So as I my blogroll can attest, I am a big J. Crew fan. So much so, that I have a free jcrew.com baseball cap that I got back when 1) J. Crew sold baseball caps and 2) They were trying to entice their customers into trying out this crazy new thing called "the internet" that you could use to buy stuff.
J.crew (like most retailers,) has always left something to be desired when it came to showcasing models of color. I chalk it up to them being products of their environment ;p I have coninued to shop there because I like their clothes, and have been satisfied with the service I receive.
Contrast this to Abercombie & Fitch, a place where I stopped spending my money because I wasn't satisfied with the service that I received. Now, I know that A&F tends to give crappy service to everyone, but that seems like a pretty good reason not to spend your money there, doesn't it? I'm also too old for that place these days. Sidenote--did you know that Abercrombie and Fitch was involved in a class-action lawsuit a few years ago that they settled for $40 million dollars? Charges of racial, ethnic and gender discrimination. Sucks to be them.
Ok, back to J. Crew. I got a catalog in the mail a few weeks ago, and immediately noticed a brownish lady on the cover. As I flipped through the pages, I saw that she was on a lot of them. It was a woman named Liya Kebede, and they were partnering with her to promote her children's clothing line. I want to reinforce this kind of behavior, so I wrote them a letter. It said:
Dear Mr. Drexler,
I am writing to express my surprise and delight with my April '09 J.Crew catalog. I have been a long time fan of J.Crew clothing, wearing it since the days of the barn jackets and rollneck sweaters of the early '90's. As your company has made a transition with its designs, I am pleased to see that you are also expanding your ideas about beauty and what the "J.Crew customer" looks like. When I saw Liya Kebede so prominently featured modeling this year's spring fashions, I was excited to see a beautiful, sophisticated woman of color representing your company. As such an iconic American brand, J.Crew is in a unique position to help reshape and expand the idea of the "All-American girl" as we embark on this next decade of the 21st century. The United States is a country with a rich history that includes Americans of all shades, and it is very promising to see a major retailer acknowledging and celebrating that fact. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely-
myblackfriendsays.com
I used my name, the myblackfriendsays.com is again, for branding purposes.
There are a couple of things that I want to highlight that can help you write an effective compliment/complaint letter to a company.
1) I addressed the letter to the CEO. Now does that mean that he is definitely going to read it? No, but it shows that that's who I intended it to get to, and so the chances are greater that he will see it. Also, if they send me a response, they will have to acknowledge that Mickey is the person that I sent it to.
2.) I emphasized my long relationship with the company. Long relationship= $$. Long time customer that is happier now than she was before = more $$. And like Diddy would say, "It's all about the benjamins, baby."
3.) I made a point to tie-in what I was writing them about to their brand image. This is really important because big corporations are obsessed with their "brand image." If you can show how what they are doing is or isn't consistent with that image--it can have a big impact.
4.) I made it clear what I wanted them to do. In this case, "keep up the good work." But this step is important if you're complaining about something also. It's not effective to right a letter and say, "I'll never shop here again!" because if you do that, what is their incentive to try and satisfy you? Companies want to know what you want them to do to "make it right." If they can do that, they will. If they can't--they'll tell you what they can do.
I'll let you know how it turns out. And I want to also say that sometimes, nothing comes of writing letters. I talk in this post about a similar situation. I never heard anything back at all from this company, and as a result I don't buy their products--and I take every opportunity to encourage others to spend their money elsewhere.
It is important to note that regardless of the outcome, I am making my voice heard. And that is definitely worth something.
As always, I welcome your comments.
6 comments: