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.
Last Tuesday I went shopping with my mom and sister. It was an all day thing, so we were all dressed in casual sweats...yoga pants, t-shirts, flip flops, etc. Upon walking into J.Crew, all the sales associates were friendly except one of them, who saw how we were dressed and looked at us like we weren't even worthy of being in the store. She probably assumed we weren't gonna buy anything. But, surprise, once we started throwing down the cash at checkout, she treated us like royalty. It was a little uncomfortable being judged that way. Like we weren't good enough because we were dressed a little crappy that day...
ReplyDeleteI went to J. Crew at the Biltmore (fancy shopping area in Phoenix). When I walked in, a sales associate looked directly at me and said nothing. I shopped for a few minutes and noticed that she asked another customer if she needed a change room and greeted all the customers that walked in. After about 15 minutes, I had my arms full of clothing I wanted to try on. It was a small store and I passed by this associate at least 3-4 times. Not once did she speak to me. So I let myself into the change room. Then I went back to the front of the store to get another size. I was standing right by the door where she was folding clothes and I heard her speak. Thinking she was speaking to me, I looked up. However, she was thanking the customers that just walked out the door. More customers came in and she greeted them. I was planning on purchasing some items, but after being completely ignored for the entire half hour I was in the tiny store, I decided to leave. She was 2 feet away from me when I walked out the door to silence. Here's the thing, all the customers in the store were Caucasian, including the sales associate. I am Asian. This is not the first time I've been ignored in a J. Crew, but it was the most blatantly obvious. I was about to say something to the associate, but decided it wasn't worth it. However, if this happens again, I will likely ask to speak to the manager or contact their home office. There were actually 3 sales associates in total and not a single one greeted me, asked if I needed help, or even acknowledged my presence. I was dressed casually, but so were all the other customers. Any one else experience this?
ReplyDeleteI work in retail and am curious as to why you didn't say hello or speak to the associate? Sometimes if a customer doesn't make eye contact you assume they do not want to be approached. Next time walk up to the associate and say hello and ask her how her day is going. Most sales people actually want to give you good service, but we're people too and have good days and bad days.
DeleteNow you know how people of color feel MOST of the time. Doubly worse is when you're dressed crappy. Then you're either invisible or treated like garbage -_-
Delete@One is Never Enough - I see where your coming from in a way as I've worked in retail as well but I don't think the customer should have to make the effort. It is part of the associates job to welcome the customer.
DeleteI agree with One is Never Enough. The SA may have gotten the incorrect impression that you didn't want to be bothered. Is it really that difficult to ask for assistance if you need it?
DeleteI am Caucasian and I'm often ignored in J Crew stores [both factory and non-factory]. Several times I've gone to check out and the SA asked me who was helping me I've responded with "You're the first person who has talked to me in this store."
DeleteJeanne, is it really that difficult for the SA to say 'hi' to a customer walking in? Or do only well-dressed Caucasian people deserve a greeting?
DeleteIt is the SA's JOB to greet customers, especially when they are just standing by the door folding clothes.
Greeting the customers when they walk in is a mandatory action I think. When I do those surveys from gap or Banana republic receipts they always ask "were you greeted by an employee when you entered the store?"
DeletePoorservice, I sympathize with you because I've had the same happen to me in a variety of stores (not necessarily J.Crew) at different times. Yes, the SA, at the very least, should greet you. I'm thinking the worst here, but do you think the SA stereotyped you and thought you didn't speak much (or good) English? Aside from blatant racism, it seems that there isn't really any good reason why they ignored you. Not asking you if you need a fitting room started is one thing. Not saying hi to you when they say hi + help all the other customers is another. I don't buy the fact that she thought you didn't want to be approached. I'm sure you looked at her plenty of times (with or without knowing) during your whole ordeal. I know I would've just because I would be that perturbed.
DeletePhoebe, thank you for sharing your thoughts and empathy. I was beginning to think my writing was not clear. However, it is evident that you have a perfect understanding. As for the SA stereotyping me as a non-English speaker? Well, it's certainly possible, but not many people have mistaken me for that before. I was born and raised in North America and my style is American, not Asian. E.g. I was wearing cropped leggings with a tunic from the Gap and flip flops that day. But even non-English speakers can understand 'hi' with a smile or a nod of acknowledgement. She gave me the once over with a blank expression, then turned away. When the next customer came in 10 seconds later, she greeted them with a warm 'hello' and a smile. No matter what language a person speaks, they can understand body language. Now, I'm contemplating speaking up next time this happens. Have you ever said anything to the SA or manager when it happened to you? Perhaps if more of us say something, the stores will do something about it. I'm just trying to figure out the best approach.
