As an Etsy seller who’s already seen hits and sales drop literally by the hundreds over the years due to what I’m going to call "shitty pay to win in the marketplace strategies", getting this e-mail this morning was pretty much a “stare into space without feeling anything for a while” moment.  (All bolding is my own for emphasis.)

Dear Seller Community, Shoppers come to Etsy because they want something special, something they can’t find at a big-box retailer—and that’s all because of you. But these days, online shoppers expect free shipping everywhere they go. Etsy is no exception. I believe our job is to make sure you have the tools you need to compete and succeed in this fast-changing world. Time and again buyers tell us that having to pay an additional shipping cost is what keeps them from shopping on Etsy more often. It’s become commonplace for online sellers to include shipping costs in the item price, so we’re launching tools to make it easy for you to do just that. This way your shoppers will never be surprised at checkout and they’re more likely to complete the transaction. In fact, we know that shoppers on Etsy are 20% more likely to complete their purchase when the item is marked as shipping for free. So we're making changes to the shopping experience to make it easier for buyers in the US to find items that ship free. When we meet buyer expectations, shopping on Etsy becomes more competitive with the rest of e-commerce—and that could mean more sales for you. Starting on July 30, 2019, we’ll give priority placement in US search results to items that ship free and to shops that guarantee free shipping to US buyers on orders of $35 or more. This means that shoppers in the US will primarily see items that ship free and shops that guarantee free shipping on orders of $35 or more in the top and most visible rows of search. We’ll also begin to prioritize these items wherever Etsy advertises in the US—in email marketing, social media, and television ads. Offering free shipping doesn’t mean you have to pay for it yourself. No delivery service will ship a package for free, but, just like the cost of your materials and other business expenses, it’s a cost you need to consider when setting the price of your item. Our data also shows that Etsy buyers will spend more to have their order shipped free. So, offering a free shipping guarantee could mean you’ll make more per sale, helping to offset your shipping costs. To simplify the process for you, we created a tool that lets you guarantee free shipping to US buyers when they spend $35 USD or more in your shop. The tool will be available in the next week. For shops with items priced at $35 or more, we also created a way to bulk edit listings so you can adjust your item prices to recover your shipping costs. That means you don’t have to take on the cost of offering free shipping yourself. Keep in mind that how you determine and set prices is up to you. In addition to these new tools, we also offer Etsy Shipping Labels with the United States Postal Service and FedEx, giving you the kind of discounted rates that big ecommerce retailers benefit from. Watch our video to learn more about this change and how you can start offering a free shipping guarantee. We also created in-depth shipping education so you can create a pricing strategy that’s right for you. We’re excited to continue working with you to deliver the shopping experience buyers expect, and to help your business grow. Thank you for making Etsy a one-of-a-kind marketplace.

So.  Take-away the first: If shoppers actually value artists, and if they actually want something to magically appear on their doorstep, they will have to pay for that ever-climbing service on top of paying for the item itself.  It seems difficult enough to get some shoppers to actually understand that they are buying unique handmade items and so the prices will not be akin to a mass-manufactured slave labor endevor, but now we're all just expected to... tack on shipping costs to the item itself and pretend shipping is free? 

Take-away the second: And all of this is a more acceptable option than standing up to customers treating Etsy like Wallmart and telling people that nothing is actually free?  ...Really?  Really?  I... just...  All this to pretend shipping is free?  When everyone knows it isn't free?  ...People know it isn't free, right?  REALLY?  And if you don't play along, you're going to get fucked over again in a different way? And this is already after additional fees and new ways to fuck you over if you don't pay more?

Oh but there's a tool.  There sure is.  They sent me this e-mail.  (Look, I've tried to keep this blog as "family friendly" as I can be, but... not when this is warranted.)  It's not even just the "it's not forced! it's suggested! strongly! by punishing you otherwise!" price jacking to pretend that shipping is free thing, it's also the sinking yet deeper into carbon copy corporate "we celebrate your uniqueness by making sure you do things a certain way like all the other companies you hear horror stories about which benefits our bottom line or suffer" bullshit.  And I know how they're selling it!  That's the worst thing!  This is all for OUR BENEFIT!  For us!  Or rather for the cheaply-made "totally not mass-manufactured" items that are actually pushing artisans off of Etsy searches to begin with.  We're just there to make the site look legit and pretty.  Flattering, really.

Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) are evolving rapidly to meet growing customer expectations for speed, quality, and convenience. In today’s competitive landscape, quick service no longer just means fast food — it means a seamless, tech-enabled dining experience. From digital ordering to personalized menus and contactless payments, QSRs are transforming how they serve customers. As consumer behavior shifts toward convenience and instant satisfaction, quick service restaurants must stay agile, leveraging technology, efficient processes, and customer feedback to deliver consistent value. This blog explores how modern QSRs are adapting to changing customer needs, improving service speed, and maintaining quality — all while building brand loyalty. Understanding what customers expect today is the first step toward future-proofing your quick service business and staying ahead in a dynamic market. Whether you're running a small outlet or a global chain, aligning with evolving customer expectations is key to success.

We live in an age of rapidly changing customer expectations. Simply put, consumers will not return to brands that make them dissatisfied and will quickly take their money elsewhere.

And in today's technological age, consumer preferences are changing faster than ever. Therefore, keeping up with consumer expectations requires a lot of time, effort, and investment on the part of logistics and distribution companies.

I .Key strategies to keep up with changing customer preferences in the last mile

Well, the adage "change is the only constant" can be repeated perhaps best illustrate when it comes to changing customer preferences! Brand managers live under the constant stress of knowing when the "next innovation" will disrupt their business, and they do their best to keep an eye on the ground so they can anticipate and take advantage of such changes.

Moving on to our relevant topic, let's take a look at last-mile deliveries. At the beginning of this century, the average delivery time for an online order was around 7-10 days. Those times are long gone!

We are now in the age of 24-hour delivery, same-day delivery... and even that is getting shorter to 10 minutes! If your business fails to meet general industry delivery schedules, consumers will quickly switch elsewhere.

II. Top 7 strategies to keep up with changing consumer expectations:

1. Advanced route optimization for shorter delivery times: In the past, especially in the early days of online trading with, customers were less demanding and accepted a lot more delivery times and possible delays or failures.

Well, that's a bygone era now!

But in today's world of "instant gratification," consumers are far less forgiving and incredibly demanding. They expect their orders to be completed on time. While you can still bypass early failures, they certainly won't allow you more. Not only will they lose their trust in you, but they will abandon you for other options.

You will face reduced sales and profitability. More importantly, it becomes extremely difficult to win back customers' trust.

A major reason for delivery inefficiencies (delay or failure) is poor route planning. Therefore, logistics and distribution companies must use the possibilities of modern delivery management software to optimize their routes.

This system takes into account the various constraints and balances to achieve the most efficient route .

This includes:

Weather and traffic patterns

Vehicle type, load type, driver capacity

Distance, maximum driving speed, road conditions

Delivery times, team working hours available, planned stops

Local community rules (etc.)

The route optimization feature balances these many elements creating advanced route planning methods. Importantly, this enables companies to provide customers with efficient fulfillment times, accurate ETAs, and a high level of success based on promised delivery times.

2. Real-time tracking: Customers today want to be “on top of things” about all aspects of their parcel delivery. Gone are the days when it was enough to say "Your package is ready to ship".

Customers now expect real-time notifications (e.g. via pop-ups, SMS, emails, tracking links, etc.) to keep them informed of the progress of their packages until they reach their front door.

This not only makes the whole Delivery process much more transparent, but your customer also feels much more involved in the process. Finally, this real-time exchange communication also helps, for example, when adapting to last-minute changes

Order delays and sudden changes in customer schedules.

~ Make no mistake, your order fulfillment time is a key differentiator to win the battle for consumers ~

3. Customer Delivery Preferences: Recent surveys of logistics companies and retailers have shown that around half of respondents believe that the choice of delivery methods and windows is the most important to customers when it comes to last-mile delivery is.

Until the beginning of this century, the two usual shipping methods dominated: standard and express. Additionally, customers didn't have the luxury of changing their ordering preferences after choosing one or the other.

But the online retail revolution has brought about a massive change in logistics, especially in the last mile. Customers want demand now! – the convenient selection of order details such as time, date, and delivery address. If your last-mile delivery software doesn't allow for such flexibility, you're likely losing customers quickly.

Additionally, the software gives logistics managers the flexibility to set realistic delivery times and gives drivers a margin while, allowing customers a variety of options to select their preferences.

This not only helps meet customer expectations but also minimizes the rate of failed or late deliveries.

5. Personalized communications: Recent studies have shown that 50% of consumers will switch if their providers do not have "personal communications" with them. Therefore, just providing real-time updates is not enough on its own.

However, research suggests that meeting this aspect of customer expectations, i.e.

For example, real-time, personalized communications go a long way in creating a positive customer experience over the last mile.

4. Free Shipping: Almost 75% of online shoppers cite free shipping as a top criterion when choosing e-commerce sites to shop at. Your shipping management software should allow you to offer free shipping based on unit cost, order profitability, etc.).

This not only attracts new customers but also ensures a satisfying shopping experience and thus increases the likelihood of repeat orders. Ultimately, it leads to the most important metric, which is customer satisfaction.

