A wee glimpse into the behind the scenes life at Sh! HQ, which houses our manufacturing studio, warehouse and mail order dept...
By Aphra - Operations manager at Sh!
3rd May
Still no bin pick up! Two weeks without a refuse collection means cardboard boxes are mounting up in warehouse. We recycle most things ( there's even have a compost bin in the yard) so luckily its not yucky but still it would be nice to have space to swing a cat...
Promised pick up for tomorrow but they said that last Thurs so I'm not holding my breath.
Doesn't help that it's also the time of year to dispose of old paperwork. The Mail Order team is busy feeding shredders in between picking and packing orders - proving the old adage; women ARE fab at multi-tasking.
There's mountains of stuff that needs to be safely and securely destroyed ( data protection don't you know..) so we could be shredding for some time...
9th May
Delivery of Lush Lube at last!! Yay.
The Sh! Staff unpack the full load and get it all ready for labelling, only to discover it’s the wrong lube. Ours is creamy and silky lube and they've sent clear and gloopy!
Contact the manufacturer & rush off a sample of the right lube so they can see (again!) what they should be mixing and packing for us. They better not try to wheedle their way out of this being totally their fault. Bracing self for a showdown.
10th May
Supplier agrees that the whole shipment is indeed wrong and that I am blameless in the great lubricant saga. Phew! Stroppy Ops Manager hat can be put away, for now...
Crystal Maze hat goes on as the whole pallet needs to be re-packed to go back. Unfortunately warehouse is not set up ( yet!) for pallet shipment, so rather than sturdy strapping we have to make do with sticky brown tape - Nyisha & I get in quite a tangle, attaching ourselves to the pallet, and each other, in our attempt to secure it! : /
Next headgear; My Health & Safety hat. My team have fire extinguisher training out on the back yard - it's beautiful sunny day so nobody minds the brief distraction from dildo-making, strap-on sewing,and vibrator-packing ...
It's Darren's* first time training alone. His virgin nerves are not helped by the fact that his inaugural task is to try to teach a gaggle of feisty Sh! Staff on the fine art of hose control.
Still, nothing phases the Sh! Staff We get the hang of it quickly & have great fun setting off the fire extinguishers and firing the foam. As always, have-a go-Nyisha is the first to get stuck in...
13th May
Lube lorry is waiting for us at opening time to pick up wrong & drop off correct lube.
Driver is very giggly as it’s his first time to deliver a tonne of lube. We're used to all sorts of responses from delivery and supplier guys; Giggly and jokey is fine; Pervy and/or sexist is not and we're all well practised on joining in on the former and slapping down the latter.
Finally the new franking machine arrives. Dave*, our new account manager, brings it himself to ensure our new relationship gets off to the best start, or so he says...
It's funny, the name Sh! Women's Erotic Emporium, seems to make us quite the draw with supplier visits.
20th May
What a day! We've decided that shoppers are pretty savvy to the old .99/.95 lark and that pricing to nearest pound, rather than penny, actually makes it much easier for customers to see prices quickly and clearly. Its a lot of work. I change all the prices on the stock system and print new barcode labels for entire stock.
Leave with square eyes.
23rd May
Come back from lunch to find a 5foot high, slightly phallic and rather pointy package waiting for me.
Keiko & Roxy have opened a book on exactly what kind of sex toy it could be...
Realise it’s obelisks for my kitchen garden. Am awarded prize for the strangest shape package of the day.
25th May
Disaster! Have discovered that tiny bobbles have formed on dildo masters ( the resin designs from which we make our silicone dildo moulds) And, of course its our most best-selling dildo sizes... :(
We get to work making new moulds pronto!
Keiko will wet & dry this afternoon & burnish up next week once the polishing mops & compound has arrived.
Allow myself a moments worry about keeping up dildo manufacture ... but then Keiko, who cuts and preps for strap-on & bondage manufacture is a true perfectionist and I know she will be able to get our masters back to a smooth as silk shine.
