Poor customer service in whatever form that might take: orders not getting delivered properly, orders poorly packed, miscommunication of launches or product availability, snarky responses to customers,
poor social media handling, etc.
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I’d agree with poor customer service.
A company can have excellent products but if their service is crap they either will fail or not grow- Inglot comes to mind.
I would say the poor social media handling is a big thing for me. Partly because many heads of company are trying to push their face more into the “attraction” for the company….sometimes that makes more sense than others. But either way, if you do that push, and I see you acting unprofessionally I am completely put off.
poor customer service, testing on animals, putting nasty stuff into products x
Being a high end brand and turning out crap — witness Chanel’s Trait de Caractere Eyeshadow Palette.
Being a brand known for quality and consistency and turning out crap — some of MAC’s holiday bundles and LE lines.
Being a brand launched on a reputation and turning out crap — everything I’ve tried by Charlotte Tilbury.
I agree about Charlotte Tilbury. Tried several items and didn’t care for them
Yes on every single point. Very, very disappointed with all the Charlottle Tilbury stuff I’ve bought. Allergic reaction to eye pencil and unisex face glow. Lipstick is ho-hum.
Bought a Mac holiday palette online one year and returned it. They pulled my review of it on their website.
I’ve had some good and poor items from Charlotte Tilbury, but no more or less than other brand I prefer. Her pressed powder and eyebrow wand are HG to me and I’ve found her eyeshadows (quads and cream) and blush to be solid. I have not liked her eyeliners, the latest eyeshadow palette or her lipsticks, which I won’t buy unless I can try them on, though, in honesty, I prefer other brands. Sorry you’re experience has been different.
What do you do when it’s Sephora? They sent me two wrong items in a row and I called customer service. I got a woman who couldn’t speak English, could barely hear her since she was most likely in another country and she offered zero assistance. I asked to speak to her supervisor and she said it wasn’t possible. It was obvious she didn’t care in the least. I’ve never found Sephora’s CS to be any good, but usually my items arrive just fine so I don’t have to contact them. I want to take advantage of the upcoming 20% discount but don’t feel like dealing with more of their screw-ups! Sigh. I just needed to vent. ?
I’m with you on Sephora (Canada’s) customer service. Our country is binlngual so when I had an issue I wanted to resolve, I thought someone would speak French (it’s my first language and I’m way more confortable explaining a situation in French) nope, English only. I managed to explain my situation. But when I wanted to resolve the mater of my physical BI card not matching my online one, I went to a store and when they said to call CS, I told them to do it for me cause I don’t speak English. I mean, their site is in French, I,d expect they would hire some people who can speak it.
That is TERRIBLE. I’m in Ontario, with a French Canadian best friend in Quebec. And holy shit that’s not acceptable, ESPECIALLY considering we live in a BILINGUAL country I’m so sorry!!
I’ve had poor experience with Sephora customer service on the phone but they are usually better at solving your problem if you contact them on social media. If you have Twitter, tweet that they sent you wrong items and tag their account. Whenever I do that they reply to me and they usually find a satisfying solution. Or go to a store with your products to return them. Anything to avoid calling them – sadly they don’t invest enough money in their customer service hotline and it’s a mess.
I was going to say this – social media. I have private messaged them on facebook, to give them the chance to help me before posting on a public wall and unleashing the herd of complainers that will accompany that, and they always have taken great care of me. Sent out missing items no questions asked; given me a credit for a discount when an item I wanted was out of stock and I had a coupon etc. Very quick and courteous.
Could you return your wrong items to a Sephora store as a last resort? I’ve always wondered about this. I’ve never had the wrong items shipped but I’ve had samples missing. Called CS about it (I know it was only samples but it’s the principal of it) and all I got were lies and bs. Never resolved the issue. It’s happened 3x’s to me over several years. Bad CS is such a pet peeve of mine. Another issue I’ve been having as of lately is all of these sub par products being pushed upon us. Lol, it’s making it a bit easier to pass on things!
I agree 100%. Poor customer service is an automatic, unqualified deal breaker for me. There’s enough competition in this marketplace that there are always other options.
I do not like it when brands send out the wrong or damaged product as people wait anxiously for their orders and this kills the buzz.
I agree about the poor customer service and poor handling of orders. But I also think a big mistake is releasing subpar products, especially for inflated prices. Recent case in point: Chanel. I think of Chanel as a luxury brand, but when they sell a five-shadow palette for $70 (which I think is WAY too high for five eyeshadows in the first place) the quality and packaging should be magnificent.
Poor customer focus, definitely. There is a major cosmetics brand that suffers from poor social media handling and treated me rather disrespectfully, and I can’t shake it. I would like to buy from that brand again, but I just remember how I was treated and I would rather take my hard earned money elsewhere.
The customer isn’t always right, but the customer DOES deserve respect.
Not being inclusive of darker skin tones.
Amen!
To me it’s lying, which would fall under bad customer service. If you made a mistake with, say, a palette, don’t lie and say “it’s a new and improved formula” (while simultaneously re-pressing the palette). If you didn’t ship something, don’t lie and say you did. We all make mistakes; admitting them is not a crime.
