As I stated in my other post. I’m trying to make a go of starting a 3D printing business. To that end I’ve set up shop on the available platforms and had made quite a few sales and I’ve had quite a few repeat customers which is just about the best complement that I could want.

This morning I woke up to a message from the help centre, a customer has put my products into their dishwasher and destroyed them. PLA doesn’t fare well in high temps.

Now my first thoughts were… Why would you put fridge shelves in a dishwasher… These are 3D printed PLA genius etc. etc... I thought about it and I can understand. You get a new product that might come into contact with food so you pop it in the dishwasher before the first use. Not knowing much about PLA, the product being sold as a ‘stronger’ replacement part. I get it. And last of all, as the customer pointed out, it didn’t state that it wasn’t dishwasher safe in my product description.

Now I know where I stand here, I’m under no obligation whatsoever to do anything. But it won’t cost too much, it will make for a better customer experience all around and there are plenty of times where I’ve done something stupid and people have been kind about it. So I happily and promptly reply with ‘sorry about that. I’ll update the listing and get a replacement sent out right away’.

Shortly after I get another notification though saying I have my first customer review… Guess who. 'I put them in the dishwasher and destroyed them, didn’t know they weren’t dishwasher safe, but I would buy again… 3 stars' and included a photo. A nice photo. No mention of my offering to replace.

So now my first public review on this platform for my best selling product has a three star rating. I mean I take solace in knowing that the entire story is laid right out there so if one reads the review it’s pretty obvious that my products are pretty sound, but there it is 3 stars, and a really nice photo of my product warped beyond recognition. Posted after my offer to replace.

It’s hard to describe how I feel about this. I frequently tell my students to never underestimate a user’s ingenuity to break things and this goes for customers as well. While I has not included dishwasher safety in my product description, neither had I stated that it in fact was dishwasher safe, nor had the customer contacted me to confirm. But the responsibility is on me the supplier, because anything less than a careful, professional and sympathetic response tarnishes my ‘brand image’.

So I posted a public reply, kept it professional and kind but did state that I had offered a replacement and would update my listing. I thanked them for their feedback. And that’s all I can do.

Little time with a heat gun will sort that right out.

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My First Review