The journey from unhappy customer to happy customer - it's all in the detail!

About a week ago I received an email from a customer who wasn't happy because our tapers were dripping. . Her email went like this (this is the full email and pasted in full because it's quite a lovely way to write a complaint):

Hi Cate,

I absolutely love your candles, thank you! I'm hoping you can help me with the dinner sticks I have a box of. They look great on my table, however I find I've stopped using them because I can't stop them from dripping onto the table. Any tips to make them dripless? I trim the wicks regularly. I'm hoping there's a solution so I can start using them again as they burn so beautifully.

Thanks so much,

K

What a sweetheart. Moment to reflect on how lucky we are to have customers who are beautiful on the inside (and out). I responded and again I am putting in the full email because it has good tips for anyone burning taper candles:

Hi Kay,

Thank you so much for your email... it is only if a customer raises a concern that I get the opportunity to fix it.

I burn the tapers myself every evening. Have done for years. So I know from first hand experience that they are dripless when they are burned in a draft free environment. If they are dripping, then there must be a draft... be that from open windows, air conditioning, central heating, fans or simply a drafty house. I would try moving one to a spot that you know is draft free and burning it there. That won't help you with having them burning on your table, but at least it will convince you that they are genuinely drip free when burned in a draft free environment!

In terms of then coming up with a solution for your table, well, if there is air movement in that area, then you are never going to get a taper (dinner stick) that doesn't drip. Unfortunately because they are so narrow, there is little room to play with choosing a wick. So, in that case, I'd suggest either trying the Bee Lights (although they tend to drip in a breeze too for exactly the same reason) OR I would try the solid pillars... which are also great bang for your buck. The 15cm Solid Pillar and 20cm Solid Pillar are a great simple candle that you can simply sit on the table or on a ceramic holder or a tile or something else. They are good for burning for anything over an hour at a time. The Squat Pillar is good for burning over 2 hours at a time.

I hope that helps.

Please keep me posted with how you go burning the tapers in a place where there is no breeze. In order to determine if there is a breeze, simply watch the flame... if the flame is "dancing" then there is a breeze. If the flame is still, it will burn perfectly top to bottom without a drip. Promise.

Warmest everything

Cate

And here's the cruncher, because we actually get to close the loop on this one. 'K' wrote back to me this morning with an update (which made my day because when I know that we have an unhappy customer I genuinely lose sleep over it). Again, in full, it read:

Hi Cate,

You're absolutely right, thank you! I've tried burning them in a different spot and they're beautifully dripless! It's a bit silly I didn't think of that, sorry. I was burning them on our kitchen table, which is surrounded by windows and a door. They look amazing there, but sadly that spot doesn't work due to airflow. I have your pillars already, which I've put there instead.

Thanks very much, Cate. I'll be in to purchase more soon, I'm sure!

K

It seems to be a week of posting tips for beeswax candle use and better burning! What I learned from my last post is that that's pretty useful for lots of people. I also thought it might be interesting to share just a small selection of the photographs from when I did the wick testing for our tapers... and wow, the memories it brought back. There are no duplicates in this image (created with the help of iPhoto and my very limited photoshop skills!). Sometimes my mind makes me giggle... as I was creating the image above, I had the following playing in my mind... you can tell a lot about a (wo)man by his hands too!: and the classic and this from a woman who doesn't really drink beer! Cate xx PS While we're at it, if you have any issues with burning your Queen B candles or tips, please let me know by commenting below, commenting on facebook or emailing me.