ksranch Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Really? Customer bought a 3pack of Lemon Pound Cake (which I LOVE btw) votives. I get an email today and she is unhappy. "I lit one and put in the bathroom and it smelled fabulous in there, down the hall, and even into the 2 bedrooms - but I couldn't smell it in the great room or kitchen." Really? Am I crazy, or is she expecting a bit much????:tiptoe: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 You can't fix stupid!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 What exactly is she unhappy about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksranch Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 What exactly is she unhappy about?Evidently she thought one votive should scent the whole house!! ;0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scented Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 They aren't exactly designed to do that. Now I follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I recall seeing candles a while back that were rated in square footage. That's a tough rating to come up with because it depends on nose, breeze, etc., but it would put people like this in their place when they realize the candle did better than designed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Evidently she thought one votive should scent the whole house!! ;0)Like I said earlier, Ya can't fix stupid...................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Tell her that's why it came in a three pack. She has extras for the great room and the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 good answer Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoscentsworth Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 you have to educate your customers ... if you have a website you should have somewhere on there what to expect out of the different types of candles etc. It always helps to be able to point your customers to that information, your policies etc. You can do that nicely and then when people like this read it they can see for themselves how ridiculous it is to expect any throw from a votive candle. While we know about waxes, wicks, containers vs pillars etc. the average person is totally ignorant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksranch Posted July 14, 2011 Author Share Posted July 14, 2011 So true!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I agree but in this case, common sense should tell her that a tiny votive isn't going to scent the whole house. You don't need a lot of candle knowledge to figure that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twoscentsworth Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 you would think so , but apparently not. Honestly I could make a FORTUNE selling clues to the clueless if they would realize how badly they need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doglover Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I agree but in this case, common sense should tell her that a tiny votive isn't going to scent the whole house. You don't need a lot of candle knowledge to figure that out.It does seem that people are expecting a helluva lot from little candles and melts. And from some postings, some people are even nit-picking the packaging for long term storage!! WT....? Seems that some people want endless throw from candles and melts with packaging that doesn't "leak scent" but yet allows them to be able to sniff the candle/melt. IMHO, they can go back to buying from the dollar stores and Wallyworld!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 It isn't all the fault of the customer - some of the outrageous claims made by candlemakers defy common, sense, logic and several laws of physics!!It's no wonder people expect a tealight to fragrance their McMansion PLUS make them coffee in the morning!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamichelle10 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 i agree with (twocentsworth ) Just politely tell them votive candle are smaller to use a jar candle for bigger rooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam W Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 IMHO, they can go back to buying from the dollar stores and Wallyworld!!!!those are the people that should be using Glade plug-ins..but even those don't fill the whole house. And those are the type of people that I just don't want to do business with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Stella, you know of a candle that makes coffee in the morning?Ohhh Ohh!!! Me me me! I want one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I keep waiting for this phenom... kinda like waiting for Godot. For sure the dang cats won't make me any... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flicker Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Oh how I love these customers too. The last time a customer complained that the tealight she purchased did not scent her entire living room I politely suggested a double wick apothecary candle or a room spray. They don't get that the diameter and depth of the melt pool dictates how strong a candle may be. The other one that gets me is why isn't vanilla as strong as cinnamon? Really? Wow, just wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardLOZ Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Yep, we get em down here as well. We have stopped making votives for a couple of reasons and this is one of them. I mean really what the hell do people think we are - magicians or something. But as Stella mentioned, it is not always the fault of the customer. Some chandlers just make totally outrageous claims on throw and also burn times. I have had some at markets that I have spoken to who claim 90 hours + from a 10 oz apothecary jar. Wow I wish I knew what their secret was to be able to get burn times of that length from 10 oz of wax.Each person that buys from us (with the exception of regular customers who already know better) gets explained in great detail what results they may expect from the candle they are looking to purchase. What size room it will likely scent, burn time etc so on and so forth. So far so good, no complaints.The only return we have ever had is from a woman who purchased a clamshell, then brought it back saying that the first square she burnt was lovely, however the second square she put in her burner would not melt at all. I mean WTF? Considering its from the exact same batch of wax, seems to me to be somewhat impossible. We did however exchange, went and placed a square in one of our burners, where it happily turned to liquid in a short amount of time. Perhaps it was just 1 square out of the six and she managed to get it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricofAZ Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Things like this seem to come up a lot. I'm working on a brochure for consumers that addresses questions like throw distance and hang and melt pool and FO percentage and the difference between EO and FO, etc. It sure is hard to boil it down to a few words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Yep, we get em down here as well. We have stopped making votives for a couple of reasons and this is one of them. I mean really what the hell do people think we are - magicians or something. But as Stella mentioned, it is not always the fault of the customer. Some chandlers just make totally outrageous claims on throw and also burn times. I have had some at markets that I have spoken to who claim 90 hours + from a 10 oz apothecary jar. Wow I wish I knew what their secret was to be able to get burn times of that length from 10 oz of wax.Each person that buys from us (with the exception of regular customers who already know better) gets explained in great detail what results they may expect from the candle they are looking to purchase. What size room it will likely scent, burn time etc so on and so forth. So far so good, no complaints.The only return we have ever had is from a woman who purchased a clamshell, then brought it back saying that the first square she burnt was lovely, however the second square she put in her burner would not melt at all. I mean WTF? Considering its from the exact same batch of wax, seems to me to be somewhat impossible. We did however exchange, went and placed a square in one of our burners, where it happily turned to liquid in a short amount of time. Perhaps it was just 1 square out of the six and she managed to get it I recently bought a flower pot votive candle from a shop, it's Mango & Papaya. The chandler/owner said it's her bestseller & that it was so strong that if it was burning in the big dining room of her restaurant, I'd be able to smell it. I was amazed at her claims & just had to buy it to see. It won't even scent my small bathroom! & the 44z wick wouldn't stay lit once it had burned down about 1/4 inch worth of wax! I dug out some of the wax from around the wick, so it stays lit now cuz it's in the smaller part of the flower pot holder, but it's pathetically weak! No wonder she's phased out her candles, except for the votives, & focused on the restaurant part of her business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorseScentS Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Things like this seem to come up a lot. I'm working on a brochure for consumers that addresses questions like throw distance and hang and melt pool and FO percentage and the difference between EO and FO, etc. It sure is hard to boil it down to a few words.That's a great idea, Eric. I think about making a brochure all the time. I'm amazed that candles can be sold with just a label, which nobody ever sees or reads, on the bottom of the jar. I was thinking that a good hang tag with some important info, that also directs the customer to follow the instructions on the bottom label, might work instead of a whole brochure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisper Girl Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 I have a brochure on safety and how to burn a candle that I hand out with each sale I make. Eric your idea is even better. If you get that brochure together would you be willing to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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