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.

[trishavt]

Interesting. I suspected as much so I asked if everyone was getting the same number of points or it varied depending on the customer. I was informed that everyone was getting 500 points. So based on what you've reported and how many points I received, we once again have an honesty issue with Sephora.

Im not sure how they decide how many points a customer gets. I just qualified for VIB Rouge through 2016 so I wonder if those that received 1000 points are VIB Rouge through 2017 or more? I wish they would be more transparent about their decision making.

[etscore1]

Oh for f*cks sake... "honesty" issue? Does anybody really think that any of this is personal? Honesty and dishonesty centers around intentionally deceitful and malicious actions intended to cause pain. Honesty and dishonesty are facts, not opinions - people/companies either are dishonest (which is an intentional act, by the way) or they're not.

Ask anyone who actually managed to get a perk how painful Sephora's process was. Ask them how hurt and deceived they feel. Those people are proof that what Sephora promoted and promised was available if you happened to be lucky enough to catch it. So just because someone is b u t thurt over not being one of the lucky few doesn't change the facts that there were very few rewards and only a certain number of people would receive them.

Further proof that this clusterf*ck of crisis management isn't intentionally malicious or honesty related is that if the influx of posters over the last 72 hours is any indication of the qualities of a "Sephora fan" and thus someone who would potentially be interested in being employed by Sephora, it's pretty clear what we're dealing with when it comes to the competency of the lowest level of customer service representatives. 

Spoiler

Sorry competent Sephora employees - KUTGW.

[trishavt]

Do you work for Sephora?

[BaseballMommy]

I just have to comment to say "clusterf*ck" is one of my favorite words:)

I actually just sent it in a text describing my feelings on something not epic rewards related, because, you know, there is life outside of here.

[meecheroo]

People will be receiving points? I sent an e-mail days ago, but I did not receive anything. Were we supposed to receive points? Or we had to call to get those?

[meganlisa]

I sent in the email...as they requested...I did not call.

I got a standard form response...saying they would get back to me.  I did not get points...at least not so far.

I'm not sure I could make a civil phone call to complain just for points.  I have points..I'm trying to decide which mascara/mini perfume/etc I want 50 more of.

[annec322]

I'm still waiting on a response as well...I guess I couldn't resist the curiosity of what would happen if I emailed them... 🙂

[KellW]

You can only qualify for the next year. Nobody is able to qualify for 2017 yet. But the point difference is still annoying with it's inconsistencies.

[bratknits]

It's the shipping charge if for orders under $50 if you don't have Flash or aren't Rouge.  Another version of sorrynotsorry so buy more stuff.

[misscg]

I think I spent my $5.95 on a eyeliner or something in May. I almost forgot about that, smh.

[MUAStephM]

$5.95? lol What?!? 

[misscg]

Odd indeed.

[nenta]

Long time lurker, first time commenter here on Beauty Talk.  I just wanted to drop my idea into the suggestion box.

Why not have these Epic Rewards run like Allure Magazine holds their giveaways?  "Sign up between XXpm and XXpm to enter for your chance to win one of 50 1,000 point rewards."  This way there would be transparency about how many rewards are available, and what time to be at the computer.  It feels like this Epic Rewards event was run like a contest anyway, but the "prizes" were given to people with the fastest internet connection/computer/clicking finger.  People would be disappointed if they didn't snag a reward, but not angry, I don't think.

I'm not sure how you would get around making people buy something in order to add the reward they won to their basket.  Perhaps you could start making it possible to add/buy a reward without making a purchase at the time of redemption.  I believe it is possible to do this in store, so why not online?  The customer has already purchased enough and spent enough money to earn the reward, so why should one need to make an additional purchase to redeem points?

I worked for Sephora when this rewards program was introduced.  People seemed happy with it and were excited to participate.  This was 8-9 years ago, and unfortunately Sephora has not updated the program in any way.  Looking at some of the 500 point rewards, it seems like the points have less value than they used to.  It may be time to reevaluate the program, revamp it, or update it.  Sephora is lagging behind it's competitors when it comes to loyalty and reward programs.  If Sephora is going to have a rewards program, it should feel rewarding and create loyalty to the brand.

