I subscribe to J.Crew’s emails, and often receive offers and discounts which I tend to trash immediately- I NEVER spend enough to actually apply the discounts. Today, however, I received something much different. It was an apology from J.Crew Chairman and CEO Millard Drexler, and President Tracy Gardner. Apparently, the retailer has been having some issues with customers ordering online and via phone.
I have differing opinions about the apology. At first glance, I thought how rare it is to see a sincere apology from a retailer, let alone a large company. I commended J.Crew for caring about customer experiences and making an honest effort to retain their business.
But as I’ve thought about it a little further, I’m not completely sold. I didn’t experience any problems or issues because I didn’t purchase from them online or over the phone. Should I be apologize to? Probably not. Admitting fault is always right, but J.Crew would have been far better served using their data to apologize to those actually affected by their ‘issues.’ Also, I question just how sincere the apology is; it is not written in the “you view” whatsoever, and simply makes excuses why issues occurred. It also leaves the customer very left out- what problems led to the issues? What ‘enhancements’ are being made that will improve customer experiences? J.Crew had an opportunity to be transparent with consumers and deepen existing relationships by offering more insight and perhaps better incentives to remain loyal customers. Instead, they went with a half-hearted email apology. Hopefully they know their customers better than I do.
