C.Y.A. <---- What Does that Mean?
COVER YOUR A**! Don't Be Caught with your Pants Down!
Why Should You Cover Your A**?
Yep, I googled CYA and that is what came up from Webster's slang dictionary.
Wikipedia says: "Cover your ass (CYA) or cover your own ass (CYOA) describes professional and organizational practices that serve to protect oneself from legal and administrative penalties, criticism, or other punitive measures.
Why are we talking about this? Because with the growth of Origami Owl, going from 150 Designers to over 20,000 within a year's time, it is important that you know what are the right and wrong things to do, ways to conduct yourself, while you try to grow your business, as a Designer, into a Leader and more importantly, how you handle yourself amongst your customers- the people who are making you the money.
Baby Booty
Baby butts are cute, aren't they?
Owl Butts
Learn how to cover your own Owl Butt
SAY WHAT?!
Cover all your bases, so nothing is a surprise.
WHAT YOU NEED TO LEARN, KNOW, AND DO....
Do yourself a favor, and if you havent already, print out a copy of the updated Policy and Procedures. It can be found in your backoffice under resources, and here is a link to it in our team dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cyk2jyjtuncuji2/Policies_Procedures_022113_FINAL.pdf
NEXT....
Save this contact info in your phone, email, and/or where ever it is that you look when you are looking for a phone number.
Origami Owl Designer Care/Customer Care: 888.491.0331 Open 9am-5pm Arizona time
Email: DesignerCare@origamiowl.comAddress: 410 S Benson Lane Ste. 1
Chandler, AZ 85224
That phone number is the only one to use to contact Origami Owl, whether it is you contacting Designer Care, or if one of your customers asks for their number.
YOU STALKED THE FED EX TRUCK ALL DAY AND YOUR ORDER HAS ARRIVED!
1) Open the box and pull out the packing slip/invoice and the little card that has the names of who packed it. Staple that together!
2) No matter how big or small the order is, take a moment and check to make sure everything you ordered is in there. If you printed out the order, when you placed it, have that handy to double check against too.
3) Open up the locket boxes. Make sure all the lockets open and close properly, no glass is broken, and no crystals are missing from the lockets that are supposed to have them. Check the chains. Make sure all of the clasps work properly. Same thing with the dangles- check the clasps on them.
4) If everything is ok- then AWESOME! Go ahead and do what you need to do...process your party's order, or refill your stock, whatever it is that you need to do.
OH NO! Something is MISSING! Something is BROKEN! They sent me the WRONG item! What do I do???!! First of all, calm down. Things happen. Humans do error. You are not perfect, and neither is the people who work at the Nest's Warehouse.
Do not fret, my pet. Be proactive and get it taken care of as soon as you can, so you can relax and know that you did what you were supposed to. Complaining or posting your anger on Facebook will not fix the issue.
Read on.....
Exchanges/Replacements
Return + Exchange Policy Section 9 (pg. 28)
Independent†Designers can choose to exchange an item if he or she requests an exchange within thirty (30) days of receipt of the item and the product is received at Origami Owl Returns Department within an additional seven (7) days. Items not in their original packaging are subject to a 10% restocking fee. Items that are
damaged within transit, break prior to wearing, have a manufacturing defect or are missing from the shipment which are reported by an Independent†Designer to the Origami Owl Returns department within ten (10) days of receipt of the item are eligible for exchange if received in the Returns department within seven (7) days of reporting.© 2013 ORIGAMI OWL, LLC. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Rev. 2-1-13 Ver. 2.0
†Defined terms found in Section 13
Please note: This warranty does not cover merchandise damaged through normal wear, accident or misuse (wearing in water, etc.). Upon receipt of your order, please check it carefully for accuracy.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5sifua7mhb6itk/exchange_replacement_form_7-10.pdf
Follow the directions on the form. Fill it out as thorough as you can. They will not process the replacement if you do not provide the order number. One form per item number!
Example: You are sending back a dangle with a broken clasp, a charm that has a stone missing, and a locket that will not open. You fill out a separate form for each item. Staple the item in a baggie to its corresponding form, fold the form around it, and place into the padded, bubble mailer or a box.
It clearly states in the directions of the form that the items need to be in a padded mailer or a box and that they are more than happy to credit your account in Hoot Loot for up to $5 (to cover your shipping costs) When you mail it off, get tracking confirmation! You want to make sure that the Nest receives this! The Nest will take a look at your damages/replacements within 3 days of them receiving it, and will process and mail out within 7-10 business days plus shipping time.
Missing items OH NO!
Return + Exchange Policy Section 9 (pg. 28)
Items that are damaged within transit, break prior to wearing, have a manufacturing defect or are missing from the shipment which are reported by an Independent†Designer to the Origami Owl Returns department within ten (10) days
of receipt of the item are eligible for exchange if received in the Returns department within seven (7) days of reporting.
