Hi there! First of all, a big big thank you to all of you who are so wonderful and kind and encouraging, even when you miss Wollmeise again! So many of you wrote order notes that just brightened our day! (Ok – brightened our night. We were working on orders late into the night!) We really appreciate your business and your kindness. Please know that we’re getting these out as fast as possible, but it does take an extra day or two during Sneak Ups. 🙂
I did feel the need to address something in the blog. While 98% of you have been wonderful, 2% of you are not happy. I know it’s disappointing to be watching the website for something, and then miss it. If I had my way, we’d just announce the time and day we were adding new products, and you wouldn’t have to pay such close attention to things here! But remember, we don’t do that because so many hop on and shop at once, that it has killed the website. We have tested the web capacity by having daytime Sneak Ups these last couple of times, and for the most part it works ok. (A couple of glitches yesterday when people checked out simultaneously with the last skeins of something, but we’re figuring out ways around it for the future.) But it doesn’t work ok enough to pre-announce again. This is just the way we have to work it. It’s not a “marketing ploy” or something meant to create stress – it’s the most efficient and effective way for us to update the website on a regular basis, for you.
We also order a lot. I have tried to generically reassure you of that in past blog posts, but I still had someone wonder this morning why I don’t order more yarn: “Why don’t you just order enough so you can stock it? Or is making an artificially high demand more profitable for you?” Now that just makes me a bit cranky. (Or maybe it makes me a lot cranky.) We have not, nor will we ever, artificially do anything here for profitability. I don’t believe in it, and it doesn’t work, anyway, even if your values allowed you to do something like that. We order the maximum amount that our indie dyers can produce, and we get orders from them as often as they can dye them up for us. Period. Remember, these are wonderfully talented individuals doing all of this on their own. There is only so much that they can produce. We had 330 skeins of Wollmeise yesterday, gone in 2 hours. (I can see when the last skein was sold.) We had 340 patterns from Wendy. She is sending me 450 more on Friday, just because she has printed her heart out all week long and was able to get a bit more done! (She doesn’t want to do it by pdf. You can check her blog last week for her reasoning, which I happen to agree with.) We also get 350-500 skeins of Dream In Color per order, every single month, and I know those sell out usually in a day. We have regular standing orders with all of our dyers and most all of our “main” yarn companies, just to insure that we keep getting great yarn in here for you, all the time. By having a good number of indie dyers, it insures that new batches from at least a few of them will be in every week or two, even if the one you were waiting on, sold out quickly. We will continue to do our very very best to serve you well and keep you supplied. This business is extremely important to us, and we take it very seriously. Now that I have attached numbers to some of these things, maybe it will help more of you to understand that it’s not a matter of not ordering enough. We order the maximums. The demand is high for many of these yarns/patterns, and we will continue to get stock in to fill it – as often as possible, and as much as possible.
There. Cranky rant is over. Back to packing up your orders and sending them on their way with hugs and many thanks to each one of you. 98% of you are just the best! 🙂
Sheri it’sabeautifullycoolandsunshineydaytoday
wishyouwerehereandwecouldsitandknitonmybackscreenporch!
(actually,wishyouwereheretohelppackorders-ha!)
Sheri- You do a great job! When I miss a sneak up, I figure that I am not supposed to have it (whatever I am eyeing) at that given time. I don’t get cranky with you. 😉 I will get my chance sometime! 🙂 Have a great Wednesday!
Sheri, Is there a way to keep items from being removed from my cart while I’m still shopping? I was afraid to look around further after that happened.
I’m with Melissa — when it’s meant to be, my own true love, Dream in Color Smooshy Sock, will come home with me. Swoon!
Perhaps I’ve said too much . . .
I’m not complaining, just interested in more shooping around.
You do a great job,Sheri. My motto for life has always been “que sera sera. In other words if I “score” some great yarn, I do,and if I don’t there’s always next time!
