Friday, September 12, 2014
Sephora, I don't want to quit you!
I had the brilliant idea of working retail during Christmas last year and as a perk to myself I was allowed to purchase one makeup piece every pay period. I went to Sephora, I stood in line to pay for an item and when I was rung up the price was different. I asked the cashier why the price was different she rolled her eyes and summoned her manager, after 10 mins the manager gave me lip. I told her that I also was working retail and understood her position, but she didn't have to be a total douche about my questioning. I walked out of the door and blasted on Twitter (when I had one) what awful customer service I had gotten inside the JCPenney Sephora and would never go back. Twenty four hours later I was asked to contact customer affairs over a tweet and I retold my story via email. I was offered a $25.00 gift card for my unpleasant experience and was able to purchase more makeup. The magic of social media at it's best!
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How frustrating! Even when you tried to work with them and be as understanding as possible, they still treated you, the customer, with disrespect and attitude, especially over something that wasn't even your fault. Totally unacceptable. It's relieving to hear that you got some compensation for what happened. If Sephora expects that relying solely on social media customer service representatives to pick up the slack of the in-store employees is going to save their customers, they are in for a big surprise!
ReplyDeleteIt seems the power of social media is stronger than a face-to-face encounter with a manager. Perhaps the posts are viewed by corporate office and whoever monitors the negative posts immediately provides a resolution to ensure they do not lose a valuable customer. They are listening and engaging with the customer more on social media. The ROI with social media works well if the business spends the time to read the posts and respond in a timely manner.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a perfect example of how social media is working as a customer service tool for businesses that are actually using it and listening to their customers. Retail is a tough gig as anyone who has ever worked retail knows, but here is a company that understands that if a customer has a bad experience at one of their stores, they stand a good chance of losing that customer for life. Social media gives the customer another outlet of venting their frustration of a bad experience and allows the company a way to retain that customer by re-opening the lines of communication and finding a way to satisfy that customer. Good example!
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