Sharing an incident with you. What do you think?

I'm going to begin by 'fessing up.  I don't like to be criticized.  I don't like it, I become defensive, maybe even a bit angry.  I've learned, however, to take a few minutes and count to 100 or even as much as 1,000, depending on the criticism.  I then revisit and try to objectively find the essence in what was said and see whether it is even partly justified. Why am I sharing all this? Well...  here is an email I received yesterday.  I am removing the name for obvious reasons.  

Orna,

...

Also, I LOVE YOUR DESIGNS!!!!!

NOW for the bad news,,,,,I purchased and talked co-workers and customers into purchasing and downloading designs a couple of months ago.  The downloads –vs – kits-worked much better as we will sometimes change a fiber or two as we stitch.

However, we were shocked at the number of fibers listed on the pieces that were no longer available.

If we are to pay for a chart, one would expect that it would be current.  I would not think it to be too much to ask that even though the chart may have been originally composed several years ago, that it could not have been updated as time went by.  That, I would feel is the responsibility of the designer. 

I am a firm believer in respect of the copyright.  I will not copy and pass out a chart to a friend, I am the first on to say, that this is the livelihood of the designer, and the designer deserves the money for each of these charts, however as the designer, there is a responsibility, that they be correct, especially in the that the fibers listed be available and current.

Please review your charts, as I feel you have lost just with in my shop probably 6-8 customers who will not re-purchase from you just due to this issue.

I'm sharing this because I want to encourage you to always let me know if you are unhappy with my products and designs.  I may count to 100 first, but I will look into what you are saying and try to fix what I can.  I will try to make things right for you and for future customers.  

As for the complaint in this specific case,  there is not one fiber company that lets me know when a thread is discontinued.  In all the years I have been designing, I have only found this out when I go to put kits together, and then either I still have the fibers in stock in my studio, which keeps me in the dark, or when my order comes in I will see a note on the invoice saying certain fibers are discontinued.  When this does happen I will look for a good replacement and update the charts. It is nearly impossible for me to go over each and every design, each fiber list, (I usually give more than one color option per design), multiple times a year. It would be much more doable to have stitchers contact me, I would look for the appropriate substitutes, make the changes and send the customer a nice clean page of supplies.   

We all know that as much as we try, we can’t seem to be perfect.  Knowing this, when I am the customer I always try to give criticism in a constructive way and give the business a chance to fix things.  It makes so much more sense and helps us all. 

xoxo

Orna