Edit 9/16/11:
Who would have thunk that my little rant would have drifted over to the eyes of StyledOn's editor? Not me, to be honest. I don't have that many followers and when I posted the link to Polishaholics Anon on fb, only a few people acknowledged it. But they found it. And they responded.
I received an email from the community editor of StyledOn (as well as a blog comment) and in it she was professional, apologetic, and even gave me her direct phone number in case I wanted to call and discuss the situation. I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. Most wouldn't have cared enough to even send an email. But the fact that she posted on the blog and gave me her number? That was going above and beyond. And I appreciate that a lot.
Let me just say that I'm one of those people who has a hard time not accepting an apology. I will long for an apology, and sometimes I'll even demand one (just ask my boyfriend). But once I get one I feel...silly, overdramatic, and petty. And to be honest that's kind of how I feel now. Like I made a big deal out of nothing and even worse, I did it publicly, and to a community that depends on it's followers in order to thrive. So basically, I feel like apologizing for being apologized to. But I'm not doing that. What I am doing though is giving credit when credit is due.
StyledOn saw my post, heard me out, made no excuses, and took responsibility for the error. As of writing this, I still do not have my prize. But they swear it's coming and this time I actually believe them. And when it finally does get here I will be sure to make a post about it.
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About a month back I posted about a nail art contest from
StyledOn that I had entered. I also posted after that telling you all about how I was one of the 10 winners of said contest. I was psyched. I never win anything and to win something based on whatever talent I have was really cool. Even though it wasn't exactly a huge contest and my nail art skills aren't professional or anything, I was still kind of proud of myself.
As soon as the winners of the contest were announced, I received an email from StyledOn asking for my mailing address because my prize (a nail polish set from either Hard Candy or China Glaze) would be mailed the following week. I received this email on August 10th.
About 2 weeks later I saw a few of the other winners posting pictures of their China Glaze gift sets that had arrived in the mail. "Cool. My prize must be coming any day now" I thought.
I thought wrong.
I waited and waited and waited. Still no gift set. So on September 1st I posted a message on StyledOn's facebook wall saying that I still hadn't received my prize. I received the following email in response:
Hi there!
I just spoke with the folks over at Hard Candy and they had a delay in their shipment so it looks like they will be sending out your prizes on Friday! Sorry for the inconvenience!
I appreciated the timely response. I still do, actually. And although I knew that the "delay in shipment" excuse was a load of bullshit, I was optimistic enough to believe that I'd probably still get my prize. Hey, shit happens. They probably just forgot about the contest. After all, Hard Candy is now a very big company.
It's now September 14th. Still no Hard Candy gift set in my possession.
What the fuck.
Part of me feels like a stupid asshole for even having the audacity to complain about not getting something for free- especially when it just isn't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. But a bigger part of me feels like this is bullshit. StyledOn is now hosting a "sweepstakes" where the prize is a fucking Chanel handbag. Seriously, guys? All I have to do is give you my info, press enter and make a status update about your facebook page and I might win a handbag that costs more than some people make in a week while me and several others actually put real work and skill into your last contest and still haven't received our relatively inexpensive prizes for it? Sorry, but that sounds a little ridiculous, does it not?
The thing is, I don't blame StyledOn for the fact that Hard Candy obviously doesn't give a shit about the winners. That's on them. But you would have thought that StyledOn would have made sure to make this right before going on to promise people yet another prize in a different "contest".
I probably sound like a whiner here, but it's not the lack of free nail polish that bugs me about this. I have plenty of nail polish. That's not the point. It's the principal of this ordeal that bothers me. I made my friends join StyledOn's facebook page. I linked them on this blog. I linked them on a popular nail polish community. I promoted them. For what? The sheer fuck of it? Apparently so. Because that's what I got out of it. Fuck all.
14/9/11 2:45 PM
I do not blame you at all! Regardless if it's free of not doesn't matter. The fact is that you won something and your were promised a prize. I hope that you get your prize ASAP. Hard candy is a big company, so you think they would have gotten the prize to you faster. My fingers are crossed for you babe. I hope they send it!
xoxox
15/9/11 12:32 AM
I totally agree with you. It's not about getting the free stuff, it's the principle of how they value and treat their consumers, and this is just unacceptable. I hope they send you a constellation gift along with the prize, or at least a decent apology note!
16/9/11 2:42 PM
Hi Erin,
Emily from StyledOn here. I'm so sorry about the delay in your prize – you are absolutely right that this kind of wait is unacceptable, especially considering the work and effort you put into your contest entry. You are right to be pissed! Your floral manicure was loved by our entire team, and the fact that you haven't received a reward for your effort does not meet the professional or personal standards that we try to hold ourselves to. I will be emailing you momentarily to discuss the issue with your further. On behalf of our entire team, I'm deeply sorry to have disappointed you!
Best,
Emily