A Message to our Clients about Epic Rewards

[sephoraadmin2]

Sephora is committed to offering our valued Beauty Insiders exceptional rewards to thank them for their loyalty and for being part of our community.  Yesterday we held an Epic Rewards promotion, and while we have held similar promotions in the past, yesterday’s promotion was the largest number of Epic Rewards we have made available to date.

Despite our best efforts to predict the response, demand was overwhelming, resulting in our being out of stock very quickly. We deeply regret this and apologize to our Beauty Insider clients who did not get a chance to participate.  

At Sephora our first and foremost priority is to give our clients an exciting and fulfilling shopping experience.  Those Beauty Insiders who were unable to get one of our limited quantity Epic Rewards, please email us by Tuesday, August 25, 2015, to epicrewards@sephora.com and include your Beauty Insider account number or email address associated with your account. 

Beyond that, please know that we are committed to learning from this experience. Thank you for your ongoing support. We greatly appreciate you.

Sephora is committed to offering our valued Beauty Insiders exceptional rewards to thank them for their loyalty and for being part of our community.  Yesterday we held an Epic Rewards promotion, and while we have held similar promotions in the past, yesterday’s promotion was the largest number of Epic Rewards we have made available to date.

Despite our best efforts to predict the response, demand was overwhelming, resulting in our being out of stock very quickly. We deeply regret this and apologize to our Beauty Insider clients who did not get a chance to participate.  

At Sephora our first and foremost priority is to give our clients an exciting and fulfilling shopping experience.  Those Beauty Insiders who were unable to get one of our limited quantity Epic Rewards, please email us by Tuesday, August 25, 2015, to epicrewards@sephora.com and include your Beauty Insider account number or email address associated with your account. 

Beyond that, please know that we are committed to learning from this experience. Thank you for your ongoing support. We greatly appreciate you.

**********************

Updated August 17

Thank you to everyone who has been reaching out to us about Epic Rewards. We value your feedback and recognize your ongoing loyalty to us, and we are working to get back to you quickly.

To that end, please know that if you have contacted us you will hear back from us in direct response to your inquiry during the period between Tuesday, August 25th through Tuesday, September 1st. The timing of the response to you will depend on when we received your initial contact regarding Epic Rewards.

If you haven’t contacted us yet, please email us at epicrewards@sephora.com. We’ve set up this dedicated mailbox to collect the right information quickly and accurately, separating you from the queue for general Sephora inquiries. When you email us at this address, it will generate an automated response that confirms we’ve received the message. You can then expect to hear back from us as quickly as possible with more information.

Please know that our team is listening, and we take your concerns to heart. We value your support, and we will be in touch soon.

With our sincerest thanks,

The Beauty Insider Team

*************************************

Updated September 1

Thank you to everyone who reached out to us about Epic Rewards. We have reached out to all of those members who emailed us on or before August 25th, and are no longer accepting new submissions. epicrewards@sephora.com has been closed. Please contact us at 1-877-SEPHORA (1-877-737-4672) regarding any other questions or concerns. We have reviewed your feedback and are taking it into consideration as we plan for future promotions. Our loyal Beauty Insiders are enormously important to us.

[krtty1125]

I just have to say that although someone has probably already made this point, the last time there were good rewards the exact same thing happened.  How could they have done such a bad job predicting response?  I might buy this excuse if they had never done an "epic reward" type promo, but clearly this is a gimmick they have used, and probably plan to use, repetitively.

The other thing I don't understand is why there was no notification when they pulled the trigger.  Then we could have at least had a chance of getting in on it.  Oh wait - I'll bet the website couldn't have handled all of the traffic.  But if they only way to find out is to buy something and hope you get lucky, then I think that is pretty bad.

Maybe I'll get lucky next time.

[playingdressup]

This message from Sephora is giving me déjà vu. I wish they wouldn't feign regret or apologies. Clearly the last apology/regret was dishonest as the laughably low chances of winning seem the same. Maybe they mean it this time and are looking for a solution, but I doubt it. Sephora has a D- rating through the Better Business Bureau. I was kind of shocked when I saw that, but I guess I shouldn't be! 

