Latest dollyhair order - less hair by weight - anyone else?

[SoldierofTwilight]

I wish there was an alternative way to get in touch with her.. other than email or here

Someone mentioned that she used to have a phone number listed so I went to her website to see if there was an alternate contact method and found the following on her contact page.

"I usually take the weekend off, and sometimes, I even dare to take a weekday (or two) off... sometimes I even take off a few days in a row! If you email me and do not receive a response right away, please do not freak out. One of the great things about owning one's own business is that the business owner can make his/her own schedule, and I often take full advantage of that fact.

Our phone number is no longer in service, and honestly, Dollyhair is so busy with orders that if I were to make myself available by phone, then that would take time away from order processing.

We're not Amazon.com. We're not eBay. And we're not selling kidneys and livers for life-saving organ transplants."

To me, just because you're a small business or because what you sell isn't "important" doesn't mean you can't have the same level of customer service as the big boys. I know many small business owners who do a great job of it.

Rub your costumers the wrong way much?!
After reading that, I don't think I will ever spend my money on DH again. (At least not first person through Tina....)
I'm so sorry for all the problems everyone is having.

I can understand the frustration everyone is having, and if I could weight mine as well (just had a big order I received recently), I'm sure I would have the same problem with mine not weighing nearly as much as the older orders I've had. But I think some are being a bit harsh.

If I owned my own business for such a niche group of pony customizers that quickly bloomed, I would have made a similar disclaimer on my site as well. She may not have come off so pearly rainbow and baby bunny nice about it, but she simple made the statement to say, "I can't offer the same customer service that EBay, Amazon, or other big companies offer...but will still take care of you as soon as I can". That's my take on it. It's very easy to misconstrue things via text on a computer or email, because you can't hear or understand feelings so well in cold hard text format. I DO expect better customer service from bigger companies, because they DO hire more employees so that they can offer that service.

I've always, ALWAYS been pleased with her and her service. I know not to place really big orders around the holidays or when I'm rushed for a custom and I always check to see if she has an important message on her site as well.

Also, I will say this, because no matter the business, family always comes first and foremost. If there is an emergency in the family and hair is delayed, I'm sure she doesn't mean for it to happen. Where has humanity been lost? She is one person with a little hired help and that hired help may have made a mistake with separating the hair for us. Don't put her on a chopping block and execute her so easily without the trial. How can a mistake be corrected if she doesn't know what has happened?? Be so kind as to inform her of the lack of hair and maybe she'll find a way to fix the issue, even if she isn't able to respond to your emails, I'm positive she will rectify this situation. Put yourself in her shoes. Would you tell your sick child or parent or s/o to wait and bugger off because your business is too important? I really just don't think she knew how big the market would get. To be very honest, it seems like the pony customizing community really started to boom the time the G4 came about. Who knows, maybe she is trying to expand and get more help to keep up with demand!

I'm actually really sad about some of these comments. I'm not sure if maybe it's like brand loyalty (ie I'll only buy an Iphone over a Droid, etc), but you can't let one bad experience ruin everything. Again, I've never had problems and I remain a loyal customer, but I have also shopped at other sites as well, and just because I may have had one issue with someone, doesn't mean I'll condemn them forever. I have no real brand loyalty, I've shopped at DH, RDUS, My Little Customs, etc. They all have great products.

Unfortunately, I don't have a way to weigh my hair, so I can't really email her about myself. But I do strongly urge you all to notify her about your individual cases. That's just my two cents, take it for what it's worth. Good luck everyone!!

[Miserati]

Just a little update. I usually order 2 hanks of whatever color I'm using for a pony so I can double up on plugs and have one hank for mane and one for tail. For this one I was using two colors semi-blended and just did the red first. I cut my Pomme d'amour directly in half and put one half aside for the tail and used the other half for mane. & I came up a looottttt shorter than usual. When I have done this in the past I have extra hair after filling the plugs to make extra plugs in the middle.

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Guess I'll be breaking into the half for her tail.

[SoldierofTwilight]

Just a little update. I usually order 2 hanks of whatever color I'm using for a pony so I can double up on plugs and have one hank for mane and one for tail. For this one I was using two colors semi-blended and just did the red first. I cut my Pomme d'amour directly in half and put one half aside for the tail and used the other half for mane. & I came up a looottttt shorter than usual. When I have done this in the past I have extra hair after filling the plugs to make extra plugs in the middle.

