Think it through – the Luxola Facebook contest boo-boo…
It all happened sometime last week (on the 3rd if I’m not mistaken) when this photo below was posted up on the Facebook page of local website Luxola.
They had decided to run a contest for Easter, stating that there were 16 eggs to be found on their website. The T&Cs which were stated in the image as well as the details said that the first 16 to find the Easter eggs on their website and link it on Facebook would win the product they had linked to, which looked easy enough.
However, about an hour into the contest, Luxola suddenly backtracked on their initial terms and conditions, and instead said that EVERYONE who linked their Easter eggs would be entered into a random drawing for the prize, which contradicted their initial terms as well as the details stated on the image.
Some of their comments ‘explaining’ why their terms and conditions were suddenly changed can be seen in the screenshots above (you can click on the images for larger versions). However, do note that the image is still that with the “first to link will win” line at the bottom (these posts were later deleted and the image cropped to omit the incriminatory line).
This is where I got miffed.
#1 – I can understand their panic in going “Uh oh, we didn’t anticipate so many entries in just the first hour, this contest is going to be over before we can publicise it!”, but backtracking barely an hour into the contest and justifying it by going “We want everyone to have a chance” is not being fair to the people who had already entered.
#2 – All the links to their page were open for everyone to see, ie. anyone who was on the Luxola Facebook page could see the links other people had posted and simply had to copy the link instead of searching through the website themselves. The settings were later changed by Luxola, but again, this showed a lack of thought process.
#3 – They deleted comments from members commenting on the change of terms. These comments were all attached to the image they deleted in order to re-upload the cropped image, so after responding to a couple of the comments, they just deleted the image, uploaded a new one and ignored the rest of the feedback from members. For brand management, this is a BIG no-no. You should always respond to customer feedback, even if just to offer an explanation, clarification or acknowledge the situation.
And just to be clear, I’ve got nothing against their services. I’ve ordered items from the website before and gotten exceptional service – the guy who hand-delivered my order accidentally missed out two items, but apologised profusely and was back within the hour with the remaining items.
The point I’m trying to make is that if companies like these want to run competitions, they should think things through. Furthermore, even if they did have an “oh shit” moment shortly into the contest, my current impression of them would have been a lot better if they had just honoured the first contest and perhaps run a second contest with different terms and conditions for the rest of their members instead of doing what they did, changing T&Cs halfway and leaving it at that without responding to all the comments.
Any thoughts?
posted by beetrice @ 11:53 am
7 Comments
7 Comments:
It says a lot about brand and company integrity when terms and unilaterally changed midway through a contest, and images/comments are deleted from FB. I don't doubt their service is good but I do doubt ethics and integrity. Still, their shipping to Malaysia is too pricey to justify my purchasing anything off them. I'd have to look elsewhere.
I initially had a pretty good impression of Luxola before this contest - I liked the fact that they brought in brands that are not obtainable in Singapore. Granted that I've yet to purchase anything from them to-date (the item I want is out-of-stock) I can't comment on their services.
But I agree with you that they really handled this contest poorly. Backtracking and changing the terms & conditions not even an hour into the contest? Deleting the image and user comments? Big no-no. It shows that whoever conceptualized the contest didn't do their homework and think about the ramifications of the terms & conditions.
Social media wise, the person handling the FB account of Luxola could probably do with some reading material on other similar cases (overseas) where deleting user comments and images led to really big blow-ups that went viral. Luxola is lucky this time around. It may not be the case if they don't learn from this incident.
I'd say my initial impressions of Luxola are quite severely dented, if not gone completely.
Looks like a PR stunt gone bad. I'd be highly ticked off if I were the original winners, and suddenly having to compete with everyone else.
I don't know what their products are like, and to be honest, after this, I'm not keen to.
Major boo boo on their part. Let's just hope they've learnt from this experience and are a lot smarter should they organise future contests.
Hi everyone. I am the CEO of luxola.com. I truly appreciate everyone's feedback on our competition. As you all probably know we are a brand new company, we launched only 6 months ago and while we do strive for great customer service (free next day delivery on any order regardless of price, samples with every order, giveaways and other fun things) we are a small team, working on many different things and we occasionally make mistakes.
As we stated on our facebook page, we apologize for changing the terms and conditions, we realized our mistake within an hour of posting the competition and tried to clear things up as quickly as possible. We DO recognize the mistake and were not intentionally trying to harm anyone or dupe anyone. I hope people reading this will understand that the change was not coming from a malicious place, just an oversight on our part.
Our team that takes care of facebook is dedicated to our supporters and we are grateful for every one of you, as well as your open and honest feedback. As a young company that is trying to offer great service in ecommerce and beauty in Singapore we hope that you can understand that everyone makes mistakes sometimes and we are not trying to hide the fact that we did. We will continue to strive for perfection and welcome your feedback anytime.
If any of you have any further suggestions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me directly at alexis@luxola.com
paris b: I have to agree with you, the integrity and ethics goes a long way. While it's a great resource for those staying in Singapore, they need to put more thought into SM if they're going to use it as a tool.
rinnah: As I said in my post, I actually liked their products and services offered. But like you mentioned, the contest was a bit of a fiasco and could have done with better management, particularly in managing the reactions of the members.
tine: To be fair, their choices of products are pretty decent, not to mention excellent sales service. I just didn't like the way they backtracked and tried to 'fix' the contest barely an hour in.
lyn: That's what I'm hoping for as well, let's hope they take this as a learning and do better next time.
alexis: Hi Alexis, thank you for your comments. As I mentioned, I've ordered from your site before and have been very happy with the service provided.
However, while I understand you're a relatively new company and that people do make mistakes (we are only human after all), the point I was trying to make was that it could have been handled in a better way than what was done. It was a matter of managing expectations, and I do hope it's improved upon for next time.
Hi, I know I'm a little late but just wanna share with u my experience with Luxola.
BTW a little prologue, when I read from previous posts that they deleted comments/images on Facebook that demand clarifications, I just laughed my a$$ off. Why? Because that's exactly the thing they did to me that put me off and made me refrain myself from buying from them again.
Late last year they invited me to come to a launching party or some sort and when we were mingling, I mentioned how I wish they could bring in Miss Marisa perfume brand. None of the Luxola team seemed to know this brand, which is ok btw. Then after I got home I left a comment on their Facebook saying how lovely it was to be invited and I took the chance to mention again about Miss Marisa perfume. Seeing how every comment before me (which was all gushing of Luxola btw) got such a quick and individual reply, I was hoping the same too. So when they didn't reply my comments but went straight to replying all the gushing comments after me, I was confused. Thinking maybe they missed out on my comments, I decided to leave another one, this time it was quick and simple like this: "Hi, would u consider bringing in Miss Marisa perfume?". And when they also didn't reply to this one, I knew they didn't miss my 1st comment, they purposely ignored it!
I think they're really clueless as to how to respond to customers with real input, ones who don't just gush over Luxola telling them all the nice things they want to hear. And btw, I wasn't even asking about something accusational or anything, but I feel that not knowing about a brand causes them to suffer an ego blow, which is totally ridiculous because....what is this, high school?!
Dear Luxola, if you read this, please know that it's ok to make mistakes or not knowing certain things, just be gracious and own up to it. Don't go into denial and try to silence us by ignoring or deleting our comments because we are your customers, and even though you can't see those comments, they will always be there, and they will always find ways to get out.
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