As an aside, I am a 20 year Sephora customer, LVMH stock holder, and, like I said, former employee.  I am disappointed by how this whole thing was run and handled.  I did not try to get any of the rewards (not because they weren't awesome, but because they were products I already owned or would not use), but I'm frustrated all the same.  Will I stop shopping at Sephora?  No.  I like the exclusive brands and sets that Sephora carries.  However, I may begin to shop at other stores that have better rewards and loyalty programs.

Thank you for your time!

[SarahSoCal]

This seemed like an Epic Scam... As a VIB Rouge who spends thousands each year at Sephora alone, I was so excited to finally have something worthy of redeeming my points for. I even fell into the trap of trying to acquire more points with the 4x rewards promo event before the "release" of the epic rewards. Yes, I understand there were "limited" quantities and they are rewards, but you need to be able to spend your "reward" points on something you want or there is no reward. And while they said quantities were limited, they did not say exactly how limited (as in selling out of EVERYTHING in less than 5 minutes). When you are honest with customers about exactly how limited your quantities are, it allows the consumer to choose how much time and money they want to invest in the gamble. Like most people, I empathize and sympathize that this was a VERY poorly executed reward attempt leaving me disappointed, sad, frustrated and disgruntled with Sephora. This statement does seem like damage control when more transparency could have cut down on the failure of this reward because when people are informed they know what they are getting into and they can make educated decisions about how to spend their money and how much time to invest in looking for rewards that sold out in minutes. While a few people were in the right place at the right time and got an amazing reward, I am sure there are plenty of upset members who have been calling and this is an attempt to curb the call volume for the customer service centers, but I really feel that something bigger than a blanket apology and we are learning from this statement needs to be done to keep customer loyalty. The rewards program in general needs a complete overhaul to be on a level that is commensurate with what other merchants are offering.

As for the Epic Rewards, Epic Scam, Epic Fail..

I stayed up all night constantly checking for the release of the Epic Rewards every hour on the Sephora website and my email. I started this nonstop hourly hunt at midnight on 8/10 (since the only email Sephora sent said the rewards would be released on 8/10/15). I continued checking every hour until my last refresh at 11:58am PST. After still not seeing any epic rewards released (only "Epic Rewards coming on 8/10/15"), I took a 2 hour break to focus on clinic. Much to my chagrin, when I checked back at 2:00pm, I found the most depressing and incredibly frustrating message.. sorry you missed it but all epic rewards are sold out!! NO!!!

When I called customer service I was again confronted by an automated message constantly repeating that all epic rewards were sold out, we are sorry for the inconvenience as we only had very limited quantities available and (the icing on the cake) please check your email to ensure your Sephora emails do not go to a spam folder this way you will not miss out on future opportunities (they never sent an email stating the release!!). This whole experience left me feeling frustrated, scammed and dirty. I found out the rewards sold out in less than 5 minutes after being released at 12:00pm PST (2 minutes after I checked!!). The customer service rep kept saying even the employees did not know what time the rewards would be released, which was not consoling in any way. Also, Sephora never sent an email alerting members that the promo was in effect, so why insult us and tell us to check our email settings to prevent them from going to spam if you did not even utilize this method of disseminating information to your valuable customers about your hyped rewards.

I was also thoroughly disappointed to hear that VIB Rouge and VIB member levels were given NO priority in this promotion and that this was open to everyone worldwide regardless of their member status. What is the point of being a VIB Rouge level member if you are not even given the courtesy of perhaps a 15 minute first chance opportunity for the good promotions? At the very least Sephora could have alerted their most loyal and top tier members as to when the rewards would be unveiled. This experience makes me want to return my last few orders so that I can order straight from my favorite brands (using the discounts & rewards they offer) or go over to Nordstrom or Ulta and take advantage of my cash back. At least with Ulta, as a platinum member you do get special treatment and you can redeem all of your accumulated points for cash taken off the price of your order on top of any discount/promo code. By ordering directly from your favorite merchants/brands, at least the samples you get are ones you will use from the brand you love and 99% of the time the samples are actually the correct sample you ordered (it is now a joke when I open my Sephora box to see what samples were actually included in my order, which is so disappointing when you choose products you are actually interested in but yet you rarely get to try them because only random samples are errantly thrown into the box and no amount of phone calls or noting on your account can rectify this matter). I also feel duped because I decided to forgo using my discount codes with the brands/vendors websites in order to take advantage of the 4x rewards promotion in hopes of getting my hands on the nonexistent epic rewards.. Epic FAIL.

