Pissed off at Ulta

[astronaut]

So, I just got back from Ulta and I'm pissed and need to vent.

In February, I purchased a t3 flat iron after I saw a video on youtube teaching you how to curl hair with a flat iron. I was super excited to find out how quick and easy it looked, so I got one. I still had a perm (which I wasn't really happy about and didn't think it was worth it) so I was looking forward to just curling my hair manually.

I used the flat iron once, just to see if it really would curl my hair, and stowed it away, since I still had my perm.

Now that my perm's gone, I started using the flat iron. I started using it like... 2,3 weeks now. Curls turn out great and all, but I get annoyed by the fact that the dials are on the outside of the iron. It's hard to explain, but when I handle the iron, sometimes the dials would accidentally get turned and lower/heighten the temperature. It's not as simple as straightening the hair, as you just clasp onto the hair and glide. With curling, you have to twist the iron 360 degrees once the hair is clasped and it can get rather complicated/unorganized for me with the hand motions. Not a manufacturing defect or anything, but a design flaw IMO. On the outside of the box, it says that the iron can also be used for curling, so it's not like I was using it for another purpose either.

So today, I was browsing at Ulta (a different location from where I bought the flat iron) in the afternoon, and saw that they had the t3 iron as well, except they carried one that had the dials ON THE INSIDE on the flat iron and grips. The dials on the inside would have solved my problem. It was the exact same brand, t3, exact same color, hot pink, exact same price, $119.

So I go home, get the flat iron, still have the box, unfilled registration cards, etc. with the receipt. I look at the receipt to make sure what the policy was before I went back. Here is exactly everything that's stated on the receipt (I'm typing it word for word):

Quote:

Return Policy
If for any reason your purchase does not give you complete satisfaction, the purchase may be returned.

ALL RETURNS AND EXCHANGES MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE RECEIPT AND ALL ORIGINAL COMPONENTS OF THE PRODUCT.

Refund
Except as described below, a full refund will be issued on a return, provided that the return is made within 60 days of original purchase date.

Special Offers and Free Products
A full refund will be issued on a return that included a FREE product or a FREE gift, only if the return is within 60 days of original purchase date, and the FREE product or FREE gift accompanies the return.

Store Credit
A store credit will be issued on a return if the return is accompanied by a Gift Receipt, or if the return is for a product that included a FREE gift of FREE product and is NOT accompanied by the FREE product or FREE gift.
A store credit will be issued on any return made after 60 days of original purchase date.

ULTAMate Rewards Members
Upon return of any product on which you earned ULTAMate Rewards points, your ULTAMate Rewards account will be reduced by the number of points previously earned on that puchased. If the return will cause your ULTAMate Rewards account to have a negative balance, a store credit will be issued on the return regardless of your original form of payment.

Coupon/Reward Certificates
Coupons/Reward Certificates need to be presented at time of purchaase and within the specified dates.
*Expired coupons/rewards certificates will not be accepted.
*Prior purchases do not qualify for use with coupons/reward certificates.

Returned Check Policy
A service fee will be added for any check returned unpaid by the book. In accordance with State law, NSF Checks may be submitted to your bank electronically. A 10-day waiting period is required for refunds on personal checks.

Original credit cards need to accompany receipts for credit card credits.

And that's all it says. So I thought, okay, it's been over 60 days, but if I can get a store credit, then I could get an even exchange no problem right? So I get everything, and go back.

The woman who helped me, who I'll assume was the manager, said that she couldn't do the return because it was beyond 60 days and it company policy states not to return anything after 60 days. From that point was when she noticeably gave me a distinct attitude. The type of tone that the vice principal gives when they're about to suspend you from school. I told her I know about the 60 day RETURN policy as stated on the back of the receipt, but it also states that returns made after 60 days, a credit will be given. So she tells me to wait and she will ask her regional manager. So I wait... she returns and says that she tried calling the regional manager but she wouldn't pick up, so she asked for my name and number and says she will call me back when the regional manager calls her, but for now, she can't do the exchange for me because it was beyond 60 days. I remind her what the receipt says on the back and she says, "I don't know why it says that but the policy is returns within 60 days, and after that, store credit, but only until 90 days. Most people know whether or not they want an item by 90 days". 90 days? There's NOTHING on the receipt that states anything about 90 anything.

