Tuesday, May 27, 2014

(Yet Another) Julep Maven Warning

  Hey all!  I had one thing planned for today but the course has changed a bit.  Lots of you have heard about Julep Maven, a nail polish subscription program in which you get two to three nail polishes, beauty products, or combination thereof, for $19.99 per month.  You've probably heard some nice things about this program, the company, and its products.  You might love them and never have any issues and not mind the increasing number of hoops they make their customers jump through (the latest being, new Mavens cannot skip for more than six months in a row; those with the program before a certain date, as I was, are grandfathered in).  Or, you might have had a completely awful experience and never want to use them again.

  This past Sunday, the 25th, I realized I'd not skipped my June box and that I had an inactive card on file.  I went into mild panic mode and immediately updated my card (my order status was "processing") so I wouldn't get any credit dings, pored through my recent emails, and realized I'd never been sent a notice for this month in the first place.  As it was the weekend, all service phone lines were closed; as it's been a holiday weekend, I called first thing this morning.  The first option I chose was the cancellation option, which sent me directly to voicemail, so I called back to chat with the billing department, instead, and got through very quickly.  I addressed my concerns over my bank card with the rep and said I don't want this month's box, is there anything she could do (knowing myself what the answer would be), even as I accepted full responsibility for not paying better attention to the dates on the calendar.  No, she said, if my order hadn't gone through, that would be one thing, but it did, it was processed at 6:30 this morning, so it couldn't be backed out.  Okay, fine, I said, so I guess my next option would be to return the box to them once I received it.  No, she said, Maven boxes are non refundable.  I had my window to skip and after that, I'm sheeeeooooot out of luck (my words, not hers).  So Julep would rather me hold on to $20 worth of product I don't want than allow a return and keep a customer happy.  How is this customer service?!  But I digress.  I mentioned then that I did not receive the June box notification email, again, my bad for not paying attention to the dates myself, but since I never got the email, is there anything she could do?  No, they ALWAYS send out emails and she didn't know if maybe it was filtered but they always send out emails.  It was not-- I received nothing from Julep this month, save for a sneak peek Julep blog email on the 19th.  There was nothing from Julep in my spam box, so where could it have gone?  It's the first month I had not received the box notification email.  So now, not only am I feeling had because I have to keep this box I don't want that hasn't even shipped yet, I'm being called, in a passive aggressive sort of way, a liar.

  I've worked retail in one form or another since I was able to start working and I know how it is when company policy binds you to say or do certain things but I also know there is a certain amount of flexibility and accountability that goes along with making sure your customer is satisfied.  Nevertheless, I let this one be, as I realized I wasn't going to get anywhere with this gal and just said that at this point, I'd like to cancel my membership.  I was met with silence, silence that went on long enough that I felt prompted to speak up again-- "Are you able to do that here, or should I speak to another department?"  I'm deactivating your account right now, the rep responded.  Thank you, I said, and went on to address a few concerns.  She spoke to me as if from a script, letting me know that I am no longer a Maven and that I could buy a la carte but I wouldn't get the Maven box anymore unless I called to reactivate my account.  I've heard that I should ask for my account to be deleted, I went on.  No, accounts can't ever be deleted, anywhere.  I'll get my email confirming my cancellation (which I have received).  But what if there's a glitch and I get charged and a box is sent to me? I asked, at which point she repeated to me her statement about me not getting a box unless I reactivate my account.  So none of my concerns were addressed, none of the bad reviews I've read explained; I got a bunch of canned responses, a touch of attitude, and a dripping with saccharine valediction.

  You'd better believe I'm holding on to that cancellation email.

25 comments:

  1. I never got involved in the whole Julep thing, but reading this brings to mind all the LACK of customer service there is out there. I used to work in retail management, and we pretty much had to to everything from refund money for a used and beaten-up purchase to clipping the customer's toenails to make them happy. Don't even get me started on the cashiers at Wal-Mart...:P As far as the touch of attitude with the customer rep, I sometimes wonder if they have that attitude because they hear so many people complaining. Not that it makes it right, but you know?

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    1. I totally agree! And I'm fairly certain people have gotten downright nasty with the reps over there. At some point, someone in power at Julep has to realize that it's them, not us, and change something, but they don't, at least not for the better. They tie their phone reps' hands and force Mavens to buy every sixth box. All they want is your money. As for Wal-mart, I avoid it but for one day during the Christmas season when I go to get C's favorite pj pants :)

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  2. I haven't gotten a preview email since the bgeinning of the year. :/

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    1. Maybe they go to your spam box? Mine was nowhere to be found, but I'm trying to give these guys some credit here.

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    2. I was a member for a while and literally never got any of those emails. Never went to spam, which I check daily. Just never showed up. Wtg, Julep. :P

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  3. I haven't gotten a preview email since the bgeinning of the year. :/

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  4. What horrible customer service! I worked customer service for a couple years for a major tool company and if we had ever given attitude like that to a customer/distributor, we would have been fired on the spot.