If you are missing items that you have ordered, go ahead a print out this form:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mq5ld53ckdh6sjw/missing_item_form.pdf
If you look at the form, you will see that it asks who picked and who packed the order. I don't know about you, but I can not read some of these people's signatures. I love the happy faces, and hearts I see next to names, but that does not tell me what their name is. That is why I said to keep the packing slips and cards. Scan your filled out missing item form, the packing slip and card, and attach that all to an email to:
missingitems@origamiowl.com and CC: designercare@origamiowl.com
See what I mean by CYA? If you cover all the angles, there is no reason why the Nest should have to come back to ask you any questions, and can get your missing items processed and sent out to you in a timely fashion.
What if customer orders off the website and there is a missing item?
Simple: Ask her what item is missing and file the missing item for her. See if she can take a picture of the packing slip where it says who picked and packed it, and email it to you. Fill out a missing items form-WITH DIRECTIONS TO MAIL THE MISSING ITEM TO THE CUSTOMER- scan form, attach it with the picture to: missingitems@origamiowl.com and CC: designercare@origamiowl.com
Easy, peasy. No need to stress. Politely apologize to your customer and let her know you will get it taken care of, and just take care of it. The Nest will take a look at your missing items form within 3 days of them receiving it, and will process and mail out within 7-10 business days plus shipping time.
How to Cover your Arse with Your Hostesses and Customers
The Customer is Always Right, Right?
Fill out all the order forms yourself at parties. I can read my own handwriting, and I can not read everyone else's. You can have her fill out the top portion with the contact info, but when it comes to the items she wants to order, you fill that section out.
WHY? Because YOU are the Designer, so you know more than her about the products. Whenever I go to a home party, selling stuff, and I fill out an order form, I know that I usually question myself, whether or not I filled it out correctly, and hoping I get the right product, when it arrives. Why put that same question with your customer? If you fill it out, she will feel more confident that she will be receiving what she wanted.
What if she went ahead and filled it all out herself already? Good! Then double check what she wrote and ask her,"Ok just going to do a quick recap of your order. You wanted the March heart birthstone right...." sometimes, they wrote the right description but wrong item number. It is important to go over their orders with them so you are ordering the correct items for them.
Doing a make and take/cash and carry party? Make sure you are still filling out order forms! You need to know what all they took home with them, just in case there is something wrong with any of those items at a later date! Be sure to mark on the form that they took the item.
Are they taking some items home, and ordering some items? Yes, you can put both on the same order form. Just make notations on the form which items she took home, and which ones you need to order. She will see these notations and feel good knowing that you noted what is being ordered.
*** DO NOT tell your hostess about the tracking of your order. Ex: You tell your hostess,"OMG! Guess what?! I just checked the tracking of your party's order, and it is supposed to get here tomorrow!!!"
Why would you not tell them this? Because what if there is a hiccup with the order? What if the entire box went missing? What if something came up in your schedule and you are not able to process the order immediately and deliver it? Cover your booty, do not expose it by setting yourself up to get stressed out about her order. If she asks when the order is due to arrive, give her an estimated date and let her know that once you receive it and get it together for her, you will contact her.
When the Orders Arrive....
You have checked off all the items, and now you are ready to put the orders together, to deliver to the hostess.
Again, covering all your angles, when you pull the items needed for each order, and put it together, put the items near the customer's name on the order form and snap a pic of it with your cell phone. Just keep it for your own records. That way if she says Suzy did not receive a certain charm, you can pull up the picture and be like,"Yes she did."
Another tip: put labels with your contact info on the bottom of the take out boxes and write the customer's name on that label. Now, you know who's order it is, and you gave your customer, your contact info again.
As you know, there several different charms, plates, and dangles. Items go on backorder. Things happen. Sometimes we make mistakes and order the wrong thing, or forget to order something. It happens. But how you react- is how your customer will react. Do not freak out. I will say this again. DO NOT FREAK OUT!
Contact your customer, let her know that one of the items is on backorder, and that you will let her know the second it arrives.
In the meantime, see if a Designer who lives near you has that item that is missing, if you know that the customer was really wanting it right then because it was a gift. If you can not get the item, it is ok. It is not the end of the world, but make sure that you are in good communication with the customer or hostess and let her know that you are doing everything you can to get this item to her. She will appreciate your dedication and customer service. Remember: Under promise and over deliver!!!
Covering it When it Comes to Social Media
Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest- oh my!
