Quilt Prep: Turnarounds and Quilt Return
So your quilt is at TCQ - Yay!! What happens now? Well, the day it arrives we bring the package into the studio. Within a week of that, we will open it, prep it, and then reach out to let you know it has arrived and address any questions or concerns either of us have. We always hope to be in touch within a business day or two of arrival but we’ve learned there are times we can’t be as quick as we prefer. If you ever have a concern about your quilt being here, safe and sound, do not hesitate to reach out!
Typical turnaround from the time your quilt arrives until we invoice you will be 4 weeks or less. We are usually faster but this blanket timeline helps buffer for any services ordered, sick kiddos, and vacation times. Folks that just need quilting services will likely have turnarounds closer to 2 weeks while those who order bindings services or photos will be closer to 4.
One major caveat is during the holiday season, usually November - January. Be sure to look for announcements and updates each year for those dates
Rush Orders: If you need something faster than 4 weeks, no worries! We are always willing to try to meet any deadlines you may have. If we can do it without working outside of our usual timelines and processes, great. If we can’t, we will see if you are up for the rush fee ($50), or let you know we can’t quite make it work that time around.
Once your quilt is complete, we will email you an invoice. Within that invoice will be details on how to arrange a pickup if you are local or instructions on how to proceed for it to be mailed back. Please be sure to look this information carefully each time you receive an invoice as it may be updated or change.
Return through the mail
If we are mailing your quilt back to you there are a couple of things you need to do BEFORE YOU PAY. One you have paid we assume you are happy with everything as is and are cleared to purchase labels and ship your quilt.
Before that moment, we ask that you double check the address on the invoice. In addition to that, we will encourage you to read over a blog post that addresses extra insurance and special requests for returning the quilt. This will let us know if you want additional insurance or for us to use a particular service/carrier. Once all of that is settled you will pay via credit card through the online invoice. Within 3 business days we will have your quilt in the mail.
We always choose a service that estimates a delivery within 5 days or less and has $100 of insurance included. We use new boxes, pack in plastic bags, and have a TCQ sticker on the outside of the box so you know it’s from us!!
Spring 2024 Update: In January, a couple of major winter storms throughout the Midwest caused some crazy delays with all shipping services. For some reason, USPS never quite recovered. Throughout the month of February and early March TCQ, and many of our customers, had some very frustrating experiences with the tracking and delivery of returning quilts. The tracking would not update causing many to worry their quilt was misplaced, lost, or just sitting around in my local UPSP branch. Many of the packages still arrived on time, many did not. After many conversations with USPS, and realizing this was a nationwide issue that showed no signs of resolving, TCQ decided to move all our return shipping exclusively to UPS until USPS gets it together.
To all of you caught in that horrible situation, THANK YOU, for your patience, your grace, and your willingness to work with us. Every single package did make it home, and much to my very happy surprise, there were several weeks where you all were supporting each other, emailing encouraging messages, and just in general being amazing. Please know we took your plight seriously and have made changes to our business model to ensure this does not continue to be an issue. We truly hope you will continue to mail your quilts to us!
Porch Pick Up
If you are picking up, you can pay via credit card through the invoice and then do a porch pickup at your convenience. We offer it Monday - Friday. We put things out in the drop box by 9 am the day you have arranged pickup and will leave things out until dark or until an agreed up on time should you need to come later. If you feel strongly about paying by check or cash, that’s fine, too. We will simply need to make an appointment. My availability can be a bit annoying with all the things I have to work around but we will figure it out!!
As always, do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns about this process. Can’t wait to see what arrives in my box tomorrow!!
-Lilo
