Customer Service Spotlight: Olay

Every once in a while, I will come across a company with either terrible or wonderful customer service. This time it seems Oil of Olay is in the spotlight.

A few days ago, I called Olay's customer service to inquire about a prize that I had won from Allure Magazine's August giveaway. To my consternation, they had no idea what I was talking about and I was transferred from department to department with no sign of ever figuring out what was going on. I took it all in stride and explained my situation repeatedly. Finally, I got to a customer service rep who told me there was no such giveaway and I was wrong. I'll admit I grew frustrated and told her I was a long time customer and that I wasn't going to buy Olay any longer if this was the kind of treatment I would get. She, in a very casual manner said, "Okay, that's fine". I was livid! In my mind, she could have at least checked or asked me to send her the link to the giveaway or the winner's list as proof. Either of these would have been fine. I would have even been okay with a "I'm sorry, but we can't fulfill it", so that I'd at least have an explanation. However, being transferred from person to person and finally being told I had no idea what I was talking about and saying I don't really matter as a customer was the last straw. I hung up the phone by angrily pressing end call, wishing that I had an older model phone so that I could angrily slam the receiver down.

I then wrote to Olay on their Facebook page and told them about my experience. I received a message a couple of days later with a promise to make things right. They assured me that my experience would not be taken lightly and that the views of one rep did not represent the views of their company. Today, I received a package from Olay with 2 of my favorite full size Olay products and another full size Olay product that I had wanted to try. They also included a handwritten note(!!!) expressing how much they appreciate having me as a customer. This, ladies and gentlemen, is exemplary customer service! I would never have expected that a company as large as Olay would take my comments personally and make sure that I as an individual was happy with their service. I was wrong-Olay absolutely went above and beyond what I felt was necessary. Having been a 10+ year customer of Olay's, I feel like my loyalty is appreciated by them and that they will do whatever they can to keep me as a customer and to keep me happy. I'm absolutely blown away by their commitment to their customers! 

I am now an Olay customer for life and can honestly recommend them to everyone. There aren't a whole lot of companies who will listen to you and ensure that they make things right. With both high quality products and an exemplary customer service team, Olay really is the whole package. 

*Note: Olay neither expected nor requested this review. It was done wholly based on my own inclination to promote their superb customer service and products. 

Olay Micro-sculpting Eye Cream & Lash Serum Duo

Very recently, Vocalpoint, a try and review site sent me a full-size sample of Olay Micro-sculpting Eye Cream & Lash Serum Duo (try typing that 20 times fast). I had heard about it before receiving it, but never actually bought it. I've used many Olay products and have loved them all, so when given a chance to try out the Lash Serum Duo, I jumped at the opportunity. The claim was that the eye cream would remove fine lines near the eye area (duh), while the lash serum would make my lashes look longer and thicker. Well, sounds reasonable and something I would definitely want to try so I started my regimen as soon as it arrived.

After about a month, what I've noticed is that the eye cream is exactly what I expected from Olay: not a miracle worker, but definitely something to use for minor wrinkles. It's no fountain of youth, but it is a good product. I found that I did notice some improvement in fine lines around the corners of my eyes and the cream is worth it if you just want to improve the appearance of a few minor wrinkles. Fortunately, I don't have more defined wrinkles to test it on, so if you're looking for a product to remove those heavier wrinkles, unfortunately I can't help you there.

Next up, the lash serum. Now this is a product that I don't think is worth the hype at all. First of all, I found the bristles of the applicator brush to be too small. Every time I applied the serum, I felt as though I was poking my eyes and getting the serum into my eyes. One thing you have to know about me is that I hate getting anything into my eyes. I shiver when I see people putting their contacts in and I cringe when I hear about how someone poked their eye with a mascara wand, so even the feeling of getting this in my eye is enough to put me off. My next issue with the lash serum was the fact that even after a month of use, I didn't notice any difference in my lashes. The product said it would instantly thicken lashes and nourish them. However, I noticed neither of these changes. When I put the serum on, my lashes sort of clumped together and I guess that was supposed to make them seem thicker. Anyway, the serum wasn't really my thing. Another thing I heard from friends was that they used the serum and mascara (not part of the product) together, which caused the mascara to clump together and gave them a sort of porcupine lash appearance. I had no experience with this because, well, I don't wear mascara-refer to my getting things in my eye phobia.

So the final verdict: the lash serum, I found to be useless, but the eye cream was definitely something I want to use again. In fact, I would suggest buying just the eye cream-Olay, I believe, sells a variety of eye creams so I'm sure there will be one there that will work. Forgo the lash serum - I found it to give more problems than it was worth.

*Disclosure: I received this product for free to review