Monday, January 23, 2012

ASK Cosmetics - An Update!

So the last post I did about ASK Cosmetics was not as cathartic as I would have hoped.  So I phoned the company in hopes of speaking to someone higher up about the email I had received. My call was taken very seriously, I was asked to forward the emails to them, and was assured it would be dealt with. I later received the following email:

Dear Shayna,


I am very sorry to have offended you with my request in my emails. While we have tested our new polishes within our company, I may have worded my email very awkwardly. Moreover, it was wrong of me to ask for your comments in the form of a review before you made them public. As bloggers that is what you do and that is why you receive products. I completely understand that and I am terribly sorry for implying that I wanted to in some way censor your findings.


I kindly ask you to accept my apologies. As the social media world is new to me/us I realize I have a lot to learn.


Kind regards,


I responded with the following:

I appreciate the fast reponse. To further respond to you, I've had the opportunity to talk with some other bloggers. It seems quite a few have received correspondence from you as well.

I can only gather you are new to social media, but there are a few things to be careful of. You sent the same letter to all of us. You told us how much you enjoy our blogs and avidly read our facebook pages. At least 2 others not including myself don't have facebook pages. Instead of saying you enjoy reading reviews from bloggers you chose to actively state you follow OUR non existent facebook pages...

Also, as the media representative and thus mouth of the company I would avoid stating you don't wear nail polish. It makes us question some things. As far as WE read; you have no loyalty, love or passion for your company. If YOU'RE not excited, why would WE be?

I'm really not trying to stir the pot, or be rude, but I felt it important to address these two concerns.

I will never guarantee a review, good, bad or otherwise for ANY company. I will always be willing to test drive a product and treat it fairly and with no bias. That is all I will ever commit too.

I wish you luck with the new product

Shayna 

Within moments, this came back:

Dear Shayna,
Thanks for writing back. You’re totally right and my only defense is that I am completely new at this and have had no formal training in marketing. I was hired to present the products on TSC.

Unfortunately, by stating that I don’t wear nail polish I might have given some the wrong impression. After using our products now for over a year, I think my nails look best natural. The most I ever do is apply a basecoat with our “Sheer French Pink” polish, as I have posted and stated on my blog site.

Again, I am sorry for deeply offending you. It was not my intention at all.

Kind regards,

Now, does this make me forget everything that was said before? No. But it seems that this was someone thrown in to a position that she was not all together ready for. I appreciate that:
  • there was a clear and concise apology
  • that there was no blame thrown on anyone else
  • that she actually DOES have a passion for nails and that she just had bad wording! (phew!!)
Are there still a few things that put me off? Yes!
  • She still doesn't seem to place that much faith in these new nail polishes
  • I wonder if everyone got a follow up email or just me?
  • Whether it was censorship or not, the fact that I was actually asked to not share my results with my bloggers and only with them and let THEM decide what to do with and whom to share that info with worries me.
  • Are they still hoping some will abide by that? I dont know!
All in all I am still uneasy with things, but no where near as much as before. I hold no ill will towards anyone, but am in no rush to run out to try the product. But mistakes do happen, learning curves are there, and I will not hold anything against anyone. That being said, I do not regret posting about the situation. If it is truly a one off and a learning curve of a new person in a new position this post will fade away and be forgotten. But if it the start of a pattern, or if the request lands on other bloggers in the same way...... Lets just hope that is not the case!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the update! I love how you handled this!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I got the first email from them back in November. I replied but haven't heard anything back at all. Thanks for letting us all know! I was kinda wondering about them after that first email.

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  3. I was also contacted about 3 times by ASK and the lady in question. Each time was the exact same form letter that you received, but I didn't pay any mind to it because she responded every time I wrote back. I haven't heard anything since January, but I appreciate you calling out the anomalies in this PR department. Hopefully, future correspondence will be handled more professionally and this can be a company the blogging world can rely on. We'll see, I guess!

    ReplyDelete

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