SNOHOMISH, Wash. — The problems at Malicious Women Candle Company are piling up, along with the packages.
"We're all stressed. We're all very tired," owner Lacie Marsh-Carroll said.
Workers literally can't get their orders out the door fast enough because of ongoing delivery problems with the U.S. Postal Service.
The U.S. Postal Service has blamed the nationwide delays on a manpower shortage and a massive surge in online buying — both due to coronavirus.
The problems at Malicious Women started in July when customers started complaining that their candles weren't arriving on time.
By the time Black Friday hit, things were a disaster.
March-Carroll used to have one full-time person handling customer service.
Now, she has three.
Angry emails are coming in faster than the packages are going out — more than 300 in one day, alone.
Many customers are demanding refunds.
That hurts Marsh-Carroll's revenue and her reputation.
"I have to pay to ship it. I have to pay to ship it back and I lose a sale," she said. "The thing is, we have no control over where it goes or how long it sits in the distribution house."
The company ended up shutting down shipping three days earlier than expected to make sure packages arrive in time for Christmas.
The company says that's going to cost at least $100,000 in the midst of a national recession.
Marsh-Carroll was planning to use that money to buy new equipment and provide health care to her workers next year.
"All that's in jeopardy right now. We're not sure what we're going to be able to do," Marsh-Carroll said.
She started the company by herself at her Snohomish kitchen table. Four years later, she has 30 employees.
"I depend on my team," she said. "Their families depend on them."
March-Carroll said that turning to other delivery companies was not a feasible option.
"It's not like we can even go to other shipping carriers because FedEx and UPS are slammed with Amazon," she said.
For now, Malicious Women hope people will be benevolent while waiting for their orders.
"I would hope that our customers and all customers of small businesses would understand that we're not holding your orders. We are fulfilling these orders as quickly as we can."