I was so excited that I got some of the Bart & Louise bamboo yarn from Zen String and I shopped through the site for a little while! People should not be so worried! It seems to me that certain dyers are hotter than others, for the moment. Having said that, there was a time, not so long ago that I tried to get the Bart & Louise colorway and the minute that it was put up, it was gone and so were all of the other colors from Zen String. The bottom line is at some point, Wollmeise will not as hot anymore as it is now and skeins will be available because there will be some other new dyer in the store that everyone wants to get their hands on. Anyway, the yarn is so much sweeter when you do finally get it, isn’t it? You are doing great, Sheri, not to worry. Happy Wednesday!
I’m new to this website and have been very pleased and excited to see so many kinds and colors of yarn. I too was disappointed that I didn’t get what was on my Wish List, but at least I ordered one thing that had been out of stock, so it wasn’t a total let down. Keep up the good work, Sheri,and I appreciate all your hard work to try to make everyone happy. I will keep checking daily for my other Wish List items, and I know, eventually, the Yarn Gods will smile upon me!
Sheri,
You and your crew are simply wonderful. The people who are complaining must not appreciate all the hard work, thought, and heart that obviously go into your business, and those are the things that keep me, and I’m sure others as well, coming back to you time and again, even if/when I don’t get that one particular skein that I’m eyeing. Thank you for all that you do!
Don’t let the trolls get you down, Sheri. You’re doing a great great job, and if they think they can do it better, let them open their own shop. We’ll all still come here to you. Maybe you should invite them to the “warehouse” for a gander at what you do, and let THEM help you pack late into the night, unpack the new orders, sort, and photograph everything.
(Either that, or blame Wendy – she keeps showing us all the yummy yarns she’s knitting, and we all want some. Hee hee! J/K Wendy!)
Anyway, you’re doing great, and we love you, and I love all the yarns I HAVE managed to score from you! (It’s probably a good thing it’s not always available, or no one in my house would have food, clothing, or electricity.)
Sheri,
One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch of us! You are terrific and have the most beautiful sock yarns……I think your customer service is Above and Beyond and I may not always get what I was hoping for, but, I always find something which has led me to trying new dyers and loving different types of sock yarn….
Everyone at the Loopy Ewe is “Wicked Awesome”……..
And tell Ms. Cranky Pants to get herself a Peppermint Mocha Latte and chillax!
Blogless Diane
You know, I just choose to believe that most people are good, honest people doing their very best. I would hope they would do the same for me. I’ve missed a few things waiting for something else to come in so I could get $75. But, amazingly, my life has gone on quite nicely without a certain yarn ( which I couldn’t get to until sometime in 2009) or stitch markers shaped like sheep. Aren’t there bigger things to get upset about in toady’s world? . I appreciate all you are doing – the huge variety of products offered – but especially the personal touch you bring to every order. “Don’t let ’em get you down”.
I have to admit that I think of the sneak ups as a game…if I catch one great! I tend to load up my cart, then delete things to try to be reasonable. If I don’t order everything at once then I’ll go back a few hours later or the next day and look again to see what’s left…somehow I seem to spend more money with this method! And the game is almost over because I’m running out of yarn storage space!
Sorry to hear about the negative feedback – especially when you have obviously made customer service such a high priority. Your shop/site is top-notch in so many ways -rest assured that it is well appreciated!
Sheri I think you (and all the other wonderful people involved with TLE) Rock! I LOVE the sneakups personally. I always get something wonderful and often unexpected because what I originally wanted was gone. I get all excited thinking about all the new yarns that will go up. I think you are all doing a fantastic job and I am sure I will be shopping with you even after my stash exceeds my life expectancy. 🙂 We love you!
Sheri,
Don’t worry about the cranky people, you still have tons of loyal customers that absolutely love you and all the work you do just to bring us sock yarn that rocks! No matter how new and addicted we are!
I love reading everyones comments on here- all so funny and friendly. I’ll have to get the courage to comment omre often.
I was one of the amazingly lucky people who got their hands on some Woolmeise. Just one skein, I really did want to leave more for everyone else so we could all have some. I have to say I happened to be on as the sneak up was happening and still had to try to buy three different colors before I found one that hadn’t sold out before I could place my order.
