Customer service stat still sitting at 79%.... CSV file not updating hindering my shops performance.

[HeroicHandsWoodworks]

We've had a really busy year, and we're still playing catch up from the two hurricanes that made their way through florida (got 0 help from etsy and my customers were completely fine waiting). Our on time shipping and tracking stat fell below the "80% customer service standard" and has been sitting at 79% now for quite a few days, even though the last two orders needed to boost my visibility and get that 1%, have already been delivered, 5 and 6 days ago to be exact. 

The CSV file SHOULD update either the day of, or the day after a package is delivered. How is this such a difficult thing to fix? This system is so backwards and puts sellers in a position of limited reach for longer periods than they need to be - frankly it's not fair at all. It makes me not even want to use etsy.... I even spent extra money to have one last two packages shipped quicker in order to boost my stat above the threshold. I spend over a thousand dollars a month in advertising, and ETSY is quick to take my money, but when I need stats updated quickly to reflect our performance, I'm hit with crickets. I'm stopping all advertising spending immediately until this is resolved. 

This system seems super outdated and gives me DMV vibes for real. I called customer service for help... and they gave me a link to post here. You guys are putting sellers in a really bad position. I have 5 star reviews across the board and tons of repeat customers. I care about my business enough to check the stat every day and keep this thing moving. After all the money I have made ETSY in the last year, I'm really disappointed in this platform for using such a penalizing and dated system.

[bradgoodell]

@HeroicHandsWoodworks  I'm sorry to break this to you, but you are mistaken about how Etsy's customer service stats work.

 Etsy doesn't measure customer service stats on delivery.  It is entirely based on on-time shipping.  Etsy doesn't take delivery date into consideration.  Shipping quicker also makes no difference, nor does paying for upgraded shipping.  It is entirely based on whether you ship at or by the ship-by date.

If you cannot ship on-time, you can extend your ship-by date once, but only if the ship-by date has not passed.  This keeps you in Etsy's good graces for customer service.  If you know a hurricane is coming, and people usually do, you could push the ship-by date out before it hits and knocks out power and delays the post office.  

Sorry, I know this stings.  But you will be better prepared in the future.  Best of luck.  

[HeroicHandsWoodworks]

You're not understanding what I'm saying... I shipped these last two boxes WAY ahead of schedule (before the ship by date) and they still are not showing up in my CSV, even after a delivery, even after a 5 star review. The system is not updating accordingly.

[bradgoodell]

Perhaps I'm not understanding you.  What do those 2 packages show on your CSV?  Do they show at all?  

You have a few days before the end of the month for things to adjust, when your overall score is recalculated. 

[HeroicHandsWoodworks]

Those packages are not showing on my CSV at all. However, they are listed in my "completed" section of the orders with both saying delivered on or before the expected delivery date with both being shipped prior to the "ship by date". I know I have a few days till the score for the month is calculated - It's the days or weeks leading up to the monthly score adjustment that puts shops like mine in jeopardy and limits reach for that time period all because of a failure to report on the CSV. It's a backwards system, and I don't know if it's only affecting my shop, or everyones shop this way. I feel like my customer service stats should improve immediately upon a label scan either by or before the ship date. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@HeroicHandsWoodworks: "I shipped these last two boxes WAY ahead of schedule" It seems that sometimes an order does not appear on the CSV file and in the stats until after the scheduled to ship date, regardless of when you actually shipped.

[GlassyFields]

@HeroicHandsWoodworks 

Packages that are not scanned by the carrier will show up as not shipped on Etsy's csv.

Packages that do not have tracking will show up on the csv.

Packages that have an incorrect tracking # (even one with a trailing or leading space) will show up on the csv.

Use the csv to determine which packages are shown are flagged ... then go to the order and verify see what tracking says.

and as @bradgoodell says, sometimes it's a delay in the information being updated. Although I see most updates the following day, I've also seen updates take 2 or more days to be reflected in the csvs.

[ThePathologicalDyer]

If you can't ship on time, you can extend the shipping date once.  Also, if you know a storm is coming, you can set your shipping times to 2 weeks or something temporarily (with no expedited shipping option) until you know if you'll be impacted or not, and then change it back.  Or you can temporarily put your shop on vacation (although you will lose sales that way since no one can see your stuff and you'll drop in searches.)   The shipping time is based on when you actually create / print out your shipping label, not on when it's delivered.... so if you can print out your labels immediately even though you may not get to the post office for a few days, it will not impact your shipping time... they don't look at when it's actually dropped off for shipping or when it's delivered.  You can theoretically buy and print out a label, get your thing packaged, and not ship it for weeks and it won't impact your shipping time stats.  (Pointing out another reason why statistics are only a general idea of a shop's performance, and highlighting how the stats can be manipulated some).   

