“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” — Bruce Lee
mycuppa December 2017 Newsletter
We got it wrong.
Yep, a low-cost, high-value, everyday offering in place of the monthly Newsletter subscriber discount would solve many problems caused when customers miss out.
Unfortunately, it failed to resonate, so we have killed off Revolver for the time being and returned to the good 'ol days of roller-coaster short-burst discount frenzies.
The most exciting news in a long time (for filter enthusiasts anyway) is that after a long eight-month development, we have finally got our act together in the Filter-style coffee space.
That's right, a limited list of precision light roasted coffees to enjoy on your Aeropress, V60 or drip system - perfect for these hot summer days.
Before you leap into this new segment, there are some precautions, so please take a moment to read our story about what you can and can't use these coffees for; it's essential to avoid disappointments.
Yes, Sendle was temporarily turned off in November due to ongoing issues with Sendle's partner network. As of preparing this newsletter, the item currently needs to be made available in our store.
However, the situation may change, subject to certain conditions.
We will only make it available for purchase once we are confident that it is reliable across the entire network, which can be done with the flick of a switch.
AusPost will collect Express parcels earlier each day to ensure timely connections with the Express gateway.
Kenya is proving a problematic origin to source decent qualities and volumes until March 2018. Customers will have noticed the price has spiked.
Xmas trading hours - we are shipping up to midday on 22nd December, then on the 27th, 28th & 29th of December, the collection times will be earlier (outside of our control). Everything returned to normal from 2nd January 2018.
filter style coffees
Filter-style coffees as a segment is growing faster than espresso, and everyone wants a piece of the action.
We held off on filter-style roasting for a long time years. Still, after eight months of R&D, we have commissioned a small, dedicated, high-precision filter roasting system. This platform will produce tasty, delicious, juicy coffees from a short, curated list.
We offer only some of our roasted coffees for espresso AND filter (it's impossible). Hence, the Filter list is short but expanding quickly.
Filter style coffees are not universally adaptable for use everywhere, e.g. they can be complex or challenging to use on espresso machines or for producing lattes, so like everything in the world of coffee, there are some considerations we think are essential to understand, so that you can achieve the best experience.
Please take a moment to read our story on the differences of Filter Style coffees - Filter Style
Yes, it's switched off (but will be switched back on soon)
Barely a month passes without any significant announcement regarding freight or shipping services. It's a key component of our entire mycuppa experience and a high-focus area we constantly target for improvement.
Our customers have been asking for alternatives to AusPost - nobody likes to wait for parcels to arrive. While Express options are available in many areas, the cost sometimes must be lowered.
We have said it before and will repeat it: residential freight is a tough gig, and in our efforts to offer choices for shipping your parcels, we have tried every system. Ultimately, despite the various combinations and alternatives we have put to the test, we have yet to arrive at an end-solution that will please everyone. There are strengths and weaknesses with each provider. As a business that services Australia and New Zealand, we can't live in a small bubble of capital city metro areas.
Sendle is the most promising of all the services we worked with. We know thousands of customers have been quite happy with the service, and many have told us they are disappointed we switched off Sendle as the speed compared to AusPost was remarkable. Pricing was also a great incentive.
However, our #1 objective with freight is to ensure reliability. It's no use having parts of the network operating fast and the remainder with parcels disappearing into a "Bermuda Triangle".
The ratio of incidents to volume of freight sent on the Sendle network was 400% greater than AusPost. Each time an incident occurs, it's a high-cost impact for us and a strain on our relationship with our customers - something everyone wishes to avoid.
Putting aside the displeasure of slow freight from AusPost, the end game is about getting parcels to customers. With Sendle, we encountered some bizarre and explainable situations with partners working under the Sendle service. To apply some balance, this also afflicts AusPost when they misroute a parcel to the wrong state; in other words, nobody executes all of the time.
Our use of Sendle incorporated Couriers Please and Fastway as delivery partners. Whilst we experienced incidents with both partners, the ongoing unreliable nature of collections from Fastway caused us to kill this service in the short term. That sort of performance is unacceptable in this modern age of online shopping.
