Birthday Gift

[JuliaBoldt]

As a Rouge member I’m supposed to have access to 4 birthday gift options, and it shows a Nars gift. But when I try to order than option, it just shows an error page and “product not carried”. Is anyone else having this issue?

[ZakiyaBT]

Hi @JuliaBoldt,

Unfortunately, the NARS Birthday Gift is currently out of stock. I do not have any information on when the VIB/Rouge gift will be updated however, you can select one of the other options if you would like. Please feel free to send me a PM if you have any further questions or concerns. 

Best,

Zakiya

[JuliaBoldt]

Hi Zakiya, 

Thanks for your response. I find that incredibly frustrating and I actually have quite a few concerns. The Nars gift being unavailable is a small thing, but it is the last straw with my tolerance for Sephora and the Beauty Insider program. 

I have been incredibly loyal to Sephora for many years, with little to no real benefits for my loyalty. Of course, I have a tier status with a fancy French name that receives lots of acknowledgment from employees, but how does that actually benefit me? It doesn't. I would rather have no status title but be able to actually use my loyalty to my benefit (i.e. in the Shoppers Optimum style of rewarding loyalty). Sephora should let us spend our points like cash, like every other successful rewards program in existence.

I have thousands and thousands of points, which I can never spend because the only way that I can spend them is on Rewards Bazaar items which are almost always 1) junk and/or 2) unavailable. I have accrued thousands of points by spending thousands of dollars, and the only rewards from which I benefit are free shipping and 20% off twice per year, neither of which are particularly generous or unique perks. I get similar perks from companies that I have no loyalty or status with - they're simply promotions, not loyalty rewards. 

The way I see it, I have spent thousands of dollars and been incredibly loyal, and have had no benefits from that whatsoever. Your Beauty Insider program is garbage and full of false promises. Honestly, it would make me less mad if you didn't even have a loyalty program - then at least I wouldn't feel like I was being misled and the victim of false advertising and unfulfilled promises. Your ridiculous "Beauty Insider Cash" was laughable. You think that I am going to spend thousands in a year to get $10 off a purchase, and not even be able to stack the $10 and use more than one in a purchase? $10 wouldn't even cover the tax for most of my Sephora purchases. Honestly, it's kind of insulting.

I know this reaction seems silly based on an unavailable gift - if this weren't typical Beauty Insider nonsense, I wouldn't mind. But things like this always happen. Unless you can provide me with some kind of incentive to stay (and we both know you can't), I am done with shopping at Sephora. I have been loyal for MANY years and spent an embarrassing amount of money, and have seen absolutely no benefit from it. It makes me kind of sad because I enjoy shopping at Sephora, but I would much rather take my money and my loyalty to Ulta or Shoppers Drugmart, where I can get the same products and my loyalty is rewarded with actual value, instead of a limited selection of the junk samples that you need to get out of your warehouse. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll be spending my thousands of dollars worth of accrued points on your Rewards Bazaar garbage to empty my account, and then taking my business elsewhere. Super excited to get 4500 points worth of dry shampoo minis and off-brand mini mascaras. How thrilling! I will consider donating the items to a women's shelter, but I don't suspect they want the junk any more than I do. 

You have seen the end of me, but I really do hope that Beauty Insider and Sephora can pull themselves together and find a way to reward loyal customers in a valuable way as Ulta and Shoppers Drugmart have done. Should that ever happen, I will gladly be back. 

Thanks for your time and warm regards,

Julia