Why these messages matter
A customer who messages you was one tap from ordering and had one doubt. Answer the doubt, and the order usually follows. On Tavvi the whole exchange lives next to your register, no more quoting in Instagram DMs, invoicing over text, and praying the trail never matters.
Where conversations live
Customer messages arrive in your messages surface on the business side, one thread per customer. Inside a thread you'll recognize everything from the customer guide, photos in and out (Add a photo), swipe-to-quote (Reply), and honest send-states. The thread sticks to the customer, so their third message in June continues the conversation from March.
Habits that turn chats into orders
- Answer the question, then hand them the rail. "Yes, Friday works, it's the two-tier on my page, order there and note the color." The shop link closes; the chat alone doesn't.
- Put the answer in your catalog when you hear it twice. Three people asking "do you do gluten-free?" is not a chat problem, it's a missing item or a missing line in your page bio.
- Photos are your quote sheet. Customer describes a vibe; you send two photos of past work and a price each. Two minutes, and the decision is made in your favor.
- Custom work still checks out through the shop. List the custom thing as an item (your price, their color in the notes) and let them pay properly, protected, recorded, counted in your numbers. Never take the money side into payment apps chat can't see.
Boundaries, built in
You don't owe 2 a.m. replies. The thread holds messages until you're back; customers see their message sent, not you ignoring them. And chat conduct runs under the same terms as everything else on the platform, harassment isn't a customer-service problem you have to absorb.
If something's off
- A thread went quiet after your quote. One follow-up with the shop link, then let it rest. Chasers past one read as pressure.
- Someone wants to pay "outside." That's your protection being negotiated away, payments through Tavvi are the ones with receipts, refund rails, and a record. Decline warmly, link the item.
- You keep missing new messages. That's notifications, not chat, "Never miss an online order" covers the same fix for both.