Customer Care Newsletter
May-June 2012
Hello, ModLand!
Get scrollin' for customer love and personal team features. Read about newbie Joe Reale's hip hop alter ego, meet our newest Care-nine friend, and peep a few pics from our teammates' prom pasts!
Also, did you know that our fantastic product knowledge specialists produce a weekly PK newsletter? Up until now, the newsletter was a Care team internal exclusive, but we'd like to share! Click for this week's issue. Future editions will be linked in our weekly ModNews section.
Happy Reading :D
Jen S.
The CareBear Countdown
Bright, sunshiny customer feedback!
5! "...I will definitely continue to shop with ModCloth, if for no other reason that that the customer service is always exceptional. It's so nice to be able to attach a face and a name to a stranger over the internet; ecommerce can be so impersonal and distanced, but it never feels that way with ModCloth. So thank you, personally, for taking the time to help me out." (#164960)
4! @ModCloth just had a conversation with Tracey in customer care. By far the best customer service experience I've ever had! #extremegratitude (Twitter)
3! “Thanks! I just have to write a little note telling you guys how AWESOME you are. I deal with lots of lousy customer service. ModCloth is one of the best! Friendly phone/email staff, quick turnaround time. You guys are GREAT! Can’t wait to order more stuff.” (#169365)
2! “You guys have amazing customer service! I worked for Nordstrom for 3 years & was always so proud of how well we took care of our customers. I am blown away by how phenomenal your customer service is! Thanks!” (Facebook)
1! “I just wanted to pass on my thanks. I ordered a dress a while ago and the USPS didn't deliver it and ultimately sent it back to ModCloth. I contacted live chat customer service to figure out what was going on twice and both times was very pleased with the level of help. I was able to get the dress re-sent to me with a better delivery method thanks to your live chat folks, and now I have the dress and it is AWESOME. I really appreciate your beautiful clothes, but I might appreciate your excellent customer service (including the shipping and return policies as well as the availability of help) even more. Thanks!” (#186561)
Beyond Care
Keepin' it "Reale" with one of our newest Care-sters
New Customer Advocate Joe Reale wasn’t allowed to listen to hip hop when he was a kid. Growing up on a strictly country music ear-diet, Joe wrote poetry and was particularly obsessed with rhyming. How did he go from a poetic teen from a house of twangin’ tunes to the thoughtful hip hopper Inkwizitive?
So, how did you get into the hip hop scene?
When I was twelve, I got a Notorious B.I.G. tape from one of my friends—his family belonged to one of those tape clubs, and he didn’t want it. I snuck it into the house and played it. When I heard hip hop, I knew that was the way I could make my poetry come to life, so I got into hip hop secretly.
I spent a lot of time rapping with my friends, but I didn’t really perform a show until I was 23. I did a bunch of shows in LA at the Good Hurt and the Viper Room. I did some networking and met a guy who became my informal manager, but, for the most part, I spent a lot of time calling around and saying, “Can I play a show?”
Early on, I did a show and the girl who opened for me wanted me to meet her boyfriend. Turns out, it was the lead singer from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He told me that I had amazing lyrics and to keep doing what I was doing.
Can you tell us about some of your most memorable shows?
One of the worst experiences was in a little, podunk bar in Burbank. The people there were NOT into hip hop. All of my songs are clean, so they weren’t upset because of any vulgar language. It’s hard to perform when people aren’t into it, though.
My first show was one of the best and worst. An A&R from Def Jam was there, and he approached me before I was even completely off the stage. He offered me a record deal—three albums for a million dollars. That sounds awesome, right? It would seem like it, except, when you’re just starting out, a million dollars can put you in debt. With most labels, a million dollar advance still has to cover your videos, recording—you have to pay for everything. I did a lot of research, and you can end up losing your best material because it becomes the label’s property. They can choose to shelve it, and you’re left unable to use it. It seems crazy, but I turned it down.
Where did “Inkwizitive” come from?
The definition of inquisitive is “eager to learn and inclined to investigate all situations.” I was also obsessed with wizards—Merlin-types who do magic. And, when I write lyrics or poetry, I use a pen and paper—I’ve always been an “ink” guy.
I’ve heard that you have a recording studio in your house. What are your musical plans?
Yeah. I basically get home, drop my stuff, and head down to the basement. I’ve also been going to outside studios in Pittsburgh—particularly I.D. Labs. The Pittsburgh hip hop scene is really small, so I’m working with a lot of the same people who worked with Wiz [Khalifa] and Mac [Miller]. It’s funny—I actually know Wiz’s mom because she used to come into Saks when I worked there. I’m not the kind of guy who hustles my CDs on the street or tries to use connections like that to get my demo heard, though.
At this point, I submit stuff here and there—I have a press kit. I’ve produced beats for MTV. If the right fit comes to me, it would be awesome. I’d rather be on an alternative or punk label; I think my stuff has more substance than mainstream hip hop. I feel like hip hop is suffering from SAME disease—similar artists make everything. It has very little to do with what the artists want to say; it’s more about what they think will sell. Hip hop is too new to be going in that direction. We need a renaissance or a revolution. I want to be different.
I just want to keep making music until I die. I’m going to be that 65 year old man who goes down to the studio and makes a song. I’m always going to do it because it’s a release for me.
Check out Inkwizitive on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and inkwizitive.com for video, audio, and show dates.
In Good Company
Customers are sweet on our style and service!