Happy packing- I’d come help you if I was on the same half of the country as you are!
This isn’t a complaint, really it’s not, it’s just my opinion. I have to say that I don’t entirely agree with having to be a “Loopy Groupie” in order to get advance notice of sneak-ups. I’ll never make it to groupie status if I don’t get a chance to order anything, right? 😉 But on the other hand, I can see and agree with the concept of providing rewards for frequent shoppers.
Have you ever thought of having the occasional completely unannounced sneak-up and give us non-groupies a chance to rack up an extra sale to get us closer to groupie status?
That being said, you’ve got a wonderful selection here, and you provide great service. I love the little extras that are in each package and I’ve luckily happened upon a couple of great purchases.
Sooner or later I’ll catch the other stuff I’m waiting for. If those darn Wollmeise hogs would just leave some for the rest of us.
Many thanks for the wonderful service you provide. Some people do need to realize that indie dyers work very hard and can only produce so much at a time-esp. to deliver a top quality yarn. A couple of them are expecting babies while producing the yarn too! I placed a Loopy order yesterday-had a few skeins swiped out of my cart but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I had some of Wendy’s patterns taken out of the cart too-but I know there are always more on the way!! I did manage to get 6 skeins of Wollmeise which is a real treat. I found the sneak up before I got the email notice so I was so fortunate. Then I came back much later and got a couple of more skeins of Zenstring and PK. Lots of colorways of different yarns were already gone when I fell upon the sneakup-but that’s okay. Anticipation is half the fun, I think! People should be patient and always realize more is coming. If I miss out, I do have X amount of options of sock yarn in my stash. I won’t say how many. We are moving soon and my best friend said the movers won’t mind all my yarn-mainly because it doesn’t weigh much! Many thanks again for such a wonderful website! All my LYS around here only carry the generic sock yarn…
I missed the Sneak Up.. 🙁 I am sorting stash and recording it. I fell in love with my Wollmeise again and when I had the chance to check my mail and saw the Sneak Up…I flew over inhopes of one more skein. When it wasn’t there I didn’t pout and stomp my feet, my true reaction was yea for you…it sold out so even more colorways will be coming back. Maybe working 30 years in Emergency Radiology skews my view, but honestly not getting a second Wollmeise won’t kill me, as getting one wouldn’t cure me. Congrats to all who bought out everything….enjoy your treasures. Good job Sheri and gang.
I too think of the Sneak Ups as a game. Sometimes I’ve already blown my budget and just enjoy seeing what you *had* in stock. I never forget that it’s just YARN and someday you’ll get more of it in, and in the meantime, I’ll live my life the best I can and worry about other things.
I think some people speak before they think and in their heart of hearts they don’t mean to say the things they do. At least…I hope that the case!
You and your staff are wonderful Sheri, thank you for all that you do to make the world a little bit more pleasant (and tasty with all of your recipes!) 🙂
I echo what everyone else said. You do an AMAZING job, have some amazing artists you work with, and manage all teh crazy (to quote L&V) with grace under pressure.
We’re fortunate to have you providing us with such wonderful yarns, patterns and notions that we can’t find anywhere else.
Kate
if it’s cooler in St. Louis than Phoenix I’ll be happy to knit with you on the screen porch. And help pack boxes 🙂
Sheri,
I second what Amy said (well said, Amy!). You and your assistants do a wonderful job! Thank you for providing such a fun and satisfying shopping experience. Buying from The Loopy Ewe is such second nature to me now that I feel like you’re my lys even though we’re hundreds of miles apart. I too consider the sneakups as a kind of game. Don’t let the turkeys get you down, Girl! You’re soarin’ with the eagles.
If that’s all the cranky you get, well, I’m impressed at your reserve and gentle manner. 🙂
That being said, I’ve wondered recently about your sneak-up policy. You are so very nice to us to put up a big load of yarns about once a week, which just makes that time very busy and hectic for you. Have you ever thought about just putting up the new yarns randomly, like you do with restocks? Especially now that your sneak-ups are getting so big, and your devoted following even bigger.
