool bits, salvage guys working to keep beautiful sheet metal out of the crushers; their efforts all contribute to a hobby that makes me smile, and enjoy time wrenching, wheeling, watching videos, and drooling over all the rigs and cool bits I can't yet have. I like Wits' End. I like all the little items and clever solutions I have purchased from them. They make great stuff, and are one of the truly innovative little outfits that are coming up with modern solutions for unique needs relating to Land Cruisers. They are not Amazon. I accept that, and in many ways I appreciate that. They don't have endless resources. They aren't owned by the richest man in world. You also can't call Jeff Bezos direct, or email him with hopes for a reply. I like small businesses because you can. Amazon has in-sourced many elements of their business in an effort to eliminate the factors that would otherwise be outside their control. Small businesses simply don't have the resources to do such things. Vendors supplying lower level parts, raw or unfinished materials, finishing processes such as paint, powder, and anodizing, and to a huge effect, shipping and logistics, all have the power to affect a small business's performance and bottom line. Wits' End falls deeply into those dangers. It is simply part of being a little guy in the market. Another pitfall that can kill many small businesses is one that most people will give a confused look when told. Success, or rather too much, too quick. What I mean is, sometimes, the little guy's business can grow faster than they can keep up with, especially when there are only a few players in the company trying to cover all the bases. I look at this in a good light. That there are that many people wanting parts and widgets for their Cruiser is a great thing! Let's build awesome rigs and get out on the roads and trails. It does however come back to us, as supporters of the hobby, to keep situations framed in a reasonable light. We can't compare the little guys to the big guys. The rules are different for each. What the hell am I saying here in these ramblings? I am trying to challenge the thinking of how we have come to expect that every exchange be one of instant gratitude. One that is algorithm precise and devoid of a human touch. Let's cut the little guys some slack, and have the acceptance that if we want clever, high quality bits for our rigs, it will cost us something that is often in very short supply. Patience and understanding. Let's cut the little guys some slack for all the things that are well outside their control. Also, I won't even get into how Covid-19 has wrecked house on everything commerce.....rant over. The soap box has been kicked back into the shed.
Thanks for reading.
Jason
Current shipping and communication sucks
This newsletter has nothing to do with trying to sell you folks more of my crap. This is about managing expectations...again.
There is something I think everyone needs to be made aware of, I am one person running this company. I have my little brother that helps out. People seem to think I am this huge company. I am not. I'm one guy who recently moved to another state and uprooted my family in the process. Its only been four months now.
I don't run my business like a typical business. So anyone expecting a typical business will be left sorely disappointed.
I work 7 days a week. I work 20hrs a day. Very little interrupts this trend. This was NOT my intention in moving to Oregon. I intended to expand greatly both my business, my offerings and my personnel. The pandemic made sure that didn't happen.
Lately I have been getting a LOT of complaints from every area of social media and communications platforms. I understand and feel bad for all of them but there is only so much I can do in any given day. I am writing this at midnight on Thursday. Since Monday morning, til today alone, this is what I have been bombarded with:
• 142 incoming phone calls not answered (some multiple calls)
• 37 incoming phone calls answered for a total of...
• 15.4hrs PHYSICALLY talking on the phone
• 1048 incoming emails
• 206 outgoing emails (I think its more because I use three platforms for email)
• 842 emails I still need to answer
• 100s of cell text messages incoming (many I haven't replied to yet)
• 88 incoming Facebook Messenger messaged (the majority I have yet to respond to because I had to reinstall Messenger after it was giving me issues)
• 31 incoming Instagram messages ( only 4 that I have responded to)
• 29 MUD PMs I haven't even looked at yet
• 46 packages still missing
• $8000+ of refunds due to missing packages causing late orders (always fun)
• 255 PENDING orders that are literally all waiting on vendors to supply me with parts so I can fulfill orders
• Dozens of really pissed off people
• 32 product developments I'm too embarrassed to discuss/announce because there are so many people still waiting for their parts orders
I am not Amazon. I am not a call center. I do not pretend to have awesome customer service and when the service is good, its a fluke and it was because the stars aligned. I am stuck doing this the way I'm doing it because the plan for being here right now has been seriously altered by the current situation we all find ourselves in.
