The Year So Far…
The Details…
We’ve heard you were wondering what’s up with us – we haven’t been able to answer phones and email as quickly as usual. And orders are taking longer than expected. We know that many of you get it, and understand. But some don’t – it’s a big world with many different local COVID experiences. So this is for anyone who has any concerns. We never want you to worry, it’s not worth the cortisol.
The simple answer is that bringing up production for custom products is complicated, and we are temporarily short-handed in the customer service department.
All our Finaons were furloughed for the almost 3-month mandatory shutdowns in New York and Michigan. The few of us who kept the lights on were at home and without any of our usual communication and work resources, in roles we don’t usually fill. Nevertheless, we persisted!
Once we could venture out again we had a lot of orders needing attention – ones partially completed, orders placed during COVID, and the influx after reopening. Like a pre-holiday period but with no real ability to physically prepare properly (we tried hard, though). This situation is a first for us, and we’re doing pretty well, considering. It’s not perfect, though, and certainly not what many would like us to be able to provide. We will still have some temporary order delays, by about 2-3 weeks after the usual turnaround.
Our work-at-home people were pretty tired by the time we reopened the office. We’re short-staffed, and COVID didn’t allow us to backfill and train as planned. The upside is that situations like this come with gifts like a brand new Finao baby 🙂 So our tired, pinch-hitting staff have been interviewing at light speed instead of answering the phones right away, and we have hired some excellent new family members who start soon.
We still need your patience and understanding, for just a little while longer. We love all of you bunches and are doing our best to clear the backlog and get back to business as usual. For now, we’ll return your calls and emails as soon as we can. Then we’ll all do our best to serve you in our usual roles, in the way you are used to. Won’t that be sweet?
Let’s rebuild 2020! The Dark Side is no match for photographers! Together we’re stronger (even if we don’t have “Photo Strong” rubber bracelets 😉
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