Buyer Sent Duplicate Messages About Same Issue & Now I'm not Meeting Star Seller Standards

[VogueVintageLLC]

So recently I had a buyer contact me about an issue. Basically I goofed and sent them the wrong shirt. The shirts were VERY similar and I just didn't pay close enough attention. When they contacted me they sent two messages at the same time. One was one of those official "Buyer has an issue" messages and the other was a typical direct message. Both said the exact same thing. 

So, I decided to reply to the official one since that made the most sense. I ended up apologizing, sending them the actual shirt they ordered and telling them they could just keep the shirt I accidentally sent.

Everything worked out, the buyer was happy and they even made note of and apologized for the duplicate messages.

Then today I decide to check by Star Seller section in my Shop Manager to make sure I'm on track and it says I'm not. I figured it had to be I got a bad review and that was what was messing it up, because every other time that's always been the case, but this time it said my message response rate was at 89% and not the required 95%. You must respond within 24 hours to have a satisfactory response rate based on etsy's metric.

You can download a spreadsheet of your message history and it has a column with a simple "yes" or "no" if you replied within 24 hour. Of course, the message that was marked "no" (and the only message I should add) was the duplicate message from that buyer.

This seems really silly and unfair because I totally did respond to the buyer and resolved their issue and I did so way faster than 24 hours. I did it within 10 minutes. Isn't that the point of responding quickly is so you help buyers and not simply sending some text? But according to etsy support, that's what I should have done. I should have replied to the duplicate just to meet this metric and there's nothing they can do about it. It ought to be a simple overturn. It's clear what happened. It's clear I did respond to the buyer in their other message. My response rate to buyers is 100%, it's just that one duplicate message.

This is very frustrating because you can work hard to make sure you hit every goal post to become a Star Seller and a silly, ridiculous and non-sense technicality like this throws you off and is used to punish you. What's the point if that happens? The motivation goes to zero. And, yet, according to etsy I should just reply to the extra message which will only cause confusion for both me and the buyer actually making their experience and my response worse, not better, which defeats the entire purpose of what they're trying to achieve with minimum response rates anyway.

Just another frustrating, stupid aspect of the Star Seller program that needs to be addressed.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

It's the way it is,

you have to respond to each new message thread, and they are highlighted in blue, so you don't miss them.

Etsy tries to lump as many ,messages into one thread, however
the "help request" one is never mixed with any other thread, as it's when the 48 hour clock starts for the buyer to open a case.

in future, just  say" I responded to your other message", it doesn't take much time.

[ReImagineBrewing]

The issue with "I responded to your other message" is you don't know which one will end up linking to an order and send an alert. What if they respond then from a different message that didn't link completely changing their order and you didn't see this and finished and shipped the item. Speaking from experience...this happens all the time if you have to work fast. Then people get mad and I have to explain Etsy's broken message system to them. They didn't realize they shouldn't start new messages and should respond to ones started. It was easier for them the other way...just clicking contact seller because that is what they are used to. Then they also miss your responses half the time too.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@ReImagineBrewing 

the one that counts, for the 48 hours before a case can be opened, is the one that says "help request" which etsy adds on to highlight

[ReImagineBrewing]

@CraftyCornishMaids I didn't mean it does/does not count. I could care less if it counts. My annoyance for myself and customers is that an order might have ZERO messages linked to it and the customer sent a random help question and did NOT message you from the order.

So, this help message that is ASAP IMPORTANT CHANGE MY ORDER NOW....I DIDN'T READ YOUR POLICY TO PLACE A NEW ORDER DUE TO NOT KNOWING IF MESSAGES WILL ATTACH...NOW YOU GET -50 Stars for not changing the order as requested even though it didn't attach.

YEAH, this is a broken system. Etsy missed the mark. All messages need to link to the order and send an alert. If you need to respond to both do it but both need to link to that order sending an alert. Until they do, Etsy didn't fix anything.

I should never get a random message not linked to an order when an order is open with that customer. That is just pure lack of Etsy trying to make sellers more efficient and customers happier. Etsy missed the mark BIG TIME.

I always tell Etsy Staff...would you like to have to search all of your emails prior to sending an email to your boss before you start a project. Then mid-way check all of your emails again. Then when you are done check them again just in case your boss sent an email you didn't see on a different thread that is related but they decided to send each email from now on in a separate thread and not click respond to any of them. Now you have to respond and check all of them. Does this make sense? NO. Is it a HUGE waste of time YES. Is this what Etsy has created for us YES! They missed the mark. All messages should create and alert from a customer if an order is open no matter what. That alert is a RED FLAG to check your messages prior to making/shipping or doing anything to that order.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@ReImagineBrewing 

Threads that have to be answered for star seller, are highlighted in blue

If it's also from the "purchase and reviews", it will still be blue, but also have "help request" , which means you have to reply for seller protection 

they could be contacting you about an order they have placed, they could be contacting you about a future order they want, however

blue - reply
"help request" - 48 hour clock starts ticking too

unless etsy is reading every message, they won't know if it's relating to an order or not.

[BootifulLabels · Accepted solution]

You can try marking the one you didn't answer as spam, it might work, and should adjust your ratings within a day or two.  Next time remember to either answer or spam all new messages within the 24 hr period.  You can set up simple snippets in the message system so that you can send a "see my answer in your other message" in just 3 clicks.

[VogueVintageLLC]

Hey! This actually seems to have worked! Thank you!

[BootifulLabels]

@VogueVintageLLC 

Glad to hear it.  It might have been a different story if it had occurred at the very end of the month and wasn't noticed till AFTER the badges were awarded.  Esty has always maintained they will not correct badges already awarded, but some issues can be fixed so they don't count against you the next time around.

[TonsOfPaper · Accepted solution]

Hello there,

Messages from the same buyer will now be consolidated into fewer threads. However, when a buyer reaches out via the Help With Order request, a new thread will be created which needs a response separately. These types of message threads need to be responded to in 24 hours to be counted positively toward your Star Seller score. New threads will now have notification badges showing if a message is a buyer’s first time contacting you, or a new help with an order request. 

For more information about this, you may check out this Forums Announcement and Message Response rate section in this Help Article.

Thank you very much!

[ReImagineBrewing]

@TonsOfPaper  However, the new help message will NOT create an alert next to that customer's open or closed order. This is a HUGE failure on Etsy's part. This Help Message means the customer needs HELP and is trying to contact you ABOUT THAT SPECIFIC ORDER! This is an URGENT issue that ALWAYS SHOULD LINK TO AND CREATE THAT ORANGE DOT SAYING "LOOK AT ME! NOW! URGENT! THIS IS IMPORTANT!"

Until Etsy has all messages link to orders imbeding them under the order and all creating alerts Etsy missed the mark and has failed both customers and sellers. You are just making our lives harder, less efficient and giving customers the expectation their message can change an address/order and potentially NEVER have it link to that order. I have multiple like this now. I'm just disappointed in this decision. Obviously, sellers were not consulted with changes and Etsy didn't treat messages like an "email system" or put themselves in a seller's shoes and pretend their boss was the customer. This would have changed the message design decisions.