I know what you are thinking, "another post on the darn website?!?" Yes, it is. ;) I just wanted to take a moment and thank J.Crew for breaking my morning obsession...Dear J.Crew,
I use to check your website every morning (6:45AM EST) for the past several years. I would wake up to a half an hour earlier than the "daily updating time" so I had enough time to sneak away from my bed to turn on the computer and set up the various sale pages (that I would reload continuously during the 6:44-6:45AM period). I would do this no matter how tired I was from the day before or where I was (like on vacation in a different time zone!)
But thanks to the upgrade of this week, I must admit that I stopped checking the site in the morning at that time. For this I like to thank you! During these past few days, I have been able to sleep in and enjoy the morning a bit more (...and save a lot of money!). So thank you J.Crew for breaking my morning (obsessive) routine. :)
Sincerely,
J.Crew Aficionada
P.S. Don't worry, I still check your website multiple times a day. ;)
I just sent them an email, basically saying the same thing, but also in how disappointed I am in the changes and TIME it is taking for the website to be BACK TO NORMAL. I am not talking about changing it back to the way it was, just having it be CORRECT and UPDATED the new way!! It's still so frustrating and, honestly, quite boring! it's the same old stuff that's been there for almost 2 weeks with no updates! -BGD
ReplyDeleteI concur with your post Alexis, except I did do a little spending & now I check this blog every morning/evening/throughout the day to see what everyone's talking about! :) :)
ReplyDeleteWOW 6:45 A.M. I never got there that early! But occasionally checking the website was something I would do before work. However, it was always the first thing I would do at work (yes, while I should have been working) while enjoying my morning tea.
ReplyDeleteI should note, I am not a morning person and I normally don't even drink my morning tea until I get to the office so the fact that I would check the website before work is a feat in itself.
I am impressed with your dedication! I have always checked multiple times a day but getting up early is fully out of the question! There are two things I get up before 6:45 for, one is skiing and the other is horses (though I suppose if Jcrew came out with another awesome horse themed pattern I would consider getting up before 6:45 for that).
I REALLY miss the 6:45 updates. I do feel somewhat liberated (and so does my credit card), but I'll be glad when I can get back to my normal morning routine.
ReplyDeleteAlexis: I completely agree that it has been nice to not be so obsessed by the website every morning, and my whole morning routine has definitely changed for the better. However, I do have to admit, in all honesty, that I MISS the daily morning update...I actually looked forward to 6:45am...who DOES that???? Well, I did...I also would upload several pages at a time, just like you. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe site now is just plain boring, especially the sale section...it seems "icky"...like when you are the last one at a sale, and only the the bits and pieces are left...like it's been completely picked over...nothing really spectacular left...PLUS they aren't even reducing the prices to get the last of the miscellaneous items sold...it's just ridiculous at this point.
alexis - I love this post! I was reading it as I was going through my j.crew morning routine (albeit a little later than yours), in the vain hopes that THIS would be the morning when things were updated. of course it wasn't.
ReplyDeletewhen oh when are they going to update the sale section!?!? It is making me crazy. And, according to my million phone calls yesterday, stores are still sending stuff into the website. Maybe not as much as they used to, but they still are - especially returns.
Do you think there is going to be a huge sale section when they actually do go through the warehouse and add the stuff that has come in since the great web disaster of 08?
bgd: I too sent them an email a few days ago and got a reply yesterday that said for me to, "please be patient as they are working on the FEW kinks that have come up with the new site". I immediately shot back an email that said, "if you think that there are just a FEW problems then you are walking in the dark! There are MANY problems with the new site" (although I didn't mention it,lack of selection on the sale pages is one of them). Grrrr-rrr-rrr.
ReplyDeleterach: This blog has now become my morning/evening/throughout the day routine!
kater: I certainly HOPE that they are going to appease us by offering a HUGE sale section when this transition is complete!
alexis: Totally threw off my morning routine as well. I loved it when the house was quiet (kids still in bed) and I could get my coffee and refresh, refresh, refresh...oh, and buy, buy, buy. There were some mornings that I felt so smug just knowing what a great deal I got on something I really lusted after. Those were the days. Sigh. :) :)
jcrewjunkie
BGD: I actually don't even bother checking the sale section anymore for the exact reason you mention- they haven't updated the stock in their website, so why bother checking the site. :)
ReplyDeleteRach: I hear you about checking the site throughout the day! ;) But even my checking throughout the day is minimal compared to before the "upgrade". I just roam the site to see if I missed any "post topic" ideas. :)
Blumre: Would you believe there was a whole bunch of us that would wake up to check the site at 6:45AM! Before this blog, I thought I was the only (crazy) one to do this. Now I see it was normal. :)
Anonymous 9:03AM: I hear what you are saying about the liberated credit card! Do you think J.Crew will make its updates at the same time. I have a sneaky suspicion that the site won't be updated at a certain time anymore.
