Robinsons Blog

As you’re probably aware, we’ve been rather occupied this week by the effects of our Winter Sale, which started last Tuesday (15th). In recent years, we’ve become better able to harness the power of the internet to ensure that as many people as possible get a fair chance to order the products they want. Even so, this isn’t as straightforward as it sounds – as I shall explain. But first, let me tell you about our very first experience of running a Sale. At retail.

In a store, a Sale is a fairly straightforward, basic, proposition. There, each customer takes up physical space so we can only fit so many people in a shop at once. As this is Britain, a Sale is an invitation to queue patiently but it’s not quite true to say that has always been the case. In days gone by, there have been a few instances of ‘I saw it first’ physical confrontation and what I should euphemistically call ‘jostling’ over some bargain or another.

In the world of mail order, two fundamental problems have always needed to be addressed in order to hold a successful Sale. First, in order to stimulate the calls, we needed to produce a catalogue of some form or other – which immediately creates the potential to increase the problems of the stock-out. Unlike in retail, a picture of a product in a catalogue is a promise on our part that we have it waiting for you. If we then sell out of that product, the catalogue doesn’t remove it from your view and because you can still see it, you still expect (understandably) our promise to be fulfilled. If we can’t deliver on our promise, you feel let down. The lesson we learned was that if we’re going to use catalogues to spark your interest, we also have to accept our obligation not to disappoint you.

We were also for many years lumbered with the wholly unsatisfactory ‘solution’ of the telephone. In those days, our routine for handling Sale demand was simple: we crammed as many people onto the phones as we could. The calls came at us like a tidal wave and we dealt with as many as we could. We knew it was difficult for customers to get through because those who did get through told us so – but because we had no idea of the scale of that problem, it was difficult to think of it as something we could really do anything about.

Of course, the lack of call-handling clarity was the same for customers too so in many ways, very little had changed since the late 70’s and the disappointment I had felt because my calls never got through to ‘Swap Shop’. I saw the answered calls on TV but I never saw the thousands of kids trying to get through. Everything told me my call should get through but I had to work out for myself why it wasn’t happening.

In the first year of our 0870 number, we had access to statistics which showed us just how many calls we didn’t answer – and that number scared us silly. Even when we found that on average, customers make ten attempts each (call, engaged tone, hang up, redial button, engaged tone, hang up, redial button, engaged tone… etc.) it still provided little solace. We all asked ourselves: what must people think of us?

Thankfully, the internet was just about to ride to our rescue. We weren’t able to gear up a call centre big enough to deal with the demands we could only put on it once or twice each year. There are even today loads of companies who offer to ‘contract out our call handling capability’ (answer the phones for us and place the order on our system – for a fee) but whose operators wouldn’t know one end of a horse from another. We needed a proper website to handle the demand we had generated and we got one just at the right time.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story – it’s more like the beginning. Now we have the capability to handle more orders in a day than we ever could, it’s only natural that we attempt to make our Sales bigger and better every year. Every website has a capacity but unlike with a shop, it can usually be increased by buying more servers and other such boxes with twinkly lights to live in our IT room. There are other ways, unglamorous but necessary techniques to ‘optimise’ our site, keeping file sizes to a minimum and sometimes switching off customer service lookups like ‘people who bought this item also bought the following’ as a means of helping the site to deal with as many customers at a time as it can. In a few short years, such considerations have grown in importance from being little more than an afterthought to almost a science in its own right.

Also – and I must acknowledge this point – it would be misleading for me to give the impression that with all our recent technological progress, we now get everything else right all the time. We are not immune today from making mistakes in our product selection, misjudging the quantities to buy and therefore selling out too soon (which is I hope more forgivable) or occasionally not even getting the product here in time (which I agree is less forgivable). With every Sale, we gain more experience and by and large, we use it to do what we can to make the next one better. Whenever we fail to live up to your expectations, please believe me when I say that we are as disappointed as you are. It is of no advantage to us to disappoint customers and it’s always a source of regret.

It may be helpful for me to give you an idea of the scale of the demand we can attract – and must service – these days: You could take every individual who has visited our site in the nine days since Saturday 13th December – the day our Sale reminder email went out – and between them, they would fill Wembley Stadium. Modesty prevents me from quoting specifics but you’re welcome to find out here what kind of number that relates to.

I would defy any other equestrian retailer to come anywhere close to attracting that level of interest in so short a period of time and it’s just as impressive to me because last year, we ‘only’ managed a ‘Millennium Stadium’ figure!

What’s just as important is that we live up to our delivery promises too. For the last two Winter Sales, we’ve stated that we would ensure all orders placed by 7:00pm of the first day of the Sale would be delivered in time for Christmas. Since the Sale began, it’s been great to read comments on our Facebook page and on the chatrooms that show just how much we’ve been able to impress customers with our speed and our service.  As always, I would say to anyone expressing dissatisfaction with us on chatrooms to contact us directly as well – we’ll always do what we can to help.

As I type, I can confirm that all these orders have left our building and should be with you in time for the big day. We have certainly done all we could do to give our couriers enough time to deliver for Christmas – ordinarily. I only hesitate slightly because I’ve just seen more weather warnings for parts of the UK. I very much hope that the wintry weather does not disrupt the delivery services and if it does, that customers accept that this was a factor outside of our control.

