Always, but Especially During the Holiday Season
- They need time to process orders. They typically don’t have huge teams working around the clock (and hopefully treat their staff ethically), so things might take a bit longer than the ultra-fast processing times we’ve grown accustomed to with businesses like Amazon.
- We can’t always expect free shipping – it doesn’t actually exist. Someone has to pay for it and small businesses aren’t operating at a high enough scale to efficiently cover their customers’ shipping fees. It’s another thing we’ve gotten so used to. Companies feel like they have to offer it to compete, but not everyone can realistically do that.
- They can’t be blamed for delays and other issues with shipping. Once the shop leaves your package with USPS or another carrier, it’s out of their hands. Mail carriers are working just as hard to keep things moving, but major delays are inevitable, especially around the holidays.
- We also can’t always expect them to have sales, like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or even on Small Business Saturday, as it can mean overwhelming their systems and staff. They may not offer them as often to avoid causing a rush that they know they won’t be able to manage.
Supply Chain Crisis (from 60 Minutes)
Heard about all these supply chain issues that are causing shipping delays and inflating prices, but not really sure exactly what’s going on? 60 Minutes recently did a story that explains some of the issues on the west coast.