DeleteThe blurb on the inside cover of the September catalog makes me want to barf. "You recognize the careful construction of a collar. The beauty of a handcrafted shoe...You know that well made trumps well played." I know that prices are up and quality is down - the No.2 pencil reviews are a sad indicator of that. But whatever, if JC's saying they're high quality then they must be, right?
ReplyDeleteSilver_lining, that is gag worthy!!! It's really sad to see the declines year to year. I remember when the underside of the schoolboy blazers were lined in pretty silk-tie patterns. Saw this years version and it's lined with this awful looking solid color felt-wool nonsense that was already pilling!!
DeleteI was at a store over the weekend and couldn't help but notice how wrinkly all the clothes were. Why doesn't JC steam their items???? The suiting dresses, schoolboy blazers and blythes were all clearly creased and wrinkled to the point that it would be difficult to try them on and have a good idea of how they lay, fit, move once pressed. These items are all pricey....I can't imagine paying FP for clothes that are presented so poorly.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me feel like JC doesn't have enough pride to present their clothes in the best manner. If that's the case, why would shoppers want to buy from a store that doesn't take pride in or stand behind what they are selling?? It makes me sad because I really love JC but feel like they are losing their way....
If you worked retail you'd understand that steaming that much stock is outrageous. Between running the sales floor, doing window and visual changes, stocking, floor sets, new employee training, markdowns and promos, and the other massive amounts of daily stuff corporate hands down, plus running on very limited payroll, it is absolutely not feasible. If anything it's the distribution center that needs to ship them better.
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DeleteI worked in retail for many years and everything was steamed before it was placed on the floor. I think if it really is a case of feasibility, then just steam certain items where it is so obviously necessary.
DeleteBottom line--you sell more clothes.
Total BS. If it's not feasible for employees to take time to steam wrinkled clothes before putting them on the sales floor, the store needs to hire more employees... or more efficient employees.
DeleteI've worked retail and we always had to steam items before they hit the floor. Often times you're steaming while on the floor, but the items should be steamed nonetheless.
DeleteI've never worked in retail, but I don't believe steaming isn't feasible! At JC prices, at the very least wool and silk items should be steamed. I've never seen such wrinkly messes at nordstrom, for example and that is a much bigger store!
DeleteCan they make ANY suiting pants that are lined
ReplyDelete?!? Fine, J.Crew, I've been buying your pants for 10 years but I'll go elsewhere now.
I just did an online chat a few days ago asking the same thing! I was told that they never line their suiting pants... except sometimes in the winter. It was the oddest response. I thanked her and said I'd check back once it snows.
DeleteHa, that's a blatant lie they told you, Carly. I love it. They used to line many of the suiting pants... I have lots of them!
DeleteLiz, the factory suiting pants are often lined. Out of luck if you're tall like me, but at least it's an option for some. And the quality is fine on the factory suiting, IMO.
Also, the new factory wool skimmer pants are fully lined.
I thought so! I own 2 that are lined, although they were purchased a few years ago. I was disappointed to receive the pinstripe suit after the last promo and discover that it wasn't lined, which prompted my online chat. Thanks for the tip on the factory suiting - I'm going to check it out!!
DeleteI was very disappointed that the wool cafe capri is unlined. I passed on it last year for that reason and won't be getting any this year either. I love the colors but I just think wool pants should be lined especially at the prices J. Crew is charging. I'm going to take a look at the factory wool skimmers too - lined and cheaper sounds like a winner. Thanks J.CrewJD.
DeleteYes, lined and cheaper, win! Also, while the wool content is lower, the weave in the factory skimmers is much tighter than that of last year's cafe capris. I think they are much more crisp looking!
DeleteYeah, I'm another one who can vouch for the fact that they used to line all of their wool suiting pants because I own 4 pairs, all purchased between 2004 - 2010. What a lame excuse. Just admit that you're trying to save $$$ by cheaping out on quality.
DeleteSkipping the lining is a cost cutting measure and a sign of poor quality workmanship.
Deletepoorservice and One is never enough....poorservice, I'm sorry to hear about your upsetting experience....but I agree with One is never enough. I worked in a very expensive upscale department store and I can't tell you how many times customers got mad or were irritated enough to complain if the sales associates bothered them too much or were too helpful when they were shopping. It's a very fine line SA's walk. They can be perceived as being too aloof and for being too friendly. It's tough. When I go shopping and I want help I always initiate the transaction. Sometimes I don't want them to bug me, so I quitely go about my business. Don't give up on your JC store. Just say hi when you go in and I'm sure the SA's will be friendly. At least that's my experience. And it really helps to cultivate a friendly relationship with them. I'm very outgoing when I go in and they all know me and I get really good service in JC. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteStylishly Spoken: That sounds like a store manager issue to me. I have a number of J Crew stores in my area and the quality of presentation and level of sales associate help varies greatly from one location to another. I wish they were all at the same level but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.
