Why was I suddenly banned from returns

[Anjr1]

Hi there,

I really felt like sharing my story since this has bothered me so much. I was in the Sephora line yesterday trying to return something on two different receipts and there was a tiny receipt that popped after saying I'm banned from doing returns. Not a gift card even. The associate said I should call and discuss but the fact it happened even is mind-blowing 

I've been a hardcore loyal customer of Sephora for well over a decade. For many of those years, I was a rouge member. So I was easily racking in over $1000 a year. Right now alone I must have around $5000 Sephora points on my file unused. 

Since the pandemic, what we used to have access to were samples. We could easily try products without buying the wrong color, these are not options anymore. For people spending hundreds of dollars at a time, this should be an option. So what do we do? We buy multiple colors to see if we can match ourselves or if our skin will like the product. As someone with sensitive skin who breaks out easily the fact I will break out with a certain product is possible as well. 

When I've asked the staff at my location for help I've never had a good clear match on foundation. I asked one person to match me and she said just try them on. It's not like when you go into a Mac store or department store where they are so thorough. So not sure how trained the staff is to match us at Sephora locations as opposed to makeup artists. 

Still, I didn't mind finding my own right match as I always trusted in the Sephora return policy. 

So yes, most of the time I just try to match myself but when you are ordering online or it's super busy in my location sometimes with no one to always help we may miss the right match. Not to mention the lighting inside is so much different at home. 

Sephora sales were something I really looked forward to but I'm not sure anymore. The sales associates definitely push the fact you can try things on and return if they don't match which is so misleading to the consumer. And nowhere does it say this could happen on your website. 

I was humiliated today. When the sales associate said she'd never seen this happen before. That seems to be a very common statement said to many girls who got banned I've been reading "they've never seen this before" says the associate. As a professional helping a client like myself please train the staff to use more professional language. It makes the consumer feel very embarrassed. Especially when other people are listening and you are holding up a line. 

And please be clear about the policy. Probably in the grand scheme of things we are just another person and there are many like us so it doesn't matter. But was pretty dehumanizing today. 

I come to Sephora because well it's been fun for me until yesterday but there was nothing fun about going through that. Maybe Sephora look at the amount of stuff I exchanged for colors only or the fact I kept more than I returned. Or look at the big picture in what I bought in my lifetime at the company as opposed to what I recently returned. Then make a decision on a return ban. 

I'm not sure what to do here. It feels as though im certainly not valued at a long time customer and that burns. I have to use my points but I'm not sure my value is respected as a long time client enough to keep making future purchases beyond that. 

As we get older we like to feel a form of respect to a brand we gave so much to all these years. Yesterday was the furthest feeling from that. 

Spoiler

[sgifford1234]

This is terrible, especially since I have recently asked for a sample (because returning is wasteful) and had this request met with “just buy it and return it if you don’t like it.”

[krysafe]

the same thing happened to me this week!!!! i spend thousands on sephora annually, i am a rogue and bought a bunch of shades of a bunch of different foundations for the sale spending a couple thousand bucks. and i did a piece of the return when i got that print out WITH NO WARNING so i have multiple shades of three different expensive foundations at my house as well as a few different primers i was trying that made me break out. i cannot be expected to keep wrong shades when i couldn’t try in store and products that made me break out. sephora has always said try it out you can return it!!!! i keep WAYYYYY more than i would ever return. i’m so appalled and upset i don’t think i’ll ever be able to shop at sephora again while i’ve been a loyal sephora shopper for 15 years spending thousands a year. i really don’t even return that much though so i am incredibly shocked needless to say. my sister spends more at sephora than i do annually and returns way more annually and she hasn’t gotten the print out but is scared to shop at sephora again either cos i am currently stuck with about $800 of product i cannot use. if it makes you feel any better i was shown today that i am not a valued customer at sephora either. it doesn’t really hurt from a brand you’re a top tier buyer at and that is your favorite.

[LaurieBT]

Hi @krysafe,

I'm sorry for the trouble and I'll send you a message shortly.

Warm regards,

Laurie

[DaneeBT]

Hi @Anjr1

I'm sorry to hear about this. I will send you a private message in just a moment.

Regards,

Danee

[Anjr1]

Thanks, 

I would appreciate that.