And maybe a FEW P940V2/PF45 rails but we will have more arriving soon....
Well we finally managed to get through our biggest sales day of the year which would be Black Friday. It really was insanity. I'm over here all thinking oh we will just hit the sales go live button and take the rest of the day off and that is NOT how it went at all! However all the packages are shipped, and I think we have only had one or two "errors" which is pretty good considering this:
The picture on the left is one of our very first ROOK shipments. That picture on the right is actually about ONE THIRD of what we actually shipped for Black Friday - so I hope you can all understand we were a little overwhelmed!
So....we have been trying to figure out the best way to approach things, as no matter how we do it we always seem to get some complaints, and we really WOULD like to make everybody happy, but its just impossible. Growing pains are a real thing, and we have experienced them in droves this year. For instance we released the front rails that the people are being informed of on this very e-mail and blog...yesterday...but only to the people who were signed up for Back-In-Stock notifications to try to make it more fair. Well we didn't sell out so now we are releasing to everybody else aka the general public who didn't sign-up.
With this result, we think moving forward, outside of "special sales" the rule will be this, we will drop the items on the site which automatically triggers the Back-In-Stock notification e-mails. If after 24 hours there is still stock to be had we will notify the general public. This gives the people who are our "faithful followers" who have taken the time to sign up for notifications first dibs.
You see where I am going with this? Essentially to stay in the know make sure you are signed up for Back-In-Stock Notifications. Really sign up that’s the only way.
This way if anything sells out - you will have gotten that heads up you wanted, So again sign up for Back-In-Stock notifications - if you get the e-mail the next day for the remnants and get upset about how fast stuff sells out well … you have been warned lol , we send to EVERYBODY on our mailing list, which is now by the way over 3000 people Soooooooo – you need to sign up for Back-In-Stock Notifications. (You see where I’m going with this …. When in doubt ….. sign up for Back in stock notifications that is all)
As far as we can see this is the only fair way to to this moving forward. Blame Dave. (Freaking Dave it’s always his fault trust me on this)
We have also now stopped giving out dates and estimated dates on when rails will arrive simply because it's futile and we don’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings. ROOK is ordering and making them as fast as we can, and sometimes we miss expected dates ( it’s like pregnancy .. in reverse) - when we do miss expected dates, we get a lot of angry e-mails or inquiries which at this time we have limited time to deal with.
So - and I feel like I am repeating myself here ( Because I am … and because it’s important for you all) - make sure you sign up for Back-In-Stock notifications as that is now the BEST way to stay in the loop.
We will have quite a few new products coming over the next few months, and they will go up on the website with a Back-In-Stock notification first. An e-mail WILL however be sent to everybody letting them know when the items such as the PF940SC/G26 Front rails we have coming are available for Back-In-Stock notifications - but when they actually drop if you aren't on that list you are not getting notified until the next day as when we drop new products they will go live for 24 hours before we send out the E-mails and Blogs.
Now of course, we will still occasionally surprise y'all with a drop of something new and unannounced, because well to be honest it's fun.
This has been a truly, truly amazing year and we thank you all for being a part of this wild and crazy ride, and helping us build ROOK into something that to be honest we didn't think was possible this soon into the game. We have some very big changes coming for 2022 including, but not limited to...Employees! The shipping moving out of my home office! A Podcast! A CNC machine of our very own!
It's going to be in our eyes at least monumental with an emphasis on mental!
Love Y'all.
As always thanks for the continued support and thanks for Getting 'ROOK'd
ROOK.
Keep fighting the good fight Pete, as a fellow small business owner who started during covid my advice is this: find the right person, not the most experienced or the cheapest or most hungry. Ive had those people quit or be fired in 6 months operating, I hope we found the right people now but it adds undue stress being in a constant state of need to hire a person. Go with your gut and hopefully get the right people out of the gate
Hey Pete, congrats on your survival! I think that how you are handling your growth is phenomenal. Not one single person can complain except for the occasional "Karen", and if they really have to get something in the mail they should order a hat or a t-shirt.
Thank you, Steve
Thanks Pete, just grabbed a few more locking blocks (PF940C)! I was not quite fast enough in placing my order for one of the few PF45s you had, oh well - I'll catch the next go around!
I didn't see anything in your blogs, but will you ever be making Locking Blocks and Rear Rails for the PF9SS?
Thanks as usual! DaveM (MGB as well)
Thanks Pete your doing a great job Just ordered a couple more rails Jeff C (MGB Crew)