Wednesday, March 28, 2012

"Looking to VENT" with J.Crew

This is the weekly "Looking to VENT with J.Crew" post, a place to share our not-so-stellar experiences with J.Crew.

If you have recently experienced a frustrating situation with J.Crew, maybe you might be willing to share that information with us in this post.

Please feel free to share your story on almost any topic— including poor experiences with purchases & orders, promotions/ offers, in-store visits, transactions with store associates, etc.

26 comments:

  1. It boggles my mind the number of prices that aren't accurately marked in the sale section at times. I am pretty sure they have a dedicated person with the title of merchant who handles the stock. Even if that individual isn't always the one w/on the floor w/the ticket gun, s/he should follow up to make sure the tags are correct. Thank goodness for JCA, aka The Mothership!

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    1. Nope, there is not anyone with the title of "merchant" in the stores. Sales Associates do all of the markdowns in between customers. You can always ask for a price check.

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  2. I bought the double-serge pencil skirt from the J.Crew Factory Outlet to wear to a job fair. Within an hour of me wearing it, the stitching in the lower back completely gave out, giving me a huge hole! It was located in a place that doesn't really receive a lot of stress, and the skirt was a bit too big on me so I know that wasn't the cause. The nearest factory is an hour's drive away, and I no longer have a receipt and took the tags off. I understand it's a factory piece, but I still paid $75 for it! Has this happened to anyone before? Any tips?

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    1. Chiara - If you purchased it online, you can look for the order on jcrew.com or thru your email. I've learned to save all of my emails. If you purchased it in-store, they can definitely look it up w/your J Crew card. A store director told me they can also swipe your regular credit card to look up returns, but I didn't do that w/him and haven't tried it at any other point in time. I would ask for a replacement. It's not like it's a 3rd party vendor. It has the J Crew label. Good luck.

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    2. This SAME thing happened to me on one of my Factory double-serge pencil skirts. There is a really big rip in the seam right above the back vent. I just noticed it this morning, have only worn the skirt twice.

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    3. This happened to me, too! I bought the neon rose pencil skirt in January and after three wearings the seam is completely separated in the back. I am super peeved about it. It wasn't tight at all, so I know that wasn't the cause.

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    4. I was on the fence about keeping mine but I now I know that it's going right back. Sorry to hear that happen to you ladies.

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    5. Sorry it happened to all of you, too! Mine split right above the vent, as well. Since everyone else's seems to have ripped in the same spot, I'm thinking I'll just ask for my money back instead of exchanging like I was planning. So unimpressed.

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  3. I'm going to do a "Looking to Love" post about my weekend trip to JC in Burlington MA, but I have a vent too.

    The price differences between the B&M and online are astounding. A pair of kids ballets are $19.99 (not final sale) in the store and $44.99 (FS!) online.

    One of my kids had longed for a $48 dress in the new roll-out that we saw online but I told her that eventually, maybe in the summertime, it would go on sale. Lo and behold, it was $29.99 (not final) in the store last weekend.

    I don't often go to the B&M's since the Crewcuts stores are in the suburbs and we are urbanites. JC is giving up SO MUCH business from me by not offering the sale prices (not FS) on the web site.

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  4. I agree. That is why my daughter wears so little ctrewcuts anymore since moved away from stores that used to be so close. Shopping online prices r higher than stores and final sale I refuse to buy and waste $$$

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  5. I bought a Factory Perfect shirt the day after Christmas 2010. I've worn it a few times and went to wear it Sunday and there were 3 holes near the bottom of the shirt. I'm so mad that a shirt that I paid ~$40 and is barely a year old is now in the trash.

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    1. I had the same thing happen with two tops I bought in January- just frayed at all of the seams! When I returned them to the nearest factory store (8 hours drive away, I exchanged them for one of the sun drenched sweatshirts, and although I've washed it, like ten times, it still turns me blue! I've had so many good experiences, but these just make me think that they don't care about making the Factory brand at the same sort of quality.

