Retail Rave

Do you ever get the feeling that customer service has slipped to a point where whenever you have a good experience – online or offline – you want to shout it from the rooftops because it’s such a rare occurrence?

I certainly feel this way, which is why I am shouting from the rooftops (or from my little piece of the web) about my recent experience with Aesop.

To be honest, Aesop is somewhere I have never shopped for myself. I regularly bought handcreams and soap products as gifts and always loved the look of the store, their visual merchandising and the philosophy of the brand, but could never justify the expense of the products for myself.

I’ve tried hundreds of products and brands on my own skin and regularly mix it up with what I use. I have my tried and tested staples – sorbolene cream, rosehip oil and ten-o-six face masks are a few of my faves, while gift bag samples and friends recommendations pop in and out of my bathroom cupboard on a success based rotation.

I can’t even remember who I was speaking to when the suggestion was made that I try Aesop haircare products for my somewhat dry scalp. Through daily washing, drying and styling, my eczema prone skin was feeling the stress of heat and chemicals and I needed something to give it some life again.

Just a few clicks away was the Aesop website, and, to my delight, a haircare product selector survey. Within a few minutes and a few questions, the program had recommended which shampoo, conditioner and styling products were best suited to my needs. Just as easy was the add-to-cart feature and the sign up process. The whole transaction took less than ten minutes.

Given I hadn’t bothered to look at the delivery times, it was quite the surprise when my new shampoo and conditioner arrived at my desk less than 24 hours later, packaged beautifully and complete with free samples and a gift.