Dr. Schlessinger's Holiday Greetings & Newsletter!

Dr. Schlessinger looks back on 2020and a huge thank you to all of our amazing customers [LovelySkin]( [2020 In Review] [Dr. Schlessinger Looks Back on 2020 - Play video]( Dear Patients and LovelySkin Customers, Each year, I enjoy preparing a summary of what we did during the year and how it affected our customers and staff. It is usually a time for me to reflect on a happy year. Clearly, 2020 puts this to the test, but it was a triumph in so many ways! First and foremost, I must recognize what our team did in the midst of pandemic circumstances. I can’t be prouder of the entire team, from our LovelySkin folks, who managed to send out over a million orders in one year (unbelievable!), to our clinic, where nurses and esthetician staff made the conscious decision to come back after the lockdown even though they knew they were putting themselves at risk. As the year progressed, we lived lives that were a combination of scary, overworked (on the LovelySkin side), underworked (mainly on the dermatology clinic side) and then crazy busy on the dermatology side when things opened up. It was a roller coaster to say the least! There were many things that were accomplished in the year of the virus. First, we changed our return policies to allow for an online return process on most orders. We were planning to roll this out a little later in the year, but when COVID happened, we sprinted to implement it on the run, in order to allow our overburdened customer service team the opportunity to take a breath between calls. Customers seem to love it, and we love the fact they can print out a postage mailer and send back products more easily. Second, we upgraded shipping to 2-3 days for most of our packages. We paid quite a bit more for shipping, but it was essential our customers get their products more quickly. It was the right thing to do. During the month of December, this led to some improvements for the challenged USPS and other services we use, though deliveries in December can never match our service during the rest of the year. Hopefully, you have seen the improvements over the year. Third, we kept every single one of our employees employed, even though there wasn’t always enough work for them. Our dermatology clinic staff helped out with virtual telemedicine visits or assisting in the LovelySkin warehouse, and most of our non-essential staff worked from home. Somehow, with everyone helping, we transitioned the majority of our business from being all onsite to almost all offsite over the period of a week (other than the distribution center, of course). Our amazing IT team (props to Josh, Jamie and Logan) made it happen. Flawlessly. In the process, our employees were kept safe and productive. My heart swells when I think of the job they did. And, my most amazing admin, Felisha, managed to get us on telemedicine in an astoundingly short amount of time, along with the help of her assistant, Ashley. There were many noteworthy happenings during the year. During the months of March, April and May, we doubled our volume of orders as new and existing customers deluged us with orders for products they could not obtain from salons, doctors’ offices and other venues. Luckily, our customers felt safe ordering from us, and our warehouse team split into two shifts, working nearly eighteen hours a day at times to get orders out promptly. This meant long hours and all-hands-on-deck for a protracted period. Our entire team was involved in putting out orders and helping with customer service. At one point, when Amazon stopped delivering skin care items, we had 6000 orders come in overnight for various soaps, sunscreens and shampoos. It was surreal, but our team got all the orders out and made thousands of people feel happier and safer. Our leader in the warehouse, Kathy, was a constant source of strength and solidarity to everyone. Additionally, our HR team, led by Leigh, was tireless in its efforts to keep our employees healthy, well-fed and safe. Our customer service team continued to excel, winning the Bizrate Platinum Circle of Excellence award for the 9th time in a row! We never expect it, but always appreciate your votes of confidence. In fact, during the pandemic, our customer service ratings actually went up. We are so very humbled by your support. Arica took over the manager title in customer care. She has been a phenomenal employee for so many years, and it makes me happy to see her in charge. She takes her job seriously and enjoys caring for our customers. The team loves having her “there,” wherever “there” is these days in a virtual world. [Joel and Nancy Schlessinger] My wife, Nancy, and I also packed orders for 20+ hours alongside the warehouse staff on Black Friday weekend and beyond. We enjoyed the chance to see the dedication and hard work our staff brings to the job each and every day, getting your orders to you speedily and correctly. If any of my orders were packed incorrectly or imperfectly, I apologize! Nancy, as always, was equal to me on speed, and we really enjoyed our time in the warehouse. A few of you may have even gotten a special note from me on your orders! There were some new additions to the LovelySkin website. We added thirty new hair care, cosmetic, tool and skin care lines, including Sente, NassifMD Dermaceuticals, Perricone MD, Mila Moursi, VIRTUE, FILORGA, Korres, KYPRIS, GLAMGLOW and others! In addition to the major work required to make returns easier, our IT team worked on integrating subscription reordering for our products. So far, they seem to be very popular! There were many other improvements they made behind the scenes and some exciting ones that you will see (I am going to have to be a little cryptic here) in the coming year. Stay tuned! We continue to be one of the top 15 Health and Beauty Cosmetic Web Retailers in the world (Internet Retailer data), a wonderful accomplishment, and we remain one of the top 1000 Internet retailers in the world. Our reach around the world and involvement in the industry continues to grow while we continue the family orientation that is so important to us. We have fun at work and enjoy what we do every day of the year, even during pandemics! I believe this is reflected in our high level of customer satisfaction, and we don’t intend to change that any time in the future! We have always resisted becoming a “corporate” website—instead, we relish our personal involvement with our users as a family-owned business. While many of our competitors have the goal of being bought by a large corporate entity, that is not our intent. The joy we