Lancome customer service stinks.
For many years (what the hell, I’m old – add another many in there), I have exclusive purchased Lancome cosmetics. Before internet, I’d march into Macy’s, prepared for my husband to hand over our first born or trade in a kidney to cover the cost of the items on my list. I gleefully bought into every one of those “bonus” offers – where the cosmetics people tell you if you spend a certain amount of money, you can get a cutie makeup bag or a set of swell brushes as their gift to you for being foolish enough to pay their ridiculous prices for mascara you could have purchased at Walgreens for $8.
With the dawn of the internet came a wonderful thing – the ability to shop at any store (Sephora) that carries Lancome cosmetics, and qualify for not only bonus items, but reward points that give you even more bonus items. And for quite a while, I’ve been ordering most of my makeup through Sephora, because I love their bonus items and their customer service people.
Last night, I went to the Lancome site to see if there was anything new I should check out, and I saw this adorable little cosmetics bag as a bonus that I thought would be great for Eilis. I started to place my order, and a box popped up telling me if I purchased EVEN MORE Lancome cosmetics, they would send me a second one of these adorable bags with the travel sized cosmetics. For real? I am so going to order that extra stuff!
Now, it does say “while supplies last”, however, it just let me customize the first bag, so I know they’re available.
Until I go to place my order. The first bag is available, but the second one won’t add to my shopping bag. I figure I’ll just order from Sephora after all, so I delete my bag and move on. But there’s something about that cute orange bag that draws me back. It lets me order the first one again, and I get the notice that I can order a second one if I spend enough, but again, I can’t order the second bag.
No big deal, I figure I’ll place the order and contact customer service to get it straightened out. I send an email, because it’s late, and the email I get back says, essentially, Too bad, so sad, we ran out of the second bag. What? You’re still offering the first bag, how can you be out of the second bag, which is the same bag?? I reply with that information to the email, and get an email back that says, yeah, too bad.
Now I call. And I get the same canned answer – we ran out, and it says right on the site that if we run out, you don’t get one. But I’m getting the first one. Just not the one you said I’d get if I spent more money. How do I know I was ever going to get the second bag? How do I know you’re not just making that promise until I spend the money, then not coming through with the bonus?
And the customer service people were abrupt, matter of fact, and claimed they couldn’t cancel my order because it shipped. They claim the bonus was gone as of 9 in the morning – then why are you still offering it at 8 at night? They claim it should have been removed from the website within the hour of it being unavailable. Then again – why is it still there at 8 PM? But they’ll give me 10% off of my next order – the one where they promise me another bonus that is no longer available.
And that’s how Lancome customer service sucks.