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Guess I'll be breaking into the half for her tail.

Thanks for the comparison facts and photo. That stinks man.

[hannaliten]

it depends on the size of the pony.
If you do mostly G4s, like me, you can get 2 or more ponies from just 1 hank, if you use a single color.

I also customize mostly G4s, but that doesn't mean I don't want to get what  I pay for!

[jupiternwndrlnd]

I know that there is a lot of frustration here, and everyone is being very good about not pointing fingers or going on a "witch hunt" so to speak.....just a lot of comparing of information.
until dollyhair is able to come and give us her reasoning behind things, I would prefer if speculations and tempers were kept to a minimum, please

[Pythia]

How can a mistake be corrected if she doesn't know what has happened?? Be so kind as to inform her of the lack of hair and maybe she'll find a way to fix the issue, even if she isn't able to respond to your emails, I'm positive she will rectify this situation. Put yourself in her shoes. Would you tell your sick child or parent or s/o to wait and bugger off because your business is too important?

I'm actually really sad about some of these comments. I'm not sure if maybe it's like brand loyalty (ie I'll only buy an Iphone over a Droid, etc), but you can't let one bad experience ruin everything. Again, I've never had problems and I remain a loyal customer, but I have also shopped at other sites as well, and just because I may have had one issue with someone, doesn't mean I'll condemn them forever.

See, I totally get what you're saying - but I think the problem is that for a lot of people, this isn't the first, or even the second time something has gone pretty wrong with their DH order. If this was the first big mess up, then I'd be saying what you're saying, but it was only a few months ago that more than just a few people were getting the wrong colours, multiple hanks missing from orders, colours that were out of stock randomly replaced by something totally different with no consultation etc. And when people tried to bring these things to her attention,  it was pretty much this all over again - no way to make contact.

If it was an occasional thing, and she said "Look guys, I'm really sorry things have been a bit messed up but a family member's been sick." I'm sure everyone would completely understand. But it seems to have been an ongoing thing for a while now, and people are just getting frustrated and understandably worried. Don't forget that some people make their income through commissions, and it can screw with their livelyhood if things get messed up. And when it's happening again and again and it kind of seems like DH doesn't really care...well, I can understand why people are getting upset and are going to take their business elsewhere. *shrug*

[SoldierofTwilight]

See, I totally get what you're saying - but I think the problem is that for a lot of people, this isn't the first, or even the second time something has gone pretty wrong with their DH order. If this was the first big mess up, then I'd be saying what you're saying, but it was only a few months ago that more than just a few people were getting the wrong colours, multiple hanks missing from orders, colours that were out of stock randomly replaced by something totally different with no consultation etc. And when people tried to bring these things to her attention,  it was pretty much this all over again - no way to make contact.

If it was an occasional thing, and she said "Look guys, I'm really sorry things have been a bit messed up but a family member's been sick." I'm sure everyone would completely understand. But it seems to have been an ongoing thing for a while now, and people are just getting frustrated and understandably worried. Don't forget that some people make their income through commissions, and it can screw with their livelyhood if things get messed up. And when it's happening again and again and it kind of seems like DH doesn't really care...well, I can understand why people are getting upset and are going to take their business elsewhere. *shrug*

All very true. I would just like to hear from her to see what's really going on, at least get some clarification. :/

[Pythia]

All very true. I would just like to hear from her to see what's really going on, at least get some clarification. :/

Agreed! I think everyone's on the same page on that!

[sd_dreamcrystal]

All very true. I would just like to hear from her to see what's really going on, at least get some clarification. :/

That's all I am doing, is sitting and waiting for an email to my question, despite the fact that for my reasons it's invalid now xD However it does pertain to the -average- weight of DH's hair so we'll see what she says when she can.

[rayedelsol]

The non-response to emails is a little upsetting when you have such a large turn around time too.