"My fiance and I love your business! ModCloth really inspires our little store! Your photoshoots and styling are so much fun! PS: We have had fabulous experiences with your customer service team!" (Facebook)
“I have been so impressed with ModCloth that I can't say enough good things about the company and my experiences with the website. The names you come up with for the clothes are very creative. The fact that you read the reviews and answer some of them is amazing. And the wonderful, easy to use website makes me think ModCloth is going to be the next Zappos. I introduce people to ModCloth every chance I get!” (#169280)
“I first happened upon this site a month ago and have been completely obsessed ever since! It's so difficult to find retailers who will cater to this sort of style for a decent price; most places I've found are downtown boutiques who charge an arm and a leg just to make the rent…It's so nice to finally have a store that carries stylish, sophisticated clothes made for women! The colors and patterns of so many of your pieces are so brilliant, I especially love the twofers. The stockings with faux garters are genius (and so practical!), the accessories are classic (the better to compliment the dresses) and the prices are not going to break my piggy bank!” (#180426)
“Where do I go to tell the world how awesome ModCloth is for outstanding customer service and the best selection anywhere of fashionable plus-size clothes on a college student budget? Even though my little sister is thinner than me, I can still buy clothes she's jealous of. It's a great feeling.” (#186154)
New ModDog: Cuteness Overload
Meet Wesley!
Would You, Could You?
ModLovers make suggestions for our "to-do" list.
“ModCloth is such a lovely site with beautiful items in it. I can't resist and buy stuff from you! One thing which brings grief to me is the PayPal payment solution for International payments. With my latest order, I tried to use PayPal as a guest, but unfortunately I wasn't given the option. I could only create a new account or use my existing one. It is really frustrating if I don't want to login to my PayPal to use the card associated or money there to pay and instead use some other card. I tried two browsers, but got to the same page.” (#189570)
“I recently found your site and LOVE your clothes! My only complaint is that I wear a size 2X. Please consider adding more sizes in most of your clothes. And try to keep your prices reasonable. Money is tighter and tighter these days, limiting a lot of people’s purchasing. I love your styles and fabrics. Please keep up the good work!” (#187170)
“I love you guys and your site, so I thought I would let you know, and also provide some feedback! You guys should definitely expand your work-appropriate section, especially with dresses and blouses, so that us working girls can look cute at work. It would also be really great to see all dresses and blouses modeled by wearers and have their measurements listed. I know this is probably quite a feat, but it would be really helpful to see more dresses and shirts being worn to get a better idea of how they fit.” (#182950)
“I love all your clothes and come to the site almost every day to see what's new, and I have one tiny suggestion. It's something that a lot of clothing sites do, and I never understood why they didn't see the problem with it. When I go to look at a white dress, the background is white. I literally cannot see the dress. It helps when there's a picture of one of your stylists wearing the dress so I can see it, but against a white background, it's invisible. Or at least not visible enough, that I skip over it and forget about it. Just a suggestion. Your clothes are beautiful, and I want to see them!” (#161557)
“I adore everything about your site--the styles, the punny titles, everything. I was just going to make one teeny suggestion…could you add a Share to Tumblr option to your site? I could then blog about all the clothes I love with ease.” (#184842)
Adventures in Care-a-lot: Prom Edition
Shift Lead Rebecca Young
Customer Care Manager Audrey Griffith
Interim Exceptions Specialist Kelly Miller
CareBear Prom Memories...
Jen Schuchman: "I went to my junior and senior prom with a friend-of-a-friend. Both proms were incredibly unremarkable, so my 'prom memory' has more to do with my date than the actual event. The weekend after senior prom, the aforementioned go-to prom date decided we should go out on a dinner/movie excursion. At his request, we went to a matinee showing of Saving Private Ryan during which he open-mouth sobbed for a solid twenty minutes. I, on the other hand, yawned, people-watched, and checked the time for two hours and fifty minutes. Needless to say, we did not enjoy our planned post-film Olive Garden meal."
Kelly Miller: "I decided to go 2 weeks beforehand with my good friend whom I went with to our 8th grade formal as well (the only two school dances I attended). I picked a dress I already owned from my closet, drove my '93 Camry to the Hilton, called it an early night, and was at work at 7:30 am the next day!"
Lauren LaScola: "My favorite memory of any dance was spending hours getting my friends ready- hair, makeup, the works...and then going home to eat pizza and watch bad lifetime movies all night...with my parents. Womp womp..."
Nicole Conniff: "Well, I didn't go to my prom, I went to my cousin's instead, with our mutual buddy Eric Frankenberg, formerly of the returns team. Also appearing in many of our prom photos was Nick Kizina of Shipping. Small town fact, we all grew up together."
Stephanie Yeager: "At my school they called a huge meeting for juniors and seniors and essentially yelled at any and all girls who planned on wearing a two-piece dress to the prom. I happened to be absent that day and heard about it well after purchasing my rather expensive two-piece dress (I swear it was way prettier than it sounds) so I wasn't having any of this nonsense. All of the other girls were scared to wear theirs and so they went out and bought new dresses but I refused to get another one because apparently I like to rage against authority from time to time. I wore it to prom and not a single person said a negative thing about it and I got nothing but compliments! It was a great prom, despite getting lost on the way there and being over an hour late for dinner and your friends all thinking you were in a car accident or something because you were the only ones not there...otherwise, fun-tastic! :)"
Taryn Kukucka: "When I look back on prom, I don't really remember the dance portion of it all that much. There is so much build-up to prom, but years later its hard to think of a specific part of it that was super memorable. If I had to pick the greatest part about my prom, it would be the afternoon of prom day. My best friend Kristen and I had spent so much time planning everything months before prom. When the day came we were so beyond excited. We got to school early that day to make sure we had our early dismissal passes to leave right after our 5th period lunch. Once we left school we went straight to my house where my mom had snacks for us to munch on while we got ready. She did our hair and makeup, and we both got all dolled up together at my house. Looking back, it was sharing in a 'monumental' moment with my best friend Kristen who is still my closest friend to this day."