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.
Not a vent. I’ve picked up a couple of unicorns. Italian cashmere hoodie in black from Holiday 2011 was less than $50 before catalog coupon and educator discount. It’s in great condition and cashmere quality is really nice. All tags attached including the additional product tag describing the cashmere. Where has it been hiding? Used my rewards and a gift card. Also received Jackie wool cardigan in forest green with gold buttons; it works great with the Tippi and Collection wool pants from a few years ago.I have the leopard and solid black versions of this cardigan and love. It’s a really nice basic.
ReplyDeleteOooh lucky you. Maybe it was in a drawer or a closet at a store, out of sight.
DeleteYou’d have been lucky to score a black cashmere hoodie at even a small discount in 2011! I remember stalking them constantly at that time and they were always selling out in the good colours and larger sizes. But I still have one from then that I happily wear each winter, as well as an equally good one from Banana Republic that I bought when I couldn’t get the J.Crew version in my size/color.
DeleteMygoody, if it’s an XS or XXS, I think I may have seen that one! I remember thinking that some petite woman was going to be very happy with it.
DeleteSame here, Shopgrrl. I still have an entire collection of older cashmere hoodies that I wear every winter, both zip front and pullover. I just checked the tag on my gray front zip hoodie that I wore yesterday and it’s from HO 07! I had 3 (red, green, camel) from BR, too, but I passed them to a relative during a closet cleanout a few years ago.
Jeanne, I saw that one too in navy; usually I’m sized out because only smaller sizes are available, but a L randomly popped back. It’s roomy and will work great for layering and upcoming travel.
DeleteMygoddy, that really is lucky! It seems like many popbacks are either XXS or XXL.
DeleteI found a navy Collection cashmere boyfriend cardigan @ Marshalls for $24.99! Only one, and my size!!
ReplyDeleteScore! What a great find! That’s often the way it is at Marshall’s IME. My Marshall’s one-of-a-kind deals are usually in the shoe department or sometimes handbags. Where do the single amazing items come from? Returns? Store displays?
DeleteJeanne, this was just so random. Wanted a navy cashmere cardigan, needed an XS, and there is was. I looked it up and it was $249 at J. Crew. I'll never find anything that good for such a low price again. Noticed most of the cashmere sweaters sold at Marshalls sell for about $59-$99.
DeleteI’ve noticed the same pricing thing. I bought 2 one-of-a-kind pairs of boots this fall for $39.99 that were originally $300ish at Free People ( brands: GeeWawa and AS98.). Most of the other Marshall’s boots were in the $59-$99 range and weren’t expensive boots to start with. They also has a beautiful pair of BedStu boots for $39.99, but not my size, unfortunately.
Delete*had* not has
DeleteOh wow! That’s awesome! I need to go to Marshall’s. I haven’t been in ages.
DeleteOrdered the J.Crew Demylee Leopard dress while it was still available on the website in low stock and paid for express shipping to arrive today. Today I notice another package is on its way to be delivered that I didn't even pay for express shipping for. Ok, fine. Dress hasn't even shipped yet - wtf! Called customer service, they could not even tell me if any stores have it in stock because they have split their sales and CS teams ... um - isn't that pointless? Called my local store, they put me on hold for 3 minutes. Nope. Hung up and called another local store and finally spoke to someone so kind and helpful I almost shed a tear - it was like the jcrew of 5-6 years ago with jokes and joy.
ReplyDeleteFinally located one and they will ship it from store. Thanks for nothing customer service! Disaster.
I'm glad you finally found the dress, but the lack of service is disturbing. I hope this isn't something new.
DeleteJust in case anyone else is looking for this dress, I was at the North Michigan Avenue store in Chicago yesterday. There were 2 Demylee leopard dresses, one XS and one S.
DeletePlaced an order for two items, got the dreaded ‘we wish we had enough’ for one of them. I had used my loyalty rewards for this order, and J. Crew applied half of the rewards amount to the item that was shipped and I lost the other half. Customer service informed me that loyalty rewards once applied cannot be retrieved. It’s unfair since the cancellation was not my fault. I hope people are aware of this.
ReplyDeleteThat is not right. I would definitely try to approach CS through another method
DeleteThat’s really unfair! I hope you can find someone to correct the situation for you.
DeleteNext time you order something, call and ask to have the lost portion applied to your new order. There is no mechanism to add back to your reward balance, but CS can give you a discretionary credit. (for example, I have reordered items where I got the out of stock email, and CS price matches what I paid on the original item even if the price has gone up. They are giving a disretionary credit.)
DeleteRewards get lost on returns as well. So our lesson is only use the rewards when there is a fair amount of stock left, when you are sure you have the right size and color and do not expect a return. Or use for in-store purchases when you can try on. My store manager said if I brought the return to her and she placed the exchange order, she could adjust the price for the rewards amount. Of course this does not work on a pop-back of a out of stock item...
Thank you! I called them out on the lack of transparency of this loyalty program. The ‘terms and conditions’ don’t cover billing issues at all. They don’t seem to care if their practices get more and more burdensome for the consumers. It’s off-putting.
DeleteThat's really ridiculous, and one of the reasons I usually use my rewards in store, to avoid returns. However my store rarely has the specific item I'm looking for. I haven't even been in awhile, it's just been such a busy summer and fall!
DeleteHow awful! And completely unethical. Hopefully you can get it resolved with CS, but that definitely sounds like an issue they could be legally liable for, since it's their error and you didn't cancel your order. Very shady business practice.
DeleteThis makes me not even want to have the credit card, since they used to issue refunds on rewards to a gift card. Changing the policy now without clearly defining it is shady. My love affair with jcrew is slowly dying.
