Best way to handle store "away on vacation"?

[minuteman1970]

I'm just trying to think ahead here. I run my retail e-store using OScommerce, and currently don't have any employees working for me. I'm looking for suggestions as to the best way to handle being a week or so away from my business, let's assume having only sporadic internet access.

 

My first thought was to enter "we will be on vacation" text in a few areas, stating that any orders placed after X-date will not be processed until after Y-date. I don't want to shut the shop down all together, as this seems foolish. However, I am concerned with customers failing to notice my vacation notice, placing an order, and expecting to receive shipment a few days later.

Thanks in advance.

[Tim?]

I'm just trying to think ahead here. I run my retail e-store using OScommerce, and currently don't have any employees working for me. I'm looking for suggestions as to the best way to handle being a week or so away from my business, let's assume having only sporadic Internet access.

 

My first thought was to enter "we will be on vacation" text in a few areas, stating that any orders placed after X-date will not be processed until after Y-date. I don't want to shut the shop down all together, as this seems foolish. However, I am concerned with customers failing to notice my vacation notice, placing an order, and expecting to receive shipment a few days later.

Thanks in advance.

 

The whole 'we will be on vacation" thing is a neat idea and in theory should work. Best thing I can suggest is create some sort of textual image (like the one below) and add that to your products page somewhere. Maybe it could say "PLEASE READ THIS".

 

Like this...

Thanks to ImageShack.us for free image hosting.

 

If you want to continue running your shop then maybe you could post an 'advertisement' on a free classified forum (like Craigslist, Vivastreet or Gumtree) and find someone suitable to run your site for you. Maybe you could even ask a friend or someone you trust to run it for you.

 

Hope this helps.

 

:)