Reply from souk + SEPIAFeb 10, 2022
Hi Onaney,
We're truly mortified by the troubles you've gone through throughout your experience with us here at souk + SEPIA. If we could do things differently, we'd never put you in that situation and would absolutely spare you the trouble. Having customers inconvenienced, we are aware, is a massive taint on our brand reputation as bad reviews will surely follow a bad experience, and we don't want that at all. We wish the world of online marketplaces such as souk+SEPIA is one devoid of issues on production and shipping delays but it isn't and however much we try to deviate or mitigate these issues there are just some factors that are beyond our wicked best's power to skirt. In our case, since the beginning of December, the onset of the new Covid-19 restrictions outside the US due to the new strain (Omicron) has tied a number of our partner suppliers' hands from doing the logistics and fulfilling our orders. However, we're monitoring them on a daily basis to make sure that we're available to assist them in any way we can for the orders to get to everyone. Most items in our inventory have been produced by boutiques around the globe. Some are ready-made and some are to be made upon order (such as our boots and other shoes).
We really are on the beam that waiting too long really sucks which is why we absolutely understand the frustration. We're truly sorry that you've been affected by all this badly, Onaney.
With regards to our Customer Gratitude team's replies, in order not to keep customers waiting too long for a reply for their concerns, we do keep a list of ready replies. However, we only use such ready answers when there is a need for urgency in responding to multiple customers and there happen to be only a few CG Reps available. We totally understand how canned replies make us all feel on the receiving end of insincerity, hence we want to guarantee you that eloquence and empathy is highly encouraged within our Customer Gratitude Team and we always emphasize the importance of writing replies that aren't trite sounding, to cliche, tone-deaf and insincere. We're awfully sorry we made you feel that way. We'll make sure each of the following personnel is reminded of this and goes through a coaching session with our Customer Experience QA Specialist followed by a 2-week performance monitoring.
As for the deletion of negative reviews on any of our Social Media pages, we have no control over any of these but the Social Media platforms themselves. And even if we'd have the ability to delete bad reviews from our pages, both IG & Facebook, where we're very active, have a set of rigid restrictions on these things. One of these is that they'd automatically disable our ability to sell and advertise on their platforms should a steady stream of negative reviews of the same issue be detected and read by their bots and algorithms. The same is the case here on TrustPilot. There is no way for us to be able to delete or flag reviewers on a whim. We really hope this had clarified things.
We seriously would like to work with you to resolve the issue - in this light, our Customer Love Specialist, his name is Ferdinand, will personally get in touch with you within the next 2-3 business days to offer you a resolution and process it accordingly and promptly.
Massive thanks to your forthrightness on your feedback, Onaney. Believe it or not, we're immensely grateful for it because souk + SEPIA trusts that more than just understanding the level of the fashionable items needs our customers would love - understanding their hopes, fears, frustrations, needs, and desires in terms of overall brand experience is crucial to our success. It's customers with your kind of candor who'd help us get to that level of success. Thank you so muchly.
With Gratitude,
Kooks dL.
souk + SEPIA | Customer Experience Manager
www.soukandsepia.com
