Sunday, August 23, 2015

Mentality - A lesson in how not to handle customer issues

This pretty much sums up my reaction to the way Mentality has been handling things lately.



Wow... That was my first response when I saw the latest post from Mentality on their Facebook page. And it stirred me up to even make a post on Sunday! Here's what it said - I did screenshots just in case they take it down.


If you do not know about the situation - here are 3 posts from 3 other bloggers about this.


I am just absolutely stunned by the latest response from Mentality​. Maybe it's because I've worked in customer service related fields my whole life, but I cannot imagine this sort of response from a company that gives a damn about their customers.

They changed bases (from what I've heard to a cheaper one from China), and even though they may have done testing, they tried to ignore their customer concerns when people started reporting problems. Just posting on IG and Facebook IS NOT enough. If they can't figure out how to send an email out to at least the customers who purchased from them, then maybe they shouldn't be in business. If you tried to find cases from customers on their Facebook page, they were drowned out by posts about their collections.

Mentality could have had their bloggers put the word out. Over the past few weeks, my blog feed and IG feed has been filled with Mentality photos and posts, and not one of them mentioned the ongoing situation (until this weekend). If Mentality actually cared about getting the word out and TAKING CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS, they would have used their blogging network to help get the word out. But they didn't.

And now this post... Now that other bloggers have started putting the word about this issue, and people are finally asking for refunds/replacements, they are no longer granting refunds or replacements. So basically, at least in my opinion, this is a big F-U to their customers - "Oh, we sold you a product that might cause your nails to lift and separate from your nail bed?  Oh well, too bad."

Mentality, you are insulting every one of your customers and the entire nail polish community with this behavior. You have an obligation to your customers to provide them with safe products... and if there's a problem, you freaking fix it. You don't disregard your customers who reach out to you with concerns; you don't try to sweep the problems under a rug; and you don't insinuate that you are being bullied by the polish community because we are holding you accountable!

Mentality, you besmirched every indie maker out there. When someone goes to buy an indie polish, there's going to be a hesitation as they remember this situation. Every indie maker out there is ultimately going to have to bear the responsibility for Mentality's numerous screw-ups. They are going to have to be extra vigilant, do extra testing, and they are going to have to reassure their customers time and time again that they are not Mentality, that they care about their customers.

I'm not encouraging people to stop purchasing from Mentality - I just want people to know what's going on. They have changed their base back to the one that they have previously used, and that base did not have any problems. When I was looking for a neon collection, I actually had considered buying their set because they had a great sale on them, and they were opaque in one coat and stamped. And I get that the initial situation with the bad base was not Mentality's fault. They didn't make the base, and I'm sure there are other makers who used it as well. But when they found out about the problem, that's when the shit hit the fan. They really dropped the ball, and customers and potential customers just need to go into any future purchases with all the facts.

I honestly don't know where this leaves Mentality customers. If you bought Mentality polishes from April - June, and have not yet used them, test it out first. Most people have not reacted to the polishes, and this is a very good thing, If you think your nails might be affected by the polishes, go see a doctor immediately.


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