So, customers are killing me right now. Stupid questions and idiotic things are always pretty common here, but lately... oh boy.
First thing. I have up on the website that we can ship. So, naturally... everyone asks, "is there a fee for that?" Now, if you have a brain in your head, you may have figured out that, unlike a hammock or chew toy, these are live animals that you can't just throw in a priority mail box and mail out. I'm sure some of you are sitting there scratching your heads, saying... why not?? Anyway, they fly out on the airlines, and that's not free by any means.
So, naturally, I mention, ok, there's a cost for the flight, for the carrier, for the paperwork, my gas to get to and from the airport... runs $200-250 for 1-4 chins. Mind you, these people are typically asking about shipping a $75 chin, so no, I can't eat the cost of $200 shipping to ship you a $75 chin.
Which bring up, then someone will say, well, on chinchillas.com, they sometimes have free shipping. Have you seen the chins on there? They easily go for a few hundred, and by a few hundred, I mean $600-800, and quite a few go for THOUSANDS. People often buy several at a time, so, even on the low end, say someone buys 3 chins at $500 each, that's $1500 for 3 chins... they can eat $200 in shipping. Me? Not so much.
Second thing. People that can't do math and have no sense of logic. I had one person email asking about the cost of adopting two chins. As it was a male and a female, and the multi-chin discount only applies for same-sex pairs, the adoption fee was... the total of the two adoption fees. Each chin was $200, so $400 total. So, then she asks about shipping, and I told her, likely $200 for the two, for shipping. So, she says, oh, $200 total? As in, $200 for the two chins and shipping. Cause, you know, if you buy one, it's full price, but buy two, and I'll only charge you for one, AND throw in free shipping (sarcasm). Yeah ok.
Third thing. People who think the policies / rules don't apply to them. I hold chins for 14 days. Let me repeat -- 14 DAYS. THAT IS IT. Don't like it? Show me any place that will hold them for longer, and won't charge you for it. When it's not the busy season, I may go a few extra days one way or another. If the deposit is for 14 days, and you want to pick up in 16, it's not going to be the end of the world, most likely. However... during the busy season, when just about every other chinchilla is on hold... it IS a big deal to hold that chin just a little bit longer. So like today, someone emailed about this one chin, and we're emailing back and forth about it, and I ask her if she's wanting to set up an appointment to come see it. She says, no, she wanted to pick it up after the holidays, and I tell her, ok, well, our deposit holds for 14 days, and I tell her how she can go about putting down the deposit, if that's what she wants to do. So, her response is, "ok," and since it IS the busy time of the year, I sort of need to know if you want the chin or not, so I questioned, ok, did she want to put down the deposit? So she tells me, she wants to pick up the first week of January. I repeat, our holds are for 14 days, which is only until the 29th at this point, and I suggest that she email back around this time next week, because then we will be within the 14 days. So, she says, well, she'll pay for the whole thing now, if I'll hold it, PLEASE. Honey. At least half the chins on hold here, right now, are fully paid for, and THEY are only getting 14 days to pick them up. It's not like she's offering MORE money, she's just offering to pay in full... which, no offense to anyone, but doesn't make me any more likely to hold it. I'm going to get $200 for the chin whether she pays it all now, or part now and part in January, so when she pays it really makes no difference as far as holding it.
Now, let me explain a bit more WHY we only hold for 14 days, and I know I've gone on about this before, but let me reiterate quickly. Say I have room for 10 chins here (I know, some of you are dying laughing, shut it! lol), and 5 of them are on hold for 14 days. Well now, I only have 5 that are available. Say two more get on hold, now I only have 3 available... and I can't get in any more, cause the other 7 are still here and on hold. That means, rescue chins not able to come into the rescue, other chins not able to be brought in, sometimes I can't wean babies here and have to leave them with mom extra long because I don't have open cages... all because those chins are on hold. It's not to be mean or unfair to anyone, but 14 days is more than enough for you to come pick up your chin. To be perfectly honest, I'm not even sure why people WANT to pick out a chin that much in advance. They're not ready to bring it home, and (talk to other breeders / rescues, you will find out this is the case) MOST places will NOT hold the animal for ANY length of time (much less 14 days), so these people are usually setting themselves up for disappointment, when the animal is gone before they're ready. Like this person, she said she's moving. So, why not move first and then, once settled in, then get the pet? I just don't quite get it. And what it comes down to, is that if I extend the 14 day hold for her, then to be fair to everyone else, they all should get extended holds as well. EVEN IF they would never know that I extended the hold for someone, in my mind, it's not fair, so I don't care to do it. But really... why is it so hard to say, ok, it's 14 day hold only, so I will wait until I only need the chin held 14 days? Why should they get special treatment.
Ok, I'm done with my rant for the day. Other than these few people, things are going well :D Will post more about that another day...
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