I don’t usually use my website to complain about something that is not 100% work related – it is impolitic to complain about my work since that basically means complaining about clients and I’m not sure clients exactly love that. But I do like to shop online and here is an odd and really unhelpful event that occurred after attempting to shop on the Lucky Brand website.
I’d been ogling this blouse because I love the print and the big sleeves. I don’t know why but I am a total sucker for big, flappy, drapey sleeves. I don’t hate my arms any more than the average female person over 35 who isn’t built like a lady Schwarzenegger or Stick Bug, I just like this kind of sleeve.
But I didn’t buy. Why? Because of the product images. The model is quite Stick Bug-esque and the shirt is styled tucked in. The horror! No additional images are provided with the shirt not tucked in. To confuse me even more the product description blatantly declares this shirt could be worn “as an unexpected cover-up over swimwear”. Describing an item of clothing as unexpected is not helpful! Why is it unexpected? Is it because this is a shirt you’d not normally wear as a cover up because it is short? Or because it is fancier than your usual coverup? This kind of playfulness in product descriptions is fine as long as it is playfully helpful not playfully confusing!
I spent a decent amount of time on this site and I read the product descriptions and details. As I browsed, I noticed that a lot of shirts had very similar product descriptions. As if someone had copied description text from one product and pasted it into others. I don’t have a problem typing. I can type and I am pretty wordy even when it isn’t my job to be typing wordily, like on my website writing unrelated-to-work posts.So if it is your job to write product descriptions for a major online shopping website why are you being so lazy? And who is your boss? Don’t they care that you are writing the same product descriptions for multiple items?
Still, this blouse intrigued me so I wrote to Lucky Brand to ask them how long it was and if it really could be worn as a beach coverup. Online, the product description clearly states the blouse is 100% Rayon and “can be worn as an unexpected coverup over swimwear”. I included the link to the shirt on the website and the product id number just so there could be no mistake about which item I was inquiring.
Here is the reply I received from customer service:
Thank you for contacting the Lucky Brand Corporate Customer Service. Unfortunately, this item would not be appropriate for a beach cover up top.
This blouse is made from silk chiffon and should be worn with pants for a dressier occasion. The blouse also is not very long and can only be tucked in or left out.
They didn’t even bother to check the product I was asking about!!!