So disappointed in SweetPea & Fay!!! :( [Resolved/Updated]

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I have never been so bummed out by a company in my life! Let me start from the beginning.

I discovered SweetPea & Fay's Lip Joules liquid lipsticks when I picked up one through a trade here on MuT, and I FELL IN LOVE! Those babies are amazing! They are SUPER pigmented, the colors are unique and different, and the staying power is better than anything else I have ever used. They also have this amazing vanilla cupcakey smell! They are comparable to OCC Lip Tars, but the consistency of the Lip Joules is a little thicker, so they are actually easier to work with IMO. After trying it out, I was convinced that I had found my HG lip product. 

During Labor Day weekend, they had a sale on all of the Lip Joules, so I decided it was the perfect time to pick a couple up (I bought Cannoli and Ukulele). They also held a contest that weekend, where they were giving away a $50 gift card. About a week later, I got my order in the mail. One of the lipsticks they sent me was the wrong color. I had planned to contact them the next day. Later that night, I was checking out their Facebook page and saw that I was the winner of the contest! I was SO EXCITED! I never win contests like that, and I love their products so much that I was just pumped. I decided to let the issue with my order go, since I could get pretty much all the colors I wanted with $50, so I just figured no big deal. This is where things started to get sketchy. I contacted them through email (following their instructions on Facebook) on Sept. 12th. I then heard nothing from them, so on Sept. 17th, I sent a message on Facebook, and heard back about 3 hours later. Amanda (one of the owners of the company, along with her sister Katrina) sent me a message and said that she was sorry that no one had responded to my email and that she had just done so. This is the email I got from Amanda:

Hi Jamie,

Congratulations on winning, thank you for taking apart in our giveaway! Go ahead and give me a list of products you would like to have for your $50 gift card prize.

All the best,
Amanda Farnsworth
SweetPea & Fay Cosmetics
www.sweetpeaandfay.com

Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android


I thought this was a little bit of an odd way to handle a contest winning. I figured I would maybe get a code that I could use on the website, or something to that effect. I figured, though, that since they were a pretty small indie company, maybe this wasn't that weird, and I went ahead and sent a list of the Lip Joules that I wanted to them via email. This exchange, on Sept. 17th, was the LAST thing I have heard from them. When I sent them my list of requested products, I also requested that they reply to my email so I would know that they had received it, which they did  not do. On Oct. 3rd, a month after the contest was held, I sent them a message on Facebook, since I had gotten a quicker response from them previously by contacting them that way. I politely asked when I could expect to get my goodies. They did not respond. I sent them another Facebook message on the 24th (this time a little less pleasant but still polite), and again no response. I have heard absolutely nothing from them, they are completely ignoring my messages. I have also posted on their Facebook wall 3 times. The first 2 posts were deleted, and the third, which I posted yesterday, is I believe still there. 

I don't even know what to make of this. I know that I won a contest, but I feel that they should fulfill that! I haven't ever won a contest like that on Facebook, so I'm not sure what to expect, but I don't think it's this! I also made them aware that they had messed up the order that I placed, and they completely disregarded that as well. I'm just really bummed out by this, not only because I thought I had won a contest that I don't think they ever intended to fulfill, but they have completely lost me with their bad customer service. I REALLY love their Lip Joules, and now I'm horribly conflicted because I don't want to do any more business with them, yet I still want those damn Lip Joules! Just so bummed!

Has anyone else ever had an experience like this? Or had experiences with SweetPea & Fay? I have done a little Googling, and it seems that in the last few months customer service has been an issue for them (not responding to emails, shipping issues,....). It's just a real shame that I found I product I love SO much, and have had this terrible experience with this company! 

 
That's crazy! I've won a few contests on fb (a beauty army one and a liftlab one) and received my winnings promptly. It seems odd they woulnd't want to follow through, especially since you can easily let people know. I know I wouldn't buy from them now. I hope it all works out, that is so sad!

 
I definitely don't plan on doing business with them directly ever again, that's for sure. You can buy their products from Amazon and a couple other websites, but I don't even know that I want to buy their stuff from a third party retailer at this point, just out of principle. That's the part Im most mad about. I don't want to support a company that runs their business and treats their customers this way, but I love those Lip Joules so much!! BAH! First world problems, right? I'm now kicking myself for my "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" attitude toward my messed up order from them as well, but I'll just have to chalk that up to bad judgment on my part.

