Visitors to JCrew.com today see the kind of glossy photography of trendy apparel that they expect from J. Crew Group Inc. But yesterday they would have seen something unexpected: a personal apology from the company’s top two executives for glitches that developed in recent weeks as the retailer upgraded its e-commerce site.
“We’ve made some mistakes (too many in our mind),” read the note on the home page from chairman and CEO Millard Drexler and president Tracy Gardner. “We want to say that we’re sorry for any issues you have experienced while shopping J.Crew online or over the phone over the last few weeks—we know we’ve let you down.
“We are in the midst of making some enhancements to our web site and call center (and, unfortunately, encountered some bumps along the way). Please bear with us as we work through these issues—we know it’s not perfect. We appreciate your patience.” J.Crew sent the same note to customers in an e-mail blast this week.
The note was prompted by problems that developed as J.Crew implemented new features on its web site, a spokeswoman says. “Because there was some frustration there were more calls coming in to our call center. And with more calls coming into the call center our hold times went up. And there’s nothing more frustrating than being put on hold,” she says.
Drexler, the company CEO, constantly emphasizes to employees the importance of customer service, she says. “So he felt he was personally obligated to tell customers we’re sorry and that we’re working through the issues as quickly as possible.”
The new features, which are now live on the web site, enable visitors to search by keywords and not just item number, to zoom in on product pictures and to search the J.Crew catalog online. The upgrade work was done internally, the spokeswoman says.
J.Crew is No. 50 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
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