Day starts 4-6 AM
Six months ago I became a father and my routine has changed. Now, instead of resting and waking up early whenever I wanted without an alarm clock, which used to be 6:30 AM, I don't rest at all, waking up constantly to make sure my son is still breathing and alive, and getting up whenever he decides it's a good time, which is usually a window between four and six in the morning.
07:00 I usually prepare breakfast while my partner breastfeeds. At seven, I leave the house for the warehouse, which, fortunately, is a seven-minute walk away. On the way, I check my phone and see that customers have written to me with questions at eleven at night, at three in the morning... those aren't hours! and I start replying. Hopefully, some orders have also come in, and at Teytal, we are fans of people who shop in the early hours, even though we have an amazing Good Night Rooibos for better sleep (what an ad I'm throwing in there), and I arrive at the office.
I enter, turn on the computer, sit down, and in a perfectly coordinated way with my back, knees, and vocal cords, I let out a well-tuned sigh, because I'm almost forty, and that's life.
The first thing I do is print all the shipping labels and note everything I need to prepare, because at 11:30 AM Correos Express comes to pick up all your packages for next-day delivery. But now the good part begins.
07:30 We all assume that placing an order online means entering your name, address, email, phone, and paying, but no! Today is just like any other day. Carmen Morales (fictitious name) has entered two different streets, so I search for her address on Google Maps and correct it. Later she explained that the first was to indicate which street led to her street, anyway. Another order is for a birthday gift, so I design the note they asked for and write what they requested. Another order has the wrong zip code, and in the notes, they indicate they don't know it, so we look up the address on Google Maps and correct it. Usually, there are two or three orders that require some address tweaking, duplicate information, or notes with instructions, but it's our job and we do it with joy.
08:00 I start preparing orders. Sometimes I have to bag tea blends or make capsules, although usually they are already prepared because I dedicate one day a week to production so that the rest of the week everything is ready to prepare shipments more efficiently.
10:00 With everything prepared waiting for Correos Express, I sit back down at the computer, a three-minute video call to see the little one at home and ask how they are, and then I check the website, ways to improve it, if I can include anything (now I'm creating an entire page with all the allergens, which, although you have them on each product page, will be seen all together in a table). I also schedule emails with news, discounts, and leave them ready to send on the best day of the week, and then I think about what to update on the blog.
12:30 - 13:00 With all that done, and if it's not a production day, my work in the warehouse is finished. If no cash-on-delivery package has arrived that I have to take to Correos myself because it's sent differently, I go home.
But my day doesn't end here. Remember the client who wrote to me at eleven at night and another at three in the morning? Well, I receive about 60 WhatsApps a day from people asking questions. The truth is most questions are all on the website, either by reading the information that appears when you click on a product or by clicking on FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, which is the first thing you see when you enter the website, but not everyone handles the Internet the same way. I answer gladly because it's my job and maybe that person will end up buying, but it's true that it's all the time: eating, sleeping, reading, when I watch a movie at home with the family, feeding the baby... and although I'm happy to go home early, the truth is I'm working all day, sometimes I miss being able to disconnect from everything when I leave, but well, there are pros and cons to every job.
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