We asked Sendle to remove Fastway from our collections, but this has proved difficult for Sendle to modify, even though they have tried - a point we find rather peculiar.
Although we are still committed to pursuing Sendle, we understand that delivering reliably to our customers must always be our top priority. This means that we must ensure our deliveries work before new initiatives.
We are now well into the peak freight season. That means all freight channels are congested everywhere and will remain slower until the end of January.
Currently, delays are real and apparent in parcel networks as the volumes generated by online shopping exceed capacity. The recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday online shopping events have significantly clogged an overloaded parcel network.
Please allow an extra 1 - 2 days for transit times, or consider opting for Express.
There is nothing we, or any merchant, can do to speed up freight delays - please have patience and understand that once your parcel leaves our hands, it's in the realm of a parcel network consisting of up to 1.5 million objects moving daily. Complaining to us, sending us nasty emails and accusing us of poor service gets nowhere - especially when it's apparent we have busted our butts to get your parcel out and on the road in record time. The only way for change to occur is when people direct their frustrations directly to AusPost.
Parcels are in large cages stored in warehouses or on trucks - it's not just a simple case of walking over and finding something quickly - freight needs to work out to the endpoint before it's identifiable.
We have better news to share next month regarding expanding our freight and shipping options.
AusPost Express Changes
Sometimes, we receive many complaints about the Express parcel service needing to meet customer expectations. Mostly, it's an angry and frustrated customer demanding a refund.
It seems that AusPost's marketing campaign from more than 20 years ago of "Guaranteed Next Day" still resonates with consumers, and it's natural to assume that message applies to all Express products.
I bet most people would be surprised to learn that AusPost's Express parcel service "guarantees" and the lesser-known refund policy only applies to the AusPost branded merchandise purchased over the counter in official AusPost retail outlets. All service features are available exclusively with direct purchase of pre-paid solutions.
Merchants are not entitled to refunds or guarantees, as they are excluded from merchant agreements. Making matters worse, when a customer calls the AusPost support centre, most of the time, an AusPost agent erroneously advises our customers to seek refunds from us, which, as you can imagine, bounces. We are left stranded trying to explain why it's not applicable.
To clarify a few important aspects regarding the AusPost Express parcel service merchants provide (whether it's us or anyone else).
1. It's not a guaranteed arrival time frame (but I will explain more about this below, so please keep reading), but it's a lot faster
2. Refunds due to delays in arrival (not meeting the marketing terms of Next Business Day) are not available to merchants.
Express parcel services are much faster than the alternative - regular freight. The parcels are sorted with high priority and are processed through a gateway terminal, which ensures that they don't sit for extended periods waiting to be x-rayed at the central state parcel facility. Moreover, for interstate deliveries, they are not transported via road freight.
AusPost is acutely aware of merchants complaining about the disconnect between marketing their "guarantees" and refunds and the poor track record of meeting arrival time objectives. So, they are trying to improve.
From next week, AusPost will collect our Express parcels earlier. When all the parcel volumes are lodged into the hubs, it creates sorting problems and delays, resulting in missed gateway connections.
Customers who order with Express shipping before 2 pm will see their parcels collected around 2:30 pm. Any Express shipping orders after that time will be picked up at our standard 4 pm, which may result in missing the 6 pm connections on the other side of the city.
Xmas & New Year Trading Hours
Our store remains open 24 hours, accepting orders throughout the entire period, and we are working at our facility on maintenance activities; however, freight providers have limited services running during the festive season.
Please plan for the holiday season, as freight congestion is expected.
Pre-Xmas order cut-off is midday Friday 22nd December - the last dispatch before Xmas.
Orders received after midday 22/12/17 will be sent on Wednesday 27th December.
Roasting is restarted on Tuesday 26th December.
During the holiday period from 22/12/17 through 02/01/18, freight collection services will occur earlier in the afternoons. In the case of Sendle parcels, they will be collected at 11 am. Unfortunately, we have no control over this arrangement as the couriers need to prepare to pick up from us later in the afternoon.
Normal operations resume Tuesday, 2nd January 2018
On behalf of the mycuppa team, we wish you a Merry Xmas and a prosperous New Year.