Let's go over Origami Owl photo etiquette. There are tons and tons of pictures flying over the internet if you search origami owl, facebook, pinterest, instagram, twitter and anything else that is social media. Many of our own designers are actually professional photographers OR have hired a photographer to create a look book specifically for lockets they have made and share those images online. While I totally do not recommend the latter half of the sentence, they have paid quite a bit for those services. With the photos within the back office and what has been compiled in the Dropbox, you have more than enough images and throughout your team to make a look book or provide awesome examples to your customers.
Some more things to think about and ask yourself before you click "POST"
- Some photos are outdated, some have been cropped and then copied by many designers and this is a big NO NO! Why? It's ILLEGAL! Do not crop any designer's website, or photographer's name off the photo. Copyright issues! There may not be a "statement" somewhere that says this, but really, you do not need that photo that badly that you should risk someone getting angry, or wanting to sue you over a photograph.
- Photos that have retired items- Do not post those! We do not want to promote that because then people want the items we no longer have to give to them so always look closely at the photo, and know what products are currently being offered!
- If you are not sure about the picture, don't use it! What happens is many times people will unknowingly share a photo that has already been edited and then the domino effect occurs. These are some talented people who have watermarked photos and we need to give them credit they have earned. If I do use watermarked photos on my fan page INTACT and also give reference to the person who's photo it is.
- Do not edit any yourself unless you have written permission from the author.
- Designers get a little too excited and take shots of photos mixed with other jewelry, like on the flat oval link chain, they may put some Origami Owl dangles and then put a charm or "dangle" from another company too. Well, if the customer chooses to mix her jewelry that is fine, however we as designers do not promote that before purchasing, whatever they do after the initial purchase is their choice.
- Why is that an issue? It takes sales away from you and MOST IMPORTANTLY, it voids the warranty!
- I have encountered many requests throughout the year, some don't like the floating look and what can we do to help that. Well, the concept is the floating look, they can add a plate or two to make it more snug or here comes the micro dots discussion. While I can suggest this and I have, "removable micro dots to keep the plates from turning or charms in place are used and can be purchased at craft stores, use of these WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY."
- Photos in lockets: This is a NO NO that we cannot promote because anything other than charms or plates, what the company intended the locket for VOID THE WARRANTY.
- Ashes in locket: Yes ashes have come up because this is more than jewelry its a very unique sentimental piece that many create a remembrance locket. We cannot place ashes inside ourselves as designers but speaking to the funeral home or a special jewelry designer, maybe they could look into sealing it shut permanently but we cannot assist with this.
How to avoid the questioning all together:
LEARN HOW TO TAKE YOUR OWN LOCKET PICTURES! It is really easy. It takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can take as many pictures you want and post them all!! All the pics you see me post, I am using my cell phone's camera!
Use a neutral background- like one of your linen necklace displays.
Use indirect natural light- all the pictures I take are on my patio, or by the window.
Use a steady hand- I prop my elbow on the counter, or chair to help keep my hand still.
From my experience, the pictures that I post that I have taken myself, are the ones that get the most feedback on my Facebook page. With the pictures you take, and the ones provided by Origami Owl on their Facebook page, and backoffice under resources, along with the ones that your team members post and allow you to share, you should have more than enough pictures to use!
Cute Locket!
Photo provided by Origami Owl and can be found in your resources tab in the backoffice
Who needs a fancy camera?
I took this picture with my cell phone! It may not be the high quality of a fancy camera, but it works for it's purpose right?
Sharing is Caring
There are some Designers who are so talented as photographers and graphic designers and they are willing to share their work. Do not be disrespectful by cropping out their watermarks!
THE BIGGEST CYA STRATEGY: ALWAYS BE PREPARED!!
Be more prepared than a Boy Scout!
Think of your business like a well packed diaper bag. You know you never let diapers or wipes get low. You always have an extra change of clothes and a bib. A snack for your older kid in the bag, and extras of other items "just in case" right?
Have enough order forms, catalogs, and business cards at all times! When they start to get low, order them! You know that they take awhile to receive, so do not wait til you have less than 10 left before you decide to place an order.
You have a party? Pack for it the evening before. That way you are not rushing around and can forget something, the day of the party. And write down the address of where the party is too. Print out directions, or program it into your GPS before you pull out your driveway. You do not want to be scrambling, trying to find the address while you are on the road, on the way to the party.
Being prepared not only helps you with how smooth your business functions, but YOU- the amazing Designer that you are- will also appear confident, and professional in front of your customers, or potential customers!
WHEN IN DOUBT, ALWAYS ASK YOUR MENTOR!! When you cover all angles, and cover all the details, there is no reason why something will come back to bite you in the butt later!
Signed, Your Big Mama Owl
Email: Mb.origami@yahoo.com
Website: www.MichelleB.origamiowl.com
Phone: 337.280.5701
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OrigamiOwlIndependentDesignerMichelleBurke