Good Afternoon and Happy New Year's Eve!
Tonight we greet 2021 and I hope it's a good one for all of you, full of health, happiness and blessings.
I just wanted to write a brief message in light of the current and ongoing USPS mail crisis as it relates to previously shipped and currently queued orders, as well as potential plans for 2021.
If you follow Aromaleigh on Facebook, you'll know that I've stopped promoting my products at this time and have only posted about the mail delays. I feel it's the only thing I can do, because trying to encourage increased order volume will only increase the postal service's current burden and in turn, mine- when customers start asking where their orders are.
I've had an influx of customer queries about shipped order status, and I regretfully can't do anything to help orders start moving again in the USPS system. All we can do is wait.
I ask customers to be patient at this time. Queries and repeat queries won't help or change the issue. My stress level is at an all time high trying to handle queries and also realize the impact this is all having on my livelihood. COVID relief has been next to nothing for me. I've struggled along this entire year, heavily impacted by COVID and just trying to do my best to get through it. There's been no "payroll protection plan" or $300 per week unemployment checks. I got a single stimulus check and that was it. I'm not alone in this- other indie businesses are likely in the same boat, so in light of the year ending with this catastrophic USPS situation our holiday wishes are merely for understanding and patience.
I'm hoping and praying that it gets better as the USPS recovers from the historical and unprecedented mail volume, and employees sick with COVID are able to return to work.
2021 will be a unique year for me in that my Son will be leaving home soon to enlist in the military. I have about three months left with him! We are very close, so this is going to be a major change.
For the last five years, I've been homeschooling Connor and also we started a small farm which was an amazing learning experience within the context of our homeschooling. This has all, of course, impacted Aromaleigh over the long term. I've been unable to do much new product formulation, or promotion of my current products. I've never been much good with instagram and am clueless about thinks like snapchat or tik tok. As a more introverted, quiet personality, Facebook has been and continues to be, where I promote- other than newsletters.
Over the next few months I'll be dedicated to spending as much time with my son as possible, but after he ships out, I hope to be able to dedicate more time to product formulation and promotion. For now, the only "new" formulations will be each month's Vintage Aromaleigh product offerings.
Because of the current post office situation, it doesn't make sense for me to start promoting January Vintage Aromaleigh products, so what I'm planning for is a mid-late January Jan/Feb combined offering.
In the meantime, I am still shipping orders, although I did give things a bit of a break over Christmas. If your order has gone over TAT, look for an extra gift in your order as a token of my appreciation for your patience. These are unusual times we are in, so I appreciate all of your support!
If you do place an order, it seems that priority mail shipments aren't experiencing as long of delays as first class. I can't guarantee that priority mail won't be delayed, but it seems like priority packages are all getting through, while first class mail packets are sitting in the distribution centers.
Happy New Year to you all, may 2021 be a wonderful year!
Thank you for your ongoing support of Aromaleigh!
This past year was my 23rd year in business, heading into my 24th!
Sincerely,
Kristen
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