obtain from being a part of our 140+ employees’ lives wouldn't be possible in a corporate environment. [Schlessinger Family] Remaining a family-owned company allows us to interact with our employees and you in a special way, and we hope it provides an experience that brings you back when it is time to purchase your favorite beauty products again. Our Omaha-based, Midwestern values-oriented customer service is a distinction we hope never goes out of style. Our team is also committed to helping others, something the entire team did this year when we put together Christmas gifts for needy families and holiday cards to seniors in nursing homes. This activity was spread among all employees and was very successful. We are so proud of our employees for generously donating their time and money, especially in this year where so many suffered. The medical side of the business continued to function throughout the year, in part because of the addition of telemedicine. I have always cherished the opportunity to meet our customers via emails, but this year I was even able to have some telemedicine visits with LovelySkin customers seeking Latisse, Retin-A and Obagi Nu-Derm products. I loved meeting folks from as far away as Hawaii and the East Coast! We continue to research new treatments for hair loss, eczema, psoriasis, acne and wrinkles. Many innovations continue to be made in dermatology and cosmetic surgery, and in particular, we saw ongoing trials for young people who experience total hair loss. This can be a devastating condition for younger kids, and it is gratifying to be able to help with a possible treatment. Additionally, we continue to research new options for psoriasis and a condition called hidradenitis suppurativa, as well as participating in the ongoing trials for cosmetic innovations. I have registered our dermatology clinic to help with COVID vaccinations in our county and hope we are chosen to assist in this effort. We will find out soon if it happens, and our staff is excited to help out in any way to get us all back to normal. Due to COVID, our cosmetic surgery conference I run in Nashville had to be postponed this year. We were all sad to cancel it, but it was the responsible and safe thing to do. Next year, we will have to educate and party twice as hard! The LovelySkin Retail Store has continued to be successful in its 10th full year and was once again voted the “Best Beauty Supply Store” in Omaha. Competing against powerful and well-known brands was a huge challenge, but we succeeded! Additionally, our website, LovelySkin.com, was once again voted one of the top three overall Omaha-based websites. Our spas, LovelySkin Spa (in the clinic) and LovelySkin Spa Express (in the retail store), were honored as being among the top three spas in Omaha—for the 8th year in a row! Both spas have greatly increased their range of services to accommodate the desires of our loyal guests. I was fortunate and honored to be voted Best Dermatologist and Best Cosmetic Surgeon in Omaha this year for the 22nd year in a row. Additionally, I was named one of the top doctors (rated by peers) in the United States by Best Doctors. I am deeply grateful. Thank you to all of you who voted! [Daniel Schlessinger, Resident in Dermatology at Washington University] My son, Daniel, is now a first-year resident in dermatology at Washington University in St. Louis after finishing his internship at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital. I cannot tell you how scary it was to have him working in the COVID ward for months on end during the height of the pandemic, but he did it faithfully, under incredibly trying circumstances. His now fiancée, Steffi, was integral to his happiness during this time, taking risks to be with him throughout his ongoing exposures to COVID. They are busy, happily planning a wedding in 2021! [Daniel Schlessinger proposes to Steffi] Nancy continues to work very hard behind the scenes in the practice and website while boosting my spirits immeasurably. She also enjoys working with our newest company as the president of Olive and Delmar, which sells unique skin care products to dermatologists. She spent quite a bit of time getting supplies and food for our employees and helping out in so many ways in the office and on my Zoom/telemedicine calls. She is probably quite happy to leave that part of her job behind! [Joel, Nancy and Claire Schlessinger with their pugs] [Joel, Nancy and Claire Schlessinger with their pugs] Our daughter, Claire, has now become an IT product manager for the city of San Francisco and loves having left behind the startup tech world for more people-oriented services (affordable housing, in particular). Her rescue pug dog, Garbanzo, has been a huge part of her life this year and has thoroughly enjoyed the pandemic times in her apartment while she works from home. During the pandemic, we took an RV trip to San Francisco with Claire and both of our pugs and loved every minute of it, despite what Claire may say! [Joel and Nancy Schlessinger with their pug, Leo] Leo, our high-spirited (code for nutty!) pug dog, continues to delight us each day. He loves coming to the office where he is treated to food and love from the nurses and staff. He made his second appearance in the Halloween video, ["The Scary Halloween Pug Customer,"]( to rave reviews! [The Scary Halloween Pug Customer - Play video]( My parents, June and Bernie, continue to be a source of strength and my inspiration for how to live a good life. They are a blessing to all of us and just celebrated 68 years of marriage on the night of the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. What a way to remember their anniversary! I wish you and your families much success, health and happiness in the year to come. My staff and I deeply appreciate your loyalty over the years and hope to always live up to your expectations by providing you with the best patient care and customer service. Thank you for allowing us to be part of your year. Please stay safe, and let’s hope 2021 is nothing like 2020! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! With deepest appreciation for your support, [Joel Schlessinger, MD]( Joel Schlessinger MD, FAAD Board-certified Dermatologist and Cosmetic Surgeon Chief Editor, Cosmetic Surgery, Practical Dermatology Magazine President, LovelySkin.com [Happy Holidays]( Connect with #LovelySkin! You are receiving this newsletter because you have indicated an interest in receiving information by email on specials and promotions from [LovelySkin.com](. Not on our list? 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