Customer Service Review: L'occitane

This was my first experience with L'occitane. A friend kindly let me know that they were advertising a $3 Shea Butter Collector's Hand Cream tin. It includes 2 0.3 oz hand creams in Vanilla and Rose scents. They also had a free shipping promotion going on. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try a product I had always found interesting but pricy.

I also like that they allow you to choose 2 free samples with your order. I chose samples of Almond Milk Concentrate and Divine Eye Cream. When I proceeded to checkout, it would not let me use the free shipping code for the hand cream, saying that I had to add at least one item to bag. Tried again on computer (had been attempting to order on phone) in a different browser; still the same thing.

I sent an email to their customer service and received an automated response that my question would be answered in 24-48 hrs. This morning I received an email that my question could only be resolved over the phone... Okayyy.

I call them and wait over 15 minutes on hold.

I explained to the service rep what I was trying to order and how the code wouldn't work. She said it should have taken the shipping off automatically, but to go ahead and place the order and she would adjust the cost of shipping aftwards.

So I place the order and she begins to ask for my order information to do the adjustment. Then she goes "oh... the reason it wouldn't work is because the hand cream tin doesn't qualify for the free shipping. There's nothing I can do." Really?! I told you what I was trying to order BEFORE I placed the order! 

I feel rather mislead. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but I feel like she wasn't paying close enough attention to what I was saying to advise me of the problem before I placed the order. I ended up ordering on false pretenses and paying $8 for a $3 item and 2 free samples. I could have canceled the order but I really want the damn handcreams, lol.

I went back on the website to investigate if it said anything about shipping restrictions and on the mobile site it's pretty hidden; when you click on the product you can see all the important info, but you have to click on the tiny "read more" for it to tell you that the tin is excluded from free shipping.

I guess I should have read more carefully, but this ordering experience has been overall negative. I wish their site had live chat or some other instant customer support so I wouldn't have had to waste so much time responding to emails and making calls. I'll have to think long and hard about ordering from them again.

I will review the products when they arrive. Hopefully they are worth the additional cost.