Extraordinary Rewards Experience

[BeautyInsiderBT]

Hi Everyone,

We wanted to take a moment to let you know that we are hearing your feedback regarding today’s Extraordinary Rewards experience. If we haven’t been able to respond to you personally yet, please know that we have read your feedback and definitely understand your frustration. The rewards sold out much quicker than we anticipated, so we were unable to send out the planned email or post to our social channels. We’re sorry if you missed out on these exciting rewards. The response has been overwhelming and we are happy to announce that there will be more extraordinary rewards coming this year.

If you have specific questions or need assistance, please PM a moderator for help. We appreciate your understanding and value the helpful feedback you’ve provided here on BeautyTalk.

[nathaliew]

Unbelievable! I have waited sooooo long for these rewards. I have been saving up over 5000 points and have been checking the website constantly since the teaser came out... then I find out that they were sold out so fast that they didn't even send out emails..... How can there be such a royal screw up? What's the point of this whole reward system if you have a higher chance of winning the lottery than of trading in your points for something you really want!? Sephora: put out new extraordinary rewards NOW. I don't want to wait 6 months...make them good (no perks that can only be redeemed at a salon in NY for example) consider the fact that no one in the universe cares about some make up brand founders autograph! Forget about that and give us bigger quantities. Everyone should have a decent shot at spending their points on something a little more exciting than a deluxe sample. I for one am not spending my money at sephora so I can trade in points for a tiny lipgloss sample!!! Please show us that you care about what your costumes want. I am ready to take my business elsewhere. 

[Maddiexx19]

Of course I had a final this morning when the rewards rolled out. I didn't want to stay up all night refreshing Sephora when I had to study, but I figured as soon as I was finished with my exam I could run back to my room and treat myself to something nice! Low and behold, a huge disappointment. Even just a preview email or something along those lines would've been nice, just to give us a heads up! What's the point of buying from Sephora and just racking up more points I'm never going to be able to use?

[Shinjuku]

Sephora really needs to make this right...and not with giving out even more points to drive up point totals across the board, just causing this to happen again the next time.  I think the 3x fragrance promo to encourage buying ahead of the 'extraordinary awards' is really really sketchy. For many of these promo items, Sephora has the same item or something very similar in stock now, albeit not signed.  

Here's how you keep customers and avoid the massive level of product returns that you are going to experience in the next few days....

Let customers who qualified for one of the gifts choose their desired like for like gift, from the appropriate point level, based upon their points as of last night (to avoid the effect of all of the meaningless points handed out today). An order had to be placed to receive the gift in the first place, so it's not a total wash for Sephora. Then send those items out and really look at revamping the rewards system (... Don't do something like this ever again!)

[beachyt]

If anyone from Sephora is actually reading these responses, I'll just post here what I posted elsewhere: you guys continually have this problem of letting people purchase/redeem more than should be allowed, and definitely more than is fair. Several people were able to redeem two, three, and even four of the mega perks in some instances, and while I can totally understand their excitement over being able to finally use some of their points for those items, it's that kind of thing that leaves other people totally shut out. I wish you guys would get really strict with quantities, both in what you offer and in what clients are able to redeem. You guys finally got around to making promo codes a one-time use per account for most of them, and I think that definitely went a long way in helping promo codes to last longer, so I don't see why it can't be applied here.

Additionally, if you can't anticipate this much demand or are repeatedly surprised by how many of us would like to participate in these events then maybe you need to think about the idea of pre-ordering, or holding raffle events where a person is chosen at random to redeem for the mega reward, as opposed to it being pure luck and coincidence that people were online during the undesignated time for the top secret rewards that saw as much daylight as a vampire.

I get it, you guys have millions of customers and can't please everyone. But wouldn't it be better to let us redeem our points for Sephora gift cards and have a plethora of happy customers, versus dangling a phantom carrot over everyone and then whipping it away? I seriously don't get why we can't redeem points for gift cards -- I have almost 6k points in the bank, that should tell you that I'm not just going to redeem for gift cards and then never come back.