[bradgoodell]

"The shipping time is based on when you actually create / print out your shipping label, not on when it's delivered...."

Not exactly.  It is based on when the post office scans the label.  If you print the label and it never gets scanned or gets scanned late, it can affect your on-time shipping stats.  This is to prevent people from printing labels but not actually shipping for days or weeks.  

Also, Etsy does look at estimated delivery dates when it comes to buyer disputes.  If a package doesn't arrive by Etsy's estimated delivery date, Etsy will refund the buyer in full.  If tracking shows it was shipped late, that refund would come out of the seller's pocket.  

Please don't encourage sellers to print out labels and not ship. That truly is bad customer service.  

[ThePathologicalDyer]

Not encouraging people to ship late.  I'm just saying that the most important thing they seem to track is when you actually buy the label.  My post office often doesn't scan things when they're dropped off, and they may not show up as having being taken to the post office for a couple of days.  Dinging shops for "past the date" shipping times when shipping is out the control of the seller is crazy (unless the seller didn't take it to the post office for weeks -- which I'm not at all encouraging, just saying I didn't think Etsy looks at anything past when the label was purchased.  SOOO much in shipping is out of the hands of sellers.)

[GieseDeseiGns]

Do you have to ship with the PO it might be better to actually use Etsy shipping or Pirate Ship to create your labels so they do not show shipping late.

[HeroicHandsWoodworks]

I ship with UPS specifically and my driver knows to scan ETSY items that are marked on the outside of the box. I purchase the label through etsy, and that same label gets scanned the day I print. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

For etsy customer service stats,

the ships on time with tracking, has nothing to do with delivery

and it doesn't matter if you ship early, 

Etsy only looks at it, the day it is DUE to be shipped, so you have to wait until after then, for it to be calculated in the stats

[HeroicHandsWoodworks]

Does that encourage people to ship things earlier than expected? no... Does it incentivise people in my situation with 79% on a stat to ship things quicker to get out of the "loss of visibility" hole? No again. This kind of delay doesn't make any sense in a digital world where everything is instant. Etsy doesn't realize it's actually hurting businesses with a lag time and preventing etsy itself from making more money off of sellers.. It's problems like these were people actually leave platforms because it puts the seller in a bad situation - Im trying to save up enough this month to pay taxes, but have been struggling through it because of the loss of visibility. Sure, it's my own fault for letting things slip, but I over-delivered trying to make things right, paid extra money out of pocket to ship things quicker, all for it to not matter. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@HeroicHandsWoodworks 

There is a date for shipping on time with tracking, and the seller sets that date

and etsy will wait until then, before counting it, to give all sellers the maximum time to ship on time, before they get a strike against them.

If you don't like the lag time you set yourself, then don't set it that long.

[CarpetCollectionAU]

@HeroicHandsWoodworks When were the Orders DUE to Ship? For SSP / CSS Etsy uses the date the Order was DUE to Ship to assign the Order Data. It appears that you have a 2 - 3 week Processing timeframe. If those Orders also had this Procesing timeframe, then the SSP Shipping on Time data will be assigned to the Month the Orders were DUE to Ship, not the Month in which they were actually Shipped. 

Shipping early has no bearing on SSP Data. Many Sellers have mistakenly thought that Shipping everything in the last few days of a Month will help raise their SSP statistics. However, if those Orders were not DUE to Ship until the next Month, then the data will not update until the next Month.

This is not a "glitch". It is intentional programming designed to give Sellers the full Processing timeframe before considering an Order to be "late". 

[HeroicHandsWoodworks]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I actually can't even view the DUE to ship date after they have been shipped and completed. I also just moved those processing times out about an hour ago, so 20 minutes or so before your post. They were at 1-3 weeks. 

Also, I think etsy should probably put a disclaimer on the shipping that shipping it quicker does nothing for the stats. The description is seriously so vague. 

[BootifulLabels]

Shipping early is great customer service, but it doesn't always help when it comes to customer service standards.  Etsy will not count a sale for on time shipping until after the promised shipping date has past, so as not to penalise the seller prematurely.  The autobot ignores actual shipping dates until after the promised ships by date has been reached, even if you shipped early and the package has already been received.