Fun (and Funny) Moments in JBW Customer Service

Hi everyone!  In a departure from our usual FO Friday/ WIP Weekend post, I thought I would share some of our funniest and most interesting moments from the Customer Service side of Jimmy Beans Wool.  Over the years, we’ve had some pretty interesting questions and stories that have given us a good laugh in the middle of our workdays.  They keep us on our toes and makes us smile all at the same time.  Here they are:

1. One quiet afternoon recently, Terry was working in the shop organizing the Addi needles when a woman walked in the door, stopped, looked around with a quizzical expression on her face.  Then she looked right at Terry and said, “Oh, I guess you don’t sell curling irons here,” then spun around and walked right back out the door.  No, we sure don’t. :)
2. Jeanne received a phone call a few years back from a very nice gentleman who was looking for “Greased Wool.”  Thinking he meant wool with the Lanolin still on it, she suggested he try a different online shop.  Turns out he was really looking for wool yarn that had been soaked in mechanical grease of some kind to be used on the bearings of an antique freight train that he was restoring.  Apparently he needed 16 pounds of wool for this project...wow!
3. For some reason, our Customer Service team tends to get a lot of phone calls during tax season from people wanting to discuss their taxes.  We must be 1 number off from a tax service.
4. “Do you sell kites?” What?!?!?   
5. Just this week someone called wanting to know if we sold wool seat covers for their car.  We don’t, but our neighbor in the shopping center “Motor Sheep” does.  When I told him, that he said, “Oh, well, do you have their number then?”  It’s funny but I guess it’s easy to confuse a yarn shop called “Jimmy Beans Wool” with “Motor Sheep.”
6. We are right next to a needlepoint store in the shopping center where we currently reside.  Often times people will walk in and wander around for a good 10-15 minutes before asking if we carry (insert some needlepoint supply here).  We then have to tell them that the needlepoint store is next door and they’ve been browsing the wrong shop for the last 10 mins or so.  Oops!
7. Sometimes folks confuse us with a certain sausage company.  “Jimmy Deans? You mean like the sausage?”  Enough said.
8. We have a few very sweet and loyal customers who have their order timing planned out perfectly in order to avoid their husbands finding out.  Some wait until they are away on business.  One lovely woman in particular has a special deal worked out with her mail man to leave her Jimmy Beans packages in her car for her.  We always ship her packages via postal service because UPS comes during dinner. :) 
9. Some of our most interesting phone conversations happen when someone calls us while they are driving.  One memorable call came when someone had to get off the phone really quickly promising to call back after she had pulled over to double check and make sure that the chicken walking on the side of the road wasn’t hers escaping from her yard.  We never found out if it was hers or not, but we thought it was pretty funny anyway.  
10. Sometimes husbands will call and order gifts for their wives.  The best is when they call to get “that thing my wife said would replace my hands when she winds her yarn”...otherwise known as a yarn swift. :)

These are just a few of the funny moments that brighten our day.  We love every unique quality that makes every one of our customers part of the Jimmy Beans family.  We thank you and appreciate that you allow us to do these jobs that we love!  Hope you enjoyed hearing about these little tidbits from the insider’s perspective!

Have a great weekend and happy knitting and crocheting!

Kristen