For instance, I ordered last week [on Dec 2] and I fully expect and understand a large turn-around time. Since then, I've made some sales and have a little bit more money and would like to add to my order without paying a second round of shipping [and more waiting]. So if she answered emails, she could be getting more of my $$ right now

Anyways, I hope this all gets settled. I really like the product I get from DH, just hoping I get as much of it as I normally do

[Seiena_Cyrus]

I wish there was an alternative way to get in touch with her.. other than email or here

Someone mentioned that she used to have a phone number listed so I went to her website to see if there was an alternate contact method and found the following on her contact page.

"I usually take the weekend off, and sometimes, I even dare to take a weekday (or two) off... sometimes I even take off a few days in a row! If you email me and do not receive a response right away, please do not freak out. One of the great things about owning one's own business is that the business owner can make his/her own schedule, and I often take full advantage of that fact.

Our phone number is no longer in service, and honestly, Dollyhair is so busy with orders that if I were to make myself available by phone, then that would take time away from order processing.

We're not Amazon.com. We're not eBay. And we're not selling kidneys and livers for life-saving organ transplants."

To me, just because you're a small business or because what you sell isn't "important" doesn't mean you can't have the same level of customer service as the big boys. I know many small business owners who do a great job of it.

Rub your costumers the wrong way much?!
After reading that, I don't think I will ever spend my money on DH again. (At least not first person through Tina....)
I'm so sorry for all the problems everyone is having.

I can understand the frustration everyone is having, and if I could weight mine as well (just had a big order I received recently), I'm sure I would have the same problem with mine not weighing nearly as much as the older orders I've had. But I think some are being a bit harsh.

If I owned my own business for such a niche group of pony customizers that quickly bloomed, I would have made a similar disclaimer on my site as well. She may not have come off so pearly rainbow and baby bunny nice about it, but she simple made the statement to say, "I can't offer the same customer service that EBay, Amazon, or other big companies offer...but will still take care of you as soon as I can". That's my take on it. It's very easy to misconstrue things via text on a computer or email, because you can't hear or understand feelings so well in cold hard text format. I DO expect better customer service from bigger companies, because they DO hire more employees so that they can offer that service.

I've always, ALWAYS been pleased with her and her service. I know not to place really big orders around the holidays or when I'm rushed for a custom and I always check to see if she has an important message on her site as well.

Also, I will say this, because no matter the business, family always comes first and foremost. If there is an emergency in the family and hair is delayed, I'm sure she doesn't mean for it to happen. Where has humanity been lost? She is one person with a little hired help and that hired help may have made a mistake with separating the hair for us. Don't put her on a chopping block and execute her so easily without the trial. How can a mistake be corrected if she doesn't know what has happened?? Be so kind as to inform her of the lack of hair and maybe she'll find a way to fix the issue, even if she isn't able to respond to your emails, I'm positive she will rectify this situation. Put yourself in her shoes. Would you tell your sick child or parent or s/o to wait and bugger off because your business is too important? I really just don't think she knew how big the market would get. To be very honest, it seems like the pony customizing community really started to boom the time the G4 came about. Who knows, maybe she is trying to expand and get more help to keep up with demand!

I'm actually really sad about some of these comments. I'm not sure if maybe it's like brand loyalty (ie I'll only buy an Iphone over a Droid, etc), but you can't let one bad experience ruin everything. Again, I've never had problems and I remain a loyal customer, but I have also shopped at other sites as well, and just because I may have had one issue with someone, doesn't mean I'll condemn them forever. I have no real brand loyalty, I've shopped at DH, RDUS, My Little Customs, etc. They all have great products.

Unfortunately, I don't have a way to weigh my hair, so I can't really email her about myself. But I do strongly urge you all to notify her about your individual cases. That's just my two cents, take it for what it's worth. Good luck everyone!!

I get what you're saying, however I don't think people are being too harsh honestly. She admits in her own statement that she takes advantage of taking days off as she pleases because she owns her own business and she's allowed to do that. Sure she is, at the expense of customer satisfaction. When your boss asks you to work overtime because there's a project due. He isn't asking you to do that because he's mean, or anything it's because he's got a deadline that -has- to be met.

It is cold hard text but that part stood out because if we did not know her it would be a red flag. Most people in my experience (Your experiences may vary obviously) but most of the people I know who say I take time off because I can, and are behind in their work, are taking off more time then they are working. This is because they procrastinate, or just aren't suited to being their own boss (It's why it's common for College students to fail their first semester.) But let me restate this. I do not think this is what's going on, however it's a badly worded statement on the basis that someone that does not know her might come to this conclusion.

