Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Madewell Initiates Customer Review System {whaaat?}

"Thanks!" to many of you including, Shopaholic (in this post), as well as Dinagideon, who let us know that Madewell is moving towards customer reviews on their site. Shopaholic (in this post) shared the following:
Did anyone else order from Madewell online recently and get an email asking to review the item?

The email says: "We’d love to hear your thoughts on your recent Madewell purchase(s). If you could take a moment to write a review for your item(s), we’ll be sure to keep your comments to use for future ratings on our website." It links to this page to submit a review!

Does this mean reviews are coming to the websites (or at least the Madewell one) soon???
The form is relative straightforward, where customers are asked to review the product's appearance, comfort, quality, value, as well as personal review. What a wonderful step in the right direction!

It really is a great move for J.Crew to start offering customer reviews. Testing it out with J.Crew's sister store, Madewell, makes complete sense. I am hoping that after they work out all the issues on Madewell's site, they will consider offering customer reviews on the J.Crew website.

Did you get an email requesting a customer review for Madewell items? Did you take the survey? What are your thoughts on customer reviews on J.Crew/Madewell websites?

P.S. Madewell is offering an additional 30% off their Sale (click here to shop online) and free shipping (on orders of $100+) with promo code LOVEIT. The offer ends January 15, 2013.

18 comments:

  1. I got the email in relation to the Archive boot which I purchased three times over but not the other items that I bought and returned. Hmmm...
    I plan on filling it out today.

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    Replies
    1. I should say that I am happy they are now allowing reviews. I am absolutely in love with the Archive boots, so my review will almost be glowing.

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  2. I just submitted a review for the Softshade sweatshirt dress. I am SO EXCITED that Madewell is doing this and am hopeful that J.Crew will do the same. Can we even imagine that day?! Fingers crossed!

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  3. Alexis, I agree with you that this is a great move by J.Crew. Granted, it has been a long-time coming, but at least they are finally offering them. Hopefully we will see reviews on the J.Crew website soon, too.

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  4. I received this email yesterday too and I was quite (but happily) surprised. I haven'te filled out a review yet, but the two items that I did buy and keep from Madewell will get positive reviews. I wonder if they are testing how many positive vs. negatives reviews they get back?

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  5. I'm very excited to hear this - I love customer reviews on sites! I recently ordered 2 scarves and the Zipcode boots, but haven't gotten the email about reviewing them...

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  6. I received the same thing over a month ago for a recent Pottery Barn rug purchase.

    I dutifully filled it out saying I was very happy with the item, other than I thought it was a bit thin for the price.

    So I'm guessing they're weighing the positive vs. negative responses to see if it's worth instituting.

    I just can't see Crew doing this unless they're planning vast improvements in their overall product quality.

    An aside - my 6YO wore her Girls' Bejeweled Sweatshirt for the first time last week and within hours it had sequins dangling by threads. I had to bust out the ole sewing kit and repair it.

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  7. I received the requests for reviews too.

    Be sure to read the "Writing Guidelines" before submitting your review so it's not rejected:

    WRITING GUIDELINES

    We want to publish your review, so please:

    -keep your review focused on the product

    -avoid writing about customer service; just contact us if you have issues requiring immediate attention

    -refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product

    -do not include any personal identifiable information, like your full name

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to point that out, JustVisiting.

      That is pretty standard boilerplate for writing product reviews. I don't think much of people who write a product review that just talks about the service. Not helpful, and not the place for that!

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    2. That's interesting, so if reviews are posted, they will be screened first?

      Delete
  8. LOL. They're trying to micromanage the comments!

    I'm tempted to buy something just to play with them! ;)

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  9. I bought almost all the Madewell items I own in the store, so no e-mail for me. Great move though!

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  10. I really hope they go to having customer reviews as standard practice. It would really help cut down on the amount of returns if there was some more information on a product besides how one of their designers found a pattern on some vintage scarf in Budapest. It's fun to have a little background story on an item like that but I want real world reviews without having to search through blogs. I love Anthropolgie for this reason, not every item is going to look good on everyone and that's okay, it's nothing wrong with the product, it's just the nature of fashion. Returning items is a pain and I'd be more likely to spend a little more if there was more real world information like true sizing, body type feedback from buyers, how thin or thick a knit is, what is the color really like etc.

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  11. Fingers crossed that this is a sign of things to come! It was a smart move to start off with Madewell since it's only been around for a few years and there are so few B&M stores to try things on in person. Any company that has a final sale policy for online purchases should *always* offer online reviews, IMO.

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  12. I received two review request emails and I submitted one. I must admit I didn't read the rules and stated I returned item because I ordered according to my J Crew size which didn't turn out to be my Madewell size. There goes my 15 minutes of fame. On a side note I just received Madewell Lace Primrose top which I think is still in stock on sale if anyone is interested.

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  13. I got a email request to review the calf hair leopard wedge skimmers, which I love. I submitted my review. Hopefully they will put up all of the reviews!

    ReplyDelete

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