The VIB Rouge program really needs to be looked at in order to make the program worth the money you spend and help you to feel extra special or at least be commensurate with the rewards programs offered by other beauty merchants. In the last year there has only been 1 (ONE) event for VIB Rouge members. This was an event in the store you signed up at where you got 2 hours of exclusive shopping before the store opened as well as a special gift with purchase and supposedly free mini makeovers etc, but you had to be at the store by 9am on a Sunday! The event was from 9am to 11am on a Sunday and in hindsight, the gift with purchase (a small tote containing 6 samples (only 2.5 deluxe samples) was not worth waking up that early to rush to a store that was so busy you could not even get the complimentary mini makeovers touted in the event email. I had to wait 20 minutes to get three face wash samples after I finally found someone. This did not feel very Rouge and seems like this event was mismanaged as well. You had to sign up for a store well in advance so access should have been more restricted and limited to a manageable amount of VIB Rouge members for that store so you could have actually gotten some personalized attention or hey, even those mini makeovers promised in the email (I even went to a larger flagship stand alone store in hopes of getting more personalized attention and learning a new eye makeup look or trying a couple foundations/tinted moisturizers I've been pondering).

My other pet peeve about the VIB Rouge program is the severe lack of Rouge level promo codes. There have been plenty of VIB level promo codes (8 that are still currently active) in the last year but only 2-3 Rouge codes. The VIB Rouge program needs to offer more rewards for their members. A personal concierge by phone is not a good answer either as most of the time they tell me the wrong shades even after their color IQ machine. There should be preferential releases of rewards, such as the epic rewards being offered to Rouge level members for the first 15-30 minutes, then opening it to VIB level members for the first hour and then releasing to everyone. That would be respecting and rewarding your loyal patron members in the order that they support your store. There should be more Rouge level promo codes offering better deluxe sample combos with online purchases and Rouge level rewards offered with in store purchases too. I find that purchasing items in the store is a let down because you have to beg for samples and they aren't the deluxe style offered with online orders unless you are willing to fork over 100 points here and there. Plus your points from in store purchases do not always make it into your bank, even after emails and calls to customer service.

Other ways to show your VIB Rouge level members more love would be to offer % discounts after accumulating a certain number of points or the ability to redeem points as cash off of your orders. The 500 point rewards have already been trimmed down to 3 or 4 deluxe samples instead of 5 (seriously, there should be at least 5 deluxe samples in a 500 pt reward because 1 deluxe sample is 100 pts so mathematically the 500 pt rewards should be 5 x 100; otherwise it is really only a 400 point reward and you just lost some points to keep it in the same brand). 

Please do something for your members other than this blanket statement to help us remember why we choose to shop at Sephora. I highly encourage making the Rouge program more enticing to maintain loyalty because there are plenty of other merchants who have made their reward programs exactly that; rewarding.

[veronika23]

not really surprised this happened...

[shimmerbait]

The neb in me wants to know how much this went for.

[fashny]

I'm waiting to see that crazy Viktor and Rolf Swarovski perfume listed.  You know somebody's gonna try to sell that for like $3000.

[albablue]

It's now on sale for $2500 (bids start at over $1k). You were close lol

Edited for typos

[Chickibum]

This is disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Why? I honestly don't see anything wrong with monetizing your reward should you be quick enough to grab one.

[electricblue]

it goes against the fine print in Sepora's terms and conditions for the Epic Rewards. You cannot SELL them accord to their rules. To those, like me, who find this repugnant, if you have an eBay account please report the listing.