It would not make me inclined to deal with her either because the people who typically have great customer service are small businesses because they can't afford to lose customers. Walmart, Amazon, Ebay all of those -can- afford to lose customers so they slack off.

[kezrob23]

i got my hair, ordered on the 22nd, today - pretty pleased with the speed considering it's the holiday period - (not the lot ordered on the 16th nov, as i ordered a tool, and it said that could take longer) and the weigh ins are as follows

wysteria - 11.8g
brambleberry - 11.5
starlight - 12
ultraviolet - 13.7
pink sugar - 11.3
sunset - 12.6 x 2

this is my first lot of hair, so have nothing to compare it to. but the colours are just stunning, and it feels so beautiful!! can't wait for my tool to arrive so i can fix my ponies!!!

oh that starlight... and brambleberry... so exciting to start my first custom!!!!

[zannid]

My first experience with Dollyhair was asking for samples. Well, it required a big runaround and over a month with no samples. I sent a few e-mails and got a response saying she doesn't keep track of whether or not samples have been mailed out so it might have gotten lost or it may have just never been sent. She said if I sent her the request again and my address she would get them out to me.

Well, I chose not to respond, waited for a while and looked around and read reviews. I figured for saran she was the most well known and that if you were a paying customer, she tended to do better customer service wise. Her site was also less confusing for me then others. So, I made a small initial purchase as a test. It was shipped and received quickly and I was pleased.

Now, I know she's a bit behind in orders, but I do sort of disagree w/ the inability to respond to e-mails along with her inconsistency in tracking responses. With the amount of hair being shipped in orders, I do hope she responds and either offers something like a voucher or a small refund for people who got less than they expected.

I do understand things come up and that sometimes you get more sales than you expected. The important thing is to keep your buyers consistently informed. If you can't answer non-important questions, it's understandable, but completely disregarding all e-mails is certainly not the way to go. There's different expectation from a store such as Amazon and a small business, yes, but those expectations are still higher than say, someone casually selling on the Arena.

Communication is key when running a business, especially one for such a niche group! I know many Etsy sellers who have gotten backed up or something came up where there was a delay, but they always made sure to keep you informed/tried their best, so I still come back to them time and time again. We're human, we make errors, I just wish Dollyhair would be a bit more consistent with things.

As is, I will wait for her response on this whole matter, as less product for the same amount of money really isn't excusable. If it's a mistake, understandable, but try and fix the situation as quickly as possible. Taking the time to notice the e-mails stating the problem would probably be easier then shipping out all these new orders and having to repair the situation later. :/

[bagheera86]

Well last tiem I made an attempt to contact her about an issue, that failed and I made a topic for it, she didn't respond to my pm (or email I think) but instead responded to the board post after someone referred her to it (and after I opened a paypal thing) but she did make good on it.. So if there is going to be a response, you might find it here if more people email her about this post.

[SoldierofTwilight]

Communication is key when running a business, especially one for such a niche group! I know many Etsy sellers who have gotten backed up or something came up where there was a delay, but they always made sure to keep you informed/tried their best, so I still come back to them time and time again. We're human, we make errors, I just wish Dollyhair would be a bit more consistent with things.

Completely agree with you there. I'm thinking she may not know how to group her emails for business, maybe..and lack of organization combined with new hired help is really not helping.

Well last tiem I made an attempt to contact her about an issue, that failed and I made a topic for it, she didn't respond to my pm (or email I think) but instead responded to the board post after someone referred her to it (and after I opened a paypal thing) but she did make good on it.. So if there is going to be a response, you might find it here if more people email her about this post.

That is because she's not a regular customizer like us, she doesn't frequent boards like we do. That would certainly take more time away from her work. Lord knows how many hours I can waste away on here!

I sent her an email as well, and referred her here and sent her the link. Again, I'm sure she will take care of things. Just continue to notify her, of course without being offensive, so she knows what is going on with a lot of her orders. I'm sure she doesn't want to offend and drive off all of her business. That wouldn't make sense. :/