ReplyDeletePink Maple - I hope you are right, I was really looking forward to seeing the new fall arrivals IRL. It's been at least a month since I've been to a store and it is in a very high-end mall, so it was shocking to see the lack of care in presenting the clothes.
DeleteYou would think that steaming would be a requirement and not up to the discretion of the store...I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe their steamer was out of steam : )
My classic cafe capris arrived and the stitching at the side of the waistband started to unravel before I could even get them on all the way. Such crappy quality!
ReplyDeleteMost all of my tees/thinner sweaters have these tiny little holes in certain spots. So annoying. I can usually get 3 or 4 wears and washes out of a shirt before the tiny holes appear.
ReplyDeleteI found tiny holes in my Super 120s dress after just one wear! It was in my closet for over a year before I got it out for a job interview.
DeleteUnknown, is it possible you have a moth problem? I had a wool sweater in a walk-in closet that I forgot to put inside my cedar chest, and sure enough, I found holes in it the following winter when I wanted to wear it.
DeleteI was thinking the same thing regarding holes in wool, I have to carefully store anything with wool or silk in it or those awful things will get into it and chew little holes
DeleteI agree about the moths. They can be a real problem with items that have been stored, undisturbed, for a while.
DeleteI know it has been said before many times but I am really sad that the quality of wool double serge pencil skirts has declined. I tried it in store yesterday and while it is not a big difference but the fabric is more fuzzy and even the shape seemed less defined. Why would they spoil one of their bestsellers and staples? It probably saved them pennies per skirt :(
ReplyDeleteOn unrelated note I posted several arrivals pictures from the concept store. See it HERE
They struck again. Stopped in and saw the new green origami dress. Put the red one from last season (of which they still had a whole rack in the store) side by side, and noticed the wool crepe on this season's version is noticeably cheaper/thinner looking.
DeleteAlso, the hen sweater fabric content: 55% wool, 30% nylon, 15% cashmere. Too itchy feeling for me.
What's up with the 20% cards that are currently being put -- randomly -- in online orders? It amazes me how they consistently do not honor their J Card cardholders' loyalty. Every J Crew cardholder should've received one of those in the mail.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Gigi. I had a chance a few months ago to talk on the phone with the head of Customer Service for JC and told her as much. I said there's just no excuse for it, and I dinged them on a lot of other things that we all consistently take them to task for. She was very grateful for the feedback and said they were working to address some of these shortcomings.
DeleteAnd me being me, I said well, that isn't good enough. You need to do it faster. You're already behind the other retailers in your category and you're literally pushing people away by not addressing these issues!
Elaine, thank you for honestly speaking your mind! I too am a cardholder and get frustrated with the lack of benefits. I didn't even receive an August catalog!
DeleteElaine - I need to voice my opinion as well. I don't do it because they don't really seem to listen. They're kind of in their own Crewniverse, no? It seems one strategy is to create exclusivity, but why alienate shoppers? Higher end retailers are courting shoppers w/their card benefits...double points, etc... I canx my J Crew card, but reopened it because it was stupid to not get the $25 rewards with all that I buy. It's not enough, though, and I will stay irritated about the card until they provide real benefits.
DeleteI'm a cardholder, received 2 orders yesterday - no 20% coupon in either order. Will not place another order until there is some type of incentive to buy. I very sporadically order from Bloomingdales (and have not placed an order in 3-4 months) - they just sent me a wonderful e-mail that said "we've missed you, please come shop with us again and receive 25% off your order"!!! I am not even a bloomingdales card holder. Guess where I'm browsing/shopping this weekend?
DeleteMy pet peeve: JC used to promise cardholders access to "private sales." IIRC these used to be at least twice a year in the early-mid 00s, maybe more like once a quarter, and they were 20% off the entire order (incl. FP items). I noticed a while ago that the CC application page has dropped the reference to private sales and now refers to "private events." I don't know what those are and have never been invited to one. Perhaps they are referring to those "cardholder exclusive" e-mails that call our attention to items that are already on the website for everyone to buy?
DeleteLike GiGi, I continue to use the card for the quarterly rewards, but I think it's silly that they make these promises (in writing!) that are not honored.
That was the tough thing about having that conversation, Gigi. I really got the impression that she was interested in my feedback, but I said "look, ALL this information is out there online and it's not hard to find! people are TELLING you guys what you want and we feel like you're just not listening and like you don't care."
DeleteI went on to say that I was only telling her these things because I loved the brand but that I couldn't stand by any longer and just not say anything. That the problems were so fixable it wasn't even funny, and to me that was the tragedy of it all.
FWIW, she rang me up after I sent an email to Mickey suggesting JC create a customer advisory board. We have one at my work, where a few times a year we host customers on site and get their feedback on everything under the sun. The customers aren't paid for participating; they do it because they love our company and our products and they want to help.