DeleteI stopped using my J. Crew card. I make so few purchases and get better cash back through Discover. It used to fun to get and use rewards. Now it is a chore.
DeleteJust to clarify that I’m talking about their new loyalty program rewards not the credit card. Not sure whether they combine both now, do they? For said order, I have a total amount under the ‘my order history’ on the website that does not match what J. Crew charged my credit card. I’m going to talk to American Express (payment method I used) next. It’s not the amount that bothers me, but rather the way they don’t seem to get their act together.
DeleteThere was a post about blends for sweaters last week, and I should've heeded the warnings and followed my fabric rules.
ReplyDeletePoint Sur Oversized Patch Pocket Cardigan. The dark seaweed is a beautiful color. I'm a fan of green, and the shade is lovely (mixed with hints of tan and pink). The fabric is the issue. I try to avoid blends, but took a chance because I loved the color and style and the reviews were really positive. I wore once for a half day in the office, and I could already see signs of pilling on the cuffs and on the insides of the arms. This cardigan won't wear well over time, and is another example of why you should be leery of J Crew blends. I sized down one based upon reviews. I'm tall enough that I think I could've taken my normal size even though the fit is relaxed.
That's too bad.
DeleteWhy do we get stuck with the horrible blends? The sweaters for men are (mostly) not a pilly mess after one wear. This is for all retailers, not just J. Crew!
DeleteITA. I regret it every time I give in and purchase a blended sweater. They’re basically disposable. I saw an SA wearing one covered with pills last winter and it looked so bad. Not a good advertisement for the brand.
DeleteAgreed folks and lesson learned. It’s $148, so it shouldn’t be an item to throw away after a single wear or two. I got it on promo, but you get my point. Will return it to the store this weekend.
DeleteGood for you, Tara.
DeleteGot my bill a few days ago. Disaster. I had made 7 returns and only 2 of them were on my bill. Luckily I had the paperwork and could verify all of them. Save your returns. Check your bills carefully. This was a J Crew card. Was wondering why those reward points were stacking up so much. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteI've found that this has been happening more frequently now that they're using Narvar for returns. If I put items from more than one order in the same box, some of them don't get processed and I have to contact CS. Also, that return label that's generated from Narvar is UPS "Mail Innovations" that goes through the post office, so it takes almost a week for my return box to show up at JC.
DeleteThis has happened to me as well with the two returns I have sent in since the switch. Both times I had to contact customer service as not all the items I sent had been processed. I felt like I was being accused of not putting all the items in the box that I said I did but I guarantee I did. It left a bad taste in my mouth and with my local store now closed it is one more reason I have stopped buying. Not that I really needed another at this point in time. I really have wishlisted nothing from the last two rollouts.
DeleteHi JessF - yeah, I get the feeling that they want you to send in one box for each Narvar order return... but at $7.50 a return I'm just not going to do that. Plus, it seems so wasteful. Luckily, I still have old UPS return labels from before the switch so I'm going to just try one of those next time. My thought is that because it's not a Narvar label they'll just have to open the box and see what's in there. ; )
DeleteOn the rare occasions I send back returns from multiple orders in one box, I write on each return order form: 1 of 2 returns. I just feel like it alerts them to the extra order form. I haven't had any issues while doing that. But, like I said, it's rare I send something back by mail. I'd rather go to the store so I can see the return being processed.
DeleteRelated to this, I just noticed this message from Loft when I was looking for their return address to mail back something: Please note: if returns from separate orders are shipped with one return label, it may take an additional 2-3 weeks for return credit processing as they need to be reviewed separately. For the fastest return process, we recommend shipping each return with the label corresponding to that specific order.
DeleteI hope everyone has read the “fine print” on returns,however I previously recommended using the Slice App. Easy to use, select and check items you are returning, scan the return tracking number which will show the tracking number, date shipped and received. You will see when the item was received, date, time and who signed for it at their returns center now in PA. You are armed to dispute any returns with CS and they will credit you immediately. Narvar is a mess which was confirmed by my VPS as well as issues at the returns center. There is a delay in the system. Hope this helps and for those of you that may or may not carry a balance I suggest not using the card. You will pay dearly and get screwed on the rewards. Use another card as it’s simply not worth it. I never carry a balance but I have discovered numerous billing errors when it comes to purchase, price adjustments and returns.
ReplyDeleteI used to use Slice years ago but I stopped for some reason. Sounds like they've made a lot of improvements. Maybe I need to download it again.
DeleteI enjoyed occasional free shipping AND free return from j crew. Now free shipping is gone for non card holders.
ReplyDeleteI'm so tired of the super high rise skinny jeans. I can't go above 9.5" rise if I don't want my pants up to my boobs.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Also, my boyfriend hates them and while I definitely dress for myself and I'm sure he doesn't always love everything I put together, I do like him to like how I look and for him to even express his dislike is really saying something. They're just not pretty.
DeleteI think skinny jeans in general are horrible and pretty unflattering on most people. Aren't people getting sick of them at all? Or am I the only one?
DeleteHere’s a new promo that just arrived 30% off and an additional 20% for cardholders in stores. A little late and what about all of us who don’t live near one. Valid from Oct. 26-28th. Absurd. Calling for pric adjustments.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone else ever get a style guide/catalog anymore? I saw that there was one in the store last month but I never received it. Literally, I've been a JC customer for at least 15 years and a card holder...how could I fall off the list?
ReplyDeleteAnyone having issues with the website? I happened to hit a page with Early Acces however server isn’t responding. I’m also unable to reach the main landing page having tried 4 different browsers.
ReplyDelete