Obviously, I’m not complaining about your service, I’m just wondering if the status quo is best for your business now that it’s grown so much!
Oh, and Pllllfbt to whomever is being pissy to you.
I am sending chocolate angels your way–oh, dang.. they will melt. So, okay, just the thought of them flying over the Loopy Ewe then!! And they each have peppermint mochas kept warm by magic.
I honor the way you do business and can see your heart shine through. It is a real joy in my knitting world and I do really appreciate it!!
Sheri,
I’m sorry people are making you cranky! I’ve decided that for me, sneak ups aren’t even worth it, because just the thought of it gives me an anxiety attack, lol. So I usually browse and piddle around, and was even able to nab some Dreams in Color on Sunday – which I definitely wasn’t expecting. So, see? It IS possible to get what you’re looking for… it just takes a little patience.
Besides, while my experience has been limited, I haven’t found anyone better online to order from. The customer service at the Loopy Ewe is superb, the affordability is much appreciated, and the selection (though sometimes picked through) is grand. Besides, wouldn’t it go as common sense to know that when there’s yarn out there that EVERYONE is dying to try, then the demand is going to be high, therefore the supply is low?
Hang in there!
Hear, hear to all of the above. I just want to echo everyone’s encouraging comments. I live in an area with no LYS, so you, Sheri, are it for me and I’m so glad to have you. Such selection, not to mention the incredible service. Sneak-ups are a treat I look forward to because you never know what you’re gonna get! If I get something I’ve been hankerin’ for, great! If not, I usually (always!) can find something else to take its place.
Don’t be discouraged Sheri. We all love The Loopy Ewe and your whole bunch. Your hard work and personal service are greatly appreciated. Now, about that knitting on the porch…I’m on my way.
I can’t blame you for getting cranky about this. I miss stuff on the sneak-ups (Bart & Louise in the Garden, for example), but it has nothing to do with you or Loopy. I can’t understand how anyone could think you stage this for financial gain, if they’ve ever received one of your wonderful packages or read your blog regularly. It’s a quest, really, I am Captain Ahab stalking my prey. I’m pretty sure I will get my hands on some sooner or later.
Don’t let the crankypants get you down! THink you are doing a beyond fabulous job! I know you’ll always get more items in, so I don’t worry if I don’t get it in one sneak up, I’ll get it another time. I love stalking the sneak ups, too – it makes it fun. I seriously don’t know how you deal with that much yarn and patterns and things at once!
It’s sad that people have forgotten how to be patient!
Yay for Sheri! Yay for The Loopy Ewe! Yay for everything you do and change and make adjustments to in order to keep us happy!!
Thank you for all of it, and I can only imagine how hard it is to be happy about the 98% and try not to think about the 2%. (It’s amazing how 2% can poop on 100% of your day!!) I probably snagged a much-wanted skein in yesterday’s update, but it was one I’ve missed before, so I earned it. 🙂
People who get agitated about not getting what they wanted: how many skeins do you have in your stash that you HAD TO HAVE RIGHT NOW OH MY GOD GIMME GIMME and how long has it been there? (Self-flagellation: I have stash I would have crawled over people to get to when it went up, and now it’s been on the shelf for months!)
And sometimes your good-customer behaviour leads to a surprise reward: I got there in time for the Wollmeise yesterday, but I decided to take a pass this time since I got lucky with one last time – and when I went to Knit Night last night, a friend who lived in Germany for several years presented me with…….A SKEIN OF WOLLMEISE!!! I’m convinced it was karma. (Well, and the awesomeness of my friend.)
I’m like Michelle and Jen – the sneak up’s are like a game. It adds a bit of fun/challenge to peek on the site every so often to see if I can score on some yarn that I’ve had my eye on.
But let’s keep it in perspective, folks…it’s YARN. We should all be on our best behavior and be civilized!
