Here is the final update on my ordeal with Rimmel London/Coty Inc customer service. Watch and find out what 'complimentary product' they sent me as reward for my success in contacting them. It was quite the feat!
I love Zappos.com... The backstory of how the company was created, how they treat their employees, their hiring practices that ensure the right people get jobs - their entire outlook on business is commendable in my opinion.
Zappos customer service is second to none, and as a consumer I happily pay for products from them even if I could find them for slightly cheaper elsewhere. I find tremendous value in supporting businesses that conduct themselves properly in the above ways.
Watch my video about my collection of shoes from Zappos, and hear about my experience with returning a sub-standard pair of shoes made by Ole'Ion.
Not only did Zappos quickly replace the poor quality shoes that I received originally, the customer service representatives that I engaged with had so much character. The shoes I ordered originally were out of stock making it impossible for them to replace, and that was obviously an embarrassment to Zappos.
That situation could be steered a number of ways that would affect my opinion of the company. The way that Zappos handled it was casual and informal; acknowledging their regret for being out of stock and still resolving the problem. I got an e-mail directing me to choose any equal or lesser value pair of shoes instead of the out of stock pair (normal correspondence in this case), and it was signed by Captain Anomaly. I found that quite humorous and won't forget it.
Anywho, Zappos took my disappointment and turned it around into a positive story I've found myself sharing with quite a few people. Most of those I've talked to already know how great Zappos is and share with me stories about having ordered something Tuesday morning and it arriving Wednesday afternoon, etc.
If you like to shop online or need a new pair of shoes, I recommend that you check out Zappos.com. You will not be disappointed.
To follow up with you about my Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro ordeal, I did make contact with their parent company, Coty. I formally contacted them on March 28th, and then again on April 18th after not hearing back. I got an e-mail on April 19th that read: Dear Hillary:
Thank you for telling us about your dissatisfaction. We're sorry to
hear you've had this experience with our Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Nail
Polish in Hard Metal.
You do not need to return the product to us. If you should have another
problem with a Coty product in the future, however, we will ask you to
return it to us for evaluation.
We hope you enjoy the complimentary product you will be receiving within
10-12 business days and that future purchases of Coty brands meet your
expectations.
So, I don't need to return the bad polish THIS time but if I have a problem in the future I will have to pay to ship them the product in order to prove that something is wrong with it before they will replace it. Mind you, I sent them a PICTURE of the undeniably defective brush.
I am awaiting the arrival of the above mentioned "complimentary product". I
think what they meant to say was "replacement product". If there is not a complimentary product accompanying the replacement polish I will be offended. In fact, that will be the deciding factor on whether I continue to buy Coty products. Sound ridiculous?
I have worked in customer service for almost ten years and have extensive training in handling customer complaints and turning all negative experiences into positive. If I am representing a business, I will do whatever I can to ensure the clientele are pleased. I have managed restaurants and served as the face of customer service in world-class facilities. I know that the cost of replacing a faulty product with a smile (especially something so cheap as a nail polish) is far less than the price of a lost customer.
It is at the discretion of the customer service representative to take the number of complaints by any customer into consideration before granting a replacement product or service. In my training, you don't question a customer on their complaint unless they have been dissatisfied three or more times out of the ten most recent transactions. In that case the question should be, 'how can we get it right the first time?'
Coty/Rimmel has made me feel like the bad guy in a situation where I simply received a defective item. They could have replaced it from the get-go and I would have continued on filming my glowing review of their product. Instead, I have had this encounter with their customer service that has completely and utterly changed my opinion of an otherwise wonderful brand/nail polish. Now, inevitably, I will have to address this in my review. Worse than that, I will remember this every time I browse for polish.
I will update you about what I receive in the mail.
I found out tonight that Papa Johns put 15 extra rewards points in to all accounts! The points are free and can be used from April 12-17th. So that means either tonight or tomorrow before stores close you will need to redeem the points, otherwise they will disappear!
This passed Saturday we ordered a pizza and wings and at the time we had enough points for a free pizza, but we decided to pay full price and save the points for a rainy day. Come today, two days later and we find out that we got a bonus 15 points added to our rewards account! Don't doubt me when I tell you my boyfriends expression was simply stunned as I told him we "had" to have pizza for dinner. That literally took no convincing whatsoever and he wasn't exactly concerned with why.
Just wanted to post a picture of what we picked up tonight (still attempting to upload) and let people know they have 15 free points that will expire when stores close tomorrow night 4/17!
Using the 15 bonus points plus ten we'd already banked, we got the pizza for free (pepperoni, pineapple, jalapeno) and ordered a side of bread sticks ($5.49). I tipped 1.50 at carry out bringing the total to just $7.00.
I don't think I'll make a video about this experience because I have already made so many about my positive interactions with Papa Johns. I think they have a genius marketing team and their promotions are on point. The in store employees, although largely uninvolved in the Rewards Points program, are very friendly and accommodating.
Previous Videos By Me About Papa Johns:
Point: Go order Papa Johns!!
www.PapaJohns.com
This is not a sponsored post. Contact: utubinit@gmail.com
I have been planning to make a video raving about my collection of Rimmel's Lasting Finish Pro polish.
Just before doing the video, I found a new color I HAD to try. The color is on the far right below and is called 282 Hard Metal.
