J.CREW

Full review
I have been a J. Crew shopper for years, and I have to say that I have not been that pleased with the quality of their clothing or their customer service as much, for ohhh...about the last five years now. I'm still waiting for a turnaround in J. Crew that possibly isn't coming.

Why do I say this? Because J. Crew used to have quality clothing at prices that were a little on the high end; their designs and colors were dependable; their customer service and return policy excellent; and their website stress free to use.

Let's begin with how things stand today. I know that in this review I'm supposed to talk about the online store, but I can't exactly talk about the online store without first mentioning the company!

PRICING and QUALITY
Ever since the former CEO or President of GAP (whatever his title was, can't remember) left to manage J. Crew, the prices have gone up on numerous items. Your usual lambswool sweater was a reliable $38.00 for years; last year, it went up to $48.00 without a change in quality. I wouldn't mind a $10.00 change in price if the quality went up. Their lambswool, at a $48.00 price tag, still gets lint balls so easily on them, and is still the rough quality.

More and more I see on the tags that their clothing is being made in third world countries, where unfair labor codes are rampant. Bangladesh is a country I see used a lot on their labels.

This can also be said for their regular cotton products (not the slightly sheer or lightweight cotton), which aren't as thick nor neatly stitched as they used to be.

I understand the need to keep with trends, but I feel like J. Crew has been suffering under an identity crisis the last few years, the same way GAP did - does it stay with what made it popular in the first place (preppy clothes in fall colors), or does it branch out and make more followers by appealing to trends? I don't know what J. Crew's strategy is nowadays. But I have been noticing a lot of bright oranges and greens and pinks, yellows - makes you wonder if J. Crew will ever move back to the more muted browns, blues, and greens.

CUSTOMER SERVICE, RETURN POLICY
J. Crew's return policy used to be an anytime return, ask no questions. They've since changed that. I can understand. Very few companies have a real 100% customer satisfaction policy. It's just that after being a J. Crew customer for so long, I grew accustomed to their old return/exchange policy. :(

As for customer service, the representatives over the phone are still very polite and easy to work with. I think they're one of the best in the industry, and I've never had problems with any of them, and have never had problems being put on hold for long periods of time, etc., even when discussing returns/exchanges/questions in general.

WEBSITE
Their website has been redesigned recently, and I feel it's easier to find items. On the lefthandside there is usually a list of different categories - shall it be accessories, sweaters, shirts (which I found out only consist of collared long or short sleeves), knits and tees (this is where your regular long sleeve and t-shirts are), skirts, or something else?

They, once you click on that, it will separate out into more categories. For example, in the sweater section, they will divide it by cashmere, lambswool, merino wool, etc. The site uses thumbnails, which I find more time efficient, since I can see a picture of the item with the price underneath.

Another thing I like about their site is the fact that there is a "view all" option under every type of clothing. This saves me time - I can simply scroll down all at once instead of clicking "next" and waiting for the downloads of another page of clothing.

Last, I like what they recently did with their sale section. You used to have to click on each individual picture, and then scroll to see what size the item came in. No longer! Now, they've divided everything by size, so whatever deal you are looking at on that page (after you've clicked your size), comes in your size. All you have to do is to see if it comes in the color you want.

But one complaint I do have about their website is that it consistently and constantly shows items which are out of stock or no longer available, which is very annoying. I guess there is a lag time where the item, size, or color is taken down from the website. So when you are looking and finally decide on buying that item, don't have your heart set on it completely because it might be out of stock!!!!

Otherwise, the frequently asked questions, shipping rates, tax rates, etc. are all easy to find, unlike some websites. The breakdowns of the final purchases is easy to read, and an e-mail confirmation is sent upon your order. Then, when the item is shipped, another e-mail is sent to you. I like this - they are keeping track of your order for you, because often times, I will not keep track myself (we're all busy nowadays!). So these are two other things I like about J. Crew online.

The Bottom Line...
So because of the "out of stock" and "we're sorry, this item is no longer available" messages which occur pretty often, I am giving the J. Crew online store three stars instead of four.

Update on 01/06/05
J. Crew did it to me again!!!!!!!!! This suit jacket I bought in the store was $198. It went on sale online for $99, half price!!! Since I need a suit but was on budget, I bought the suit jacket online, intending to return the one I got at the store. I put it in my basket, the order was processed...but only the suit skirt showed up at my doorstep. There was a note inside the box explaining that J. Crew needed to "double check" the warehouse because it was out of stock.

It used to be that if J. Crew sent you the e-mail confirmation of your order, that meant it had found the item in stock. No longer. Now chances are you won't know until you open the box. This sucks. This is also the upteenth time this has happened to me, so I am lowering my previous rating one star. Two stars total now.