[Yuumei]

Well said… hopefully they take note of some of these ideas and put them to good use 😉  I really do feel that Sephora tries to keep things exciting for us, but it seems like something always goes wrong and then the backlash sounds difficult to handle… what if they just decide to stop planning these experiences for us since it seems like no one appreciates their efforts anyway 😞  Yeah, I absolutely love the idea of exchanging points for gift cards and I also think it would make A LOT of customers happy. If they're not comfortable with gift cards, how about trading our saved points for a discount… like 100 points for 10% off any item during checkout but NOT as a promo code… as a discount applied separately. Or 1000 points for $50 off at checkout with purchase of $150 or more... I wonder if something like that would work? I can't help but think of how much time and money goes into planning the events and reward experiences that they offer us, just to probably end up feeling like they have failed us every time… makes me feel bad 😞 

[lynndee562]

Going on a SEPHORA fast the rest of this month. I have to stop going on this website, its starting to turn into OCD. 

[JazaChai]

Adding separately: I think a 1000 pt reward that wasn't so limited would be good too. Last year's Marc Jacobs 1k reward was 2 full-sized products, and it was available for a long time (and also restocked). I think this is a good idea generally. We rarely get full-size rewards, so anything in that area is a step up, and a reward that isn't OOS in 15 minutes is also good in terns of everyone feeling like they got a fair shot. 

I would be 1000% in favor of having a 1k pt reward of a full-size product being a regular feature. It would give us mega-spenders some assurance that our long-term loyalty will be rewarded on par with other vendors, and generally be more satisfying than a fly-by-nite limited-release reward that frustrates 99% of your customers.

[jbana]

So I've been somewhat "discontent" over the whole situation, but after sending an email to Customer Service and reading the email I got back, I've kind of snapped.

My comment about the Extraordinary Rewards promotion was focused around the fact that there was such a poor follow-up and notification that these rewards would come around. I at least expected some sort of "Sorry that we f*cked up with the email system. I've taken note of your comment, and will be sure to follow up with the PR department/ whatever department concerned with sending out email notifications and alerting Beauty Insiders of our wonderful promotions (I added "wonderful" because I figured someone from Customer Service would want to toot their own horn just a tad more)."

Instead, I got a generic response that addressed maybe 1/10th of my actual email:

"Thank you for contacting Sephora.com.

We are sorry to hear that you were not able to take advantage of our Extraordinary Rewards promotion. We had extremely limited quantities available and they sold out very quickly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

If we can assist you further, please contact us at 1-877-SEPHORA (1-877-737-4672)

Sincerely,

Sasha

Sephora Client Services"

Did I just get a Copy-Pasted response from Customer Service? I took the time to voice a concern, and I got a response that gave me absolutely no indication that Sasha even read my message through, or gave me more than 15 seconds of her time to actually address my email. Really. Really?

Maybe other department stores and beauty boutiques just do way more than necessary. Maybe I've just got a twisted perception of what "Customer Service" means. But when I message customer service anywhere, I expect to get at least some form of a personalized email. I expect someone on the other end to read through my concerns and address me like they're also a human being with the capacity to listen, or with the reading IQ of a middle-schooler. 

I don't give a crap that there are probably hundreds of us messaging you with the same thing. The fact we emailed you means we cared enough to voice a concern. The fact that so many of us are angry enough to write things out means you should probably listen. I feel like my individual concerns were ignored and schlepped to the side, which I am NOT okay with.

Maybe this is Sasha's problem. If that's the case, Sasha shouldn't be in Customer Service. If Sasha was told by someone up the chain that they should be copy-pasting responses to each customer concern, that person needs to go away. Regardless of who's fault this is, this has reflected MORE than poorly on what Sephora represents, and what kind of ship it runs.

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive right now, and this isn't a huge deal. But it means a lot to me to feel confident that a company cares at least a tad, and if department stores like Nordstrom or Neiman can have excellent customer service, I sure has hell don't understand why Sephora, a niche company, can't. Now I am more than annoyed, and am joining the large number of people on the BT forum, who are seriously considering never shopping at Sephora ever again, VIB Rouge my *ss. 

[anaa]

Unacceptable response.  I probably will get the same blurb back in response to the email I sent them.  It's as if they're saying it's over people, nothing to see here, move on.

[quinn]

Sephora continues to lack problem solving skills. None of these rewards were made of limited items so why don't they just get more sets. Seriously, is there anyone at Sephora who can plan correctly and/or solve a problem?  