So I walk out, pissed as hell. You know, it's not THAT big of a deal for me to keep the flat iron, as I said, it's not defective, just has an annoying design flaw. And for something that's $119, it should not be causing any bothers in my opinion. But it's the fact that it's not stated on the receipt, and on top of that, whatever position that lady was, talked to me as if I were a delinquent. On the back of the receipt, it states, A store credit will be issued on any return made after 60 days of original purchase date. It just says AFTER 60 days. It doesn't say after 60 days and before 90 days. If it did, I wouldn't have even bothered. I'm a person who's HUGE on principles. There was once I refused to pay for an ebay item because the seller charged a hidden 15 cent fee that was nowhere mentioned in the auction and wasn't going to unless I only had to pay the EXACT amount I agreed to when I bought the item. I never heard back from the seller. I'm not one to argue when a policy is written in black and white, but she pulled the 90 day shit out of nowhere. She could have pulled it out of her ass and made it up for all I know. But in my experience as a customer, associates or managers would even be flexible with policy if it's reasonable (in my case I thought it was reasonable to exchange for a flat iron that was the exact same color, brand, and price) for the sake of good customer service.

I'm still pissed. I guess customer service isn't a priority for Ulta, or this certain Ulta at least. STORE NUMBER 110!!! Screw you!

I might try calling another Ulta or corporate tomorrow and see what goes down.

I was getting used to being pampered customer service wise by Bloomingdales, Coach, and OVERLY pampered at Sephora to the point of freakyness, and now I go back up to NorCal and have to deal with these losers.

UGGGG

[DontFeedtheZebr]

That's deplorable. First of all, despite it being right there in writing, she had no reason to cop that attitude with you, as Ulta’s mission statement is to please the customer, whether he or she is justified (I know this as I USED to work there, but alas, they must have a condition called ‘bitchy-manageritis’, as mine was a total c*nt and I quit to purse a career in my collegiate field).

I would call the 1-800 number listed on the site, and if you ask to speak to someone about your experience. They’re really good about getting back to you and actually try to rectify any of their staff’s behavior. It also helps if you have a name of this woman so they can take disciplinary action against her.

I hope that helps and good luck on your quest to get it rectified (and don’t be afraid to tell them you’re willing to shop elsewhere and pass this incident along to other potential customers...)

Best of luck.

[iluffyew769769]

That sucks. I agree try calling their corporate headquarters They should do something to make you happy. It was a $119 iron not a $5 E/S or anything like that...

[jennifer.]

what dumb ass can't understand and accept the policy especially when it's printed all over rolls of their own receipt paper?? i'd be super pissed too!

although it's not related merchandise wise, i actually did a return today at michael's and their receipts state the same thing. and what i purchased was done so back in jan. of this year and i got store credit no problem.

girl at ulta sounds brilliant.

[HeavenLeiBlu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iluffyew769769

That sucks. I agree try calling their corporate headquarters They should do something to make you happy. It was a $119 iron not a $5 E/S or anything like that...

I'm not trying to come at you personally, iluffyew, but I wouldn't give a damn what the value is... it's my money and company policy is company policy! I don't care if I spent 99 cents in that bitch, it's the employee's duty to follow published policy whether they like it or not. And wouldn't it have been easier to just do the exchange or issue the store credit instead of quibbling with Astronaut?

Astronaut, I do find it a bit odd that you waited so long, but that doesn't negate your feelings on how you were treated, esp when that manager was in the wrong. If it is somehow true about the 90 day thing, it seems like she should have been able to direct you to that policy somewhere in the store.

