Dark Eggs Hatchery

[EweSheep]

I wish you all the luck in getting started. It is NOT easy getting started (like me, starting up the club) and you would make mistakes as you go along. As long you do the BEST you can, that is all you can do for the time being. You will get a few bad apples but if positive reviews are much more numberous, then it would make a reputable business. Like Ideal Hatchery or any hatcheries or breeders, you will have the good and bad.

I know its rough to multitask, women are better at it LOL! However there is a certain limit to how far and how much it can go. Hatcheries as well as breeders, are booming business at this time of recession and hard times and folks who would want to go all organic or healthy eating.

 

[Oldhound]

Good Luck to you Suzi ! As someone who was worked in a service industry for almost 50 years , I understand how frustrating satisfying your clients can be at times. One of my mentors said to me "you are not GOD , even GOD doesn't satisfy everyone, Just do your Best ". That advise has worked for me . I wish you much success . Bill

 

[Kiowacole]

Thank you for your wishes. I am trying my best & yes it's all I can do & continue to do. I have had many people buy my chickens & eating eggs & they are VERY happy with them. Now I've started selling hatching eggs. A lot of my stock is for production but I am improving on my quality stock & will actually try showing this year. I want to start with my Cochins & follow with my Ameraucanas. There are so many new things to learn & I do every day. And I learn very fast by the mistakes I've made. I simply love dealing with the chickens, hatching, etc. I have a clear conscience with what I offer to people for any inconveniences with their order. I know there will always be "Bad Eggs" out there but at least I will do everything I can to make good including giving away free chicks & refunding their money for the chicks not available.
Thanks,
Suzi

 

[Kiowacole]

Thank you Bill!! Like I said, it's only me here doing all these things & I'm not always on the PC or at the phone (with about 500 chickens, 6 dogs, 28 cats, & 2 horses how can you be lol). Sometimes I don't get in until after 9 pm & I DO NOT call people back after 8 pm out of respect, unless they ask me to. That's how I was brought up. But I WILL get back to you.
Suzi

 

[onthespot]

If I remember right, Cackle hatchery had a rough year a couple years ago. They got so buried in orders their customer service got burnout and quit answering, but they pulled it through and are now considered fine to do business with. You will too. It is just a business filled with high demand, and a lot of inescapable, unknown variables in production. Hang in there. You can do it. Delegating is your best move. Pick the part you are best at, and delegate the rest. Hope this is a good year for you, and next year your best year yet.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
2x

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
This is all part and parcel to doing business. Any business. I have a degree and so I know a thing or two. Things need to be planned for BEFORE they happen. Can you find some one, a friend or relative to field your calls and e-mails? Can you set up your printer with a fax? Mine uses my own phone number and there is no additional charge.

You can also hook up a second printer as a designated fax. I would design a form to use in replies, highlighting each part of your response so you can just go in and fill out the form with your response.

You can request a "restocking" fee for canceled orders of 15%. Order money should be put into a designated account and not taken out until the order is completed. If you are using a customers deposit to place YOUR orders you are going about things the wrong way. I have seen this with many construction businesses and it ALWAYS leads to trouble. The solution is to use YOUR own money whether cash or credit to place YOUR order and then use the CUSTOMERS money to pay back what YOU'VE spent of YOUR own money either cash or credit after the transaction is completed. You must figure a certain amount in a separate account for refunds or chick replacements. At my particular bank I have 5 accounts and can transfer money between them. Anytime day or night.

PLANNING on "giving" away free chicks to satisfy customer complaints is poor planning. If you are going to do this what's the limited amount you can afford to give away and NOT lose money. Even if they are your own hatchings they are NOT free.

When you start a business you should have drawn up a plan not only for finance management but TIME management as well. You should have planned how much time for this and that and how much time to be allowed for customer service and response. For instance plan to spend one hour a day to reply to customer requests and complaints. Keep your responses SHORT and sweet. E-mails allow you to do this at ungodly hours. No entrepreneur should ever think they are going to work an eight hour day. You are one the job 24/7.

Remember I'm your friend and just trying to help. This is not to say you Haven't considered all these things.

Rancher "if anything can go wrong it will" - Murphy's law.

 

[shooflydesign]

I hate to say it, I really do, because I don't like to make trouble for anyone. But Darkeggs.com is not a company you want to do business with. I had a very unpleasant experience with them, and the woman who owns the company does NOT respond to emails or phone calls. I spent about 100$ on a recent baby chick order. She was IMPOSSIBLE to get on the phone, and if by sheer luck and tenacity I finally DID get a hold of her, she was full of excuses about her computer not working, the phone being busy while she is online, etc. Its all a bunch of bs if you ask me. I really love how many breeds she offers. But they are priced on the higher end and its not worth paying to get the terrible customer service.

Not only that, after my shipment arrived, one of the baby Americana chicks started showing signs of severe "scissor beak". I called Suzie to let her know and asked for a refund. If I am going to pay 8 bucks a bird, I really expect that I don't have to take one down to the vet and pay to Euthanize it. Of course, I am still waiting to hear back from her, haha. Good luck on that one!!

The really unfortunate thing is that when I was able to talk to Suzie on the phone, she was very nice, and very helpful. I really think she just has become overwhelmed with this new business (she acquired it recently from the previous owner who was her polar opposite) and obviously needs to get better about calling people back. This post bothers me because I hate to cause someone any strife, but none of this would have happened if she had had the courtesy to pick up the phone, return any of my calls within 3 weeks or responded to ANY of my emails. There is just no excuse and its bad business. The Scissor Beak chick was the last straw for me. Totally unacceptable to not get a response and/or refund from her.

Anyway, I hope this prevents anyone from having the experience I did. SO infuriating!! I hope the owner of Darkeggs.com learns from this too and is better about treating customers with respect. In today's world, you won't survive if you don't.

 

[goodeggeggs]

They owe me $107. Never returned calls or emails after agreeing to refund my money because some of the chicks weren't available as advertized and others not at all. The excuse that they have to wait for the money they shelled out to be returned doesn't hold water in my case- since the chickens i ordered were not available they shouldn't have ordered on their side. I would be happy to post a happy resolution if they would just get back to me and let me know that my money will be returned

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Wow, Suzi! That is a big undertaking but I am sure you will be able to pull it off.
Having about 700 birds here myself I know it is more than a one person job. You are really going to have to hire help or you will be doing all the work in your sleep!

I wish you luck!