I think something like that would be invaluable at JC.
Elizabeth, I specifically mentioned the haphazard promotions and rewards in my phone conversation. I said look at the BR Luxe program, THEY are doing a tiered loyalty program right! THEY treat their cardholders with gratitude and care!
She was just kind of taking it all in; I don't think she expected me to put them on blast. Ooops. But it came from a good place. Who knows if anything will come of it, probably not. But it's info they need to hear.
I did get a good chortle when she said "yeah, so i looked you up in our system ... you certainly are a, um, loyal customer!" LOL........
Ooops, meant to say, ppl are telling you what THEY want. :)
DeleteHexicon - The only private events I can think of are the very personal shopper ones. When the big rollouts happen, my ps invites her clients to shop, starting an hour early before the store opens. They usually have coffee and Costco mini brownies. There is no financial incentive for the customer and she invites everyone in her book I'm sure, not just cardholders. She said it's not worth it to her to come early because many people don't show up. The client situation seems to be a bit flaky for her these days with clients showing up a couple hours later than a scheduled appt, or not showing up at all. I can only wonder if they are distracted by other retailers in the end. I think it was straycat that said retailers are fighting for our dollars, which is very true. It can be a bit hard to shop there as they don't always inspire loyalty. They have a way of making it seem like they're doing you a favor to shop there. As a first time customer, I'll bet lots of people are turned off. I think if you're a JCA and know how to shop, you deal with it as-is. It's kind of sad to say that, isn't it? lol I also have to repeat that this community and the SAs that I know have kept me with the store. I would've given up long ago when the website was "upgraded."
DeleteHexicon, the PS I talked to said she will honour a 20% discount when making an appointment with her.
Deletei agree with gigiofca! i have a list of things i'm ready to buy (now more b/c of September catalogue) but i'm not budging till i get some kind of discount.
ReplyDeleteNot a cardholder (because there don't really seem to be enough perks and can't be used in Canada), but I agree that I have a looong list of things I'm planning to buy but won't pull the trigger until there's a discount of SOME sort.
Deletei didn't get a 20% off card either... and i'm a September birthday baby and i'm dying to buy a few things... PLEASE J.CREW... throw me a bone with a discount!
Deletethe FP is ridiculous - especially w/ declining quality. j crew is my favorite store (obviously) and i buy most of my clothes here but i'm not going to bite w/o a discount!
DeleteMiss JR, I received two more codes in the mail today...leave your email address and I'll send you one :).
DeleteOT - I'm up in CT visiting my parents and the West Farms store is currently putting out tons of new arrivals. Lots of tweed in navy and bright pink, the chicken sweater in navy, a heavyweight silk blouse with a front pocket (navy and pink), a wool Jules in turquoise, and lots of peter pan collars (including on sweatshirts with zippers down the back). Theres also a zip-front tweed-ish jacket with a peplum in a light grey and navy- love!!! Very excited to see so many new things because the August catalog wasn't really doing it for me
ReplyDeleteI'm not a cardholder. It's doesn't pencil out for me. I put everything on my fly miles visa for vacation trips. But....I order TONS from the JC website. Along with cardholders getting discount coupons or gift cards, how about perusing your online shoppers amount of orders and giving THEM a coupon/gift card. How hard is it? I never pay shipping, my orders are alway in the hundreds of dollars. And I order often...too often! I ordered one stinkin' thing from Ann Taylor website this whole year for $140.00 and they sent me a $25.00 gift card. Yah....And Macy's rewards me quite often with reward checks to be used on anything I want in the store or site, plus tons of really great discount coupons. Why wouldn't J. Crew want to encouage more shopping?!!! I don't get it. Bottom line (even though they want us to buy into their whole JC lifestyle schtick) they sell stuff. Nothing more. How many times do we have to vent about this?
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. J Crew seems to be the stingiest when it comes to rewarding their customers, whether it be in promos, gift cards, rewards points.. anything. I feel like I could stop shopping J Crew altogether (read: die. ha) and they really wouldn't care.
Deletestraycat - lots of good points! :) I've been thinking about putting all my jcrew purchases on my aadvantage credit card for the miles...maybe I should do that! Thank you for the suggestion! I can't believe J.Crew doesn't offer free shipping for customers who spend X amount over a year...this is a HUGE PERK for GAP Silver members!! And it's a huge reason I shop there first!