[KikiB]

ULTA is notoriously bad in some cases. I don't want to make a sweeping generalization but there was a case in which a friend of mine was accused of stealing even though she didn't, by the jacket she was wearing!

But yes, I am a big fan of people speaking up about their experiences-positive and negative. It got to the point in our company where we had to have a meeting all about the customer experience. Also if you get complaints, you have to have an all-store meeting to discuss that and find ways to remedy the problems. It is a valuable tool for us though. Also if you feel you get great customer service ANYWHERE, email or call the corporate for that company. Too many people just focus on the bad, but they want to hear the good too.

[Sexy♥Princess]

yea def dont give up on this. i bet she didnt even call the reg. manager.

either way complain about the manager that helped u. she sounds rude.

she wouldve told u the 90 days thing b4 she even left to make the call if thats their policy. why would she waste her time asking a question she alreadys knows the answer to.

[astronaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeavenLeiBlu

Astronaut, I do find it a bit odd that you waited so long, but that doesn't negate your feelings on how you were treated, esp when that manager was in the wrong. If it is somehow true about the 90 day thing, it seems like she should have been able to direct you to that policy somewhere in the store.

The reason why I waited so long was because I didn't have reason to use it yet. I had just gotten a perm, and found a youtube video of a girl teaching how to curl hair with a flat iron. It looked great and it only took her 10 minutes to do her whole head! I had never known that could be done before as it used to take me at least an hour to curl my hair with a traditional curling iron and it didn't even look good. That's why I opted to get a perm in the first place. I liked curly, wavy hair, but couldn't spend that long to achieve it every time.

So when I learned about it, I immediately went out to get a flat iron to try it out. I wasn't happy with my perm as it took so long, was stinky, expensive, didn't look as nice as I hoped, and really damaged my hair. I was thinking, "OMG, I could have done that this whole time and I wouldn't have had to deal with this perm?! Got to try it NOW!" It took 10 minutes to style my hair with the perm anyway. I jumped straight to an expensive one because after my perm wore off, I planned to use it daily.

I wanted to see if I could really do it myself. I tried it once when I got home (flattened my hair with it, and tried curling it again) and it really did work. So I put it away, since what's the point of curling my hair when it was already curly from the perm?

And now I'm using it and realized it's not as efficient as it can be for curling.

[deven.marie]

I work at ulta and people come in all the time with returns after the 60-day period, and the managers usually give them store credit with no problem. sorry this happened to you, it shouldnt have, i guess that manager was just being bitchy.. (mine can be too) she should've just given you store credit regardless.

but dont hate on ulta! we are nice people, i promise!!
just not the managers unfortunately they're the ones who handle returns.

[eastsidesunset]

Just call corporate. No matter what has happened in the store in the past, corporate has always set the situation straight for me. Seriously, they went so far as to email a copy of a lost receipt to the store of my choice so I could do a return on a big ticket item (I never got the receipt when I made the purchase, but it was the christmas season and I was just thankful to get out of the store, lol). Inform them of what happened (give names if you can) and ask them to suggest another store for you to do the return at.

By the way, next time someone pulls that shizz, just walk away, get the item you want to exchange for, and ask her to just do the exchange for you instead of bothering with returns/store credit. I worked retail, and a lot of times, when someone would argue over giving a customer a return or store credit, it was because there were so many steps involved in doing it they didn't want to (read: were too lazy too).

[Obreathemykiss]

I'd call corporate. Currently, I work for a company with a very popular product and people call corporate for everything!!! I get these calls and letters...Sometimes it's complaints with agents/customer service, sometimes policy, etc. 9/10 if the person is reasonable and has a good attitude, we help them with what they need to resolve their issue. More than likely they'll let you exchange the product with no problem. And screw that chick's attitude! I would have just let you do it if it were me!

