I'm insulting the be labeled a "ROOKIE."

[MidnightDreamer]

 I'm VIB Rouge and spend lots of money at Sephora every year.  I am insulted by this new "Rookie" label that Sephora has slapped on my profile.  It's insulting and demeaning and frankly inappropriate.

In addition, lately Sephora has had terrible customer service.  I order items and receive empty shipping boxes with only samples.

The samples are a joke too, why even bother asking us when they send us random junk that I just throw in the trash.  Nordstrom asks what I want and ALWAYS sends me the exact sample I choose unlike Sephora who NEVER sends the sample I pick.

When I complained to Sephora about not getting the item (no longer available) that I paid for and ordered and received an empty shipping box, I was promised a return phone call from someone named "Dan Dan." You guessed it, she NEVER CALLED ME BACK.

Now, I'm a "Rookie" and shame on you Sephora for judging your long time customers with stupid labels.  Your web site is down more than it's up and now I'm no longer a valued customer, as I'm a "ROOKIE."

Sephora, you are nothing to me.  I will take my 1K $ plus that I shop at your store and go to Nordstrom where I'm valued, not labeled a "Rookie," and I actually get the samples I pick out.

[jozkid]

@veronika23 Sephora trifecta!

[CHollywood]

@veronika23 😂 i actually have thought ab that myself tbh-like what all needs to be done right? 😂 so yeah i know exactly what you mean but we aren't sitting here screaming or raging mad bc of it simply bc it's not going to get us anywhere so we either complain and look like a winey 10yr old,or just go with it and keep doing what we always have 😊 id rather leave stuff we can't change alone and go with the old "good things come to those who wait" saying 😂 #Rookies4Life !!! Hahahaha!

[veronika23]

@CHollywood  all we can do is laugh about it!  Yup Rookies 4 life! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[CHollywood]

@veronika23 heheheheeee 😂

[MidnightDreamer]

That's fine but I do not think it's complementary to have "Rookie" next to your name when one reviews a product, and like me, very few people will know what it means except that it makes anyone with that moniker look foolish.  This is a very judging and inappropriate way to treat customers.  May of whom are busy professional women who don't have the time to post to forums.  This is absurd. I only found forums to find out how to remove that moniker from my profile.  I have zero interest in chatting about make-up.

[veronika23]

Everyone that has a profile on Sephora has that title. It won't get removed and won't change if you don't participate. Unfortunately you are stuck with it. We all are.

[DaneeBT]

Hi MidnightDreamer,

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience with us and thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. I'm going to send you a private message so I can gather a bit more information.

Always,

Danee

[MidnightDreamer]

Can you please direct me to the direct message area of this site.  I do not see your message.  Thanks.

[k617]

@MidnightDreamer 

 Our point is, you are indeed inexperienced and new to the community like everyone else. 

[MidnightDreamer]

Regarding the empty box I got, I got a refund but I wanted what I ordered and it is no longer available. It was the Iconic VIB playbox. I read so many complaints on your website from many other people who also didn't get their Iconic playbox after paying and ordering it. The new VIB playbox is terrible and in no way compares to to the Iconic playbox. Why not do a second run of the exact same Iconic playbox with the exact same items for all of us who were stiffed by your ineptitude in shipping? Regarding the samples- I do not believe for one second that I get substitute samples for out of stock samples. I once did a test and made 3 separate online orders and selected specific samples. Not one single sample I selected made it into my order, however, other boxes had the samples I selected from other boxes. Nothing was out of stock. I think whomever packs the orders doesn't care at all and randomly grabs a sample out of a bin. I asked a store manager and he said he thinks that is what happens too. He said he's been to Sephora shipping warehouses and it's a huge hot mess. So, when I got a big empty box without my Iconic playbox and samples I didn't select, I complained to Customer Service which DID NOT RETURN the call they promised- it's clear you guys don't care about your customers at all. I'm so tired of excuses. The point thing is terrible too. I ordered two 100 point items last month and got a sorry out of stock. Frankly, you send emails offering great stuff most of which I never receive when ordering. There is a serious breakdown and problem with your company. After all I've spent and all the problems with my orders you now have this insulting system of calling me and many other loyal VIBs "Rookie." How absolutely horrible that label is. For professional women shopping online to save time we are treated like children. Shame on you Sephora! Bottom line. Either ship out samples we request or stop pretending we select items and just admit your shipping department does whatever they want regardless of our selections. Two, bring back the exact same Iconic playbox for all of us who were stiffed by Sephora when we ordered it the first time and it never was sent out to us. Third, remove the insulting "Rookie" tag from my profile immediately.