(Bella with) My Collection:
When I opened the Hard Metal bottle, I was sad to see that less than half of the bristles were there.
I went to the Rimmel website to let them know I got a faulty product, and was redirected to a website for Coty Inc. I was required to provide what I felt to be an abundance of unnecessary contact information. I thought it odd that they required my full name, address and phone number just to submit a comment; but I figured in my case it would be easier for them to get me a replacement that way.
After sending the message explaining my dilemma, I went out of town to visit my grandma for a week. During that time, we went shopping and I showed her the Rimmel polishes in a store. I told her about the polish being my favorite - and also about the brush issue I'd contacted them about. She said she's been a Rimmel makeup fan for a long time (hadn't heard of the polish though) and added with confidence, "they'll take care of you".
Well, it's been over a week and I am sad to report that I haven't even gotten a response from Coty Inc or Rimmel. I'm left wondering if I should do a video review of the polishes now. I truly love the polish and lots of qualities it offers, but this neglect by the company leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. If I do make a video, instead of raving I think I'll be ranting.
The square bottles had me at hello, but maybe it's time to revert back to OPI. Or start using Kiss Nail Dress more often!
As for Rimmel: I can be contacted at utubinit@gmail.com if they want to replace the Hard Metal polish. I suggest they and the folks at Coty Inc watch and take notes from the below video by customer service expert Shep Hyken:
Showing you my FREE large pizza and 2-liter of Pepsi Max! Friends, including a Pizza Hut
Restaurant General Manager, have chatted with glee to me about their free Papa
John's pizzas.
The above video was made on Feb 7th after the first
"scam" comment on my original video:
I continue to receive
comments of that nature so, even though the video is nothing to be proud of, I want people to know that Papa John's did not rip anyone off.
Not only do you have to have ordered from Papa John's before, but you
have to have placed at least one of those orders online while signed in
to your Rewards Points account.
There are always
customers who don't meet all the requirements of a promotion, return policy, etc or just flat out lie to try and get free products; and who try to blame the
business for it. This free pizza giveaway cost Papa John's a pretty penny;
leaving no room for unverified claims of "the system screwed me
over".
Do you know how many Pizza Hut customers probably tried to pretend they had an account with Papa John's that just was 'lost'?
Do you know how close to impossible it is for ALL records of your membership to be lost?
If Papa John's customer service cannot prove you had a membership with them prior to the giveaway, then you should have a copy of your registration confirmation in your e-mail history. Papa John's is not responsible for keeping those records for you.
Additionally: The in-store employees DO NOT have access to anything
related to your Papa Rewards Points, so contact Papa John's via the
e-mail address you registered on their site with. Until you have done
that, don't call it a scam.
I posted this video last month after having an incredible experience with Papa John's and their customer service representatives.
I have a long work history in the pizza industry from service to management and I am so impressed with Papa John's as a company recently that I find myself here commending them once again.
Here is the video I originally posted:
To break it down for you in case it was hard to follow the first couple minutes:
My room mate wanted to order pizza one night. Since she didn't have a Papa Rewards Points membership I asked if we could place the order on my account. I hadn't ordered since moving in to the house, and was sad to see our address was "out of range". Not wanting to lose the points for the order (points are given for orders placed online only), I contacted the restaurant to see what my options were. The manager told me to order online using the "Carry Out" option and then to call him back and he would override the system to allow delivery.
I did what I was told and later in the evening e-mailed the website to see if that needed to be how I ordered from then on. They responded that it was.
So a week down the road I was informed via e-mail that I was a winner in the Million Pizza Giveaway. When we ordered that pizza, we received another e-mail saying we won again!! I ordered the second FREE pizza and went to pick it up - along with a couple 20Oz Cokes. The next day we were notified that because we purchased Coke products with our pizza we won a free music download.
Following all of that excitement, I received a postcard in the mail granting me a free pizza of my choice, signed personally by the General Manager at my neighborhood location.
I was completely blown away by this, honestly feeling borderline guilty for the overload of free pizza. That led me to making the video above.
Fast Forward A Month:
Just as I was discussing with my friends and room mates that we didn't see a single pizza commercial during Superbowl 2012, I caught a glimpse of the story online that Papa John's was giving a free pizza and two-liter of Pepsi Max away to every Papa Reward Points member because some of us participated in a coin toss prediction and were correct. I did not participate in that, but I did get a free pizza code around 8PM last night in my e-mail.
Instead of spending millions on a 30 second ad, they are putting that money towards giving away millions of free pizzas. Kudos, Papa John's for going above and beyond to keep your customers happy. Other consumer brands should seriously consider adopting your marketing and customer relation strategies.
#FreePapaJohns @PapaJohns
A few things to keep in mind when redeeming your free pizza, and any other time you order: - Tip your driver or server at least 20% of the non-discounted price. You would be surprised how many people do not tip even when an order is free, and with an overload of these free orders coming in over the next week, the drivers will especially appreciate a generous gratuity from you. - Consider ordering a side itemlike cheese sticks or chicken wings to help the store control P+A. Promos and allowances should be under a certain % of daily sales. You can bet your behind that Papa John's is taking a HUGE hit in that area with this promotion. I estimate about 30% of their daily sales for the next few days will be P+A. - Provide a phone number you are available at, a correct and complete address including any special instructions that would be helpful to the driver, and turn on a porch light that illuminates your house number.