DeleteI totally agree, J Crew has the worst benefits for card holders. I have a BR Luxe card. I used to purchase a lot from BR and Gap but most of my clothing dollars have shifted to JC in last 2 years. I do order/buy from BR/Gap once a month but usually under $50 but I still get weekly coupons and emails. Every time I order it seems like I get a reward, last week I ordered a pair of Slone slim ankle pants (which are a much better fit for me than Minnies). I got free shipping, used 2 rewards and a % off code. Even better the pants arrived 1 day later instead of the 5-6 days it takes for J Crew orders. I purchased from Jack Wills, first time, got free shipping and when the item price went down $10, they refunded without any song and dance of 'one time courtesy discount', we all hear from J Crew. I am rethinking where I spend my clothing dollars and I am starting to think that J Crew is going to stop seeing so much of my money.
DeleteI agree. I haven't used my J.Crew card in ages because there's really no benefit in doing so. I generally use my Amex card at J.Crew, particularly when buying final sale items as I have the option of returning them if they don't work out.
DeleteJeanne, can you tell me more about the returning final sale items bit you mentioned? I also have an Amex card. Does it only apply to certain Amex cards? Do you have to be enrolled in a program?
Delete@ Silver Lining - the catalogue (sorry, Style Guide) is starting to read a lot more like a J.Peterman catalogue a la Seinfeld - haha.
ReplyDelete@ straycat - I so hear you. I am not fortunate enough to have a store in my city (J.Crew when will you realize that Canadians have lots of $$$ to spend??), but order TONS online (my last order was $1,600) - how come I don't get any special offers? The love/hate relationship continues.
ReplyDeleteTwo things bug me often about J Crew - the hideous lighting in the dressing rooms, which is often blinding fleuro (hello, I am not going to buy more things if you make me look yellowgreen!), and the oddball sizing - I think I have every size from XS to L of theirs in my closet. One pair of jeans is a 28 and they fit far bigger than the 30's.
ReplyDeleteThey are not the only company that has these two problems, I have to say.
Sinead - your J. Peterman comment is hilarious and dead-on (sorry that I can't use the reply button). J Crew constantly overstates their case, and it makes them look ridiculous. They should get back to an "underpromise and overdeliver" mentality. It would pay off.
ReplyDeleteMy vent -- I would love to buy my daughter another pair of the classic cafe capris (Crewcuts). She loves them. But I purchased her first pair in a B&M for $13.99 in June. Why are they still $34.99 on the website in August?
Also, a comment about the current shorts/swim promotion. I buy a ton of stuff at JC for my daughters. The three categories that we avoid are the shorts, swimsuits and accessories. The styles are quite peculiar. The ruffles, sailor themes and embellishments are very unappealing. I'm not at all surprised that the kids stuff in those categories bombed this season and that they are unable to unload it.
Here's to a brighter fall (I hope)!
I still love JCrew fit and style. However, I have been disappointed by the decline in quality. For example, some of the dresses that used to be silk charmeuse are now done in polyester. Also, many of the shoes no longer have leather linings or soles yet still carry an all-leather price tag. I'll still shop at JCrew for the tall pants and jackets. They fit my 6 ft tall size 4-6 frame perfectly.
ReplyDeleteWhat does a firl need to do to get a call back? I sent an email via"contact is" from the website inquiring why I, a loonnggg time JCrew cuatomer ( since 1988!) did not get the Fall/ Winter mail piece. That was 3 weeks ago and I am still waiting for an answer. A day ago I was looking at the same mailer ( my friend who received it in the mail rarely shops there and gave it to me) and saw an outfit I liked. Of course the items were not on the website...and the style numbers came up " no matches found." Of course, who besides JCrew would send out an expensive mailer with clothes that aren"t even offered yet? While I was looking for the clothes, the "chat now?" icon came up and and I had a nice chat with someone who said the items are coming out in September and that the price of the sweater is current;y $118 but "thatis not concrete yet" ( her word!).at the end of the seesion I had the chance to fill out an evaluation of my problem and I addressed this. This was 2 days ago and I still have not heard back from anyone. How can they spend money on these expensive mailings and ads ( check out Vanity Fair this month) and not have the merchandise available? More importantly, their customer service is declining rapidly. How are they going to handle all the new customers - these people have no experience with JCRew and will soon leave them when they find out that quality and customer service and prices are as thin as thei silk and cashmere? So frustrated b/c I know that they have been better than this in the past. THere doesn't seem to be any real business/system leadership in the way the company is run amymore.
ReplyDeleteA weird thing I've noticed: the descriptions online for certain things (like the Biennial Hobo) now start off with "As seen in Vanity Fair". Yeah sure, it was in Vanity Fair, in A J CREW AD. It was in Vanity Fair because you paid money for it to be there! It seems tacky and desperate, like they want customers to think that the editors at VF actually put their bag in a spread or something.
ReplyDeleteHere's the painful truth with respect to JC and customer service: no matter the "loyal customer" complaints, phone calls, e-mails, and chats with Mickey, they really don't have to care, so they don't!