[stacylynne]

Call corporate. They will take care of it for you.
Good luck

[astronaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eastsidesunset

By the way, next time someone pulls that shizz, just walk away, get the item you want to exchange for, and ask her to just do the exchange for you instead of bothering with returns/store credit. I worked retail, and a lot of times, when someone would argue over giving a customer a return or store credit, it was because there were so many steps involved in doing it they didn't want to (read: were too lazy too).

I actually did have the product I wanted to exchange there! I myself just wanted an exchange and not a store credit since the two items were the exact same price. There were two hot pink boxes standing on the counter, one was mine, the other was what I wanted. The only time I brought up "store credit" was because that's what was stated on the receipt since the receipt didn't mention anything about exchanges.

[Hilly]

I've had shitty customer service from Ulta as well. I went to get my bangs trimmed (never been there for hair before...ever!) and if you were in the ulta club or whatever it is, you get like a percent off a hair cut. THey said I was lying and had been there before and refused to give me the discount for a measly $3!!! It caused such a scene in the store with a huge line of people. It was so embarrasing and the cut was terrible. I called cust service, they did shit. I called the store, the did shit. Eff Ulta! Worst customer service ever!!!!!

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

I just went to Ulta this morning and the guy "colormatched" me and put on some SUPER THICK foundation... which I said I DID NOT WANT I said I wanted a Light powder that was easy for on the go.. something Fast to do when I am in a hurry or touchups during the day..

I could see the Brush strokes on my face when he was done and I looked like a plastic Manikin.

[astronaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hilly

I've had shitty customer service from Ulta as well. I went to get my bangs trimmed (never been there for hair before...ever!) and if you were in the ulta club or whatever it is, you get like a percent off a hair cut. THey said I was lying and had been there before and refused to give me the discount for a measly $3!!! It caused such a scene in the store with a huge line of people. It was so embarrasing and the cut was terrible. I called cust service, they did shit. I called the store, the did shit. Eff Ulta! Worst customer service ever!!!!!

I'm waiting to be connected to a Rep with Ulta right now. It's taking a damn long time. I'm afraid they probably won't do anything. Ulta is a place that doesn't really pride itself when it comes to service.

[astronaut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eastsidesunset

Just call corporate. No matter what has happened in the store in the past, corporate has always set the situation straight for me. Seriously, they went so far as to email a copy of a lost receipt to the store of my choice so I could do a return on a big ticket item (I never got the receipt when I made the purchase, but it was the christmas season and I was just thankful to get out of the store, lol). Inform them of what happened (give names if you can) and ask them to suggest another store for you to do the return at.

You're talking about Ulta CS right? LOL. We'll see how it goes with me.

[purrtykitty]

I really despise going into Ulta. One just opened here a few months ago. The first time I went in I swear I was practically in the back of the store before anyone even said "Hello" to me...and I'd wandered throughout the entire front of the store, mind you...a good 20 minutes before I was even recognized!! Now I pretty much refuse to even go in there. I'd much rather go to Beauty Brands which is a heck of a lot further away.

[astronaut]

So I was on hold for 95 minutes waiting for a CS rep.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/5174/photo34fv5.jpg

See that? It says 92:02

But anyway, I was finally connected. The CS rep was actually really helpful and sympathetic to my situation. I made sure to say I had the receipt, I bought it in February, about why I didn't start using it until recently (perm), and that I just wanted an exchange. I also mentioned that I bought it at another store and she said that it wouldn't have mattered. She sounded sort of angry at my experience. She told me that the exchange should have been made and the only time they could have refused it is if I abused the iron by banging it or whatever and not using it for it's intended use. Which in my case it was not as everything was in the box, unfilled register cards, used only a total of 3 times. She asked me if I dealt with a manager or SA and I told her that I believe the woman was a manager since she decided to take it up to the regional manager. She told me, "See if it was an SA, I would honestly have to tell you that a lot of times, most of them don't know what they're talking about". But, it was a manager (I strongly believe). So she tells me she'll put me on hold or call me back and I told her to just do whatever's easiest for her. So she gets me number, and calls me back fairly quickly. During that break, she called the store, and said that they said "OOhhh we know our policy, we would have done the exchange for her". And she also told me that the store manager was there right now and would notify the other managers about a girl wanting to exchange a hot pink t3 iron.

