Twin2 (Corrie) is weirdly obsessed with TikTok drama – and not just any TikTok drama – no, specifically Tumbler TikTok drama – you know, the cups? Yeah – that Tumbler. So imagine my surprise when Business Insider posts an article about the very Tumbler drama she’s been popcorning about since last week. 😳

It’s regarding all the good stuff – refunds, screenshots, screenshots of screenshots, Etsy reviews, mudsliggin’ retorts – you know, the internet drama that gets you under a warm blanket for hours as you play judge-jury-executioner via your pocket computer.

So I said – let’s make a list of ways we can stay outta Business Insider articles and learn through other’s experiences. Now – bless all the parties in this convoluted tail of chalice-themed cheap entertainment – I’m not pickin’ sides. But grab a glass and let’s work through this.

Pictured: Big Debrah (from Business Insider > from TikTok)

📑 1. Have it in your policies.

Let the policy be the bad guy – it’s you and the customer against the big bad small print. Consider everything you’ll need to cover your butt (and in this case, your bottle). Refunds, response times, really-close-but-not-perfect color matching? Yeah – that stuff. And that way – when things go left, you can point at the right policy and see if you can work from there.

At the beginning of this 🥤 Tumbler tumble, it seemed like the policies weren’t clear on refunds when the shop made a boo-boo leaving things up to interpretation – ya know, like who pays return shipping, repairing damaged merchandise, etc.

🥶 2. Give it a minute – cool off!

To date – no one has died by not receiving an immediate reply to a cookie complaint. It’s easy to get emotional when all we see is blood, sweat, and tears of work being complained about – so give yourself a break.

In the 🥤 #tumblergate drama, the responses were goin’ up faster than Corrie could place an Amazon order! No time to think out a response that makes you look good and the other party feel good. C-o-o-l o-f-f.

🤬 3. Keep it private and professional.

Stay outta the limelight on handling sticky issues. This isn’t the time to get the courage to go Live on Instagram. Keep it private and professional – and a great way to do this is to imagine your response being read in a court of law. If it raises a judge’s eyebrow – you probably need to take it back to the drawing board.

Things escalated here faster than goin’ to the second floor at Tysons Mall when there’s a clearance sale at Nordy. Blaming, accusing, and cursin’ that would make your Gramma call up your Momma and have a few words herself – that’s where this went – and unfortunately, lead to doxxing the buyer’s address (revealing identifiable information). Yikes!

👈 4. Take accountability.

Last I checked, none of us were perfect (except Phoebe-Woebe-Lemon-Squeeze 😺), so don’t have shame in accepting your part in a problem. It’s okay! Accountability allows the other side to also take some accountability as well. Taking zero accountability leaves the other party fighting 100% accountability. There’s a world in which you can be at-fault 40% and that doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you a human.

In this version of 🥤 Tumbler-terror 5000, the original party points the blame back at the buyer – accusing the buyer of setting up the entire rouse to frame-blame the seller. Well – what else does the buyer have to do other than defend themselves?? Escalation nation!

🤗 5. Work towards a mutual resolution.

There’s a world in which you and the client can both win a little – compromises mean everyone gets a little bit of the win and a little bit of the loss, and it works really well in finding a common ground where we’re all pretty okay.

🥤 But when you pull a Tumbler-rumble, you’re workin’ in 100% and 0% – and rarely does anyone leave happy at 0%. And such was the case here – we’d moved well past refunds and free product and onto 💀 threats – the internet is a wild place, y’all.

📰 6. Ask yourself, “how can I stay out of a Business Insider article?”

Going viral – for all the wrong reasons isn’t a solid business plan. Ending up in articles on big websites gets you reach – sure, but like, not the kind that moves product.

👀👀👀👀👀👀

In 🥤 Tumbler-tumble-from-grace, the seller and buyer’s friend responses got MILLIONS of views – and not the good kind. I’d rather reach my lowly 1,000 target audience than a million people holdin’ pitchforks. ⛏

⛔ 7. Mitigate potential loss.

And finally – think with the end in mind. Winning the battle but losing the war won’t put cookie money in your wallet and food on your table. You run the risk of losing more than an angry client does. Fair? No. Life? Yeah – and we gotta think in terms of a long-term win at a short-term “loss.”

And heck – finding a mutual partial win for both parties isn’t really a loss at all!

In 🥤 Tumbler-gate, the seller has to start from scratch – completely rebranding and losing years – YEARS of work – she said. What a bummer and a waste!