6. Use Multiple Order Fulfillment Models – As mentioned above, fast shipping is becoming more and more important for online shoppers. One method of achieving this is to store inventory as close to customer addresses as possible. Using new deployment models is a good way to improve last-mile performance. These include:

Order online, collect in store

Hyperlocal Delivery

Microwarehouse/Fulfillment Center

Dark Stores

Curbside pickup

“The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” – Jerry Gregoire

Can you remember those “wow ! moments that has made you feel this is exactly what i just wanted and  am getting it..” perhaps this could be as you checked into  a hotel as a guest  or when your saloon professional attended on your hair cut or a travel agent organized  your trip in a foreign land or just about any thing.

This is what our focus is all about in this topic -the wow ! moments - and in the service industry we generally call this Client Experience. This is perhaps is the single most important factor, next to the service offering that a service provider makes.

So what’s this client experience all about ? its the experience a person wishes to carry with him - sub consciously - when he decides  to take up a service offer. This begins at the inquiry stage and goes all the way up to buying the service and post buying. 

Lets say , i wanted to check in a hotel in New York sitting in India . I call or write  them to know about the hotel .The front office helps me for a booking.Check in experience - My first impression is built here.Then I check in at the hotel and during my stay i engage with the room staff , restaurant, travel desk etc and the stay experience is built here .As I check out on my scheduled date,again i interact with the the front office persons and  experience the the closure- thus a  closure  experience is built here.A sum of all these moments induce an experience in me that decides the image of the hotel ,its policies and practices those smiling and ever-ready- to-help staff ,the way they reached out voluntarily when i needed them most and many more of such experiences in total.This is likely to stay in my memory for a long time. 

Why is this important? It is this that gathers mass among other prospects and spreads the good word of mouth which is a back bone of service business,this is what makes clients come back time to time thus creating loyalty and above all this is the purpose of the business. 

Remember your favorite lunch place you prefer to host your meetings ? or  one of those particular  Star Bucks where you want to spend some time contemplating on some thing new or calling over some one for discussion ? Yes this is what client experience is all about.

The service businesses must heavily focus on providing the best experience for its prospects and clients to stay ahead of competition and also stay afloat in business.

Designing a customer experience is the first business of the service provider and we will discuss about this soon in the coming days.  

Here is a conversation with Pradeep ,CEO of a multinational OEM manufacturing company . 

Make the customer the hero of your story. – Ann Handley 

 It is a well known fact that  prospects or clients rarely avail a service with out any expectations.No matter what the service is meant for - health, education, transport , hospitality etc, clients do come with a bunch of expectations. Although some expectations vary from service to service and a number of other factors  there are common expectations that a client looks forward to experience and this becomes a critical factor of services success.  Hence this write up is about those critical  expectations which would help services to align itself .This is  more likely to bring new clients and sustain a larger base of repeat clients and grow from there.  

First ,The most popular  expectation from a client -or let me interchangeably use the term ‘people’  for convenience - is a pleasant service experience ,I would say this forms a make or break of a service business.

Second,  providing people with adequate information - clearly before roping them in ! consultative selling of sorts .We will discuss this sometime soon exclusively 

Third,every client looks forward to receiving the service aspects as mentioned in the time frame promised (turn around time -TAT)

Fourthly , the service fee is as mentioned earlier and agreed upon with no hidden fee which spring as a surprise.

Those are basic expectations .However , the service provider may walk an  “extra mile” by supporting the client when a need arises.As in :The hotel may help their clients to book the flight tickets at no extra fee when the guest for some reason is unable to do so! 

Customer Service…

it's not about you!

Or is it?

The #customer #service #experience should be a lovely symbiotic experience between the agent and the customer.

To have good… no #great service you have be both a good customer and a good agent of service.

To read more follow the link:

#BeTheSolution

Trail Tale Episode Five

This is an ongoing short video series about people who make a difference to others in providing some kind of #exceptional #service to others.

Today’s episode is about one of my favorite managers I’ve worked with as she sets an exceptional example of helping #customers.

#BeTheSolution

To learn more follow the below link:

A Study on the Customer Satisfaction of HDPE Woven Sack with Special Reference to Winplast Polymer Products Private Limited

By Mary T. L"A Study on the Customer Satisfaction of HDPE Woven Sack with Special Reference to Winplast Polymer Products Private Limited"

Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-1 , December 2017,

URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd8282.pdf

http://www.ijtsrd.com/management/accounting-and-finance/8282/a-study-on-the-customer-satisfaction-of-hdpe-woven-sack-with--special-reference-to-winplast-polymer-products-private-limited/mary-t-l

international journals of computer science, submit paper online, biological science journal