A Note on Weenies, Shipping, Etc.

[Failmingo]

An update on Weenies, and the challenging season ahead, from your local BPAL marketing demon!

 

If all goes according to plan, the Weenies will arrive later this week. Yay! The collection is hefty, though the main release may not include everything we've teased. Boo! And as much as it pains us, it's important to note that we will NOT be able to ship in time for Halloween arrival. (If that wasn't already obvious by now, ha!)

 

Without the support of a production staff, the past few months have been unbelievably difficult for those remaining on the team. Normally by this time of year, the staff is somewhat rested in anticipation of the major holiday crush. Well, that's just not the case this time. Instead, just to maintain "normal" operations, the remaining staff have spent the spring and summer working too many hours per day, too many days a week, through the months that are normally our chill period. We're heading into this season already maxed out, but the nature of our insanity dictates that we persist and give it our best shot!

 

We're already working on plans to help shore up production throughout the coming season. But this is the first time we're attempting releases on this scale without our staff, and we apologize in advance for any irregularities as we try our best to keep up with the demand.

Here's one easy example: IMPS. Everyone loves 'em. They love buying samples to test, and they also love getting freebies with their order. However, imps are perhaps the most labor intensive product that BPAL produces, and we're having a difficult time keeping them in stock for purchase, let alone to give away.

 

I know the "free gift with purchase" aspect may be a huge factor in folks' enthusiasm for our product, or their justification for the expense, so it can be a bummer to open a box and not find any rattling around — especially if it's a hefty order. Please just know that if your box is lacking frimps, it's simply because they don't exist. The only hands available to make them were probably needed elsewhere. Maybe several elsewheres.

 

Similarly, the hands typing answers to Customer Service questions are not available for packing orders, and vice versa. So here's my periodic request for folks to wait a little longer before checking in, or to space out your requests re: combining orders, if possible. There are many days when it's impossible to keep up with the email queue AND the order queue. Since many of the emails relate to whether stuff has shipped, it behooves me to ask for community help with this conundrum.

 

On that note: while we are happy to combine orders to cut down on customer cost and reduce waste, please be mindful that when there's a lot of back-and-forth and follow-ups involved, this does gradually add up to a considerable cost on our side, in the form of labor. So. if you can afford the shipping on an additional order, just know that it won't hurt our feelings any to show a little extra support for the USPS during this difficult time.

 

I'm also renewing my request that BPAListas not try to jump the queue by reaching out to Elizabeth and Ted via their private social media for questions related to orders and other work stuff. The burnout is MAJOR, as I'm sure many of you are experiencing in your own situations. We do not want the team to feel they must be available 24/7 or receive a steady stream of notifications during their few non-work hours. (You may pester me instead, in a pinch; I can't check on orders, but I will be happy to advise and save steps where I can, even if it's just to say "Please email Ted.")

 

Is that everything? I had to scan back through what I wrote to make sure these restrictions didn't sound too imposing... but really there's nothing hard-line about BPAL that we're changing or asking you to change. Please just remember that a very few humans are doing their damnedest to maintain the continuity of this wonderful company and all its traditions, and that not ONE DAY goes by when we manage to do this without your help and love, in one form or another.

 

Sometimes, it seems to me that we might be succeeding a little too well in keeping up a robust, outward-facing veneer that says BPAL is LITERAL MAGIC and that we're kicking this year's ass. We are magic, but we are very, very, very much being kicked. The disappointments are endless. And working this hard, for this long, it becomes impossible to overlook the failures and the opportunities lost, both large and small.

 

So, forging ahead through the upcoming season is going to require more communication throughout our community, and some additional consideration as we all do our best to tend the flame. And that communication isn't just one-way! I'm including my email address below in case someone has questions they don't want to ask via social media.

 

Thank you for reading! My heart is warmed to know how many people still care about the Weenies despite *waves hands* all of this.

 

tom@blackphoenixalchemylab.com