our first order
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
We ordered a ring from our principal supplier back in December. They didn't get it right.
Thankfully, our order was only for our own purposes (product photography) and not for a client. But the manufacturer managed to come up with a setting suitable for a 30 point stone when we needed (and clearly ordered) a 50 point setting. Making jewelry like this is all that our manufacturer does, and the order sheet was quite clear, yet this happened.
Also, their manufacturing turnaround time was double the standard two weeks that we'd been promised because of the new year. They told me this when I ordered it, but it's still a long time to turnaround a small engagement ring.
And yet, I can't blame them for any of this. I'm the newbie in the industry, not them. I didn't do my bit and check the ring carefully enough when they showed it to me in the shop, and I left myself open to the operational quirk that caused the extra two weeks in turnaround.
Mari and I agreed that this is overall a good thing. This didn't happen with a client's order, and it doesn't even impact our creation of the online store because the photography of 50 point pieces is only something we're exploring at this point, we don't need it for "day zero". For my part, I've got some thinking to do on how to prevent this from recurring. Several things have already come to mind, such as:
+ buying stock in the most popular sizes and styles to lay away
+ communicating longer lead times to our clients at times of the year when our manufacturers are incapable of quick delivery
+ doing a thorough check of the piece before accepting it at the shop floor
Yes, I can learn from this. And there's more: in speaking with our contact at the manufacturer yesterday I learned which sizes of ring are the big sellers—we can focus on those in our shop rather than offering the full range of sizes and making a mess of the selection interface.