 
I've only won one FB contest, it was for Etoile nail polish, and they got it out SUPER fast. Like I had it within the same week I won. It's a shame that they're being so shady because their lip products sound awesome, but I will certainly not be shopping with them if that's how they treat customers. Word of mouth can be the best, or worst, form of advertisement!

 
Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I've only won one FB contest, it was for Etoile nail polish, and they got it out SUPER fast. Like I had it within the same week I won. It's a shame that they're being so shady because their lip products sound awesome, but I will certainly not be shopping with them if that's how they treat customers. Word of mouth can be the best, or worst, form of advertisement!
This part bums me out too, because it's so true. I was really looking forward to coming to MuT and sharing swatches of all the Lip Joules. Between the 4 I have and the 8 I would have received from the contest, I would have had most of the colors they offer. I really wanted to share how awesome these products are, and I really wanted to support SP&F, especially since they are a small company. They had an opportunity to have some really great exposure, and could have potentially gained a lot of new customers with as much traffic as this site gets, but it just didn't work out that way, and that's pretty sad. Their terrible customer service has screwed them, as far as I'm concerned. It's such a shame. I even mentioned to them that I was a member here, and that I was excited to share my products with MuT's members and tell everyone how awesome they are, but I guess that didn't matter much to them. It's their loss. 

 
Just went to have a peak at their site, curious about the lippies and all. Mobile site is under construction they say, and everything can be viewed properly on a desktop. No option to switch to desktop view. Why do a mobile version if it's not complete and then give no way to get off mobile view? As for the customer service, it's definitely a shame. Supporting smaller companies is always an awesome thing, but when they don't support their customers in return... Ouch.

 
I took a look at their lip colours, and I really love the unique shades they have. But after hearing about how poorly they handled everything, I don't think I'll be getting anything.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Boots /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Just went to have a peak at their site, curious about the lippies and all. Mobile site is under construction they say, and everything can be viewed properly on a desktop. No option to switch to desktop view. Why do a mobile version if it's not complete and then give no way to get off mobile view?

As for the customer service, it's definitely a shame. Supporting smaller companies is always an awesome thing, but when they don't support their customers in return... Ouch.
Their mobile site is a pointless joke. It's been a mess for month's now. You can only see some of the lip colors they have, and if I remember right, you can't see any of their eyeshadow pigments or blushes. Another bummer, I never got to try any of those shadows or blushes, and they look pretty amazing. Another loss for them.

 
@JamieO  I would email the person who had contacted you.  By emailing her personally you might have a better result than FB.  Sorry to hear you're having trouble with this company & I hope you get your goodies you have won.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by LuckyMoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  @JamieO  I would email the person who had contacted you.  By emailing her personally you might have a better result than FB.  Sorry to hear you're having trouble with this company & I hope you get your goodies you have won.
Thank you! I actually started out contacting them by email, but I got no response, and that's when I started using Facebook to try to contact them, which at first worked out and I was able to get a faster response, but now they are ignoring my every attempt at communicating with them. I did send another email to them a couple weeks ago, but of course got no reply. 
icon_frown.gif
 I have sent a total of 3 emails to them, and only one got a response, and that was only after I waited 5 days and then tried the Facebook approach.  After I sent the FB message, they emailed me back.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by JamieO /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Thank you! I actually started out contacting them by email, but I got no response, and that's when I started using Facebook to try to contact them, which at first worked out and I was able to get a faster response, but now they are ignoring my every attempt at communicating with them. I did send another email to them a couple weeks ago, but of course got no reply. 
icon_frown.gif
 I have sent a total of 3 emails to them, and only one got a response, and that was only after I waited 5 days and then tried the Facebook approach.  After I sent the FB message, they emailed me back.
Just makes me a bit sick to my stomach to hear this, really. They used the giveaway on FB to gain peoples attention and also get people interested, but then completely ignore you and delete your FB questions, so now people on FB are completely oblivious to their shady practices. Which is such a shame, because FB marketing is so strong nowadays. Ugh. I really hope you get some resolution to this all. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by Boots /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Just makes me a bit sick to my stomach to hear this, really. They used the giveaway on FB to gain peoples attention and also get people interested, but then completely ignore you and delete your FB questions, so now people on FB are completely oblivious to their shady practices. Which is such a shame, because FB marketing is so strong nowadays. Ugh. I really hope you get some resolution to this all. 
Well, they're not completely oblivious. I have posted on their FB wall 3 times, and the first 2 were deleted. The last one, however, is still there. And at that point, I was so beyond perturbed that I was a little mean, and I probably should have toned it down just a bit, haha. But JEEEEEZ. I feel like I fell for some dumb joke or something!

