Kind_heart wrote:

Username: kind_heart
Work you want done: pfp
Who you want to do it: idc
Description: something with a heart
When do you want it to be done by: tomorrow
Where do you want to be contacted about your order: here
Other:

Soprano_1 wrote:

Username: soprano_1
Work you want done: banner
Who you want to do it: idc
Description:
Says:

Soprano_1
Feminist|Ravenclaw|Bookworm|Singer/Actress

Colors:
Any pastel color
Fonts:
Something cursive
Picture:
Something similar to totesme’s
When do you want it to be done by: ASAP
Where do you want to be contacted about your order: Here
Other:

Get these done quick please! Your rating will be counted in the election

888Lululemon888 wrote:

Username: 888Lululemon888
Work you want done: pfp
Who you want to do it: anyone that hasn't taken the one above
Description: something with a unicorn in it
When do you want it to be done by: 2 days
Where do you want to be contacted about your order: here
Other:

The Houdini Shoppe's Review

First Impression: 8/10

Upon taking a first look at The Houdini Shoppe's forum thread, one sees your banner and topic title immediately. I think the title is good. It's good a nice font, but one that's also very readable. Everything is spelled correctly and it looks pretty professional. You have your shop's name and your subtitle/tagline. I especially like how ‘You can’t even say Abra-cadabra!' ties in with your title, The Houdini shop. Having a banner is definitely a nice touch, but I think it could be improved a little more. It's a little bit blurry and pixelated, and seems to have been made in the Scratch editor, based on the font. That's fine, but I feel that it might appear more professional if you were to make it in a dedicated graphic design program like Canva or an alternative. Still, it's evident you've put effort into your shop, which always goes a long way with potential customers.

Original Posts - Content: 8.5/10

First of all, I notice you have a directory in the second post, which is helpful. All the links work properly, although not every post has the directory, leading to a bit of inconsistency that could be rather frustrating. Secondly, I think maybe jazzing it up a little bit by using colors or symbols or even doing it in banner form (here's an example) might make it a bit more appealing. I think it's great to have a portfolio as well, but I'd recommend maybe adding more examples, as well as perhaps a count of how many orders you've taken and possibly a link to customer reviews of their products, if applicable. Still, I think you have a lot of helpful information, especially your News post (which seems to be rather uncommon in most shops, due to the demand for constant updates).

Bulletin Board Code: 7/10

You definitely seem to have some knowledge of the more simple code commands, which is great! However, I don't see a lot of color or other organizational features that contribute to what I consider the 2 functions of Bulletin Board Code:

1. Design
   
2. Functionality
   

Adding colors or fonts (although fonts technically aren't BB code) would fall into the design category, which can give your shop a more professional or themed feel, depending on what you want. For example, picking a palette of 2-4 colors to use in your shop's post can make them feel like they fit together or have a theme. Function features, especially ones such as lists, quote boxes, or links, can really help organize your shop to make it easy for customers to find what they're looking for, something I would consider a priority. That's one reason why I reserved the entire first page of my topic and made the post right after my short introduction into a dedicated directory, something I would advise the next time you make a shop thread. It just adds to the ability to find what you need, which can make for a more pleasant shopping experience. Try checking out other shops who do it well, and take inspiration from them. Copy what you like, but change it to make it fit your shop. I couldn't seem to find a tutorial anywhere, but you can always ask if you need ideas or help.

Product: 9.5/10

My first thought upon seeing this amazing banner was something along the lines of this: "Wow, this is perfect! It's like they read my mind and did exactly what I asked for! Dang, they even got a border that fit perfectly! (Something I'd always struggled with) And it works so well with the color palette….I'd totally order from here all the time if I wasn't so confident in my banner making abilities already!“ Like I said, amazing. You took the theme of pastel, and make it evident in every pixel. I don't think anybody could look at it and think anything but ”Hey, this person likes pastels!" The one thing I have an issue with is the fact that I asked for a script font, and you used a Sans Serif font. However, I think it actually fits better this way! No complaints, honestly. However, in the future, when you work on orders from actual customers, I would recommend checking with them before making changes, or saving two versions, one with the Sans Serif, and one with the Script. The font selected also contributes to giving it a really minimalist look that fits well with the aesthetic. Again, super amazing banner, nice job!

