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.
why don't the birthday rewards ever work? grrrr
ReplyDeleteohhh... because it's considered a promo code and it doesn't work when you want to buy something that isn't eligible for a promo. (EYE ROLL)
DeleteYeah - and CS won't combine them with any other promo. Not very festive.
DeleteHappy birthday month, Miss JR!
Nothing that hasn't been said already -
ReplyDeleteBetween the return shipping fees, long return processing times, and lack of price adjustments on items that haven’t even shipped yet, JC has sucked all the fun out of shopping there. I hate having to race the 30-day return policy by dropping my returns off the day I get my deliveries, then babysitting them the whole time because when they finally get around to processing them 14+ days later, they never do the entire contents of the return box. I know what they really want you to do is print a separate Navar label and packing slip (and pay $7.50) for each return, but come on, that’s crazy and wasteful.
Last week I ordered the khaki Birkenstock Arizona sandals that have been sitting in my wishlist for ages when they hit sale. The second I hit “Submit”, I see a banner at the top of the page for an additional 15% with CARDLOVE. I contact CS and they say they can’t do anything until after the order ships. Of course. Then the next day, the sale items are an additional 50% (CARDLOVE doesn’t work), then the next day, 50% and CARDLOVE does work. I would’ve just placed another order, but I’d have to return the first one (see above). I know they won’t adjust my order, but it has not even shipped yet. Five days later, it’s still in progress.
I’ve placed less than 5 orders with JC this year (used to average probably 5 a month), and each of them has been a practice in aggravation and frustration. Granted, there hasn’t been much I’ve wanted to buy, but the lack of any nearby stores along with their policies have really given me pause anytime I’ve wanted to put something in my cart.
I agree with you, silver_lining. I don't even look at the J Crew site most days; previously, it was one of the first things I checked every morning. Just can't be bothered to play the price games. Shipping/processing is taking way too long, too. It seems almost every time I order, the prices go down or the promotion is better the very next day. The whole reordering and returning business takes a lot of time and I'm just about ready to give up.
Deletehaven't posted a lot as I have issues logging in on my ipad/phone but I will echo what you both have said. Shopping at J. Crew has become a chore! It started with the closure of my closest store almost 2 year ago. There were still things for me to love back then so I would still order and save up my returns as make a trip to the store that was an hour away every two months or so. Now with the return period being 30 days it gives me pause as getting to the hour away store to return in 30 days can't always be accomplished. I hate spending $7.50 to return something via mail and agree that if you ever put more than one order in a package good luck on getting refunded properly for all the items. I started to feel like they thought I was a dishonest person calling each time to say all of my items weren't processed. On top of that the styles just don't appeal to me anymore. I am not a fan of synthetic fabrics. I don't wear midis, crop tops, boxy tops. I haven't really found a good replacement place to shop and have been shopping my own closet with some items purchased here and there from Banana. I had not made a purchase in 90 days which is a record for me. I ordered some Birks. As stated above first they were 30% plus 15%. I passed as I didn't need them. Saw they were 50% but the 15% no longer worked. I had another 10% off code so I placed the order. Then the next day I see the 15% code does stack with the 50%. And they still haven't shipped. Shopping shouldn't be this hard. I pretty much have given up. On top of that I am not sure the Birks will fit as I am not sure if a 8 gets me a 38 or 39. I need the 39. Some of the reviews complain about this as well.
DeleteI agree about frustrating changes. Now returns are $30 from Canada up from $25. Sizing has been off for me so now I just rarely order because it’s too risky for returns. I used to order often. When I called for a return they were being nice but suggested I return the item in store in Toronto to avoid a $30 charge. I’m guessing people have been complaining. Toronto is over 4 hrs away and it was laughable and sad because that’s the only stores left in the whole country except BC and because Canada is big so even suggesting that I try to get to Toronto just seems absurd.
DeleteAs I posted late last week, I’m now “shopselsewheregrrl”. Those shipping and returns hikes are the last straw. I go to the US 2-3 times/year so might place an order then, assuming there’s anything I want (whereas it used to be a case of narrowing it down from the many items I wanted). I used to order every 1-2 months, but going forward it *might* be every 6 months, assuming I have US travel.
Delete@jan I’ve had CS suggest Toronto to me as well, and I’m also 4+ hours away. If they’d start allowing returns to Factory I’d start placing orders again.
I want to email CS a map of Canada showing where the stores are and where I live so they might actually get how far away stores are and better understand how difficult it is for us to shop in person.
DeleteAnd I thought the idea was to 'grow' business online not kill it.
Good point, JCGuy - I thought they were going to be all innovative about the digital experience (their words). If that’s the case, why did they take away the most basic tech thing which was the ability to cancel items for 60 minutes after placing an order? It’s not like they’re fulfilling them so fast that they need that hour. They’ve also closed so many stores that they need to give people an incentive to shop online (read: free return shipping, >30 days return to account for said shipping) and that’s just not happening. You can’t close all the stores and at the same time try to turf people to the stores when they complain about the online experience (the return charges from Canada are astounding). Along those lines, stop sending me e-mails for in-store only promos (MW is notorious for this as well). There are NO stores around me - if they were technologically savvy, they’d know this.
DeleteHi shopalot and JessF - yeah, it’s just not fun or enjoyable anymore. I’ve replaced my early morning JC-browsing with working out and it’s been a lot better for me overall (and I haven’t had any FOMO on promos or anything for the most part). I’ll always love to online browse/shop and this fall I’ve been replacing some of my favorite well-loved JC pieces with backups from eBay, PM and ThredUp. It’s a win-win for me: I get what I want already knowing it will fit, the low prices offset the fact that they’re final sale, and I don’t have to worry about them being priced substantially lower the next day. I can purchase and move on. JC's stuck between a rock and a hard place - they can't lose any more money, but I can't imagine their current policies are helping them to retain customers.
Good point jcrewguy, I’m sure they’re killing online business for Canada at least.
Delete@shopgrrrl, I’ve ordered to a store if I’m going to be in the US but it’s sad how many US stores have closed too. It’s hard to get to a store anymore.
Hi again JessF - I ordered a 9 and the box I received today is a 40. They are "narrow fit". I like the color and the white soles. Hope yours are the right size!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFor any Chicago area JCAs - my sister just texted me that the J Crew store in Naperville is closing. Another one bites the dust and that didn’t take long at all. It was newly opened just a few years ago. 😡
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete