Apologies it has been so long since my last post. There is so much to tell you about!
A fairly recent occasion & the biggest of the gift basket year has just passed, so I thought I would take some time to review it. Yes you guessed it - Christmas Time!
Thank You
The team here at Irish Gourmet would like to say a big thank you to everyone who shopped with us during November & December for Christmas hampers & gift baskets. We hope your friends & family members enjoyed receiving & eating the contents! We know many of you shop with us every year & we really appreciate your continued custom. We have been steadily growing for the past 10 years and keep making improvements to the systems every year. Our aim is to be a well oiled machine! One thing remains constant though; we only offer great quality, local food that we have taste tested & love!
New Irish Products
We are always keen to add new lines to our range, so new products for Christmas 2011 included a new "Chutney For Cheese & Wine" & "Beetroot Blush" from Janet's Country Fayre in Co. Wicklow. Fruity Rice & Oat Crisp Clusters from Mackle Snacks in Dungannon. Skelligs Chocolates were also back for this Christmas after a devastating fire destroyed their factory in Co. Kerry last year. Danucci Chocolates from Co. Louth were also reintroduced back into our gift baskets in 2011. We also stock more fresh meats at Christmas time, so bring in extra Ummera Organic smoked salmon (in various sizes) as well as their bacon rashers, duck breasts & chicken crowns. We also stock Brady Family's carved glazed traditional ham & cooked ham joints at this time of year.
No Snow!
We were so pleased the snow stayed away this December & no pipes were bursting! It meant we were able to keep dispatching Christmas hampers right up until the 22nd December, for delivery on 23rd December. Some of the couriers even worked the Saturday 24th, Christmas Eve, to get those last few parcels delivered.
We even dispatched baskets on Friday 23rd December & these were delivered as soon as the courier companies reopened again on 28th December. We were then busy again on 28th & 29th December too, dispatching New Year gift baskets & helping to resolve any problems.
After Sales Care
With so many gift baskets being dispatched there are inevitably a few delivery problems, such as the recipient not being home when delivery was first attempted & they need help re-arranging delivery. As a good will gesture we also dispatched some fresh cheese packs to recipients who couldn't get a 2nd delivery attempt rescheduled until after Christmas. We also did very well in terms of few breakages too this year. We bubble wrap individual jars and our boxes are padded inside with air pockets, but occasionally a jar still might arrive broken (if a courier might have been particularly heavy handed with a box for example). When this happens we send out a fresh gift basket or a complimentary hamper to replace any damaged goods. We want the recipients to be delighted with their basket & so work hard to help on those rare occasions something might go wrong. Of course you get the odd chancer who refuses to take any responsibility when incorrect address or telephone numbers have been supplied. Even then we do our best to come up with a suitable resolution, but we do ask for costs to be covered for return to sender, redelivery & restocking fees - never mind the administration time & costs involved.
To Conclude...
So all in all a successful Christmas & New Year was had! January has been busy with VAT receipts & returns (the fun!), but also with updating our gift basket offering. We'll be back in touch soon with all the latest news.
Many thanks,
The Irish Gourmet
We were so pleased the snow stayed away this December & no pipes were bursting! It meant we were able to keep dispatching Christmas hampers right up until the 22nd December, for delivery on 23rd December. Some of the couriers even worked the Saturday 24th, Christmas Eve, to get those last few parcels delivered.
We even dispatched baskets on Friday 23rd December & these were delivered as soon as the courier companies reopened again on 28th December. We were then busy again on 28th & 29th December too, dispatching New Year gift baskets & helping to resolve any problems.
After Sales Care
With so many gift baskets being dispatched there are inevitably a few delivery problems, such as the recipient not being home when delivery was first attempted & they need help re-arranging delivery. As a good will gesture we also dispatched some fresh cheese packs to recipients who couldn't get a 2nd delivery attempt rescheduled until after Christmas. We also did very well in terms of few breakages too this year. We bubble wrap individual jars and our boxes are padded inside with air pockets, but occasionally a jar still might arrive broken (if a courier might have been particularly heavy handed with a box for example). When this happens we send out a fresh gift basket or a complimentary hamper to replace any damaged goods. We want the recipients to be delighted with their basket & so work hard to help on those rare occasions something might go wrong. Of course you get the odd chancer who refuses to take any responsibility when incorrect address or telephone numbers have been supplied. Even then we do our best to come up with a suitable resolution, but we do ask for costs to be covered for return to sender, redelivery & restocking fees - never mind the administration time & costs involved.
To Conclude...
So all in all a successful Christmas & New Year was had! January has been busy with VAT receipts & returns (the fun!), but also with updating our gift basket offering. We'll be back in touch soon with all the latest news.
Many thanks,
The Irish Gourmet
