Influencers & VCA

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#376
Stardust Andromeda said:
Not true - as an ordinary customer, I was sensitive (i.e. really didn't love it) about a particular motif on my new bracelet (which I bought sight unseen). Vendome gave me many options - and also offered a full refund option. I didn't take any of the options in the end ... So, you don't need to create a ruckus. Some influencers are loud and off-putting. I didn't think Monica behaved like that - she was outraged and upset by the gaslighting. I probably would be too ... not a great way to handle that situation.
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That’s awesome. Might just be that locations protocol as per what the customer service agent told Monica. Personally, I think a luxury brand should have a uniform insurance and repair policy across the board so it’s not picking and choosing who gets these situations handled properly and who doesn’t.
chareen said:
It’s really a shame that the VCA manager gaslighted her. Monica successfully tarnished the brand - no pun intended. I did enjoy reading the comments on VCA’s Instagram account. VCA is doing some major damage control by deleting comments - good luck with that one bec they keep pouring in. lol. Her followers are quite vicious. Power of the influencer.
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Agreed 100%!
 
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#377
chareen said:
Monica successfully tarnished the brand - no pun intended. Power of the influencer.
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She gave it a go, but let’s be honest - influencers may rise, rant, and rebrand, but Maison VCA has been around for over 100 years and isn’t going anywhere. It’ll outlast most of them… probably even their next username change. 😉😄
 
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#378
chareen said:
Monica successfully tarnished the brand - no pun intended.
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I'm one of those chronically online people and I didn't even know about the issue until it was brought up here. And even then I did not bother looking up the source video to know what it's about. So I don't know if you can call that "successfully tarnished the brand".

Besides, to the real enjoyers of VCA, or jewelry in general, people won't necessarily jump to the conclusion that it was VCA's fault, considering that a lot of people have bought the guilloche Alhambra bracelet, over many years, and there has been no widespread quality issue (unlike, for example, those stinky Birkins from Hermès). I also don't think it has tarnished the reputation of the service you get from VCA because as people who have entered VCA stores know, they prioritize giving customers a stellar service, and whatever issue that store has is only specific to that store and not a general trend that can be seen across all VCA stores (unlike, for example, again at Hermès where one is surprised if you are treated well as a customer).

Some people give too much credit to influencers but those who even have a bit of skepticism in them know that influencers are not usually where the truth can be found, simply because they do what they do primarily for engagement.
 
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#380
Wow, I thought this was supposed to be a community where we shared our experience with VCA, both good and bad. Monica was very friendly while she answered our questions, she took the issue to social media yes but that’s a very Gen z thing to do. It’s not like she was unreasonable, it’s clear she’s new to VCA and this was a terrible first experience. There’s no need to be snarky and rude here
 
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#382
panicthepancake said:
Wow, I thought this was supposed to be a community where we shared our experience with VCA, both good and bad. Monica was very friendly while she answered our questions, she took the issue to social media yes but that’s a very Gen z thing to do. It’s not like she was unreasonable, it’s clear she’s new to VCA and this was a terrible first experience. There’s no need to be snarky and rude here
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Tbh there is a consistent pattern on TPF of folks generally siding with their favorite brands over disgruntled consumers. Reality is we all must remember two things can exist at once -- brands can drop the ball sometimes and still be awesome overall, and consumers can be overreacting (or influencers wanting attention) but still have some validity to their complaints. It's not black or white IMO.
 
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#383
chanellover333 said:
Tbh there is a consistent pattern on TPF of folks generally siding with their favorite brands over disgruntled consumers. Reality is we all must remember two things can exist at once -- brands can drop the ball sometimes and still be awesome overall, and consumers can be overreacting (or influencers wanting attention) but still have some validity to their complaints. It's not black or white IMO.
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Yes agreed. Brands are not flawless either, we shouldn’t be putting them on a pedestal to put other people down
 
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#385
its interesting to see how some people will ride soooo hard for a company. many jewelers have stated that while it could have been an issue with chemical getting on the bracelet, it is also possible that during making the gold and alloy wasn't mixed properly which caused the alloy to rise and tarnish. in that case this is a defect and vca should have replaced the bracelet. it is okay to accept that your fav luxury brand CAN have defects. but this is not one that the consumer should pay for. There have been some cases i have seen where tarnishing has happened. Not common but can happen. Gold tarnishing is something they should take care off for all customers going foward.
 
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#387
september1985 said:
I was open to her side of things up until she took the bracelet to the jeweler to test if its real gold. at that moment I realized that this is all for show.
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I think that was because our favorite VCA influencer was convinced Monica had a fake and kept urging her to get it tested in her very authoritarian tone 😆 😆 😆 😆
 
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#388
allanrvj said:
I'm one of those chronically online people and I didn't even know about the issue until it was brought up here. And even then I did not bother looking up the source video to know what it's about. So I don't know if you can call that "successfully tarnished the brand".

Besides, to the real enjoyers of VCA, or jewelry in general, people won't necessarily jump to the conclusion that it was VCA's fault, considering that a lot of people have bought the guilloche Alhambra bracelet, over many years, and there has been no widespread quality issue (unlike, for example, those stinky Birkins from Hermès). I also don't think it has tarnished the reputation of the service you get from VCA because as people who have entered VCA stores know, they prioritize giving customers a stellar service, and whatever issue that store has is only specific to that store and not a general trend that can be seen across all VCA stores (unlike, for example, again at Hermès where one is surprised if you are treated well as a customer).

Some people give too much credit to influencers but those who even have a bit of skepticism in them know that influencers are not usually where the truth can be found, simply because they do what they do primarily for engagement.
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I agree. Her experience has not been my experience and it hasn't turned me off VCA. I will add, I was one of the first in my country to report a "smelly" Birkin (and it sure did when that sunlight warmed it up - you'd have thought I was a carrying a pound of weed!!!). Even then it didn't turned me off Hermes!. H handled it immediately, did right without any pushback and made me happy. I applauded them for that. While not every situation will be the same nor how it is handled (such as in her case which could have been handled quicker and better), its equally unfair to across the board negatively paint a brand after just one person's experience.
 
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#389
panicthepancake said:
Can I ask why? I thought it was reasonable, since it was tarnished so bad there was reason to believe it could have been plated
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I think that bringing a VCA bracelet to a jeweler to test if its 18k gold is not reasonable because it was purchased directly from a VCA boutique and serviced thereafter.

I do see this as added theatrics for the people in her comments.

also, a ‘tarnished’ motif(singular) on a 5 motif bracelet is not consistent with the information I’ve seen on this forum or my own pieces that have oxidized. something absolutely happened to that one motif, and I don’t believe it to be a quality issue.
 
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