Speed: 9/10

My order was taken in 23 hours, and done in less than 10 minutes. Speaks for itself, really! But, I do want to add a little feedback. I feel that it is okay not to take an order the second you see it. I suggest waiting to take them until you are able to do them, but also making sure you post an estimate of when it'll be done. This is good for the customer, and it can help keep you on track, especially if you tend to procrastinate. Still, less than 24 hours is quite good. And a banner of this quality in <10 minutes? Just more evidence of your high quality of staff! Just make sure that speed isn't prioritized over quality, and let your customers know if a product will be late. But from what I've seen, I don't think lateness will be an issue here!

Customer Service: 10/10

Absolutely no complaints here! I didn't have any problems or anything, so full marks. Also, staff were very friendly when notifying me of updates on my order. Throughout every interaction I see, they're always very professional and kind (both when interacting with each other and with customers). This is truly something that can make or break a shop, so, again, great job on this!

Staff: 9/10

With a staff count of 9, and a BoD count of 3 (33% of employees), I would classify The Houdini Shoppe as a medium sized shop. You're larger than a small shop, yet not quite as big as a large shop. That's okay. You have enough employees to ensure orders can be taken and completed in a timely manner. That's great! However, I do want to advise you that you may want to avoid hiring too many more people unless:

1. You have too many orders to complete and not enough staff
   
2. You would rather manage your shop(s) than be hands-on, completing orders
   

Again, either way is okay. I just wanted to give you a little advice as a fellow shop owner. Now, as for the employees and hiring process, I think you've done pretty well. No member of this shop has any strikes or citations at the time of writing (18 June 2020, ~11 pm pacific time). That's really great, and a mark of both your talent for picking employees, and the greatness of the employees themselves. Both of you, give yourselves a hand! You have quality employees. They seem to fit into two general categories (no offense meant here!): those who are experienced in their departments and looking to help grow a shop by providing their talents, and those who are newer to their departments and are maybe building up their skills and resume. It is good to have an even mix of both. Your shop seems to nail this balance really well, and all the employees' work I've seen is great and professional. I wouldn't be able to tell their levels of experience without looking at their applications (which is great!) I think you have a good application form, however, I would maybe require some examples of work or list a few conditions that must be met before applying so you can be a little more selective with who joins your team as you become a larger shop. Still, you seem to be very good at picking out potential employees who fit in well.

Productivity: 8/10

This is mainly a measure of how efficient your shop is, and how on topic you stay. I test this in two ways: OPP and SI. OPP, or Orders Per Page, is not quite as indicative, yet it still gives some insight. Your final OPP score is 1.12: you have 7.15 complete pages (this counts 7 full pages and the 3 posts on page 8 at time of writing) and 8 completed orders (at time of writing). Nice job! I would consider anywhere from 1.15-1.45 average, and 1.5-2 optimal, while anything above that would be shockingly impressive. Still, for a fairly new shop, that's quite good. Keep taking orders and you'll bump that up soon enough! The second measure, SI, or Spam Index, is a score relating to the percentage of posts which are not directly related to your shop's functionality. Things like Front Page posts by the owner, orders, order notifications, applications, discussions of applications, discussion of shop processes like votes, etc., are not counted as spam. Note that I do consider a bump to be spam, as you could post something informative. (I am guilty of bumping as well, but try to work on it!) Upon final evaluation, you have 143 posts, 18 of which are spam. Your final SI score is 0.13. Nice job! That's a pretty good score. Most shops make their score go up as they grow (although you actually want it to be low, like in golf), and with 8 pages already it's totally understandable to have some spam. Something I'd recommend, although you can't really control other people's posts, is to make a note on the front page asking for off-topic discussion to take place on a separate topic. You could even create a thread for employees to chat! (Or a studio, if you prefer it.)

Partnerships: 8.5/10

Glancing at your partner list, it's easy to see that you have a large amount of partners. 8 seems a bit much for me, although you are free to have as many as you wish! It can definitely help give other shops as well as your own more exposure, but I would ask yourself: “What else do these partnerships really do to improve our shop?” If you don't know, that's okay. Take some time to think. Mull it over. Decide if you want to terminate any partnerships. Or add more. It really is up to what benefits your shop the most. I don't want to tell you how to run your shop, just provide some things to think about. After all, that's what a review is about, isn't it? However, I think you've done well picking partners (just like selecting staff!) You've chosen good shops. Some small, some large. Also, not to be biased, but Clove's Image Hosting Service is a very useful partner to have, especially if not all your staff members have Cubeupload. However, I might also appoint/hire a dedicated employee to host images for your shop. That way your shop's needs always take #1 priority over any others, as they would only be serving your staff here! Still, outsourcing some work is neveer a bad thing. Just make sure you don't take work away from your own employees!