[Blackwhiskey]

Thanks, Sephora! Ulta, Nordstroms, and Bloomingdales' will be getting the majority of my business now. Too bad you carry KVD stuff or else I'd buy it elsewhere too. 🙂 

For the first time in ages I ordered from Ulta. Glad to see my banked dollars add up so I can knock some money off some products in future purchases. I don't care if the shipping gets here slow because despite being rouge, I get a lot of delays on the road anyway. 

[gxlxaxm]

Yup! Agreed! I'm glad I splurged at The Makeup Show instead of at the VIB Rouge measly 15% off sale. Here on out I'm taking my money to the makeup conventions like IMATS, The Makeup Show, Beauty Con, Phame Expo, etc. And stores like Nigel's Beauty Emporium, Naimies, and Ulta. Also glad I splurged at the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty.. Kinda funny when I posted the Ulta 21 Days on a Sephora blog they deleted the entire thing as soon as I posted the deals (before that it was up for like a month.. the deals were that good haha). The whole "VIB Rouge" thing means nothing.. we don't even get notified for these "Rewards".. more like "Extraordinary Letdowns". 

[anaa]

Thought I heard somewhere you will soon be able to buy KVD stuff directly from her website?

[jsmile]

Just want to point out that KVD line is owned by Sephora's parent company so your money is still going into their pockets

[dreambean]

 I read that on the katvondbeauty instagram,too~ https://instagram.com/p/1t5isRxa81/

 I'm really curious if that will have an impact on her items being in Sephoras,eh? (Sorry,bit off topic >w<)

[Blackwhiskey]

i hope so! i love her liquid liner but i'm going to try this eyeko one called eye do. so who knows. 😄 i fanything i'll just start using the stila one. 

[anaa]

She'd make a wise business decision if she branched out.  And you're right, there's always something else to try.  😉

[LotusBoob]

Please do more frequent "extraordinary" or higher-point rewards please! I'd love to see more full-sized products and cool things signed by the artist for 1000 or 2000 points. I never find the 500 point perks appealing, it seems like they are just 5 (or sometimes even just 4 things in the box!) 100 point perks thrown together. Lots of other makeup retailers give you this amount of free product if you spend about $50. I want see some super cool stuff and exclusives to Sephora!

[starrysparkle]

I know I am reiterating what everyone has already said but I feel that anyone who spends their hard earned money at Sephora and was looking forward to these rewards has a right to voice their concerns.

Honestly what I feel that Sephora could do is be more open and honest with us as customers.  I think this whole Extraordinary Rewards shindig could have been better communicated.  There should have been an email last week giving us an exact date and time of release.  That way by the time they do release the products everyone will have fair warning.  

I also feel the time that the rewards went live is absolutely ridiculous!  They went live around 4 am EST!!!  I'm sorry that I can not be up at 4 am on a Tuesday!  I have work, school, and a child who needs me to be rested!

I do think that there should be some type of compensation for those of us who have more than 1000 points in our banks!  After all that means that we have spent signifigant amounts of money at Sephora (and have not been happy with any or most of the lesser point perks).  You would think Sephora would see that there are a lot of people with 1000+ points and realize that we are not spending our points on what they are offering and would decide to maybe offer better perks for the 100, 250, and 500 point perks!  I know if they offered awesome rewards at those point levels I would not be stock piling my points!

I do understand that Sephora is a business and must make money to survive, but just remember without customers that incoming money will dry up very quickly.  Businesses larger than Sephora have gone out of business, so Sephora must understand they are not immune!

[kate1point8]

Well this was disappointing. I am one of the ones who's been hoarding points in hopes of something really cool to finally spend them on. I only happened to see a tiny box at the bottom of an email about 10 days ago. Since then I've checked the rewards section every day 2 times a day! Why wouldn't sephora send an actual announcement about this with a date and time for people to be prepared? Last time I remember have quite a bit of warning for the rewards, and a full disclosure on what rewards were available. Obviously I'm saying nothing thing new. Just joining the rant of frustration . Ughhh! 

[LotusBoob]

I did the same thing! I kept checking and checking and CHECKING.. so excited. If a retailer gets me excited like this for a product that I can EVENTUALLY obtain, that's okay, but in this case, I feel tricked and angry : (