Thank the Groundswell: Just Fab, More like Just Fronts

In this moment, thousands of consumers are writing about your products, your businesses and, ultimately, your reputation.  Whether it be on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook or on ratings sites like Angie’s List, the word is out there about your company. Someone in the world that has virtually NO AFFILIATION with your company is more than likely building some part of your brand for you. This is often referred to as the Groundswell Effect as defined by Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li in their excellent book unambiguously titled, Marketing in the Groundswell (Bernoff, 2009).

In effect, the Groundswell is a social phenomenon caused by a huge force of customers throughout the world that combine to voice their opinions on the internet. Because of this, customers are far more powerful than ever before. They have created their own armies throughout the internet. Their strength lies in the sheer numbers that were previously separated by distance, but now forever connected by the internet. This can be seen as a brilliant opportunity or a disastrous hazard, depending on each individual firm’s perspective.

When most businesses consider the Groundswell, they feel that they must be on the defense, because they approximate that consumers only write about them on the internet saying something negative, yet, this is not the case. Consumers most often write about extreme experiences, whether that be positive or negative.  Even so, when a company is maliciously attacked on the internet, the business still has the power to combat these opinions by responding in a helpful and professional manner. The way a company reacts can mean just as much as the things that were originally said about them.

If It Sounds Too Good to be True, It Probably Is…

With the ever-increasing power of the consumer voice on the internet, comes several sites that expose companies for what they truly are. One notable site is referred to as Scam Book, in which a long list of companies and their said lawsuits and any other dirty laundry is explicitly “aired-out”.  Among these companies, Just Fabulous or JustFab.com has, unfortunately, received 886 complaints in total.

Furthermore, this company is significant to me personally, because I have dealt with them first-handedly. However, the following is not an ongoing rant about how terrible JustFabulous.com is. Rather, it is intended for others to use it as a way to learn from my experience. Briefly, Just Fab is a shoe subscription site, but is advertised much more so as an online shoe shop that sells each pair for only $39.95. Likely, many have heard of this website/service due to its high level of advertisement via social media, television and various websites.

Specifically, Just Fabulous is headquartered in El Segundo, California. The online shoe and accessories website differentiates itself by providing registered members with “style experts” to assist in personalization throughout the shopping experience. This gives shoppers an opportunity to have their own stylist along the way. As an extremely business-minded person, this sounded like a somewhat innovative idea to me, so I became intrigued by their business model and, of course, as a girly-girl, their shoes, as well.

Even more, Just Fab advertises itself as a normal, non-membership based, online retail website, through widely distributed banner advertisements featuring statements like “Deals on heels”, ”Every pair only $39.95,” “Celeb Styled Shoes & Bags” and, most importantly, “Join for free” as formally defined in the lawsuit against them (cite lawsuit). What was not so clear to me, and countless others, is that JustFab.com is a monthly membership service where consumers are charged $39.95 per month to receive products, or in my case, simply advice.  

During the registration process, I was required to register an account. However, the home pages of JustFab.com completely lack any information identifying the company as a “shoe of the month club” or that there is a reoccurring monthly charge. Conversely, these pages repeatedly promote that the shoes are sold for only $39.95. More specifically, I have included an excerpt from the lawsuit against Just Fabulous Inc. in order to better highlight my point:

"The JustFab.com website is designed to steer consumers away from any relevant pricing information, and instead, immediately push them through registration to the "Fashion Personality Quiz." 

"After completing the quiz, the consumer is then led to a webpage where they are asked to fill in basic contact information, including name, address, and email."

"There is no information provided to the consumer regarding any membership obligations during the fasion quiz or on the personal information submission page." (Scambook Official, Just Fabulous Class Action Lawsuit)

After completing the simple style quiz in order to register, I was then led to a page where I was asked to fill out basic contact information. On this page, there was not any information providing my upcoming membership obligations. Most importantly, I was not required to submit any payment information. Thus, I was not under the impression that I was enrolling in a membership program. 

If I Only Had a Time-machine

Upon registration, there is a pop-up stating a one-time discount of 50% so that the shoes would become a mere $19.95.  At this point, there is an agreement in order to finally complete the registration process and receive the discount offer, before finally purchasing the shoes. Therefore, this is where I, among hundreds of others, messed up. We did not read the entire agreement, because we were under a completely different impression. From this, please let us all learn!

In exact, I lost a sum of money over 500 dollars. To some, this is not much, but to a college student like me, 500 bucks means something. Furthermore, I did not receive ANY SHOES from this, because the shoes that I was supposed to pick from (and still pay more for, in addition) were e-mailed to my spam folder in my e-mails. Simply put, even if I was loaded, spending this money was completely worthless, because I received nothing out of it.

Everything is Negotiable

In about less than one minute after finding this out, I decided to call JustFab to see what they thought of my situation.  I did not plan on resolving the issue during this particular conversation, but I needed to gain some background on their original offer, before proceeding. After all, everything is negotiable, friends. Don’t let others tell you that it is not.

After speaking to an employee, I could tell that I was definitely right about everything being negotiable. I felt like I was bartering for shoes at a flea market. Therefore, I politely told the man that I needed to do some more background research and speak with my (nonexistent, but why would he need to know that?) lawyer first.  During this time, I found countless articles targeting JustFab.com, including the lawsuit that I decided to read. From this, I gained an understanding that I had more in my favor than I realized.

With this in mind and the idea of my father learning about my negligence still in the back of my head, I decided to react to this situation in the most professional and fair manner as possible, as I would always hope to. Immediately, I called the company back up and countered that I wanted a 100% refund, because I had not received any compensation in any form, for the money I paid since I was under the wrong impression of their website. While I admitted to my mistake of not thoroughly reading, I also stated that I believed their site to include false advertising.

However, in no way did I try to argue with the employees that were simply speaking on the phone with me. I simply tried to speak assertively and fairly. Therefore, the woman that I was then speaking with agreed to give me a 100% refund. However, part of this amount would come in the form of a check in two to three weeks. That sounded a little off-putting to me, so I decided to tell her I needed to speak with my lawyer, once more.

The Golden Rule: Treat Others as You Would Like to be Treated

When speaking with them for the final time, I stated that my lawyer reasoned that there was no reasoning for receiving my money in less than the two to five days that it would take the bank to process it back into my account. I stated that I would take nothing less. Therefore, this latest woman spoke with her boss and, consequently, agreed to my offer. I felt pretty good to have the situation completely resolved after making my own mistake. I owe this to others teaching me to always treat others as you would like to be treated and speaking in a professional manner when appropriate so that you can be taken serious. Pretty simple when it’s all said and done, huh?

Therefore, I cannot speak for all those that have dealt with JustFab.com, because I know that many have been very unhappy. However, I am happy that the company has adapted its reactions when necessary. Just like in the Groundswell, it is just as important to combat negative branding as it is to put positive marketing out there in the first place.

After all, no one is perfect. In fact, some companies are very, very far from it. But, ultimately gaining that balance of positive branding and the right reactions, is what it is all about. So, try not to hate the Groundswell. Instead, play it to your company’s advantage and thank it for its rather endless set of opportunities. Just remember to never try and cheat the game, because then the game will come back to play you.

Author: Jessica Lynn Brewer