Response Rate Incorrect

[NeatCustomWoodwork]

We received an order from a customer (we'll call them 'T') who then messaged a little while later wanting to cancel their order. 

No problem for us at all! The order had come in overnight from the USA (we're in the UK and were asleep) so cancelled the order once we woke up and messaged the customer to let them know they would receive a full refund.

Unfortunately, the customer had opened 2 separate conversations: one with us and one via a refund request form, both asking for the same thing. As we responded direct to the customer via message and refunded the order... Etsy calculated this as a 50% response rate as they measure conversation interactions... not customer interactions... so we get "room to improve" on our customer response rate

Customer services unable to correct their mistake! Frustrating... 

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

You have to answer every new thread and messaging via the refund message box unfortunately does not count.

How to Become a Star Seller – Etsy

[NeatCustomWoodwork]

Thanks for the comment and the link, that's a useful resource

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You have to reply to each new message thread.

That's it, 

Help requests are separated out, as they are very important, they are the ones that start the clock ticking for a case to be opened, so etsy separates them out, and puts the blue message on them, so you can't miss them.

The response rate is correct.

[NeatCustomWoodwork]

My point is, T is one person with one question which arrived via 2 means. We responded to that person within 12 hours by fully refunding them and cancelling the order, then messaging back letting them know we had refunded them and thanking them for their order - This receives 50%, "room to improve" and makes Star Seller impossible for an extra month.

If, however, I had responded 'no' to both messages without explanation... this would be evaluated as 100% star seller worthy communication.

I'm making the case that the way this is calculated has to change to one that is people focussed, like Etsy is supposed to be. Keep commerce human right?

[CraftyCornishMaids]

You have to reply to each new message thread

Etsy is very clear about that.

If you want the badge, reply

etsy is not going to read every message thread, to see if it is about the same thing.

there are millions a day.

The response rate is calculated correctly, and is 100% in your control.

[NeatCustomWoodwork]

I'm not necessarily sure why your responses are so terse, but it's clearly a topic you feel strongly about and I thank you for your reply and your viewpoint even if it ignores my main point... If messages were grouped by individual, it would seem to me to be an easier way to track conversations, get questions resolved and measure response rates more effectively

Just over here, hoping to improve things for all of us Cornish, no offence meant

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@NeatCustomWoodwork 

It absolutely did not ignore your main point, I explained why they are separated out

Help requests are separated out, as they are very important, they are the ones that start the clock ticking for a case to be opened, so etsy separates them out, and puts the blue message on them, so you can't miss them.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I am very calm,

I am informing of the facts of how it works and why

Basically, do not ignore help requests, they are very important, so they are separated out, on purpose.

etsy doesn't even let us mark them as spam.

[dippeldiundscribble]

@NeatCustomWoodwork 

You‘ve received excellent and correct advice from @CraftyCornishMaids 

There was absolutely no reason to be disrespectful.

Etsy could do many things, but has chosen not to. We all have to deal with it.

If others are able to meet and maintain the criteria of one of the simplest star seller metrics, you will be able to do so too.

Use the tools.

[NeatCustomWoodwork]

Thank you for your viewpoint  @dippeldiundscribble.

Like I said in my earlier comment, no offence intended here! I’m just wanting to amicably discuss something frustrating with the community. We should all strive to improve things

[GieseDeseiGns · Accepted solution]

Etsy does not read our messages per law, so only sees our unanswered messages. When you refund, that message does not sync with incoming messages so both initial messages should have been answered. Even if you think everything should be fine thats not how Etsy plays their game, so all messages to start with have to be answered whether from customer, another seller, a friend saying hi, or scammer.

[NeatCustomWoodwork]

Thanks for the response! Yes, I see that now. Very frustrating after giving good customer service... especially considering the volume of spam messages.

It would make more sense to me to measure stats based on interactions by and with individual if that makes sense? Especially as the one we got 'penalised' for was the automatic system-generated message.

At least we know now

[mementofuturo]

Makes total sense... not... especially the last one. I receive quite a lot of messages from scammers or people who want to sell something. Even though my response rate (and dispatch rate) for real customers is as good as immediate (unless I am asleep or on the road), I don't think this is fair and of course we can say this is how Etsy plays the game but this does not sit well with me. Additonally, I have been addressed by Etsy approved msg with a name I don't use so I don't understand where this comes from. This name is nowhere to be found on my Etsy account.

[Natalya1905]

"so we get "room to improve" on our customer response rate"

You definitely have room for improvement. For example, remove your IP infringing items: Disney's Winnie the Pooh and Spider Man. They're both trademarked. Right now, you don't have any SS badges at all. 

Edited to add: all 5 of your sales are Spider Man items. 

[ParkersScratchers]

The response conditions are flawed. If the customer's/prospect's response is something like a simple 'Thank you' after I have previously replied and answered and thank them, I am NOT sending them yet another response. It annoys me when people/shops do it to me. I am not going to do it to them.

[BagmakerSupply]

@ParkersScratchers: Agreed that the program needs improvement, but I think that many people don't realize that the Star Seller metric is NOT all new Messages but only the first Message of all new incoming threads or that they feel it is better to be safe than sorry and they just reply to all Messages. In some cases it may just be politeness and the desire to acknowledge receipt of your Message.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@ParkersScratchers 

you don't have to

you just have to reply to each message thread once

the flaw you think is there, is not,

it says,

Reply to the first message within 24 hours

Only the first message in a new thread, not ongoing convos

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

To all of you that think Etsy's way of doing things is wrong - consider this:

Answering messages is the one of 5 conditions that we can control.

We can't control the number of sales.

We can't control the amount of sales.

We can't control reviews that we get.

We can control shipping on time and with tracking, but we can't control the carriers.

WE CAN CONTROL ANSWERING MESSAGES SENT TO US.  IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO DO!!

[PreciousMemoriesOne]

How do you contact someone at Etsy who can check on the message response rates. At random, my rate will go down by 2 or 3 points.  I can't find any messages that I have missed.

I am disabled, so I sit a lot.  Every time I look at my phone I check Etsy first, and respond immediately to any questions.  I might go 6 hours at night when I sleep, but there is no way that I could possibly miss over 3 hours.  This has happened many times the past few months.  I look at messages, and I have answered every one well within the required time.

It would be helpful if messages could be highlighted if they're new.  Some customers open a new link with every comment, and it's hard to tell which are brand new.

Of course, I've spent hours in the help loop, trying to get some support from Etsy.  Maybe they need to apply customer service standards to their own 'support' team.

[ModKenneth · Accepted solution]

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