Teach Soap

You are so right, Matt. Maybe BB is not a good fit for a customer like you. You should order from the company that makes you the happiest.

I will add my experiences as well - all have been wonderful and I've had a wide variety of issues. From actually being shipped too much product to any number of things. Everything has always been taken care of quickly, efficiently, and in a manner that made me very happy. I have many times contacted them for technical help and they always have answered same day. I've never actually weighted what I've gotten from BB, but I do know that on their web site they point out products done by volume and products done by weight.

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Sweet bathing!
Erin
www.bathcake.com

MattGSO,
You really should have contacted BrambleBerry privately before you decided to post a negative post on a forum that BrambleBerry owns. It is not unusual not to hear from a vendor in a couple of days. You are not the only customer as they have many.

From what I have seen, you have only been making soap since January. There is no way I would be selling anything that I made in such a short period of time. This is one business where patience is a virtue.

How do you know how your soap will behave 3 months from now or 6 months, or a year? What if it gets DOS and it's sitting in your friend's shop? What about if the color or scent fades?

What if you end up with a batch that's lye heavy? Your liability insurance would not cover you in this case. Would you be ready to be sued? Loose your house? Your car? Or almost everything you own?

I do hope that you do have a liability insurance. It's a must; along with a business license and any other paperwork that's needed in the part of town where you live.

Please start out slow, do your research, do MANY test batches so you know how each oil/butter/color/fragrance behaves in long term.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Hi Matt (and everyone) -

I am so so so sorry that you've had such a poor experience with Bramble Berry.

Typically when a product leaks .3 ounces out of 1.0 ounce, we usually refund for the entire one ounce so you can get the remainder for free since we do sell by weight. In this case, since the product had sadly been lost on your microwave in a Styrofoam type cup, I can definitely understand why the refund wasn't enough for you. SoapyClean is a fabulous fragrance and I would have wanted more of it too. =) I hope your microwave cleans up easily. SoapyClean-scented food for the next month might prove tiresome.

Courtney has another 1 ounce of the SoapyClean headed your way on Monday and we've refunded you for your original one ounce of product so you've paid $0 for 1.7 ounces of SoapyClean. I hope this is a good resolution for you.

If the interactions on this forum with Bramble Berry staff, the emails from Courtney (both today and with technical support questions prior to your first order) and the phone call today haven't convinced you that we take every single customer concern extremely sincerely and seriously (or at least enough to try us again), I would definitely recommend the following suppliers without any hesitation. They're all great!

http://www.sweetcakes.com
http://www.soapies-supplies.com
http://www.from-nature-with-love.com

Please definitely let me know if there's anything else I can do for you. I'm always happy to help and am so sorry I wasn't around to chat today when you called. I'm out of the office on a bit of a working break (just blogged about it at http://www.soapqueen.com if you're so inclined to read a long, rambling blog about scuba diving )

Have a lovely weekend - and enjoy the SoapyClean when it arrives next week. It makes a fabulous unisex fragrance that is alluring without being over the top.

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Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com

Now this is a supplier that goes above and beyond! Well done Anne-Marie!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

As an FYI: I did try to contact BB at least a day (I don't remember the specific time frame) before posting here. Called and got the voice mail. Sent emails as well. My attempts to speak or get email response with someone there have historically been delayed by a couple days. Could be coincidence.

Thank you for the replacement bottle. It is a nice gesture even if it comes only after I stirred things up. But it is not necessary. Keep your costs down and don't send it if it hasn't already gone out.

OK...
I gotta throw my two cents in here, too!

I agree with the comments - Matt, don't give up on Bramble Berry! From my experience, they are one of the BEST suppliers in the soaping business. I use other suppliers, as well, but Bramble Berry is one of my favorites. And apparently, I'm not alone in my opinion - I believe that they won the 2008 Supplier of the Year Award (am I correct)??

Some of their fragrances (Wasabi, Dragon's Blood, Patchouli Dusk, Champagne,OMH, Wild Sarsaparilla) are the BEST ON THE MARKET. And, their customer service is great!

I have had a few minor issues over the past few years, but they were always handled to my complete satisfaction.

Hope you will give them another chance!

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HEAVENLY SCENT SOAPS