Dear
Happy 1st day of spring and International Day of Happiness – oh the irony.
There are two versions of this message depending on how much time you
have.
Here’s the short one
Due to an unexpected delay at the printers, your copies of ‘See, Smile, Say Hello’ (which were due at the end of March) will now arrive in early April.
It’s not my fault, but it is my
responsibility and I’m sorry.
To thank you for your patience, I’m offering you a couple of goodies.
An opportunity to watch an exclusive interview I did with Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge. You can watch it here.
A seat (per book - this was previously 2 per 10 books) on the special See, Smile, Say
Hello webinar and Q&A which has now been scheduled for 7pm on Thursday, April 10th. I’ll send you the registration details the week before.
The longer detailed version.
If you’re
like me, and you’re wondering how did this happen, keep reading.
Here’s the irony: this is a customer service book and yet there’s a hiccup in our service.
Yesterday morning I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed waiting for 45 boxes of beautiful books to arrive. I was
ready to unpack, sign, repack, sticker and send them off to the fabulous people who had pre-ordered See, Smile, Say Hello. I’d given myself 4 days to do it. Relax…
By 3pm? No books.
After a few frantic phone calls, where our printer tried to convince me that not only had the books been dispatched
but they should have been here by now, there was a sudden moment of horror when they discovered… they wouldn't be arriving yesterday, today or at any time soon.
A truck hijacking? Fire? Driver lost in lanes of rural Northumberland?
No. The delay happened because, as our printer, Mixam, explained, ‘due to a
processing error on our end, unfortunately your order wasn’t printed’. They ‘forgot’ to print the books!
Attached at the bottom of this message is a copy of the e-mail they sent me this afternoon.
Here’s the bonkers bit. They know I’ve sent over 150 authors to
Mixam through my Write That Book, programme – not a mention. It’s a book on customer service – not a mention. I’ve paid in advance – not a mention. I need a new delivery date – not a mention.
I don’t blame Mixam – we all make mistakes and I’m sure (hoping?) as I type they have people running around trying to get themselves out of the mire.
And, at this point, as they can’t say when I’ll receive the books, so I am unable to give you the exact date when you’ll receive yours – and I hate that!
But as my dad used to say, ‘It's not how you get in the crocodile's mouth that's important, it's how you get out.’
While this is beyond my control, I do take full responsibility (the ability to respond) and my first thought was 'how can I make it up to you?'
To express my gratitude for your patience, I like to offer you:
Some inspiration from an
exclusive interview with Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, previously only available to TEAM17 members. Tom is fab and his interview is inspiring. You can watch it here.
A seat (per book - this was previously 2 per 10 books) on a my special See, Smile, Say Hello webinar and Q&A. It was initially reserved for those who ordered over 10 copies or more but I’ve added 500 extra seats. It’s on at 7pm on Thursday 10th April. I’ll send you a link one week before.
Or, if you don’t want to wait, let me know and I’ll happily (😳) refund your purchase.