 
Quote: Originally Posted by JamieO /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Well, they're not completely oblivious. I have posted on their FB wall 3 times, and the first 2 were deleted. The last one, however, is still there. And at that point, I was so beyond perturbed that I was a little mean, and I probably should have toned it down just a bit, haha. But JEEEEEZ. I feel like I fell for some dumb joke or something!
I think after all of that I wouldn't have been able to tone it down either, it's hard when they play you like that. It hurts, and it's unfair. Just hope it stays up and people can be cautious.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by JamieO /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Well, they're not completely oblivious. I have posted on their FB wall 3 times, and the first 2 were deleted. The last one, however, is still there. And at that point, I was so beyond perturbed that I was a little mean, and I probably should have toned it down just a bit, haha. But JEEEEEZ. I feel like I fell for some dumb joke or something!
I definitely wouldn't have toned it down, and I'm all for being forgiving and understandable to CS. You gave them plenty of opportunities to follow through.

 
Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I definitely wouldn't have toned it down, and I'm all for being forgiving and understandable to CS. You gave them plenty of opportunities to follow through.

Quote: Originally Posted by Boots /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I think after all of that I wouldn't have been able to tone it down either, it's hard when they play you like that. It hurts, and it's unfair. Just hope it stays up and people can be cautious.
Thanks guys. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Now I don't feel quite so bad. I'm so conflicted, because there's a part of me that feels like it was a contest, which is essentially a gift, so I feel bad for complaining and pestering them about it. But they did have a contest to promote their business, which I helped do by entering and sharing their post (and getting 2 friends to like their page by doing so), so if I won that contest and was promised $50 worth of products, I should get those products! I feel cheated for sure, but I feel better about reacting the way I have. It's such a weird situation to encounter, and so hard to figure out how to deal with it in the right way. 

 
Quote: Originally Posted by JamieO /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Quote: Originally Posted by kawaiimeows /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I definitely wouldn't have toned it down, and I'm all for being forgiving and understandable to CS. You gave them plenty of opportunities to follow through.

Quote: Originally Posted by Boots /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  I think after all of that I wouldn't have been able to tone it down either, it's hard when they play you like that. It hurts, and it's unfair. Just hope it stays up and people can be cautious.
Thanks guys. :) /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Now I don't feel quite so bad. I'm so conflicted, because there's a part of me that feels like it was a contest, which is essentially a gift, so I feel bad for complaining and pestering them about it. But they did have a contest to promote their business, which I helped do by entering and sharing their post (and getting 2 friends to like their page by doing so), so if I won that contest and was promised $50 worth of products, I should get those products! I feel cheated for sure, but I feel better about reacting the way I have. It's such a weird situation to encounter, and so hard to figure out how to deal with it in the right way. 



I just looked up their FB page, the only comment from you I see from you is from Sept 12th.  
sadno.gif
  That is truly awful customer service.  If it were me, I'd keep emailing.  And posting.  To win a contest and not get anything is such bad CS on their part!

 
I just looked up their FB page, the only comment from you I see from you is from Sept 12th.  :sadno:   That is truly awful customer service.  If it were me, I'd keep emailing.  And posting.  To win a contest and not get anything is such bad CS on their part!
Seriously?? So that means they had to have set the post to private so that no one could see it but me, making me think it was still there. A whole new low...
 
Quote: Originally Posted by JamieO /img/forum/go_quote.gif


Seriously?? So that means they had to have set the post to private so that no one could see it but me, making me think it was still there. A whole new low...
WTF. That is beyond pathetic. I hope they see this thread and re-evaluate their practices.

 
You might want to do a bit of legal research. Contests are regulated by state laws. As it can vary greatly by state, I cannot provide specific advice. That is pretty dodgy of them.

 
I wonder if they have a phone number you can call about it too? Hopefully a toll free one. Facebook and emails seem to go ignored, I wonder if they would ignore a real live person on the phone?

 

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