Answering Messages within 24 hours for Star Seller

[SeaTurtleGlass]

I have a HUGE issue with this...for many reasons!  For one, I have a Sabbath, and I do not respond to business inquiries during my Sabbath...that lasts 24 hours...so anyone else that has this belief will get punished when they receive a message during this time.  Another issue is...life happens!  I can't always GET to my messages within that time...I get migraines, etc.  And a third reason....I don't GET a lot of messages, so if I don't get to ONE within 24 hours, my % drops significantly and there is no way to recover from it.  That means that I can't be a Star Seller for the next three months. Who made these rules?  And if the suggestion is set up an auto reply, no thanks.  When I get that as a buyer, it's annoying, feels impersonal, and I tend to not purchase from that shop.  How do we get this remedied? It's hard enough to sell on Etsy....why make more obstacles?

[ChillwolfArt]

Hi, Etsy set the Star Seller Metrics to pertain to responding to all Messages within 24 Hrs. Those Messages where you are not the Initiator. Whether we think it's fair or not, they won't change the Metrics, sorry. Even if another Seller whom you are friendly with, Messages you ("How's it going"? for example). That still counts, as you did not Initiate the Message.

I used Auto Reply a year, but it was only in a few incidences where I had to go to the hospital. I was not here to run my Shop. 

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

And if the suggestion is set up an auto reply, no thanks.  When I get that as a buyer, it's annoying, feels impersonal, and I tend to not purchase from that shop.  How do we get this remedied?

It seems like you answered your own question. If you can't answer messages within 24 hours and you don't want to set up auto-reply, it's going to affect your Star Seller. You need to decide what's more important to you.

[audreytherese]

If you just can't make it work and refuse to use an auto response, then stop worrying about the program. Personally I'd rather have a shop send an auto response and say they are observing the Sabbath than to completely ignore me. I'd be more likely to not purchase from the latter one. 

[PiecesOfMePaperCraft]

Same here. A few months ago I contacted a shop and got an auto reply that said they would respond in x-amount of time (and they did). I'd rather get a response like that than be ignored.

[CanningCrafts]

My auto-reply has FAQ info which answers questions that most buyers have anyway. Otherwise, the message says when I will respond back by. 

[AVAArtsSupplies]

If you were a brick-and-mortar store what would you do? Let the phone ring and ring and ring and ring OR would you have an automated message that stated your hours and that you would respond on Monday (or whatever day). 

You can turn the automated message on and off. You don't have to have it on 24/7/365. 

[michellepatterns]

Turn on the automated message when you can't answer with 24-hours.

[bradgoodell]

You have an easy solution that you refuse to use because you feel it is impersonal.  More impersonal than making a buyer wait days for your reply?   Because that is what I hear you are saying.  You feel you should be able to respond whenever works for you, and not get dinged.  

What you want isn't what Etsy wants.  Sorry.

[BagmakerSupply]

@SeaTurtleGlass: While I agree with you in principle that auto-reply is not a good measure of customer service, a well worded auto-reply used judiciously (only on weekends?) does at least let the customer know that you "received" their inquiry. Isn't something like "Our customer service hours are 9 am to 4 pm Central Standard Time Monday through Friday. We will answer all messages in the order they were received on Monday morning." better than no reply from you for a day or two?

In the meantime. the Star Seller metric for messages is very simplistic and binary - either you replied to (or marked as SPAM) that first message of a new incoming thread within 24 hours or you did not.

[JDTotesnDolls]

If you find auto reply annoying and won't use it then you are out of luck.  

I use auto-reply only for certain hours because I am not avaiiable at night.  Since you aren't available on the Sabbath as your choice then your refusal to use auto-reply makes no sense to me.  You wouldn't reply anyways so setting it makes sense to me for the 24 hours.  As a buyer I am not offended if I get an automatic reply for vacation or anything else.  Certainly people are allowed to have a life outside Etsy and I respect when they make that choice.  Frankly not getting a reply for more than 24 hours would be more annoying to me then a auto reply that says the seller is unavailable.  The former makes me fee ignored, the latter not.

Etsy cannot cater to everyone.  It would be impossible.  Etsy made certain decisions and it is up to us how we adapt our business to them.

[GroundZeroCreations]

No one likes being told what to do. But in order to have a set of standards, most any website sets requirements about customer response time. If you don't want to adhere to that, then you can always create your own website. Or just ignore the requirement realizing that you will not be able to participate in the SS program. 

We have all had to adjust to the requirements of the SS program or just ignore it altogether. I understand if you feel led to rest on the Sabbath. No one will fault you for that choice. I just grew up in a household where we worked 7 days a week and thought nothing of it. So as an adult, I still often do that. I just look at every order that I receive as a blessing and honor that blessing by doing all within my power to get it out to the customer as soon as possible. And I don't get many messages period, but when I do get one, I respond quickly. I say all of this just as a small example of the difficulty Etsy has trying to build policies and procedures that the many can live with when everyone has different lifestyles. Nothing is right for everyone. So just do you and don't worry about the SS program. I honestly don't think it makes any difference. 

[Vintorious]

I'm going to echo what others have already said: use the auto reply option! You may feel that this is impersonal, but others appreciate knowing that you are not simply ignoring them. The message you offer doesn't have to be cold and impersonal: use it as an opportunity to show that you're truly interested in communicating, and not avoiding interactions. Personally, I feel worse about non-responses than I do about an auto-reply, especially if it's nicely worded and not 'robot-y.' I'm also less likely to buy from a shop that ignores me!

[PriddeyThings]

Etsy has set the rules and provided the tools for you to use. If you choose not to use them, that’s entirely up to you. 

[TerrificTemplatesCo]

An automated reply is only impersonal if it is written as such. Write a personal auto reply message that lets customers know you care about them. No one likes being ignored.