Shery – I love your site! It’s fun, user-friendly, and well-constructed. I’ve been very happy with the service I’ve received from your shop and the selection is great. I mean, really – where can you find so much beautiful sock yarn in one place? I live in an area that doesn’t really have much in the way of a good LYS. I think your shop rocks 🙂
Sheri, Don’t let that 2% get you down! It is hard to fathom, when you and your helpers are obviously working SO hard to please our voracious appetites! Your site is the best, best selection, most fun to order from, most excellent customer service! And as many others have said – gosh, it’s only yarn, patterns, stuff! We will live another week if we don’t get exactly what we want, when we want it. I, for one, know that while I love to Have it in my Hot Little Hands this Minute, truly, most of it sits and waits for me to get to it. Cause I don’t know anyone who can knit more than one item at one time. (Even though we may have a half dozen socks going) We all just have two hands, and that includes our beloved indie dyers too.
Thank you for putting up with our whining!
p.s. I had the good fortune to try a pumpkin spice latte yesterday and it was yummy! (I still think I like the eggnog one better, though.)
I did my part! I got my Loopy Groupie update (which is really fabulous of you to send, by the way), I checked the website, I saw all the Wollmeise, I bought NONE of it, because I have read the comments of those who keep missing out on it, just so they would have a chance. I, too, have a respectable stash of “I have to knit this right now” skeins and cakes waiting patiently for me to get to them.
I deal with a lot of cranky people at work – I especially get annoyed when they say someting so completely obvious that I just feel like writing back saying, DUH, why didn’t we think of that??? People from the outside always seem to think they can run your business better than you, but the truth is that there are a lot of factors going on in the background that they don’t even know and can’t consider. For instance, there’s the ability to offer a variety of yarns to your customers in a limited amount of space. There’s the fact that most of it is hand-dyed and that’s what is so wonderful about it. If someone wants quantity, they could order red heart! But for quality, it may be a little wait. I really dislike the fact that we have become a society of “I want it NOW’s” Like that girl in Willy Wonka that gets sucked into the nut machine.
Don’t let it get to you. I love the idea of being able to try a variety of yarns in a number of colors. Even if I have to wait to be able to do it. (I’m on a yarn diet right now, though.)
I missed the last two sneak ups and almost missed this one- but I love the thrill of the hunt!! I did manage to get two skeins of Wollmeise (after getting two snatched out at the very last minute!) I think it is hillarious that we are all grown ups, cyber pushing and shoving to get YARN! I love the sneak ups, and laugh when I miss them and laugh when I catch them! Keep up the fabulous work! (I would LOVE to be there to pack up all those orders!)
i can’t belive people are getting cranky with you. The way I see if people are so desparate for Wollemeise then order it direct from them. I live in the UK and in order to get the sock yarn I want I often have to pay international postage but thems the breaks. If someone wants wollemesie that badly they have a choice, its not like you are the sole supplier. Keep up the good work, and remember you can never please all the people all the time, but most of the people most of the time is damn good! Chin up!
Hi Sheri,
If only I lived near! I would pick you up (after helping pack boxes!) and take you out for a Pumpkin Spice latte, which you could drink while holding the baby:)
I have always thought the Customer Service at the Loopy is top notch. You hang in there and remind yourself that the crabby ones probably just don’t understand the business aspect of yarn addiction! They may be only thinking from a shopping perspective.
Well….today, I loaded up both boys and we walked to the Farmers Market in nice Fall weather. Bought some Honey crisp apples and some creamed honey and enjoyed the fresh air. Helped clear my brain:) Thanks for your help on my order…sorry I wasn’t thinking!
Geesh, some people. I agree wholeheartedly with all the above posters…you freaking ROCK, Sheri, and folks who have problems with the way you run your business clearly have no clue about supply & demand. Personally, I’ve been lusting after some Wollmeise, and I missed this update (by less than an hour…how’s that for irksome?), but sheesh, it’s not YOUR fault that this yarn is so popular!! I do a bit of dying myself, I KNOW how hard it can be for an indie dyer to cough up hundreds & hundreds of skeins at a time. Good heavens.