I've seen lots of people describe the epic rewards as a lottery, and it got me thinking how right they are. It really seems like one rather than a loyalty program perk as Epic Rewards were not “available” in the rewards boutique or held in the shopping basket until checkout (or maybe it's more like a sweepstake, I'm not a lawyer or a business person so idk). Anyway, those types of operations have regulations that are set by the state in order to protect consumers. I emailed the address above to ask for the kind of information that I think usually must be available during the operation of a sweepstakes, contest or lottery... i.e. exact quantity of prizes available, projected participation, percentage of chance for winning. I really don’t see Sephora adding more quantity of the rewards (so it is more in line with a point perk, makes people happy, etc), but if they continue with this limited-weird-lottery type event I think they need to operate with transparency. 

[bratknits]

I couldn't believe the D- rating at the BBB so I looked it up.  Yep, it's there.  Guess which major .com competitor has an A+...

[notcreative]

See, even Candace knows Italics is the universal font for sarcasm.

[greenchilli]

Maybe i should start italicizing.  I have been thanked several times this week....wrongly. 

[pixiedust2]

Happens to me all the time. I may need to embrace italics myself. 

[BaseballMommy]

I just snorted;)

[msrs5]

Okay here's what I think we can agree on.

1. We were not entitled to these epic rewards. Period.

2. However, Sephora's decision to market the **** out of the epic rewards this time around, especially coupled with it's 2x 3x 4x the points promotion leading up to the epic rewards release, only caused disappointment.

3. "Extremely limited supply" means nothing without a relative number- Sephora should have indicated how many of each reward was available so that people could calculate their odds and then either make the decision to try anyway or just not bother.

4. VIB Rouge members (myself included) are probably the most outraged because Sephora has continually let them down.  Promising that being a VIB Rouge will come with tier-specific perks and awesome opportunities, and then not following up on that promise, can become incredibly frustrating for those who are very loyal to the brand.  You wouldn't want to work your way up to Executive Platinum status with American Airlines and then be told you don't get any free upgrades or perks, would you?  The way I see it, people are especially upset this time around not because they felt they *deserved* these epic rewards, but because it's the last proverbial straw in a series of disappointing moves made by those who run the Beauty Insider program.

5. The Beauty Insider program has been lacking in substance for the past year or so.  The 500-point perks, which some have mused cost Sephora nothing, have felt lackluster at best.  Personally, I haven't redeemed a 500-point perk for quite some time, having found that they were simply not worth it.  If Sephora could introduce 1000-point perks more frequently, say once a month, people may find things they actually want to redeem for and feel that they are actually earning a "reward" and thus being rewarded for their loyalty to Sephora.  Most people were frustrated because these epic rewards finally provided a chance to get a reward of substance and yet were in such limited supply that only a handful of people could obtain them.

6. Whatever you decide to do going forward is your choice.  As a 12-year customer, I'm too disappointed to make further purchases at Sephora, but that is a personal choice.  If I see Sephora make some changes to the Beauty Insider program, then I will be back.  I hope in the meantime that the administration and PR team are reading some of these comments and forwarding them to the individuals who can make a difference.

7.  Lastly, this is obviously not the end of the world.  Those who continue to post here and state that "everyone needs to get over it" or that "this is such a first world problem" are not only not adding anything of substance to the debate, but are actually making some people feel bad about themselves.  As a long-time lurker of BT, I felt it necessary to put my thoughts into words after feeling uncomfortable with the way some people are addressing this topic.  Please keep in mind that your opinions are always valid, but may be stating a point that is obvious yet not helpful to the discussion.

Keep on being fabulous, ladies.

-Savannah

[jellybean917]

I love how you stated everything here. Stepping back as you have will lead to productive discussions about the situation, and hopefully Sephora will listen to our reason.

[adelina]

Hi Savannah, I agree with you completely about #4! Being a rouge means absolutely NOTHING just that you spend loads amount of money while getting the "perks" of a VIB since I honestly can't tell the difference in rewards. I agree with everything! What could Sephora possibly do to "reward" us if we email them? Give us more points? For those EPIC 100 point samples???

[notcreative]

Well,

I have no need for points, mega rewards, or anything else. And,

And, I already know

The funniest thing about this thread to me is the response to the community is written in all bold (which people use in place of CAPS for yelling/emphasis), and it is written in Italics (the universal font for sarcasm).

I pretty much agree with most of what you said, except, I will keep shopping with Sephora when they have the best deal.

[spotspotcat]

Yes! No one beats a good Sephora Favorites kit!

[surfgirlmiami]

I agree with most of your points. In regards to Sephora not "owing" us anything, you're right- they don't. But based on competitors' rewards/perks, I think there's a reasonable expectation of getting more out of Sephora's rewards program. I'm sure people will disagree with my "reasonable expectation" thing, but I'm just commenting on how Sephora can be more competitive.

If Sephora had stated the number of each reward available, I wouldn't be as disappointed because if I knew how many were available, it would be unreasonable for me to expect to grab something. They'd also be saving themselves A LOT of trouble, as I don't believe there would be as much outrage.

As a fellow VIB Rouge, yes the program is definitely lacking. But it is what it is, I suppose.

[Libellules]

I think my view on this whole thing has shifted quite a bit over the past few days.

While Sephora only "owes" it's customer products/services in exchange for monies paid, they do taut this as a *rewards* program. Which means rewards should be available for the exchange of points. What kind of rewards remains to be seen. 

Then there's this whole "Epic Rewards" issue that was run more as a lottery/sweepstakes. Rather than rewards that someone with points can redeem for. Since many of us couldn't add anything to our carts or even see them. I'm just saying...usually lotteries/sweepstakes have more rules and regulations they can abide by. While it isn't something I have any interest/time/energy in pursuing...I could see how this *could* be legal fodder for someone. But past what I've stated, I'm not familiar enough with laws and regulations to say anything further. Just thinking out loud :).

[marquisliz]

Im pretty sure they will just give us more points, that we wont be able to spend on any good perks!

[tiri]

For all the people who are hung up on Sephora and the CEO stating they will "make it right."... I just want to make it clear....

At no point did anyone have a RIGHT to the rewards. Whether they said it was a limited supply, extremely limited supply, or ## of each reward, at no point were we (6 million plus fans on sephora facebook, subtract some with not enough points, add ppl who don't do facebook) ALL going to get rewards and at no point were we promised that we will all get one.  So at most, whatever right everyone had was a chance to redeem a reward; a really good chance, a really low chance, a mediocre chance, but whatever the likelihood is just a chance.... 

So those who are saying Sephora can make it right only by GIVING you free products, I don't think you understand what right, if any, you had when the rewards were announced.  Sephora can make it right by giving ppl points and then holding another event where ppl have MUCH BETTER CHANCES at getting rewards.... (more 1000 rewards more frequently throughout yr, better 500 pt rewards, etc) But truly, you are being unreasonable to demand that everyone should receive not better chances but the actual rewards themselves. 

[FalseFroggs]

^^^ THIS x100000!!!

Took the words right out of my mouth! Can't believe the way some people are reacting here!

[sabinad]

Right. It was a race. Some people won. I lost. lol. But I did give it my all!!

[Tiiiiiffany]

❤️ right back at ya 😉

I will however take the full PTR collection as my "making it right" gift! Hahahaha!

[Tiiiiiffany]

I've been reading these comments for 3 days now, (Frequent BT lurker, what can I say; This place is great! Usually.) 🙂 And I reallllly need to say that; Anyone who went out and spent x amount of $$ to purposely rack up points, I'm sorry but with all the talk on rewards from past years... Kinda silly.

- A disappointed VIBrouge with over 5k points whom moved on with her life around 3:30pm august 10th.

[Libellules]

" And I reallllly need to say that; Anyone who went out and spent x amount of $$ to purposely rack up points, I'm sorry but with all the talk on rewards from past years... Kinda silly." Completely agree!

I haven't quite moved on because I just find this beyond interesting - blame it on the business degree / day job.