The shade toward ABH! I agree with you, they could’ve handled the situation way better for being such a renowned brand.
Ya think?!? 😉 Seriously, if ABH had ‘fessed up and admitted they made a mistake with Subculture, I probably would have bought it, but the way they reacted during the launch and to the bad reviews really soured me on the company.
Ignoring the market of black women – we are a huge market, but once it becomes obvious that a brand won’t cater/doesn’t care for our needs, it can be very easy for us to ‘blacklist’ that brand! I personally won’t ever buy from YSL since they released a foundation that contains about 1 (2 at a stretch) black girl friendly shades. And the success of Fenty Beauty shows how willing we are to spend money on a brand that actually gives a damn about us!
Leave out KGD also. Admittedly, being Japanese, I semi understand not doing darker shades. That’s semi. It’s a world market. And taking the deepest cool shade, when i’m ~NW 15-20 is ludicrous. Don’t think they’re much better on the warm side, either. Glad Fenty and others are there for you. RF def addressed a big gap in the market.
We all want to feel that our patronage is appreciated – no doubt about it.
Bullying online of their customers as well as of bloggers and vloggers who have given an negative, yet honest review of one of the company’s products. I abhor bullying and needless unprofessional behavior that some have shown towards the bread & butter of their company! If the company has made a mistake/misstep; they need to be conciliatory and issue an apology.
Another sore spot for me, is when they do a massively promoted LE product/ collection, building up frothy levels of FOMO…and then sell out in 5 minutes flat! Have enough product available for the demand you’ve built up! Certain companies are beyond guilty of doing this smoke & mirrors dance with us.
Well said Nancy!
Poor customer service; lying to customers; mocking clients or being rude on social media.
Lately, I’m feeling more and more that hiding behind a prestige, exclusive name and prices to match but offering really dreadful quality. The “status” behind a luxury brand name will only hold so far. Some of Chanel’s recent eyeshadow releases as well as those from Dior and Guerlain over the years have really lessened my desire to purchase their products and that’s a pretty big mistake.
Customer service, esp non-response, when it is their fault. Cos do not understand how easily they can be written off, and what impact that can have over time on their bottom line, with numerous consumers in their base.
I totally agree that customer service is the quality I rate most heavily when dealing with brands. I am offended when their customer service doesn’t even impact me but I am aware that they are not being consumer friendly. I have never had an issue with my Sephora orders arriving poorly packaged, damaged or receiving the wrong merchandise but I do read about this happening to other consumers and that makes me leery of ordering.
I am frustrated with brands that do not release broader shade ranges. I am super pale and while many WOC would think that shade ranges for super pale people are out there, it is surprising how many times the shades do not go lite enough. My daughter is of mixed parentage. Her father is Native American and African American. Not only is her skin tone darker (although not so dark that she has a super hard time finding a shade) she has trouble finding the right under tone. In general, I think that releasing 5-10 shades and marketing that you cater to everyone is insulting to all of us.
Finally, I feel like brands that hype their products and then either don’t produce enough or the product itself is subpar are brands that I can do without. I love ABH but producing a palette and within hours of its release everyone is having issues with it and then telling people that they aren’t using it correctly and it is their fault!! That is just poor customer service.
There are several on my list:
1. Brands that still animal test (and just because they want the Chinese market)
2. Churning out poor quality products at a hefty price, like a lot of HE brands these days.
3. Poor customer service re online orders, packaging, information requests
4. Brands that are supposed to be ‘all natural’ but add in perfumes
5. Brands that say they are ‘inclusive’ but don’t have products for those at either end of skin tone spectrum
6. Airing disputes on social media
Well said, Genevieve!
Well said, Genevieve!
Definitely the customer service and more and more the bad handling of social media. I like that we can interact more with brands through social media like instagram and snapchat but I often seen brand representatives or even brand owners acting more unprofessionally than ever before. We can’t do that at our jobs but for some reason it’s okay for owners of successful companies to talk down to people on twitter? It definitely does give me pause from supporting a brand if they’re unprofessional.
Horrible chemicals one doesn’t need in their products
Emailing a company with a question about one of their products and never getting an answer,
I love Mac but here in Germany you never get any answer if you write an e-mail to them. And I also know about new collections earlier then their sales people in store.
The biggest mistake a makeup brand can make is testing on animals.
I agree with the customer service thing, Christine. BUT, the thing that will make me NEVER buy from a brand is if they collaborate with someone who is racist, sexist, homophobic, or in any way otherwise bigoted. That’s why I’ll never buy from Jouer anymore as they worked with Jeffree Star. If anyone else knows of collabs like this with other brands feel free to let me know so I can avoid those brands (and I’m on a low-buy right now so that helps anyways).
He was recently the face of Roller Lash by Benefit during a promo with Sephora.
I’m glad I don’t like Benefit then!
Amen to that!
This is the exact reason I cannot buy from MUG myself, which is a shame because they have a lot of nice eyeshadow colors that dupe a lot of popular palettes.
Good to know. I haven’t bought anything from them yet but was going to check it out. Saves my pennies for something else!
Yes on every single point. Very, very disappointed with all the Charlottle Tilbury stuff I’ve bought. Allergic reaction to eye pencil and unisex face glow. Lipstick is ho-hum.
Bought a Mac holiday palette online one year and returned it. They pulled my review of it on their website.
I’d like to purchase anything from clothes to shoes and especially makeup which is quite more often from a decent reputable name cheap or expensive. Any bad media as with that Jefftey Star goose lander bs whom thinks he acts so bragging as if he discovered the cure for cancer and acts rude to customer is a big no. I like them also to include every range of color I’m pale and also have a difficult time choosing or finding the perfect foundation which is either too pinkish, yellowish or many times the very first color turns even darker than the third which is usually a neutral and might just fit better. I think is past due big time each company includes darker colored skins of all ranges. Texting on animals is definitely a big NO.
Not taking responsibility for problems identified by customers, not being honest when questionable practices are brought to light, purposely short-stocking what must have been known would be a popular launch, creating a frenzy when trying to purchase from the collection.
Poor quality products is mistake #2.
Animal Testing. I was a loyal NARS customer until they started testing on animals. Likewise it would be amazing if you could add a flag/disclaimer if you’re reviewing a company which tests on animals.
Too many collaborations. I’m getting burnt out by so many of them which makes me want none of them.
I agree with you Christina — I was charged by the website for a setting spray when the order didn’t go through on my end due to a faulty webpage. I ended up waiting to order via PayPal the next day and got charged for both. The company would not work with me to remove the first order – told me to “just refuse.” Well, it came directly to my mailbox, I didn’t have that option. They were very unhelpful, and quite rude. I love their products, but I let them know – and turned them into the Better Business Bureau.
I will never do business with them again, even though I love their setting sprays. They didn’t even respond to the BBB.
Gina
I agree with your comments Christine . Customer service is huge. I can return poor products or give them to little ones to play makeup. I can’t tolerate rudeness or indifference.
Hyping up their stuff to the moon for limited editions and then not having enough supplies to even last through the first half-hour of when they release them. It turns me off to the entire brand (side eye to MAC for this) when they do this consistently as a marketing ploy.
Being cruelty free then transitioning to testing on animals!
Oh wow yes! I agree with pretty much all the comments here. One company that has sorely disappointed me over the last year regarding customer service is Colourpop. Now don’t get me wrong, I adore their products – especially the Supershock shadows and most of the lippies BUT their customer service, especially for international customers is incredibly poor.
They use stock replies, don’t read what you have asked resulting in numerous back and forths, are inconsistent (treat some customers better than others ….one rule for some etc), are generally snarky and rude (they used to be lovely) and don’t even follow their own T&C’s.
Their packaging is generally extremely poor (a few bits of foam in a box and then they are surprised when items break), they offer a voucher for breakages or missed items (when the only way you can use that if you are international is by paying for a full expensive order and customs AGAIN) and treat international customers like the poor relation over and over again.
The way they treat their customers reminds me of another US company that I used to order from a few years ago. Their customers were the kind of engaged fans that most companies would kill for…. then they took a total dump on those customers bit by bit. It was like a social experiment in how to run your company in to the ground (and they pretty much no longer exist now)….I really don’t want CP to go that way, so really hope they buck up their CS soon!
Agree with you wholeheartedly on customer service (why I won’t buy from Colourpop again – absent customer service is as bad as bad customer service).
Also agree with Nancy handling limited editions with insufficient quantities to satisfy their customers, it makes no sense and aggravates customers.
Will also add ridiculous pricing. It’s a bit insulting and customers feel disrespected and taken advantage of when the value is not there and a price is not justified.
1. Animal testing. Why do we need to still do this when other, non-cruel methods have been proven more effective. And I am particularly angered by brands who willingly lose their cruelty free status in order to sell in China (I feel like I call out Nars every other day on here). All I see is greed being placed over the lives of animals.
2. Poor shade ranges. I don’t even have a super hard time finding concealer (and foundation when I wore it) because I’m pretty fair, but it just really ticks me off. How dare you think that people with deeper skin tones don’t wear/buy makeup. How dare you not include them. Bad shade ranges and non-inclusive campaign images are a huge turn off for me.
3. Bad customer service. I’ve really never had any problems like this that I can remember, but the idea that some people do makes me upset.
4. Poor social media etiquette. There is no reason a huge brand should bully individuals for calling them out on their crap (looking at you, Z-palette), nor be snarky and/or defensive about reviews that aren’t 100% positive (ABH, just admit you messed up with the Subculture palette).
5. Collaborating with and/or being someone who is bigoted, racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. or otherwise just of questionable moral character. Someone already mentioned this, but I wholeheartedly agree. I have had zero interest in Jouer since they decided to collaborate with Jeffrey Starr, and in the future I intend to stay away from Manny Mua collabs as well (I bought the MUG palette because he seemed decent at the time, and since the palette has been discontinued I will still buy from MUG). I refuse to support these people.