[melissy]

wow i hope you are joking. for real its money spent on makeup. are u a princess in life or something. do u think it u walk into a store u should be treated better than a customer spends 100 ummm NOOOO. sure offer extra samples more discount. But not the royal status u think u deserve. this is a forum status not how much u spend status. post and your status will upgrade. simple

[k617]

I didn't realize it gets worse the further down I read. You are literally a rookie if you are barely active here. If you want the title, work for it.

[Anonymous]

yikes. 

[sabrinas]

@MidnightDreamer Is this real life right now.... You yourself said you aren't active on here so if you aren't, why do you care so badly that it says Rookie? Who gives a rats rear, seriously... This seems like a joke lol.  These boards have gotten so toxic since the change which is so upsetting 😞

[MidnightDreamer]

To answer your question, sabrinas:

My complaint about the "Rookie" label has nothing to do with boards or forums.  I don't care about them at all.

What I do mind is that anytime a person reviews an item is says "Rookie" right next to their screen name for every single review.  Before I even read their review my first inclination is, "Oh, this person is inexperienced."  That is human nature to think that.  That is what rookie means.

Definition of rookie

1. 1:  recruit; also :  novice

Since most will not want to participate in forums, like me, we will be "Rookies" forever when we review products and that I do find insulting to customers.  No other online mainstream company does something like that.  

My first reaction was to figure out what was going on which brought me to this forum to inquire.  Now that it appears to be something that is connected to posting in forums I learned we will all be "Rookies" until some undetermined time.  

It appears to be a marketing ploy to force people to post more and then they can say that there is a specific amount of traffic in their social media portion of their online store when they show their quarterly profits.  It's all marketing and it's poorly conceived and it's demeaning to many of us.

[Supermeow]

I'm not sure why you're so heavily invested in what complete strangers think of you as a person who leaves reviews about makeup on the Sephora website. Is having sway over someone's opinion that important? If so, please consider a career in education. This isn't worth the energy you're expending.

I'm sorry that you're not able to discern the difference between "forum rookie" and "life rookie." I'd be interested in knowing what Sephora's sales demographics look like, but here's a thought: I have a feeling internet sales skew internet-savvy, and this new community is for those shoppers, and maybe stores skew... you? That's all it is. It's not meant to demean you, busy professional with no time to waste except the time you've wasted assuring everyone here how little time you have to waste on this.

Truly, I hope you find peace. The effort you're putting into being angry about a forum label isn't worth it.

[suzyo]

I might be blind but I was just reading reviews for a face mask and didn't see any status labels, nothing that says rookie or any beauty insider tier. Am I crazy here?

[RGbrown]

@suzyo

I just checked (desktop, Windows, Chrome since platform seems to matter in so many other things lately) and many reviews don't have them (can you even leave reviews without registering? Maybe they are reviews Sephora pulled from the brand's site instead of written specifically on Sephora's site? I dunno). Some reviews do have the titles though. 

[suzyo]

@RGbrown Yeah I tried Safari and Chrome but didn't look too much. I even looked at my own and there is nothing. Strange I guess. I figured it was a glitch because there seems to be a circle for profile pics but they are all blank...

[veronika23]

@suzyo@RGbrown. Old reviews don't have this but new ones do. That's how I see it anyways 🙂

[Anonymous]

@MidnightDreamer  I don't want to mischaracterize what you're saying, so please correct me if I am wrong.  I think that you're concerned that when people read one of your reviews, they won't accord it the weight that you think appropriate because the label "Rookie" undermines your real status.  Is that right?  You pointed out that you are a VIB Rouge and therefore are not a "Rookie".  

First, I believe that your BI status (BI, VIB, or ROUGE) is also part of your label. In fact, I just checked and your BI status comes before your "Rookie" status. 

Second, and I certainly cannot speak for anyone but myself, I don't really care how much money a person has spent at Sephora when I decide whether I trust their review.  If anything, I think that there should be a special designation for the professional makeup artists in our little corner of the internet.  I think I'd be more inclined to take a review to heart if I knew that the person who wrote it applies makeup, on different people, day in and day out, as their profession as opposed to some who choses to devote a significant amount of disposable income on whatever Sephora happened to sell in a calendar year.

TL: DR: I think that the only people with any standing to be insulted by the "Rookie" title are professional makeup artists and don't worry because your Rouge status appears right before Rookie so people will know that yours is the most important opinion ever. (Sorry for that slightly sarcastic last bit).