FabulousFloridaMommy: I agree that the sale right now seems a bit like the "leftovers". :) I will ask you the same question as I did to Anon at 9:03AM: Do you think J.Crew will make its updates at the same time. I have a sneaky suspicion that the site won't be updated at a certain time anymore.
Kater: I think that is interesting point about having a huge sale. To be honest I am not sure.:) I mean I am sure they have a ton of packages (both customers and from stores returning merchandise) that they have to sort out in the next week or two. Maybe there will be an awesome week during this month where they will have that huge sale to just get rid of merchandise! :)
JCrewJunkie: I know the exact smug feeling you are talking about- especially when the item you purchased was no longer available after 5 minutes! :)
Maybe we should ask them to make updates at a particular time?
ReplyDeleteI used to love the thrill of reloading and seeing all the new items pop up, then doing a lightning-shop to try to get them before they disappeared, and my whole day would go better if I made a good purchase. Maybe I have some kind of problem, LOL.
This morning I went to check my order status and the website was down >.< It was an annoying start to the day!
ReplyDeletei'm really surprised that the update is still this messed up. especially since jcrew is such a reputable company. unfortunately, i still check every morning...to use your quote alexis, "I would be a bad lab rat". but i keep thinking "they MUST have fixed it by now"...and am still shocked that they haven't. all i can say (having tested websites before in the past) is that things must be really messed up over there...they must be addressing some bigger issues behind the scenes if they can't/won't fix the little U/I issues...:)
ReplyDeleteI keep checking every morning too...each time I'm thinking that maybe THIS will be the morning, and they will post all of the items that have been returned in the last two weeks, perhaps with 25% off...wishful thinking...
ReplyDeletealexis: I don't think they will make the update at the same time...do you remember a few months ago when the website was so bogged down by the sale, that the next day they didn't upload until 6:55am, instead? I really don't think it will be 6:45 anymore. At one point it was actually at 5 something (can't remember the specifics, it was awhile ago), and then they changed it to the 6:45...I guess to make it more accessible to those on the west coast maybe (not that 3:45 is really ever accessible, unless you have a new baby, and then you are up anyways)...point is...I don't think they will go back to 6:45...that would be too easy. ;)
ReplyDeleteI admit to still checking the website every morning. I ordered two things last week on the 1st, but since then there has been nothing new.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you I fired off an email as well. I quickly received a response which surprised me as they must be swamped at customer service. Part of me thinks that the site will be working well soon with new items. They have to as the fall items will be hitting the shelves too soon.
Wow, I always thought I was bit obsessed - I checked first thing in the morning (usually around 6am) - and kept hitting refresh every so often just in case. If only I'd known about the 6:45am updates! Could've gotten at least an extra twenty minutes of sleep anyway!
ReplyDeleteI thought there was a time - four years ago seems like - that there was a huge summer sale that started at 2pm (EST) in the afternoon. I remember getting a bunch of sweaters for $9.99, and two or three winter coats for under $100. Man, those were the days. :)
they used to do a special sale item at noon on fridays, too, when the web started to get really big. and I remember those sale catalogs! So fun!
ReplyDeleteI am cracking up at all the people who got up at 6:45 AM...I thought I was the only one!!!! I LOVED getting items for such a steal. cords for 9.99, swimsuits for 7.99...oh those were the days...
Anonymous at 9:32AM: If only we could make those requests- I would love to tell J.Crew to make the updates at 7AM! ;) But I know exactly what you mean about the "lightneing-shop" to check out all the stuff and rush to check out before someone snatched an item from your cart!!! :0
ReplyDeleteStephanie: The website being down so early is annoying. :(
CCBmum: I have to say I agree with you about being surprised how long the site is taking and that it must be because of some bigger issues than the website itself. Most firms have their website down for no more than a day or two. Something really awful must have happened with their internal system. As long as my credit card information hasn't been stolen, I can wait.
Anonymous 9:41 AM: I know what you mean about the wishful thinking!!! :)
FabulousFloridaMommy: How sad am I that I actually remember there was a day when the update took place at 6:55AM! (I remember thinking if that would be the new time.) I think you are right, they probably will just update whenever they get merchandise, not at a specific time. :)
JCrew Guy in Canada: I was also impressed with their customer service during that crazy time. They really do have excellent customer service. :)
Ratsonparade & BGD: Those prices are pretty fabulous!!! :) Let's hope they bring those prices back. ;)
How did you even figure out they reloaded that early in the morning?! ... did they also have a reload time at night?
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how it will affect things since they may allow you more time to make purchases. Of course I am making a lot of assumptions considering no one can really use their website.
Remember when people were complaining about their stocks and sale merchandise? ... clearly this can't be helping at all.
I discovered the 6:45 upload last summer. I was perusing the sale section at about 6:30 and all of a sudden at 6:46 a whole bunch of new stuff popped up!! I was like WHOAH!!!!!! and totally excited! and ever since that day I have been ADDICTED. I dont know what to do with myself anymore when I get up that early- the kids are still in bed, it's so quiet, it was the PERFECT time to go shopping all by myself!