Anyway, I hope your Sale experience was a good one. I apologise for the slow running of the site in the first few hours. We think we know why it happened and we’ll do all we can to ensure we can handle that level of traffic better in future. If you ordered last Tuesday, you should have it by now or tomorrow at worst. If you were less than impressed, please let us know by emailing customer.service@robinsons-uk.com but whatever your experience, thank you as ever for your interest in Robinsons and for reading this rather lengthy blog.

From everyone here to everyone out there, have a wonderful Christmas and a happy, horsey, New Year!

As it comes into winter, especially with the great English weather, warm woollies are definitely needed. There’s plenty  on the market to choose from, so from your toes to your ears, there’s no excuse for being chilly this winter.

From Your Toes…Feet get cold really easily so a good thick pair of socks or two are essential for toasty toes, socks with thermal qualities are a great choice as well as fleece or cushioned soles for extra comfort. Some good socks have reinforced heels and toes making them last even longer. Good waterproof boots are winter essentials, after all there’s no point in getting warm and cosy socks if they’re just going to get soaked.

For the yard, wellies are great, though sometimes can get quite cold which is where the welly warmers come in. They are definitely a worthwhile investment as you can wear them over socks and they help keep your wellies cosy and dry inside. Hunter and Puffa do some great, fashionable designs so you look great even in winter. There’s loads of cheaper wellies which are great value for money, usually lasting at least one winter and mostly more. For a tough welly that will last for ages, you might end up paying a bit more, but it’s definitely worth it. These tend to be warmer, more water tight and probably wont need replacing for a good long while, such as the classic and ever fashionable Hunter welly.

Muckers and yard boots can be warmer than wellies and come in many fun different styles as well. They tend to be closer fitting and closed at the top so keep the heat trapped inside and around your feet which is excellent for warmth. They usually only have a waterproof foot part though so aren’t as protective from icy spillages as wellies can be.There are many fashionable designs available like the Pom Pom Muckers which are trendy as well as practical and warm, great all round!

Winter riding can end up being a chilly experience for your feet so waterproof and snug winter riding boots are a must have. Short jodhpur boots can be warm enough if coupled with warm leg wear and good socks, meaning you only need one pair of boots for the whole year. Long boots can be warmer than jodhpur ones as they insulate your whole lower leg, although they tend to be more expensive they can be worth it in the long run.

…To Your Legs…Moving up to your legs, you can’t beat a good, warm pair of jods or breeches in winter. There are jodhpurs made out of fleece for both kids and adults; these are great for toasty leg wear. A pair of tights under your jods or breeches also helps with heat retention, and if you’re still feeling the cold, take a look at over trousers and full chaps. These are often a waterproof design and they add an extra top layer for even more warmth.

…To Your Torso… Thermal under wear is also advisable for those who really feel the cold, its also ideal for kids who want to spend all day at the stables whatever the weather. These work really well when worn next to the skin and can become a real must have when winter arrives. Keeping your body warm is really important in the winter, especially for those who have asthma, are older or children. Long sleeve high neck tops are obviously a must, with a warm layer on top of them. This can come in the form of a fleece top, or hoody which are both a nice inbetween layer to have.

A gilet or body warmer on top of this is excellent for times when it’s a bit warm for a full coat but too cold to got without something extra. Waterproof blousons make a good top layer for milder weather as they keep you dry without being too warm and bulky. These make good winter riding wear too as when you warm up from the exercise you won’t overheat in them.

For the really cold winter days and nights, a good quality heavy waterproof coat which is long enough to cover your hips is a great idea such as the Musto Paddock Jacket. Coats like this will keep you dry which is key to keeping warm in horrible weather. Layer up on your top half and you can’t really go wrong, as heat will be trapped between the layers keeping you snug whatever the weather.

…With A Bit Of A Detour To Your Hands… Your hands are really hard to keep warm if you aren’t moving them very much, which you shouldn’t be when you’re riding! Hence hands can get cold and stiff before you know it when you’re in the saddle. Good riding gloves can help prevent this, as well as being recommended for use all the time anyway because of the safety aspect to them. For the yard, warm gloves are equally essential, as well as waterproofing being useful for when you’re in the rain or doing your waters. Gloves such as the Heated Glove are a brilliant idea as they are waterproof and battery powered, which is fab for round the yard and outdoors in general.

…Then Your Neck… A really easy way to help keep warmth in is a scarf or something similar like a neck warmer. Super simple, yet people forget about them until they’re already cold. Obviously these aren’t safe to ride in but are great for the yard. Balaclavas are ok to ride in provided there nothing could get caught on if you fell. These will keep your face and nose warm on the yard and on the horse, and double as a scarf as well.

…And Up To Your Head. Hats suddenly become the height of fashion in winter and everyone wants the latest style, which is great as they are super practical too, especially if you get a trapper style one which are always in fashion. These have ear flaps as well and are usually either knitted, fur lined or both so have super warm properties. Heat escapes most from your head so keep it covered! Ear muffs are a fab fashion statement and cosy as well. Great for kids as they’re a bit of a novelty too, especially if they’re the fun ones that are available at the moment.

Basically to make sure you’re warm this winter, wrap up, layer up, and make sure you don’t leave those key bits out, such as gloves, hats and warm watertight footwear. There’s no point doing half a warm up job, if one parts cold the rest of you will be!