I blame no one for being upset at me for not returning a phone call or answering a text message or not shipping an order the day they order it. People have expectations. I'm here to say that those expectations need to be put into check while I figure out the new reality for Wits' End.
I'm not giving up. I'll never give up. When you get a reply on an email its me replying. When you call the number on the website, its my PERSONAL cell phone you are calling. You are taking to me. When an order comes thru and goes out, I'm pulling it and shipping it. I have my brother to help with assembly and dropping off packages to USPS and UPS and I'm thankful to have him. But everything else is still me.
Is the answer that I shut down the site? Concentrate on pending orders? Is the answer that I hire a bunch a people when I don't know what ugly turn this pandemic is going to take things and whether or not I can afford to pay for staff? Is the answer that I refund every pending order and go into hibernation for a year? NO! The answer is that I keep working 20hrs a day, 7 days a week until I can get caught up and have everyone NOT so pissed at me. But its going to take time. I'll get there and I'll make some changes along the way.
Thanks for taking the time out to read a glimpse of what is in my head right now. Right now, if needed, please just email me. I get spurts of time to respond to email. I DO NOT have spurts of time to sit on a phone call right now. If you are tired of waiting on me and expected Amazon, I'm sorry I failed.
Now that I'm done writing this, I have to go write an email to a bunch of folks waiting for some parts that a vendor just gave me some depressing news on, then I'm going to go pound my head on the desk until I fall asleep. Sweet sweet sleep.
Joey
I am going to stand on a (hopefully) short soapbox to share some thoughts with you. I recently found an email from Wits' End in my inbox. There were elements within that both caught my eye, and struck a chord. Said email is an update from Joey, the owner of Wits' End, and is pasted below. I find his words carrying substantial weight because I was once a small business partner with a good friend, as well as an employee of a home town startup. My own business venture failed, and the one of my former employer exploded and is thriving to this day. Having experienced the toil and stress of building a small business, as well as knowing how many sacrifices you make in the pursuit of the dream you're running down step by step, I am sympathetic to Joey's words. I also think about the amazing convenience that sites like Amazon now provide us. I can sit on my couch, browse endless listings to find just about anything I desire, and then see it arrive on my doorstep with no effort. Oftentimes, packages arrive the very next day. I love it! It is so easy, so fast, and so nearly a complete shopping experience that I always go there first. I have purchased many items on Amazon for use on my 80 Series, but they are mainly generic items for wiring, filters, or will-fit this or that kind of stuff. When I need model specific items to solve a niche problem with my garage hogging queen of a money pit I call Lexi Jo, I look to the collection of small and privately owned businesses that are run by people as nutty as I am for Land Cruisers. Retailers, vendors, machine shops with side jobs making cool bits, salvage guys working to keep beautiful sheet metal out of the crushers; their efforts all contribute to a hobby that makes me smile, and enjoy time wrenching, wheeling, watching videos, and drooling over all the rigs and cool bits I can't yet have. I like Wits' End. I like all the little items and clever solutions I have purchased from them. They make great stuff, and are one of the truly innovative little outfits that are coming up with modern solutions for unique needs relating to Land Cruisers. They are not Amazon. I accept that, and in many ways I appreciate that. They don't have endless resources. They aren't owned by the richest man in world. You also can't call Jeff Bezos direct, or email him with hopes for a reply. I like small businesses because you can. Amazon has in-sourced many elements of their business in an effort to eliminate the factors that would otherwise be outside their control. Small businesses simply don't have the resources to do such things. Vendors supplying lower level parts, raw or unfinished materials, finishing processes such as paint, powder, and anodizing, and to a huge effect, shipping and logistics, all have the power to affect a small business's performance and bottom line. Wits' End falls deeply into those dangers. It is simply part of being a little guy in the market. Another pitfall that can kill many small businesses is one that most people will give a confused look when told. Success, or rather too much, too quick. What I mean is, sometimes, the little guy's business can grow faster than they can keep up with, especially when there are only a few players in the company trying to cover all the bases. I look at this in a good light. That there are that many people wanting parts and widgets for their Cruiser is a great thing! Let's build awesome rigs and get out on the roads and trails. It does however come back to us, as supporters of the hobby, to keep situations framed in a reasonable light. We can't compare the little guys to the big guys. The rules are different for each. What the hell am I saying here in these ramblings? I am trying to challenge the thinking of how we have come to expect that every exchange be one of instant gratitude. One that is algorithm precise and devoid of a human touch. Let's cut the little guys some slack, and have the acceptance that if we want clever, high quality bits for our rigs, it will cost us something that is often in very short supply. Patience and understanding. Let's cut the little guys some slack for all the things that are well outside their control. Also, I won't even get into how Covid-19 has wrecked house on everything commerce.....rant over. The soap box has been kicked back into the shed.