ReplyDeleteI'm a Marketing Director for a company with 11,000 worldwide retail outlets. I can guarantee that they are doing detailed content analysis all over the social media and tracking transaction-level cardholder purchases ... it's easy and cheap to do so. They know how many loyal customers they have who will complain, loudly at times, but continue their buying behaviors no matter what. They follow the blogs, and know that their best customers are more likely to check the website 10x a day, stay up all night scanning catalog pages, or wait for a sale update, than stop buying because the pencil skirt fabric is thinner this season.
This level of brand loyalty doesn't require all that much effort or incentive to motivate sales. It's why other retailers' marketing and promotional activities are so much more attractive, but here we stay.
I don't know, ruffles. I'm nearing the end of my rope. If a company is going to be fool enough to turn down easy money -- and if you ask me, they do it daily -- then shame on me for giving them any money at all.
DeleteCompletely agree with you, ruffles. Until JC's bottom line actually suffers, they will continue to cut corners and be as stingy with discounts as possible. Why would they want to subsidize the purchases of people who are going to buy anyway?
DeleteGap and BR have to offer steep discounts in order to make sales (raise your hand if you've paid full retail price for an item from Gap or BR in the past two years...). As of right now, J. Crew doesn't need to do this, and they certainly don't want to train their customers to only purchase items with additional % off (they ran the risk of this last winter with the consecutive 20-30% off promos, but seem to be laying of the FP promos now). Obviously some customers purchase all or most of their J. Crew items on sale, but many do not and make full price purchases. Similarly, some items are marked down quickly because they don't sell well, but others sell out at full price.
I'm certainly guilty of telling myself to wait for sale, then seeing the item start to sell out, panicking, and purchasing it at full price. My desire for the item trumps my rational assessment of its value. I'm sure that I'm not the only customer who does this.
I think we also forget about all of the J. Crew customers who don't read blogs and wait for sales, the ones who just purchase items they like at full price and leave it at that--no re-buy and return, price adjustment requests, etc. They may pay more than us, but they certainly spend less time and energy on shopping at J. Crew (to be clear, I am not one of these people and obviously stalk the J. Crew website and related blogs obsessively). Those are J. Crew's highest-margin customers, and probably the most likely to shop elsewhere if they become dissatisfied. Thus, they are the ones who J. Crew will try to delight with spontaneous discounts--not people like me to spend hours making sure I pay the lowest possible price for my JC clothing, but whose loyalty to the brand is clear.
Apologies for the length and semi-incoherence of this :).
Elaine and Caitlin, I agree completely.
DeleteMailing catalogs (Style Guides) and distributing discount offers are big marketing expenses and they require a hefty ROI to pay out. Those of us who don't get them frequently probably have purchase patterns (and if you have ever bought anything online or given your e-mail address at the counter, regardless of whether or not you are a cardholder, they know your purchase patterns) indicating that, surprise, we are going to buy anyway.
Fast forward to 2016 and their bottom line is definitely suffering now. Poor client service, hassles on returns, spotty inventory control and lack of normal sizes in brick and mortars have finally come home to roost.
DeleteWOW! Such good points everybody! I agree with all of you! I started buying JC on a regular basis last summer after losing 35 lbs. In one year I've become tired....of the sales games, of the crummy fabrics and cheap materials, of the inconsistances from store to store and from online SA to online SA. I haven't been totally angered yet, so I haven't left completely...but I'm already seeking out other clothing and accessory makers I've never considered before. I know I'm losing interest in JC because I used to look at the website a few times a day...now I hardly look at all. There's no big hurry to buy something...I'll be on sale soon and be in stock at that reduced price for months on end. Plus I need another polka dot, stripe, pattern printed garment like I need another hole in my head. It's all looking too familiar...I own it already! Move on JC! "As seen in Vanity Fair"...snort! That's really desperate. Just about as bad as "while taking a wizz in an Italian cafe restroom we fell in love with the wallpaper and had to transfer the pattern on to these capris!" Mamma Mia!!!
ReplyDeleteSo funny about the wallpaper. Probably not far from the truth. Literally LOL!
DeleteJust had to chime in regarding the lack of loyalty to J.Crew cardholders. The rewards cards are nice, but pale in comparison to the benefits I receive as a BR Luxe card holder. PALES. At the very least, give us free shipping. And I would love some more % off offers. A few days ago I recevied a 40% off a single item offer from Gap, plus I have a rewards card for them. That starts tomorrow. Guess what store I went to today to start stalking the items so that could pick out what to use my offer on? I do have a JC rewards card sitting in my wallet, which I plan to use for a sweater. But heck, if they were to offer me 20% off my purchase, I'd be buying more than just a sweater (which I'm not sure if I even want to buy because of the pilling issue...). I can't tell you how many awesome offers I received from Gap and BR over the summer because I have credit cards with both of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Danielle. I've bought 5 dresses from Gap in the past 2 weeks because of their awesome % off promos and the fact that LUXE cardholders get free ship on every order, no min. Which is as it should be, even though compared with JC, Gap/ON ship so sloooooowly, lol.