Shop Environment: 9/10

I think you definitely have a good environment here. You have a theme (which seems to yell “hey, magic! come check me out!” in an attractive but not obnoxious way). That definitely adds to your shop's image. The shop feels rather welcoming, but there's a little bit of confusion here and there. Try to clear it up and communicate a little more in the future if you can. However, you and your employees have done well at making this an attractive shop to potential customers!

Final Impression: 77.5/100 - B+

I think you've really done well with The Houdini Shoppe. For a new shop just starting out, you've definitely put in the effort to get it off the ground (your future expanded shops will thank you later!) and continue to do so. It's obvious in every post that you care about the shop. Your employees. Your customers. And that's great! You're doing really well, and I'm proud to review such a great shop. However, I do have some tips that might help you a little bit. And remember, you can take this as gospel truth or with a grain of salt. Just one fellow shop-owning Scratcher to another, right? :)

Advice:

• Remake your banner using a dedicated graphic design program to make it more professional
  
• Make your directory more consistent
  
• Add some more content to your ‘original posts’ (extended portfolio, customer reviews, stats, etc)
  
• Update your News a little more
  
• Jazz up your posts with some BB code
  
• Add colors that fit with your theme
  
• Check with customers before changing their order
  
• Get info about staff time zones, and perhaps hire people so that you always have an employee who can be on Scratch
  
• Adjust your application form (ask for past work and experience level)
  
• Attempt to reduce spam
  
• Review partnerships
  
• Communicate more with staff and customers to reduce confusion
  
• Work hard, you got this! :)
  

LesBeProud- wrote:

Massive Snip

Order Form
Username: @Pufferfish_test/@pufferfish101007
Work you want done: Custom sprite
Who you want to do it: anyone who can do it.
Description: I'd like a walk, standing, crouch and jump cycle for a stick figure, no face and preferably #10ebbf or something similar.
When do you want it to be done by: Preferably by the 22nd of June.
Where do you want to be contacted about your order: On either of my profiles please.
Other: If yoy've got lenty of time then could you make one with a jetpack as well? Thanks to whoever does this!

LesBeProud- wrote:

~Massive Snip~

lightningspark6545 wrote:

I'm trying to decrease the number of shops I'm in, so I am resigning, so sorry.
This was a hard decision to make.

totesme wrote:

I'll update the form on the front page and do I have to fill it out as I am the co-onwer?

totesme wrote:

Monkeylover200 wrote:

totesme wrote:

I'll update the form on the front page and do I have to fill it out as I am the co-onwer?

Yes, it’s to get an idea of your art (I’m creating a studio for everyone’s art profile

Ok

Monkeylover200 wrote:

totesme wrote:

Monkeylover200 wrote:

totesme wrote:

I'll update the form on the front page and do I have to fill it out as I am the co-onwer?

Yes, it’s to get an idea of your art (I’m creating a studio for everyone’s art profile

Ok

you need to fill it out propaly as well

Monkeylover200 wrote:

Monkeylover200 wrote:

totesme wrote:

Monkeylover200 wrote:

totesme wrote:

I'll update the form on the front page and do I have to fill it out as I am the co-onwer?

Yes, it’s to get an idea of your art (I’m creating a studio for everyone’s art profile

Ok

you need to fill it out propaly as well

The example was my form

totesme wrote:

UOC

Kind_heart wrote:

Username: kind_heart
Work you want done: pfp
Who you want to do it: idc
Description: something with a heart
When do you want it to be done by: tomorrow
Where do you want to be contacted about your order: here
Other:

Status: not due

Soprano_1 wrote:

Username: soprano_1
Work you want done: banner
Who you want to do it: idc
Description:
Says:

Soprano_1
Feminist|Ravenclaw|Bookworm|Singer/Actress

Colors:
Any pastel color
Fonts:
Something cursive
Picture:
Something similar to totesme’s
When do you want it to be done by: ASAP
Where do you want to be contacted about your order: Here
Other:

Status: no deadline

Get these done quick please! Your rating will be counted in the election