How working with a smile helped LoveCrafts get
85k ★★★★★ reviews
Start with the company values
LoveCrafts is proud of its deeply held values — first and foremost, we are Smart, Kind, and Makers. These values apply inside the company and out — and shines through in all teams, whether you’re a crafter, a baker or a techno whizz — we are kind to each other, we are smart, and we all love making! But for Smiles, our Customer Support team, there is a particularly close relationship with our customers that gives us unique opportunities every day to express those values to the people who need to see it most. We like to solve customer knitting and crochet queries with a smile — in a way that leaves our customers joyful.
Why specialist knowledge is really important
Sometimes the only way to solve a problem is to tackle it yourself, and that’s where specialist knowledge really comes into its own. The crafters on our team keep spare yarn, needles and hooks to hand in case they need to double check a stitch for a pattern query, and it’s not unusual for us to take a pattern home when it needs a little more in depth investigation. Specific knowledge allows our team to provide tailored assistance through a tricky section of a pattern, often saving projects from being abandoned. It may not be in the job description, but sometimes the only way to clear up confusion is with a step by step photo guide or sketched diagram. Not every request can be accommodated — we receive requests to rewrite patterns in a different format (converting charts to written instructions or vice versa), translate a pattern into another language or from knit to crochet, or provide pattern specific video tutorials. But “no” is not a word that comes easily for Smiles, and while we may not be able to meet the request exactly, there’s usually a way around it that helps the customer work their way through the difficulty and gain new skills that take their crafts to new heights. Some workarounds we’ve used previously include providing links to a blog post that explain how to read a chart, finding a similar pattern that is more suited to the customer’s requirements, or compiling tutorial playlists that cover the skills in a specific pattern.
Go beyond expectations
With the bar set high, it takes something truly exceptional to raise it, and one shining star has gone above and beyond, walking a nervous knitter through a full pattern in a personalised one-to-one knit along. Claire, one of our expert knitters, filled me in on why she chose this approach, and the benefit to the customer (and herself).
“I had a pattern query about the ‘Climb Every Mountain’ sweater. The customer couldn’t get the stitches to add up and thought there was possibly an error. I’m familiar with the designer’s patterns as we did a Smiles KAL (Knit-Along) with her ‘After the Rain’ sweater. The patterns are very accurate but written in a unique format that takes some getting used to, so I sketched the starting stitches and markers in the round and took a photograph of the stitches and markers to make it clearer. I then started to knit a few rows…and a few more… and before I knew it we were doing our own personal KAL and cheering each other on! I was so impressed that Pippa* was determined to master this pattern and did so with great humour. Her emails were funny and a delight to read. Once she got the hang of it there was no stopping her and she finished way ahead of me, but we have both yet to photograph our projects and swap pictures - I’m so looking forward to seeing Pippa’s finished sweater. I’m really pleased with my sweater and looking forward to wearing it in the Autumn.”
We asked Pippa too how she felt about the experience, and here’s what she had to say:
“My love of knitting and crocheting started in my early teens- I would go into my local knitting shop and sit with the owner, who guided me through patterns. So when I had an issue with a pattern I’d bought from LoveCrafts, I reached out for assistance. Little did I know they’re in London - half a world away from me!
The pattern was complicated and written in an unusual way, and I was having major problems understanding it. I sent an email and got a reply immediately from Claire, who told me that she completely understood my issues. To start me off she sent me a drawing of how the project begins. Then she decided to knit along with me, so she sent me a photo of the start of her project on her needles. She created a mini-knit-along! How lucky can a gal get? Just this morning I got photos of Claire’s finished sweater. Mine is now being blocked and once it is ready to show, I’ll be sending her photos too!
I have been in a customer-facing business for 46 years and not only share my expertise with my clients, but also a huge part of my heart. And that is what Claire shared with me — her skills and her heart — for which I will be grateful always. Cyberspace denies us person to person intimacy but when you’re as lucky as I you can bridge the gap. Claire made me feel she was as close as my neighbourhood knitting shop. Thank you LoveCrafts and most especially THANK YOU CLAIRE- I look forward to sharing another project with you in the future!”
We’re proud that we are able to offer specialist help, and for crafters to know that we are not a call centre and we’re not working from a script — we’re passionate makers who understand and want to help.
*The customer’s name has been changed
