“Rhett is hard to Get on the Phone…”

I recently saw a comment on Facebook similar to the title of this post, so I thought I should post a quick note about why that seems to be the case…

During my career with Walmart Logistics, we had what was known as the “Sundown Rule,” meaning we were supposed to follow up with every request or question before the sun went down that business day. Now as a small business owner, I still try to hold to that rule, though sometimes I am unable to do so. With that, let me just say that if you’ve ever attempted to contact me and not received a timely reply, I apologize. Rest assured, such cases are the exception and not the rule.

Even friends and family members who have my cell number will tell you I’m hard to get on the phone. That’s normally because I’ve left my cell phone in the truck, it’s turned off, or the battery is dead.  For some reason, the last place they think to call me is the house phone, even though that’s where I am 95% of the time these days.

Some whipmakers don’t have a phone number listed for customers to call, but I have a business number that has been listed on my website for a long time. I want to be accessible. If you call during my normal business hours, I may or may not be able to pick up the phone depending on what’s going on. I could be in town getting supplies, or I may be outside turning something on the lathe. My answering machine is an el’ cheapo and it will simply pick up and say “please leave a message,” if you do and I can understand your number, I’ll do my level best to call you back as soon as possible.

Also, please understand that my business line gets a lot of  junk solicitation calls, so I don’t always answer it even if I’m here simply because I don’t want to deal with the scammers trying to get money out of me for some made-up charity for which they allege to be working.

It’s not as if I’m some recluse who doesn’t like to talk to strangers. Trust me, those who do get me on the phone will tell you that I’ll talk your arm off! In fact, I probably spend too much time on the phone. I’d probably increase my productivity by 20% if I didn’t allow phone calls.

What are the best ways to contact me?

1. The absolute best way to contact me is to fill out the form on the Contact Page of Cowwhips.com. That will “automagically” send me an email with your request and I am normally very prompt in replying to these. I prefer this method.
2. Phone: Calling during normal business hours. You may or may not get me, but I will return your call as soon as possible.

What are the not-so-best ways to contact me?

1. Facebook is the worst! Though I spend too much time on Facebook, if you are not already “friends” with me on Facebook andsend a message to my personal account, I may or may not see it if Facebook sticks it in the “other” folder. Even on my Rhett Kelley Whipmaker page, it’s easy for me to miss it. Please avoid this method if at all possible.
2. My Rhettswhips at Yahoo dot com email account: Though I’ve had it for over a decade, Yahoo still has a bad habit of thinking initial order inquiries are spam, and it sends them to the junk folder. I’ve found customer emails in that folder that were several weeks old. So at least for the initial attempt to reach me by email, this is not the best option.
3. Snail Mail: Sometimes I go for a week or two without checking my PO box, so this is the really, really bad way to contact me.

I hope this somewhat helps to clear the air on why I am sometimes difficult to reach. I assure you that I’m not really trying to hide from my customers. This is basically a one man operation and I can’t afford to hire a secretary at this time.

[Late edit: I recently got a message from a customer asking me to fix a whip after he tried in vain for weeks to get a response from the whipmaker who originally made the whip. Yet, believe it or not, the whipmaker’s phone number and contact info is listed on his website. I’m doing my best to see that such is never said of me.]

[Another, even later edit: Another not-so-great way to contact me is by leaving a comment on my blog or on my Youtube videos. Please try one of the better methods listed above before posting a comment to get in touch with me as I may not see the blog comment right away]