DeleteAnd even if you happen to need something and you're not a cardholder, $50 is a decent threshold for free ship, IMO.
Ruffles - you're right in most respects.
ReplyDeleteBUT - I pay full price willingly at companies that don't play games with pricing, have aligned websites and B&M's, and have great customer service. I rarely pay full price at JC. Like many on this blog I really like JC's style, and am loyal to the aesthetic. But the poor quality, service and pricing games are needlessly irritating.
JC can continue to do fine doing as they are, but they could make MORE MONEY by raising the bar.
wow, I thought I'd catch up on what I'd missed the past few days, but I never expected all of this. Of course I have observed/felt/been annoyed by/ felt stung by all of the above, so I just wanted to ad my voice. And now I have.
ReplyDeleteI don't have their credit card so I don't expect anything more than decent customer service along with good quality merchandise at fair prices. Unfortunately those basic expectations are often not met.
ReplyDeleteI do tend to get all the promos though. I had two recent orders and both had a card with two 20% off codes so I got four 20% off codes in total. Hardly seems fair when others who I am sure purchase much more than me have received nothing.
Lucky! if you aren't going to use one, you can throw it my way :)
DeleteSame! I would love a code!
DeleteThis should also be posted in review:
ReplyDeleteBIG DISAPPOINTMENT: Collection Leather Bomber Jacket :(
Pre-ordered this because I LOVE the color. Was so excited to see that it shipped early August. When I received it, couldn't wait to open. I opened the box, to find that my Collection $695.00 jacket was wrapped in brown butcher block paper with ten pieces of scotch tape around it... no tissue paper, no pretty wrapping, no thank card etc.
Jacket is lined in polyester... had threads hanging around shoulder seams... VERY lightweight leather, but for my climate, i was fine with that. Color IS really beautiful. SOOO not worth $695.00.
I was so ticked about the packaging that I dropped Mickey an email. I did receive a response back that they were looking into it. That's it. My local PS apologized up and down, but it clearly was not their fault.
Bottom line... buy the Collection items on deep sale.
Take a ook at JCrewChick's polyvore review of the Collection dress. She has the same issue with packaging. Maybe Crew leaders will read this and see it is not isolated cases.
Collection items should be wrapped separately with a Thank you note "Thank you for your Collection purchase, we know you will enjoy your one of a kind, limited item,...."
Ugh that is so annoying! You are right on about the packaging, at that price point buyers expect something special. I ordered a Tory Burch cardigan on deep discount a week ago and it arrived wrapped in lovely shiny paper sealed with a pretty sticker and a "thank-you for your purchase" note. THAT is how its done...
DeleteI totally agree StylishlySpoken. Tory Burch (and Kate Spade) kill at packaging compared to J. Crew. It would be great if J. Crew just put their Collection items in pretty boxes or with tastefully patterned tissue paper or something.
DeleteI stopped in the B&M today to see if the Cabernet tights match the Golden Burgundy no. 2 and Tippi cardi. No such luck. I also wanted to see the new gold jeweled elephant pendant. Lots of folks will like this, but it's not an original idea and if you want a smashing elephant with riding mahouts necklace or brooch, ebay has tons of gorgeous vintage pieces. Plus the pendant hangs off to one side...my OCD wouldn't let me wear it like that. It just wasn't great enough for me. Aside from that I didn't see one thing I cared to even try on. I saw some pretty ugly and strange things. But happy day....Macy's is doing a charity event called Shop for a Cause. A $5.00 dollar donation gets you 25% off almost everything in the store, some things are 10%. They are pre-selling now. I hit it hard! I bought a Brahmin bag and a Ralph Lauren bag, 2 Lauren leather belts, a Lauren denim pencil skirt and two pairs of Lauren dress summer pants on deep discount already and I got for almost free, an Anne Klein watch and a pair of Lauren sunglasses. Everything 25% off except watches are 10%. WHEE!
ReplyDeleteI remember a while ago during extra % off sale, someone siad she couldn't put any item in her cart-after she had returned several online orders. I thought "well, J Crew is an IT-challenged company, there's no way they can track specific customer's IP address and put some cookies so they can't place orders any more"
ReplyDeleteGuess what? I tried to order during previous 30% off sale. I couldn't place a thing in my cart. None of them were out of stock. I managed to placed an order on my ipad (ha!) but it made me think. It happened after I returned most of 3 online orders (colors different from online, weird sizing, suiting dress too short) and one cancelled order within an hour window. Seriously? Whatever I returned, they were new in package with tag, if I wear any items, I keep no matter what.
