Hello Freecycle(TM) Members,
You craft a lovely OFFER for something and post it to Tacoma Area Freecycle(TM). In several back-and-forth emails, you painstakingly schedule a pickup time with a potential recipient, and with great regret, you turn down half a dozen other people who say they want it, too. All of this... only to have the chosen recipient vanish into thin air, never appearing on your doorstep to claim their treasure.
This is known as a "no-show" - and it's one of the most common complaints the Freecycle moderators get from our members.
But there's actually a lot you can can do to prevent no-shows from raining on your personal Freecycle parade. Here are a few tips that we guarantee will decrease the chances of it happening to *you* when you next post an OFFER:
THE SHORT AND SWEET LIST
1) Before offering, search for an already-posted WANTED for the same thing.
2) List your preferred pickup times right in your OFFER.
3) Don't just say yes to the first email - wait 12-24 hours to gather responses.
4) Choose your intended recipient wisely from among all the replies.
5) Be understanding and patient about the pickup time... to a point.
6) Don't be a no-show yourself.
***********
1) BEFORE OFFERING, SEARCH FOR AN ALREADY-POSTED "WANTED" TO FILL
When you're ready to place your OFFER, first go to: http://yahoogroups.com/group/tacomaareafreecycle/messages. Do a quick search of the messages archives to see if someone is already wanting the very thing you're posting an OFFER for, (Believe us: this happens much more often than you'd think!) A person who's already asked the group for what you have is going very grateful to get an OFFER directly from you... and much more likely to show up and get it at the time you've agreed on.
2) LIST YOUR PREFERRED PICKUP TIME(S) IN YOUR OFFER
Right in your offer, you can name the time frame you want the item picked up:
"I can leave it out Thursday or Friday night between 6PM and 10PM, or all day until 7PM on Saturday - we'd really like it gone by then." And then add: "In your reply, let me know when you expect to be able to come by to get it; I'll give you my address after we settle on a pickup time."
The idea isn't to be inflexible about when people are allowed to pick up your item; rather, it's to get them to think first and make a clear commitment to you about when they'll really be able to show up. There's a side benefit for you, too: you can see whether they can read and follow simple directions - always a good indication they're the type to reliably follow through!
3) DON'T JUST SAY YES TO THE FIRST REPLY! WAIT 12-24 HOURS TO GATHER RESPONSES
We know everyone's human, and it's natural once you've made a decision to give something away for free, you want it out of your life as soon as possible. That makes it soooo easy to just hit "reply" to the first email you see and immediately promise your item to them. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work best that way. Often someone responds to an OFFER on impulse, answering instantly. Then reality kicks in, they change their mind, and then don't show up.
We really, really suggest allowing 12-24 hours after your OFFER is posted to collect emails from folks who are interested. This gives *everyone* on the list a shot at seeing your OFFER and replying to it - including those without computers on their desks at work, and fun people with real lives who aren't hovering over a keyboard 24/7.
By waiting to get several replies, you can pick the best 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices out of the whole group. Then, if the first person is no-show, you can easily move on to the next one, without having to post again. How cool is that?
And always remember: there's no need to reply to every email you get, saying, "it's spoken for, sorry"! That's what your TAKEN posting is for - your blanket reply to everyone you didn't choose to get the item. Save yourself the time and trouble, keep just a few replies as backup and just delete the rest after your item has been rehomed.
4) CHOOSE YOUR INTENDED RECIPIENT WISELY
Compare two responses you might get to your OFFER:
Response #1 arrives ten minutes after you post: "If it's still available I'll take it!!!"
Response #2 arrives four hours after you post: "Wow, I'm really interested in the dresser you just offered. It would fit perfectly in my daughter's bedroom, and the color sounds like it matches exactly what we already have there! We actually live in the same neighborhood, and could pick it up tonight or tomorrow, at your convenience. Thank you so much for offering it and considering my request!"
Which of these two replies is more likely to be grateful to receive your OFFER - and much less likely to be a no-show? The second person has taken the time to express their interest, name the item that they are responding about, indicate their location and their availability for picking it up, and given you some idea about how they might use it. And taken the time to give a simple "thank you." Hmmm, do we have a winner here?
5) BE UNDERSTANDING AND PATIENT... TO A POINT
We recommend you let potential recipients know when you schedule a pickup that you'll only hold the item for them for a certain amount of time - e.g., "I'll be taking it in two hours later if you haven't shown up" - and that after that you'll move on to the next person. This gives them fair warning that they need to follow through and not let other commitments get in the way of their commitment to *you*.
But what if the intended recipient still doesn't show up when they said they would? Should you immediately give up on them? Well, you're the OFFERer, so that's your call. Did they contact you beforehand (or reasonably soon afterwards), with a legitimate reason for missing their pickup time? Are you fine with rescheduling? Are you terribly anxious to get this thing out of your life, and have other responses from people interested in it? In the end, it's totally up to you.
That all being said, if you choose not to schedule a specific pickup time, but just put it out on the porch for them to come by and take, then waiting two days or so before giving up seems reasonable to us. It's a busy city, and people can get delayed through no fault of their own - but certainly 48 hours should give anyone time enough.
6) FINALLY: DON'T BE A NO-SHOW YOURSELF
There are legitimate reasons for someone not to show up - emergencies, unexpected life happenings, horrific rush hour traffic - but these should be the *exception*, not the rule. It takes only a moment for you to call or email the generous OFFERer with an apology and a request to reschedule. You'll find that most people are very accommodating if you're courteous enough to check in with them.
And if you've changed your mind for whatever reason, simply let the OFFERer know! Remember that this person is offering you a gift. Being part of the Freecycle community means honoring your commitment to meet the OFFERer or pick up your item at the time you've scheduled, or letting them know otherwise as soon possible.
Thanks for being a Tacoma Area Freecycle Member!
Your Friendly Tacoma Area Freecycle(TM) Moderators
Questions? Comments? TacomaAreaFreecycle-owner@yahoo.com
QUICK GUIDE TO CORRECT SUBJECT LINE FORMAT:
(Use ONLY one of these four keywords)
OFFER: couch - (Your Home Location)
TAKEN: couch - (Your Home Location)
WANTED: garden hose - (Your Home Location)
RECEIVED: garden hose - (Your Home Location)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Compose messages easily with Internet Explorer and *Firefox* Freecycle Plugins from http://wiki.memberplugin.org. Click to install it today!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Please join our new forum, the Tacoma Area Freecycle Café. It is a place where you can share links, services, resources, community agencies, volunteer opportunities, trade, or barter.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TacomaAreaFreecycle_Cafe
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(c) 2003 The Freecycle Network http://www.Freecycle.org). All rights reserved. Freecycle and the Freecycle logo are trademarks of The Freecycle Network in the United States and/or other countries.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS? Email: TacomaAreaFreecycle-owner@yahoogroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment