And I'm back for Part 2. (Remember- I've got a code and would love you to use it for a free month to try for yourself- laurasbff28) You know that I'm going in deep with my thoughts if I need more than one post. Here's where we left it: I'd had a run of 3 boxes in a row where I bought all but one piece and I was in love with it. The shipping had gotten so much faster, and I was raving about the service. When we left, I had been talking about warm tones- golds and rose golds for fall with the stylist who had done 3 boxes in a row.
First, a peek at the packaging:
Box #5 (Where the Wheels Came Off the Tracks):
So, I was a bit surprised to see that a different stylist had done this box. OK, no promises of a dedicated stylist, but I was in a groove with my last one. And she apparently had not read one shred of my feedback. I sent this box back all DISLIKED and received an email in response from one of the senior stylists (more on that below- it was a customer service win for Rocksbox)
Kendra Scott Elle Earrings in Black Pearl:
QBB Says: OK, she got the Elles right. But how is this gold or rose gold- or warm? I don't wear silver, and I really dislike Kendra's silver settings.
Kendra Scott Eleanor Necklace in Black Pearl:
QBB Says: Giiirl, the silver. Where did I mention silver, ever? I reiterated "please no silver unless I ask for something specifically!!"
Kendra Scott Etta Necklace in Rose Gold/Granite:
QBB Says: AHEM. This was the necklace I told my prior stylist I bought on my own and already owned twice. This was my tipoff that this new stylist didn't read the feedback (which I did learn is available to any stylist who pulls up the account). This is when I got mad.
Overall, I went off but in a polite way. I believe my feedback started "I hate to be blunt, but this is the most disappointing box I've received to date." I was really frustrated that I got a box of silver (my feedback for the Elles said "I like Elles but not this silver setting" and a necklace that I had told my prior Stylist in two consecutive boxes that I owned already. It felt like a waste of my subscription time and money.
Rocksbox sent me an email from a senior stylist pairing me with a new stylist (now the 4th for 6 boxes) but letting me know she'd be my stylist from here on out. That was a customer service win, and I happily forwarded a boatload of feedback to my new permanent stylist.
Box #6 (Back on the Rails):
So box #6 was a bit of a test for both of us. I specifically mentioned a few things I was interested in, and my new stylist came through. These seem not to match, but it shows that a) she's listening and b) I was able to finish out a few sets I had partials of.
Kendra Scott Rayne Necklace in Variegated Teal:
QBB Says: I love this. I've featured it on my Instagram. I own the full set and wanted to add the Rayne to my collection. Naturally, I purchased it. I also love this combo so much that I did a whole eye look with it as my inspiration.
Kendra Scott Elle Earrings in Rose Gold/Brown Mother of Pearl:
QBB Says: Another purchase- I bought a larger necklace in this color combo and really wanted earrings to go with it.
Kendra Scott Elisa Necklace in Rose Gold/Brown Mother of Pearl:
QBB Says: An auto purchase, and a nice piece to add to my growing collection.
So for my next box, I mentioned wanting a bracelet (since I hadn't seen one since box #1- and that open cuffs suit me well) and a pop color to break up the neutrals (magenta, cobalt, bright red)...
Box #7 (In the Ditch):
So, there's a way to peek at your upcoming box. I'm no good at waiting, so I excitedly logged in and spotted a Cobalt Rayne and Cobalt Elles. SCORE! Or, so I thought.
Here's a look at what actually arrived- plus, the lovely little card that comes with it. Note the cobalt Rayne on it but white Skylars arriving instead.
Can I get a sad trombone? This isn't a wearable set, and I was headed out of town. So, I contacted customer service for the first of TWO times regarding this box. I'll get back to that shortly. I sent this whole box back- which led to my current unhappiness with customer service.
Kendra Scott Elle Earrings in Cobalt-
QBB Says: I love the style and this color, but without anything to wear them with they had to go back without being worn.
Kendra Scott Skylar Earrings in White-
QBB Says: It's not only an insult that the Rayne didn't come; it's these earrings. They legit hurt my ears, rendering them completely unwearable. Ick.
Robyn Rhodes Scarlett Cuff-
OK, I liked this a lot. It's an adorable little cuff, but way overpriced (insider price is $84!) for what it is. I appreciate that it's handmade and I'd love to see it again. In fact, it paired with pretty much everything well- check it out with a Chalcedony Jana bracelet:
I'll be honest, if the price had been lower or I hadn't bought so much jewelry lately I'd have kept it.
Bottom Line: Rocksbox goofed big time on this box. I'll get to my dealings with customer service shortly, but I was stuck with a box with items that were painful and without a full set for close to 2 weeks.
So, that's where we are in terms of boxes- not by MY doing. I should've had box #8 by now after taking tine out of my trip to make a trip to the post office, but I do not- and was left with a bad customer service experience.
QBB's Bottom Line on the Boxes: There have been ups and downs with the service but I think the good outweighs the bad. I find them a good value, and now that I have a stable stylist I can trust her choices quite a bit (like that Robyn Rhodes cuff). I strongly disliked the rotating stylists and the Russian Roulette feel of it all. It's a great way to try out different styles, and as long as you're willing to be specific you can step outside of your comfort zone. My issues with the boxes are with rotating stylists and a jewelry pulling error. I love the job that my stylist is doing- and she's very easy to work with. (For a free one-month trial of your own, try code laurasbff28).
OK, now the part where this gets hard. I've had an up-and-down relationship with customer service; we're pretty much at the nadir of our relationship right now.
Customer Service: QBB's Honest Interactions
The Good:
- When I rejected box #5, I was immediately contacted by customer service with a remedy. I appreciated this proactive approach to making sure customers felt welcomed and that they remained a part of the service.
- I was able to proactively reach out more than once with suggestions on possible improvements for the service. I'm sure I'm not the only one who did so, but I really appreciated when one of my suggestions (ditch UPS Sure Post, which takes 7 business days to move a box 400ish miles) was implemented. It made me feel like they were listening- as did the initial response to my suggestion.
- I had to reach out because of their error with box #7 because they needed to change the contents of my box to match the actual received contents because I didn't want to be charged when a pair of Skylars came back in place of a Rayne. That was handled promptly via chat, and I was given $10 in credit for their screwup. That made me feel heard (most of what CS is based on).
The Bad:
- I will admit that a second suggestion I made based on my bad experience with the Etta went 100% unanswered and unacknowledged. I understand that they may have a small team and may be overwhelmed with volume. But I got a prompt "hey thanks" to the first suggestion I sent weeks prior; being blown off (in my view) was a bit irritating. Still, an irritation I was willing to overlook.
The Ugly:
- I've had (and in my view) continue to have an issue with returning the box that Rocksbox themselves messed up. I understand that not every relationship is 100% perfect, but the refusal of Rocksbox to admit there was an issue remains an irritation and I remain without a box.
- I made a special trip to the post office while visiting family to send back to the messed up box. Based solely on my prior 7 experiences with the service, it should've immediately triggered a reselection. It was scanned in at Friday 10:03AM at the post office (I sent them the information and tracking). When I hadn't seen it register on Friday afternoon, I sent an email with proof of mailing and tracking so that my account could be updated instead of leaving me without a box for another whole week. No action taken despite sending it with 6 hours left in the business day. (important note re: future interaction).
- Based on my prior experience, I should've actually been re-selected on Friday and shipped by Saturday to arrive when I got home Monday. That's based ONLY on prior experience with the service and had been standard since they switched to USPS First Class service.
- After hearing nothing (and no updates) by 5PM Monday afternoon when I knew they'd received my fail box back at 9:15AM that day, I entered into a chat with customer service. I was told allegedly that I would've received an email within an hour. I have no way of verifying this, but the implication was that I was annoying the CS rep. I did not appreciate this.
- I asked what happened and never got an answer from CS. I asked if this was a glitch (not being reselected) or a new policy (no action without a box) and did not get an answer. I am left not knowing what went on.
- I was also told "well, that's normal processing time." Actually, it's not, based on my prior experiences with the service. I asked if I should lower my expectations going forward and did not receive an answer.
- CS actually said "well, you enjoyed it for four days" to me. Seriously?!?!?! I wouldn't call a box with a pair of earrings that I hated and hurt me, a pair that didn't go with anything, and a random bracelet worth much enjoyment. I made sure to note my pain from the earrings.
- Rocksbox's response, after giving zero information (no box had yet shipped) was to extend me 2 weeks of my billing date. That's nice, but it essentially covers the time I was out a box due to Rocksbox's errors! I appreciate that they tried to take care of me in their own way, but we were way past that point with the non-answers and implying that I expected too much from the service. So their attempts to make it up to me were severely tainted by the lack of a simple "I'm sorry, we screwed this whole thing up royally."
I stated multiple times that I was re-evaluating my subscription due to the lack of transparency and the lack of acknowledgment from customer service. I then received an email from CS stating that my problems were "resolved." No, not really.
That's where we stand.
In sum, I love the boxes, my stylist rocks, but my experience with CS has been 50/50. Let's see how long I'm without a box since it still has not shipped despite them HAVING the other box for more than a day. Update 2:38PM: I have a pre-shipment notification for the box but it hasn't actually been shipped yet I'm very disappointed in that regard and hope that this is not the new norm. I also didn't appreciate being brushed off by CS. This is hopefully a short glitch in what I hope will be a long-term relationship. Fingers crossed that things are straightened out.
Despite my current total and utter frustration with customer service, I do recommend the service- and for a free month, why not? I hope my issues are the outliers from the whole. I think it's a great idea, and I hope this is all worked out soon.
There you have it- 100% honest, unsponsored, and unedited thoughts on my 7 boxes and counting with Rocksbox. I do find it to be a value, despite my current frustrations.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love hearing from my readers- please let me know what you thought about these posts. Please keep it related to the content in that post, though. Spammers, solicitation, or inappropriate content are my only no-gos.