    I'm a Maven too and I don't like their policy for cancelling. They should have an online option to make it easier but I guess, with their 'attitudety' c/serve people, it's just another way to ensure we stay 'trapped' in our memberships. *sigh*

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    1. She actually kept it fairly well contained (though it was still apparent). I was irritated, too. It's a bummer the gals on the front lines aren't given the power to turn situations like that around, you know?

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  5. Yikes what bad customer service you received from Julep. I was a member of their subscription when they were pretty new but I cancelled my account with them a long time ago.

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    1. The whole thing is their policy, and the fact that I couldn't get any guarantee out of the rep at all, just a bunch of canned nonsense. When you cancel a service, you shouldn't have to feel concerned that you might be taken for a ride by that company in the future. It's beypnd bad service-- I just think they're unethical.

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  6. I've never tried Julep and after hearing this from you (+ so many others), I never will!

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  7. I am SO glad I canceled my Maven box over a year ago before things really got bad for Julep. Besides not enjoying any of the colors or formula of their polishes, I really had a hard time canceling. I called so many times and waited forever. Finally I emailed and they said they don't cancel online, but they'll make an exception for me.

    Horrible. Horrible customer service.

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    1. That's nice that they made an exception for you; ridic that it came to that. And before things were bad? I feel like they've gone from bad to worse. :(

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  8. Yikes! Can you call your card that Julep has on file and block charges from Julep?

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    1. That's my intention. Better safe than sorry.

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  9. I'm sorry that happened to you. I got one box and cancelled as soon as I got it. To me it wasn't worth the price, and I'm always leery about things being automatically drafted outta my account. I had a weird feeling about them. You know what they say word of mouth is the best/worst thing for a business. That's crappy they couldn't even act like they wanted to help you, let alone blame it all on you, even though they failed on the notification part. They don't ever forget to take your payment though do they? F them. I'm sorry babe. 😞

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  10. I'm sorry that happened to you. I got one box and cancelled as soon as I got it. To me it wasn't worth the price, and I'm always leery about things being automatically drafted outta my account. I had a weird feeling about them. You know what they say word of mouth is the best/worst thing for a business. That's crappy they couldn't even act like they wanted to help you, let alone blame it all on you, even though they failed on the notification part. They don't ever forget to take your payment though do they? F them. I'm sorry babe. 😞

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    1. Believe me, I've learned my lesson. I don't think I'll sign up for an auto withdrawal sub EVER again. The sad thing is, I really like some of their colors. Like, I'm starting to warm up to this box I didn't want, lol. But it's all based on principle and I don't see myself giving Julep free publicity by posting about the new ones, which bites because blogging new colors is like second nature at this point, lol. Le sigh. Further bulletins as events warrant ;)

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  11. Hi sis - OMG what a hassle!!! This sort of business is not yet wildely spread here to my knowledge. And as for customer service - guess why we call so many of them hopeless lines ;-)! And on such occasions I really miss the old phones where you could bang the receiver into its craddle - pressing the "end" call button vigorously just doesn't do the job ;-P

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    1. You know what I did in lieu of slamming down the receiver? I went and typed up this post, lolol.

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  12. Yikes! Sometimes I just can't believe the bad customer service that is out there. I've been with Julep for a while and thankfully haven't personally experienced their bad CS, but have heard from plenty of people who have. After hearing about you not receiving the notification email, I'm definitely adding a monthly alert for myself just in case this happens to me. This is such a hassle and annoyance for you, and I'm sorry you have to go through that. I don't understand why any company would rather take your $20 and leave you with a bad taste than do the right thing and refund your box. ><

    ~ Yun

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    1. It really is, and it's unfortunate because I don't hate their polishes. I don't understand why they'd rather leave a customer dissatisfied, either. They've made it clear that all they care about is your money.

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  13. I'm one of the people that (so far) has had good luck with Julep, but yikes, this sucks! Honestly, I'm not really thrilled with some of their current changes (ie, you have to pay more to have a customizable box, although I kind of understand it) and the fact that they increased the price of add-ons, should you choose to buy something extra. And also, I feel like I get a lot of stuff from them that I don't really need or have time here but somehow have a compulsion to buy. It's a sickness, obviously. ANYWAY... Sucks that you had such lousy CS-- that's BS. CS is the place you want to shine (aside from your products) and it's not a good sign when so many people complain about it.

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    1. I think the important thing is to really know what you're getting into and know that they allow no human error and if you think the polish is worth all that, then you'll probably be satisfied with the program?. They've had so many complaints but they continue to do well, with things like that crowd funded plie wand and, like you said, increased prices. Bottom line, their cs stinks and their policies are stringent, as long as it benefits them and if you call them out on their lack of emails, be prepared to essentially be called a liar by the company and lazy and entitled by their devoted fans. lol. It all just leaves such a bad taste and it is too bad because some of their polishes were amongst my favorites but I no longer feel compelled to give them free publicity by wearing and blogging about them. :(

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