So I also mentioned to her when she called me back, because I forgot since I was laying there waiting for 95 minutes..., that the woman also gave me an attitude and talked to me as if I were a delinquent. I also mentioned the 90 day crap that she pulled out of her butt and said that I'm not one to argue with a policy if it's stated in black and white on the receipt but I see nothing about 90 day anything and the CS rep agreed with me. I told her that she could have made it up for all I know and she told me "She did. We don't have anything in our policy about 90 days".

She advised me to report her once I go back to Ulta to the manager in charge, unless she happens to be the manager, and if so, to get her name and call CS back.

Also, she said that if they don't do the exchange, to call CS directly from the store.

So I will be back to Ulta later on today.

[astronaut]

OMG you guys! So I just got a voicemail message from the witch from Ulta. It was received BEFORE the CS rep called them. I guess she's working there right now. I should go over there and tell her she straight up lied to me about the 90 day rainbow policy. But anyway, she left a voicemail saying "Hi, this is Tonya from Ulta and I just talked with the bla bla bla bla bla and we can't do the exchange for you. It's been too long. SORRY!" The "sorry" was in a tone kind of like "tah tah loser!". She didn't know at the time that I was going to have the last laugh! I was so excited to get the voicemail and I was going to save it to play to the CS Rep or someone and I had to press 5. I FREAKING ACCIDENTALLY PRESSED 7!!!!!!!!!!!! "Message Deleted" ARGGGHGHGHDHKLDJFLSJLKFDJSFKJKL#%$#$#$%$#%#$! Just my luck!

I hate myself so much.

I even searched to see if I could revive the message, but it's gone to heaven. I learned that what I could have done was wait, DO NOT END THE CALL, go back to the main menu, listen to my messages again and it would show up and I'd have to save it. It's good to know for the future, but in my case, I can't get that very one important message.

[gigglegirl]

wow girl! too bad about the deleting the message :S
Good luck and let us know how it works in person this time around!

[astronaut]

So I just got back from Ulta again, and was able to make the return.

The Customer Service Rep told me that if they gave me any troubles about the exchange, to have them call corporate directly from the store.

I actually received a voicemail from the Ulta manager, since she did take down my phone number, and said, "This is Tonya from Ulta. I just talked to the regional manager bla bla bla... and we can't do the exchange. It's been too long. SORRY!" The voicemail was received before corporate called store number 110 about me.

So I get in line waiting for a manager to process my exchange. Tonya, was there. I heard her talking to other customers and the way she talked to them was totally 180 from how she was talking to me the night before. I waited for her, and when it was my turn, she left the register! She went to the back and I had to wait and was helped by another manager.

The other manager processed by exchange, no problems. So when everything was done, I asked her if she was a manager. She told me yes. Then I asked her who that other woman was. She told me she was also a manager. So I told her about everything that happened, including my phone call with corporate, and how Tanya flat out LIED to me about the 90 day rainbow policy she made up. Please don't insult my intelligence.

The manager apologized for everything and said that she will notify the general manager about it.

I will make sure to call in advance the next time I go to that Ulta to see if the general manager is there so I can talk to her as well.

TONYA WAS BEING A HATER!

[purrtykitty]

Good for you!! Sounds like Tonya was on a power-trip...or at least she was trippin' on something.

[NicksWifey]

To hell with Tonya! I'm glad you were able to make the return.

[CantAffordMAC]

lmao. damn what a crazy story. i'm not too fond of ulta anyways...

but im glad you resolved it. my phone always asks me if i want to "undelete" a message right after i delete it. That would have been nice to let corporate hear her snotty message. haha little miss tonya would have been out of a job...

oh well.