Pardon Our Dust!
(The Siem Reap crew relocating to Phnom Penh.)
For months I’ve been hinting about our fierce efforts to increase our capacity to serve. Today, I’ll share a bit about what we have in mind.
1. A new addition to the Arjuni team. A company’s growth potential is limited by that company’s talent potential. Any attempt to improve our client service is pointless if we don’t have the right people on board to serve. Tiyana was a miracle that I thought couldn’t be repeated. Fortunately for me, lightening does indeed strike the same place twice. Cynthia, well known for her incredibly delicious and incredibly informative YouTube channel, recently accepted my offer to join the adventure. Keep an eye on this blog to read all about the start of her journey with Arjuni.
2. A total website overhaul. The complete reveal won’t be unleashed until the end of January 2011, just in time for our first anniversary. But as promised, you’ll see significant refinements to our consultation process by the end of October. I greatly appreciated all of the insightful feedback from clients and prospective clients provided via our blog, email and Twitter. One idea submitted that I particularly liked was the suggestion of an email consultation. It remains to be seen whether we can implement this approach before November, however, you’ll certainly see this concept in place by February.
3. A consolidation. Presently underway, we are relocating and combining our Khmer facilities and US office. Two of our US team members (namely Tiyana and Cynthia) as well as a fourth of the Khmer team will complete the move to Phnom Penh by the middle of October. Having all of our operations under one roof will enable significantly smoother coordination and greater efficiency, ensuring that our client service process is seamless.
Here’s how our “dust” might affect you in the upcoming months :
1. Consultations, typically available each month, will be offered once more starting in November.
2. For the first two weeks of October, Arjuni will be closed. Complete radio silence. Our ability to respond to client inquiries will resume 18 October 2010.
3. We are currently moving our portfolio from the United States to Cambodia. We’ve made every effort to ensure we’ve more than enough hair extensions in our US office to serve clients scheduled in September. However, our ability to provide supplements for previous clients; or, to deviate from ounce limitations and chosen patterns will be severely limited.
4. We encourage all clients with consultations scheduled between now and 24 September 2010 to approve and settle their invoices no later than Wednesday, 29 September 2010, 5PM MST in order for their custom blends to be shipped prior to the U.S. office closure. Any orders still in progress after 29 September 2010 will be resumed toward the end of October in Cambodia.
5. Clients with reserved consultations for the month of October will be scheduled during the last two weeks of October and your custom blends will be the first to ship directly from Cambodia!
6. I’ve recently been made aware, several times over, of fraudulent schemes, unscrupulously (and without authorization) involving Arjuni hair extensions as the carrot. As a result, effective immediately, all consultations are non-transferable and all purchases are limited to 12 ounces or less. Please keep in mind that only authorized distributors will be able to purchase more than 12 ounces and that by the end of January, all authorized distributors can be verified by visiting our website. Rest assured that distributors will be held to same excruciatingly high standard to which we hold ourselves. Presently, Arjuni does not recognize any authorized distributors. Our distributor program is currently in development. We encourage any company interested in learning about our distributor program to send us an email.
7. Twitter consultations will continue to be offered, but only in the event of a cancellation. Due to our pending closure, we suspect the cancellations will be few and far between. But if they do occur, I’ll be certain to tweet.
8. Because we’ll be shipping directly from Cambodia, we’ve made it a priority that a variety of cost-effective and time-sensitive solutions be made available for our clients. Our new shipping options and policies will be described in detail in our upcoming newsletter. Stay tuned.
I recognize that the interruption to our service will cause some of our clients more than a bit of inconvenience. But I firmly believe that once the dust settles, Arjuni will be in a better position to serve without compromise to the quality of our service or our product.
Each time I return to Cambodia, it’s a whirlwind. But no matter the tasks at hand, the women of the Cambodian team always insist that I sit still long enough to ask :
“What did the Americans think of our hair extensions this time?”
“Did any clients find any nits? Was the hair properly cleaned?
“Did the Europeans like the changes we made to the wefts?”
“Were the cuticles kept in alignment? How was the density of the hair?”
(Keep in mind that they’re not yet aware of our shipments to Africa, so I’ve not yet had to field any questions regarding the thoughts of Nigerians and South Africans!)
Each time I’m presented with these questions, I’m stopped in my tracks. Their interrogation serves as an immediate reminder that everybody at Arjuni is deeply passionate about creating the best hair extensions on the planet. And I mean everybody. There isn’t a single team member, Khmerside or Stateside, who doesn’t challenge him or herself, every single day, to find some small way to improve our product and our service.
I can’t say for certain what drives each of us. But I do believe that we have this in common :
Each of us feels that we’ve been given an extraordinary opportunity to make an extraordinary contribution in Cambodia. And we realize this opportunity is made possible only through the generous support of our clients. We don’t take y’all for granted. It’s our deep appreciation for your patronage that keeps us motivated to create and serve our very best.
From the Khmer team and the US team (soon to be one)…
Thank you.
Warmest,
Janice
My Journey
I was introduced to Arjuni after conducting research on a social media website. I sought to find the “good stuff”: virgin human hair extensions that were well constructed, matched my hair texture, were durable, and, most important, affordable. After years of frustration and disappointment, I needed a retailer that I could rely on and a product that was worthy of my financial investment. I found that and much more in Arjuni.
As a tester prior to the formal opening of Arjuni, I saw just a glimpse of the inner workings of a start-up venture. Janice Wilson and her staff were consistently hands-on and interactive. They took the time to educate their clientele, were thorough and respectful, and never compromised the principles of the company for the sake of a dollar. No, it wasn’t always pretty, but by the end of the trial period, it was clear that Arjuni’s mission was to provide its clients with more than just great hair extensions. It was a unique hair-buying experience, and I was a client for life. Not only did I walk away with stunning Wavy 2B coifs, but also with a new lease on life. I knew that this was the type of company that I needed to be a part of.
I recently graduated from the University of New Mexico with Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and psychology, had gained significant experience as a legal assistant at one of the nation’s most prestigious law firms that specialized in Indian law, and had already secured a job at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. But I knew that I wanted more. More than a job, I desired a career in which I would be excited to go to work each day! One in which I could be sure that my input would be valued and that I would make a difference to my company and to the people I served. I knew that with my skill set, enthusiasm and commitment to excellence, I could make a significant contribution. So, I dusted off my resume, drafted a letter of interest, and sent it to Janice, never thinking she would actually entertain my inquiry. The rest, as they say, is history.
Making the decision to join the Arjuni family was an easy one, but it certainly came with great risk. Within a few days of accepting my new position, I left my “cushy” government job, packed my life into a U-haul and was on my way to Denver. All for a start-up company!
As the studio manager for Arjuni’s U.S. office, it is my mission to ensure that every Arjuni client leaves with not only a custom blend that exceeds expectations, but also the sense that we genuinely care about his or her needs and appreciate their patronage - because we do! Everyone on Arjuni’s staff works tirelessly to ensure that we are able to provide premium hair extensions and superior service. Whether I am conducting a virtual consultation, creating a custom blend, responding to client inquiries, planning an Arjuni event, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office, or picking the occasional nit from a weft, I do it knowing that we are serving the best clientele in the world.
During my orientation, Janice warned me that I was in for an interesting ride. And what a ride it’s been. With Arjuni, no two days are the same. Janice took a huge risk by investing in a 23-year-old girl from New Jersey. It is my personal mission that she, and most importantly our clients, sees a return on that investment through my committed service. As such, if there is anything that I can do to better assist you, please do not hesitate to contact me. It is truly my pleasure to serve you.
If you have any questions about my journey with Arjuni, please leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!
Warmest,
Tiyana