ReplyDeletepersonally, i dont think they'll add new sale stuff at all diff. times of the day in the future. they would need to have a staff ready to do that at all times, wouldnt they? Wouldnt it be easier fo them to get all the returns and enter them all at once? Is this wishful thinking on my part? BGD
I used to check the website daily for the past 11 months but have only checked it 3-4 times in the past two weeks. I am glad though as I think I broke my habit:) I needed to give my credit card a break...it was fun when they had the free shipping on unlimited items but when that stopped I just checked each day more for fun than actual buying.
ReplyDeleteHow did "we" discover this someone asked.....I figured it out when I had a long period of insomnia...
Emily: That is a good question, I am not really sure how I found out about the time of morning updates. ;) It must have been a lot of "trial and error" because no one told me about it. :)
ReplyDeleteAlexis, you rock..... but I totally agree, what I have been able to save on J. Crew just paid for some golf lessons that I have been meaning to take!
ReplyDeleteI would be okay with a later re-load time, since I am on PST rather than EST. ;)
ReplyDeleteI took a two-week visit to NC in early June to visit my parents / old friends. I couldn't sleep too well the first few days and was getting up at 5, 6 and 7am. I found some pretty amazing deals doing that. Now that I know what a difference it is, it makes me wish I'd taken advantage of it more when I actually lived in North Carolina. ;)
Hi everyone.
ReplyDeleteI called J Crew CS last night and asked about the status of their website. The CS guy last night sounded like he was sleep deprived, but told me that IT is aware of the gliches in the system and they are still fixing it. He told me that they do get returns and the merchandise/shipping area is more focused on mailing stuff out to their customers first, and they will process the returns eventually. So what I am thinking is that J Crew will sell whatever they can for now (full priced items) and the sale items/returns they will process when the website is bug-free.
It's funny how many of us have switched from checking J Crew's website throughout the day to checking this blog. It makes me feel less crazy that I read this blog whenever I get a chance. On another point, I think J Crew is very slowly updating their sale section because I didn't check over the July 4th weekend and I noticed today that they now have the fiona jacket in a size 10, the tulip jacket in three colors (navy, citron, flax) in a couple of sizes, and an item or two that used to say $null have been taken off. Still, the sale section is quite a mess, but it's good to know that there have been some changes. I'm just crossing my fingers for the day that the website is completely fixed, all the returns are processed, and items that I wanted will show up in the sale section.
ReplyDeleterandom comment: I went into the Weddings & Parties section of JCrew's site to the "gifts" section. The classic flip flops in Wildberry are expected to ship 10-28-08. Yes, I need them, in wildberry, in October to go with my Halloween outfit. What is up with this site???
ReplyDeleterach: i know, i posted something similar yesterday...so many things start out waitlisted or get waitlisted so quickly...why even bother putting them on the site? it's such a tease...but i see what you're saying, thongs in october?...actually out here in california you might be able to get away with it...maybe florida, hawaii...but the lengthy waitlisting really has been bugging me for a while :)
ReplyDeleteToday I got a message that my order had been processed on 11/13/07! WHAT????
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to be a killjoy... But, this website is open to anyone and everyone. And, we are freely giving away hard-earned trade secrets, such as the update time. For example, I figured out on my own, like many others here, that J.Crew updates at 6:45 a.m. I shared that information only with my closest friends. The more people know what time J.Crew updates, the less sale stuff for me. Should we really be that free with J.Crew information that will increase the number of competitors for limited sales items?
ReplyDeletelinden: It doesn't matter at this point if we stated we knew about the 6:45 update time. That's in the past now. And so many of us have accidently discovered on our own.
ReplyDeleteI discovered in 2006, the update time approx. 5:25a.
Would this increase competition? Depends on what each individual is looking for. Nothing new has been updated, so we are all waiting in anticipation to see what's new for Fall, as well as if any items we are longing for are either still available, had a markdown or both.
Webbysuzy: I used the update time as an example. I realize that information had been released; I was kvetching about it. My point is, I know a lot of people who have not figured out how to "beat" the J.Crew system, and I wish those of us who do would not post other strategies on a public forum that anyone can read. I want less, not more, competition for J.Crew stuff.
ReplyDeleteLinden: I just had to jump in the argument. :)
ReplyDeleteI hear what you are saying but at the same time I don't think we are "beating" the J.Crew system. I mean we are paying for their clothes (not stealing them) and we are discussing their policies that they have in place for customers to use.
Also, I thought the same thing you did at first: I want less competition for my items so I don't want to share my tips. However, that thinking isn't really fair when I don't mind other J.Crew Aficionadas sharing tips that I didn't know about (e.g. using educator discount with online orders). So I can benefit from everyone else's knowledge, but no one can benefit from me?- I just don't think that is right.
Frankly, I am really happy we all have been sharing with each other. :) Yes, some tips are now being shared with more J.Crew Aficionadas, but oh well! Even though I have been sharing quite a bit, I have also been able to learn a lot from what others share as well. So I really hope & encourage everyone to share because there is so much to learn from each other. :)