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    2. You're right, I've had mostly good experiences with quality of my Crewlet purchases. Customer service however is severely lacking, yet I'll continue to shop there when I'm in the area.

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  6. I returned a number of items recently and for anything purchased via paypal I was given a gift card even though it was less than 60 days. CS said they were not able to refund my paypal account. I've griped about the issues using, or trying use paypal with J.Crew so I haven't done it for some time now and certainly won't again. Perhaps it is an issue with paypal but it is frustrating nonetheless.

    I'd be a bit happier if I could use the J.Crew gift cards at Madewell. Nothing I want from the crew right now but my Madewell cart is getting full.

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    1. I (almost) had this issue with an online order I tried to return in store. I paid with paypal, and the sales associate initially tried to give me store credit. I asked for a refund, and somehow the manager made it work....

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    3. I also had this problem and was given a gift card. I know this isn't a paypal issue - I use paypal to purchase from Zappos.com and haven't had any issues with returns. I find it ridiculous that J Crew offers paypal as a form of payment without warning that you won't be able to get your money back!

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  7. I love the Booker Boot. So stylish, no cheesy hardware, and they're even in extended calf. LOVE . Now, my mother, wanting to be awesome ordered a pair in black, in November, so that I would have them for Christmas. She didn't find out for a week that they were back-ordered, and through February, so she cancelled the order. Turns out, they never even made the size/color combo she ordered. Then, last month since they went on clearance, I ordered them again, in masala chai, and they still aren't expected to ship until the second week of April! I would cancel the order, but I don't want to play the same game next year.

    Now, I'm playing the same game with the Sperry's I ordered 3 weeks ago- not available until JUNE!? I mean, if you're going to advertise a product, make sure you have enough to sell your customers. Stuff shouldn't be a season behind. I mean, they showed the Sperrys in the January catalog!

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    1. YES YES YES. I just ordered the striped pencil skirt from Madewell and realized once the order had been placed that it wasn't available until July 30th!! I called and cancelled the order; there's no reason for me to wait until summer is halfway over for an item I ordered the FIRST BUSINESS DAY of april!

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  8. If a product is "wait listed", it should have free overnight delivery for as soon as it's available.

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  9. OT: Has anyone seen the Viv Bow Flats in Wild Mushroom in retail stores? I'm looking for a size 9.5. If you have any leads, please email me at jcrewismyfavstore@gmail.com Thanks in advance!!!

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  10. Not really a vent, but wanted to pass on some information. If you are interested in the "big apple tunic dress" the length measurements for the size 12 and size 14 are 34.75 inches and 35 inches long (total length).

    Too short for me! I was hoping it was more like 38 inches long (to the knee for me).

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  11. Does anyone know if the Tippi Sweater in Linen Stripe was ever available online? I would swear that it was, but I can't find it on the website now and when I called to do a WWFIFY I was told that it was available for pre-order (ship date April 9th). Does anyone else remember seeing it online, or am I losing my mind (totally possible)?

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    1. @Caitlin: I recall seeing it too! Is it hidden now? So like JC...

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  12. CC: Yes, it's totally gone! I googled it and found the style number, and the rep on the phone said she could find no record of it, then asked "Are you sure you saw it on the website?" which really threw me off. I guess we can expect its triumphant return to the site on or before April 9 :).

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  13. I'm pretty miffed about this season's Sperry's. They advertised them in the February catalog and they're not available until June?! They're not even back ordered — they're just not available in any size/color combo until the Sperry season is almost over They're mass produced canvas and rubber flats, not hand-crafted leathers and wood!

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Dear J.Crew Aficionadas & Aficionados: Please feel free (and encouraged) to share your thoughts and opinions. :) However, please note that this is still a personal blog. So comments that are considered inappropriate (e.g. obscene, racist, homophobic, personal attacks, rude, and just plain mean) will be removed.

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