After all those returns, I still managed to get $50 reward card. Not loyal enough I guess?
Since they don't want customers who return stuff to shop at their store any more, I completely stopped looking at the website. What kind of business operation is this?
Good for me to have no withdrawal from off-crewlade.
I'm now shopping all me & my girls' clothes at Gap, A&F, Nordstrom, Zara, etc., and I'm going to close the account. I know nobody in the corporation would give a rat's *** as usual.
When I saw the new gold elephant pendant today I knew I'd seen it before. I stalk ebay for vintage jewelry and often refer to my collection of reference books when looking. Here is the vintage piece that JC completely copied....their pendant it's almost 100% duplicated from this vintage brooch. Link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/350585679790?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
I'm a jool nut, so this stuff interests me.
Straycat - wow! what detective work! I'm impressed! I thought I was a jewel nut, but you're way ahead of me, lol!! I saw the pendant today at the store - it was cute, but I already have the last elephant. Really getting bored with repeat release items...especially so close together.
DeleteThat's so interesting! I also noticed that J. Crew's Lucille dress is very similar to this Lela Rose dress, though I don't know which came first.
Deletehttp://www.jcrew.com/womens_special_sizes/size16/dresses/PRDOVR~77619/99102699177/ENE~1+2+3+22+4294967294+20~~~0~15~all~mode+matchallany~~~~~lucille/77619.jsp
http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/318049
The black Super 120s suiting this year is a step down from previous years. It looks more like polyester suiting to me. I'm sure it is really wool, just cheaper. It doesn't have the sheen it has in the past. I put it next to a super 120s from 2 years ago and it looks worse. I'm sad.
ReplyDeleteCustomer service is so hit and miss also. Drives me nuts when someone from CS says they will do something and then doesn't.
While I understand that this is a post dedicated to the love/hate relationship of all things JCrew and I actively seek out the opinions of so many on this (and other related) sites, I can't help but wonder how someone has not advocated for a national protest day of some sort to make JC acknowledge the overwhelming complaints (at least those listed in this last post). The complaints about pricing, instore and online customer service (bad and inconsistent), quality, benefits, etc., are the same regularly. I have to agree with the comment that JC is well aware of the public's comments as they are following the blogs just like the ordinary customer and the JCAs of the world...this is the age of technology where a keyboard stroke will reveal just about everything on the web on any subject. Don't think for one moment that Mr. Drexler, J.L. or someone assigned to the task is not aware of your dissatisfaction, hence the periodic acknowlegement or shoutout to the various blogs. But, they don't really have to take the actions that you suggest because the crew-lade is strong and the customer keeps coming back accepting whatever JC offers. It is rare that I find something that I must have from JC at the regular price point so I am not their ideal customer but many of you make purchases as soon as the catalogues come off the press...and that is alright b/c I shop like that at Nordstrom, where I know CS is a priority. Other than a National Stop-Shopping-At-JC-day, I am not sure what the answer is to make JC make the changes you want (perhaps they consider them hence the periodic promo). They are now offering a free shipp'g promo through Sunday; is that good enough for you? How many have complained about inconsistent BDay discounts, the high shipp'g rate/minimum purchase point, and the 20% off cards sent out (or not) with various orders particularly for those who have spent A LOT of cash on regular price items. Don't think that someone at JC isn't aware of the complaint(s) but has there been a consistent explanation? And the inconsistenct CS reps explanation and store policies especially during a sale...how many comments have we read about the repeat irritation on that issue? Again, I am not the company's core customer as I rarely buy full price from JC however I have done my fair share of shopping to be considered a JC fan. I just hate to see so many customer's complaint go unanwered for so long.
ReplyDeleteOK, as an old campaigner, let me offer the following: to be effective, the protest must have some real economic effect. If you just pick one 24-hr period, determined purchasers will wait till hour 25, and then cave. I'd suggest a 2 or 3 day period. Consider also going to website, waiting for popup lady to appear, and telling her "Oops, sorry, not buyin today." And shoppers could go into stores,ill about looking interested, and leave without comment. It's not a protest if people don't notice you.
DeleteOn the other hand there is this election thang going on, and my JC protest may just wind up being that I work harder for the good guys and have less time to shop.
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ReplyDeleteHas anyone else noticed that online returns are not being credited to your account? This has happened with me not once but twice !.Only one or two items out of the whole box are credited and the rest is a cat and mouse chase to get them refunded as it is hard to prove you actually sent the items.Makes me wonder if people in the warehouse are actually lifting merchandise ?? If I had not followed up on this I might had lost about $600 worth of merchandise !
ReplyDeleteKeep close records of what you sent back point served.Next time I will be going back to store to return anything
ReplyDelete