Thanks for reading.
Jason
Current shipping and communication sucks
This newsletter has nothing to do with trying to sell you folks more of my crap. This is about managing expectations...again.
There is something I think everyone needs to be made aware of, I am one person running this company. I have my little brother that helps out. People seem to think I am this huge company. I am not. I'm one guy who recently moved to another state and uprooted my family in the process. Its only been four months now.
I don't run my business like a typical business. So anyone expecting a typical business will be left sorely disappointed.
I work 7 days a week. I work 20hrs a day. Very little interrupts this trend. This was NOT my intention in moving to Oregon. I intended to expand greatly both my business, my offerings and my personnel. The pandemic made sure that didn't happen.
Lately I have been getting a LOT of complaints from every area of social media and communications platforms. I understand and feel bad for all of them but there is only so much I can do in any given day. I am writing this at midnight on Thursday. Since Monday morning, til today alone, this is what I have been bombarded with:
• 142 incoming phone calls not answered (some multiple calls)
• 37 incoming phone calls answered for a total of...
• 15.4hrs PHYSICALLY talking on the phone
• 1048 incoming emails
• 206 outgoing emails (I think its more because I use three platforms for email)
• 842 emails I still need to answer
• 100s of cell text messages incoming (many I haven't replied to yet)
• 88 incoming Facebook Messenger messaged (the majority I have yet to respond to because I had to reinstall Messenger after it was giving me issues)
• 31 incoming Instagram messages ( only 4 that I have responded to)
• 29 MUD PMs I haven't even looked at yet
• 46 packages still missing
• $8000+ of refunds due to missing packages causing late orders (always fun)
• 255 PENDING orders that are literally all waiting on vendors to supply me with parts so I can fulfill orders
• Dozens of really pissed off people
• 32 product developments I'm too embarrassed to discuss/announce because there are so many people still waiting for their parts orders
I am not Amazon. I am not a call center. I do not pretend to have awesome customer service and when the service is good, its a fluke and it was because the stars aligned. I am stuck doing this the way I'm doing it because the plan for being here right now has been seriously altered by the current situation we all find ourselves in.
I blame no one for being upset at me for not returning a phone call or answering a text message or not shipping an order the day they order it. People have expectations. I'm here to say that those expectations need to be put into check while I figure out the new reality for Wits' End.
I'm not giving up. I'll never give up. When you get a reply on an email its me replying. When you call the number on the website, its my PERSONAL cell phone you are calling. You are taking to me. When an order comes thru and goes out, I'm pulling it and shipping it. I have my brother to help with assembly and dropping off packages to USPS and UPS and I'm thankful to have him. But everything else is still me.
Is the answer that I shut down the site? Concentrate on pending orders? Is the answer that I hire a bunch a people when I don't know what ugly turn this pandemic is going to take things and whether or not I can afford to pay for staff? Is the answer that I refund every pending order and go into hibernation for a year? NO! The answer is that I keep working 20hrs a day, 7 days a week until I can get caught up and have everyone NOT so pissed at me. But its going to take time. I'll get there and I'll make some changes along the way.
Thanks for taking the time out to read a glimpse of what is in my head right now. Right now, if needed, please just email me. I get spurts of time to respond to email. I DO NOT have spurts of time to sit on a phone call right now. If you are tired of waiting on me and expected Amazon, I'm sorry I failed.
Now that I'm done writing this, I have to go write an email to a bunch of folks waiting for some parts that a vendor just gave me some depressing news on, then I'm going to go pound my head on the desk until I fall asleep. Sweet sweet sleep.
Joey
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