Really great news considering the chaos that ensued on thursday when the Gratitude Wraps were uploaded to the website. I'm hoping these upgrades mean much smoother transactions when the next batch of Gratitude Wraps are uploaded (Ghost and Blurred Grey).
I suspected this would happen with the upload because the Gratitude Wraps were not widely released in stores before they were uploaded online, in fact we were told these were not going to be released in the US stores at all leaving hopeful buyers dependant on the small quantity being uploaded to the e-commerce site. Shoppers where also given an unusual heads up from Lulu about the upload of the Gratitude Wraps on the Lululemon Facebook page and so buyers knew to be online bright and early. Unfortunately, many buyers that placed orders the moment the upload happened got 'sold out' messages, while others who got online later where able to place and complete their orders.
The other issue that happened were that single orders were somehow duplicated and customers had multiple holds on their funds for multiple purchases when they only intended to order once. Some people had their orders completed only to receive confirmation of the wrong sizes and then later cancelled altogether. I've been informed of instances where these orders where cancelled but holds on paypal funds still remain. One reader had her order cancelled but has not been refunder her $300+ order amount back to paypal and has no idea when she will get her money back. Since Thursday, some Gratitude Wraps have been restocked online and it would have been nice if those had been made available to customers that had transactions gone wrong that had missed out rather than releasing them to others for general purchase.
I'm not sure what upgrades are happening on the e-commerce site or if they are changes we will see directly. Where things went wrong during the upload aren't exactly clear to us as far as the transactions themselves or the site crash but I do hope we see a better system for uploading low levels of inventory that are expected and known to be much anticipated by large numbers of people. The fact that so many people where online that day hoping to order the Gratitude Wrap where completely expected and predictable. Customers have been requesting the return of this wrap for two years and there are several online groups dedicated to this one design. Stores sold out within hours on Monday when they were released. I was able to track blog stats prior to the online release and I had a huge spike in traffic starting Monday when they were released in BC stores 4 days before the upload and on upload I had record breaking numbers. I assume the Lululemon website also uses site metrics and analytics and were able to see this big increase in traffic as well as on the facebook page which uses similar metrics to track visits.
Will you attempt to order online again for the next release or was this too stressful of an experience to be repeated?
Honestly I'm done with online ordering. It was a nightmare on Thursday, and I emailed the company with my concerns and received a really standard pre-written response. It made me feel like lulu doesn't care about me or my $500+ order I wanted to place ( with 1 gw). I ended up saving the rest of my money and spent it with other companies that appreciate my business ( forever21 and asos.) I don't think I'll be buying anything with an ohm symbol for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteany word on the ghost GW...will that be released online or reseved for stores...I would think sending it to the stores would be best considering the chaos and complaints that occured after last weeks upload!
ReplyDeleteI really wanted the black swan colour GW so I won't attempt to buy one of the other colours. I received a confirmation email on Thursday but just received a cancellation an hour ago that my order did not go through. Very disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI just got my cancellation email today, and I am so frustrated, disappointed, and over lululemon. I love their clothing, and have for many, many years. But like many others, my CC was charged, I got my confirmation email, and then... more than 3 days later, I get a cancellation email? They obviously were unprepared, and not equipped to handle the craziness they created.
ReplyDeleteIf there are any angels out there willing, or able to get me a GW, sz 8 in Black Swan, I would be so ecstatic!! And would pay well for shipping/time spent getting it.
You know what I think is funny? I do a lot of shopping at Saks and Bloomingdales. I used to do a lot of shopping at Lululemon, but that has since fallen off. Once, I bought shoes at Bloomingdales and the salesperson accidentally gave me two left shoes, which I only noticed when I got home (about an hour away because I lived in Pasadena). Called Bloomies and guess what? The store manager drove the right shoe to my apartment later that day. At Saks the other day, wanted a green DVF dress that was marked at 184.99, but the size 2 was tight in the shoulders. Well the salesperson did a national-wide search for the dress in a size 4, which was shipped the next day and arrived 1 day after that, no fee on shipping. This isn't called "angeling" by the salespeople at Saks and Bloomies, they just call it part of their job and oh, yeah, a good business strategy to keep customers.
ReplyDeleteGreat blogpost!
ReplyDeleteThere is no way I am going through all the stress of ordering another GW after what happened last week, especially when they are ho-hum colors that are expected to be released- I mean come on, gray and white? I would love to see another color. An angel was able to get me a black swan GW and I am incredibly thankful but I paid way more than what I would have paid for it if I could order one online (I am in the US) but the website crashed and I couldn't finalize my order.
ReplyDeleteIn any event, I actually made two online orders for lucy athletic wear. I am kind of getting sick of lulu coming out with the same things but just in different colors so I am giving lucy a shot.
No way am I doing that again. I was up an hour before the download, placed my order the moment they went online, waited about an hour for my order to go through, had the money taken out of my bank account, was emailed a confirmation, called Lululemon to confirm that my order went through (was told yes), told the friends I bought them for that my order went through, got a cancellation notice. I look at the gratitude wrap and Lululemon in general differently now (definitely not with gratitude!) I don't want a wrap and I am going to boycot Lululemon for as long as I can manage. F-you Lululemon
ReplyDeleteI will still be ordering on line as we do not have any stores close to where I live in Eastern Canada. It is a shame that so many people had such a terrible experience but it is not going to stop me from ordering. I love all my lulu purchases and have been disappointed on missing out on things before but that's what happens when everybody wants the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI too was up early, ordered a wrap, got a confirmation, and received a cancellation email late the next day. I heard there were more wraps released Friday morning in the same size that I had cancelled. Very frustrating and I definitely won't be trying to order again. As a pale blonde I can't wear ghost or a light gray anyway. Anyway, I called Lulu and gave them a piece of my mind. I told the educator I know it's not her fault but this is unacceptable. I got an email an hour later saying a $20 gift card is on it's way to me, so others in similiar GW situations should try to get a gift card as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog lulumum!