I wonder if this 2% isn’t just the type of people to complain about ANYthing. Y’know, if it wasn’t this, then they’d come up with something else to fuss about. Tell ’em to stuff a sock in it. 😉
Sherri
I think you are simply amazing as is your whole family through this endeavor of the Loopy Ewe. I can see that this really is a family effort and a wonderful labor of love. It’s that labor of love that keeps me coming back again and again and again. (The borg assimilated me well!)
It’s sad that some can’t appreciate that.
Well I’ve missed way more than I’ve been able to snag in the sneak ups – no big deal to me. I won’t take it out on you or another seller – that’s a knitters’ life… You have done more than most sellers might do to fairly offer up popular items – so I’m glad to have read your rant to see your side. Ok, it’s time to enjoy the college guy and his friends 🙂
I wish I could be there helping you pack orders. Getting to see & feel all that yarn would be heavenly for me, even if I couldn’t take any of it home. Sure beats sitting here in my tiny closet of an office! The feel of yarn running through my fingers is the greatest stress-buster ever, makes me feel better just thinking about it.
i heart sheri!
and the loopy ewe!
Sherri, I want to echo what everyone above has said, you run your business and the most kind and professional way I’ve seen in a long time. I keep coming back to you because of that (well and I have a little bit of a….yarn problem:). Don’t let the cranky people get you down. You can’t please EVERYONE!
I wish I could help pack orders too… Maybe I’d get an artificial yarn fix that way, although it would not be as profitable for you!
Oh, Sheri! I totally understand! And you and your Loopy team provide a great service and great products and I hope you know it! BECAUSE YOU’RE GREAT!
Thanks so much for all your hard work Sheri, I know all the Indie Dyers appreciate everything you do for us, and as customers we love you for supplying our little yarn addiction! 😉
And Holy Cow, is the Yarn Nerd almost gone already? Seriously? I can’t believe it!
Sheri, you’re the best, and you could teach seminars on providing outstanding customer service (in your “free” time!). I’ve recommended your site to everyone I know, and I’d rather wait and purchase from you than buy elsewhere solely on account of the service you provide. Thank you!
Oh – I would so love to be an order-packer! I would go nuts making wish lists while I packed them!
*points up* What they all said. I was lucky yesterday that I noticed a comment someone made on the L&V message board so I hightailed it over to see if any of Wendy’s patterns were there, and I shopped around for a bit to get my free shipping, but missing it would have been no big deal – there will be more!
There are always people who are unhappy and feel the need to spread the unhappiness. You don’t need to add their issues to your pile of stuff, because, really, it’s not you at all but their own sense of entitlement.
Look at it this way – you have a 98% good response – that’s fabulous no matter what you’re doing 😀
Toni
I had a cunning plan for the sneak up… While people were swarming over the Wollmeise, I snuck in and grabbed the Fiesta Baby Boomerang I wanted to try. Easy breezy!
I’d love to see more pictures of finished Wollmeise socks though! One day the timing will be perfect and I’ll snag that coveted skein, but in the meantime, I want to live vicariously through other people’s finished socks, and it’s a lot easier to covet when you have pictorial examples.
Life’s too short to get wrapped around the axle over sock yarn, especially when there’s more coming, and a metric shedload (as opposed to an Imperial shedload, which is slightly smaller) of other stuff right there.
I think you do a wonderful job and have one the best resources for shopping for yarn on the web! Though, I’ve never been able to buy from you, where it’s because of budgeting or missing a Sneak Up, but I still consider TLE one of my favorites! Keep up the good work…. and one day I will have some Wollmeise in my hot little hands! 😉
I so understand what you are going through, Sheri. Any time you deal with the public, you are going to get a certain percentage who just can’t be pleased, no matter how hard you try. They are irritable, miserable people who look for ways to vent their unhappy lives. Look at all the positive responsive you are getting. People love you, and they love the Loopy Ewe. One of the reasons I sold my business after 22 years was because I had had enough of the very people who gave you grief yesterday. On the last day I owned said business, I had a b@#$chy customer who was making my life miserable. I let her have it with both barrels and walked out. Boy, did that feel good. I wouldn’t recommend that tactic, but it sure worked for me.
(((((Hugs)))))