gilt= jilt not guilt

dear friends (or perhaps the PR firm in charge of gilt that wisely set up a blog alert),

gilt groupe has fallen from grace. in my view, it was once upon a time the fairest sample sale site of them all. the best brands. the best price points. the easiest to use and most elegant website. it was a regular part of my day from 12:00 to 12:05 (ok, sometimes 12:15).

today, however, i have been beirned (pronounced burned) or gilted (pronounced jilted) if you will. yesterday i ordered the amazing purple snakeskin beirn shopper. in the same vein as "eat food. not too much. mostly plants" i believe strongly in "buy things you need. not poor quality. mostly awesome." a beirn is a luxury good. but, it would last forever and my awesome sociology deserves to be toted around in something fabulous no matter what my stipend check says. [and actually, i was going to use some of my "still consulting on that book forthcoming on simon and schuster in 2010" funds and what seemingly belongs together more than consultancy and snakeskin? ha! no offense consultantfriends]

anyway, back to my greivance. i ordered the beirn shopper [pictured, right] yesterday. i was elated to see that it had shipped so quickly. unfortunately when i picked it up in the mailroom on my way back from playing professor this evening i discovered i was sent the beirn hobo [pictured, left]. i am not mary kate olsen. i do not carry a hobo. i am a professional with a tablet. a tablet that i nearly decided to put to use moments ago drawing a microsoft paint version of myself crying over this incident. you see, the real issue is not so much the error in what i recieved... it is the fallout. i contacted customer service to explain the problem. that is when i learned the bag i had initially ordered 7 minutes after it went on sale was sold out. i mean, obviously... IT IS AWESOME. i wanted that bag more than i want paul rudd's babies.

mistakes happen. but, mistakes are more consequential when you deal in short term sales of limited quantities. to gilt's credit i was offered a refund that would be credited to the initial form of payment (all too often on sample sale sites you end up with a store credit that lingers for ages). and, i have been put on the top of the waitlist. to gilt's discredit they fail to match their peer's level of customer service. hautelook routinely gives bonus credits of $25 WHEN THEY HAVE MADE AN ERROR. i recieved such a credit when they had to subsitute one nearly identical pair of joe's for another. i got basically what i wanted plus a credit and i legitimately felt they were sorry for the error. that's why they are now the best sale site in my mind.

gilt generously offered free ground shipping. eyeroll. i get that at plebian amazon.com. isn't this an "elite" site? further inspection of my account reveals even this "generous" offer expires in a month. dudettes at gilt, it is going to take me more than a month to get over this rage. matching or surpassing industry standards might have kept me loyal. complimentary gilt noire status is probably too much. getting my bag is likely impossible. but, a merchandise credit that is a tiny fraction of the value of the purchase--can I get a YOU MADE A GIANT ERROR FIST PUMP?

barring adorable kate spade clothing being marked down 90% i believe this will be the start of a boycott.

spread the word friends.
cam