Little Lace Box March 2015 Review + the Perils of Expressing an Opinion

Little Lace Box is a lifestyle subscription box that caters to women who love fashion and beauty. They try to cater each box to a theme every month but since I’ve been subscribed that hasn’t really happened.  I don’t mind because I’m not huge on themes but it can be hard for those expecting something to resonate with the designated theme.
Currently, Little Lace Box is not accepting new subscribers while they get their new website and billing system under control.  I think they were hoping to be back online for April but that apparently has been moved to May.
Included in each box is an information page explaining the theme and each item included in the box. If this box looks empty it’s because one item is not included in the actual box.

This box is curated by three girls who are sisters in their twenties.  I think they’ve been having some issues because last month they said that the box was not what they’d hoped and this month, according to the letter inside, has been dedicated to “spa day” even though the original intent was adhere to the theme surrounding “Here comes the Sun.

What You Get: Each box should have a fashion accessory for or your home. You may also find a selection of name brand and boutique brand products and discounts exclusively for the fashion maven inside every woman.

Urban Spa All Natural Sea Sponge– This is a natural sea sponge.  I’ve tried these before but they just kinda get gross and then I can’t bring myself to use it.  This will be swapped to someone who can enjoy it more than I will.

Kate Spade Water Bottle– I think this might be the best thing in the box.  It’s Kate Spade which is nice but it’s a water bottle.  And you can’t wash it in the dishwasher.  If it was a vase or sunglasses or even patterned napkins for a picnic, I might be a little more enthused. As it is, this is the gold glitter bottle and I think it might be the best variation.  The bottle is pretty heavy duty and the outer sleeve is rubber. The actual bottle itself is clear glass and the lid is plastic.

Baronessa Cali Tarocco Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioning Treatment– These are made with olive oil and Sicilian Blood Orange Extracts. They smell fantastic and I know many will be glad to see that they’re a matched set. I don’t really care for hair care which is a bummer. I may end up using these, though, just because they smell good.

Gallery Wrap Printed 12×12 Canvas– This obviously was not included in the box. It’s for an artist textured canvas, printed and mounted on a frame.  It’s gallery wrapped which I like.  I think I might have a good photo that I took for this. Hopefully that will work.  I’m not sure how one goes about actually getting this, though. I heard there was supposed to be an email with a code attached but I haven’t got one. Hm.
Value: $51 (although they are all over the place for $13 or even less so this value is suspect).

VERDICT: The theme for this box was “Here Comes the Sun” and I have to admit, I really don’t see any relation to the theme for any of these items. The theme from last month also didn’t really fit so I don’t know whats going on with their theme choices.
I am underwhelmed by this box.  There’s a sponge but no cleanser.  A water bottle that can’t go in the dishwasher. A shampoo and conditioner which I’m sure most people will love because they’re a match but hair stuff and I don’t get along. I know it’s inevitable so I don’t hold that too much against them. And a canvas print that I have to work at to get. I would have actually been so much happier with the canvas if there was actual artwork to choose from. Instead, it has to be a photo of your own. And I hate that look. I have never been one to put up photos of myself on the wall (even wedding photos). Putting my dogs on the wall would be even weirder. And a photo of my garden would be sort of redundant since it’s already outside… And it has to be a certain size, too. Ugh. Work.

So.  I suspended my account.  Next month’s theme is “Nonna’s Kitchen” and while I love kitchens and cooking, the adherence to theme has been minimal and I really don’t want food products from a box like this.

Update:

Or actually, I just had my account cancelled for me.  I had mentioned on a subscription box forum that I found the way they treated their customers, based on several instances I had read about, to be extremely unprofessional.  I felt that snarkiness and sarcasm should not be part of a customer service experience and I felt uncomfortable supporting a business like that.  Half an hour after I wrote about my concerns on the forums, I received an email saying they cancelled my account.  Maybe that was an coincidence?  Or maybe they read what I wrote and didn’t like it.

From a business perspective, this kind of thing is not a sustainable attitude for a successful business. In order to continue to grow, they’ve got to learn to provide polite customer service and accept (or ignore) criticism- constructive or not.

Cancelling my account because they don’t like my opinions is legal. They can refuse service if they so choose. However, that’s an emotional decision, not a successful business decision. It also denotes a certain level of unprofessional-ism that coincides with how some of the other things they’ve done have come across.

Of course they can sit around and say “Good riddance! We don’t want people like her subscribing anyway!” But that type of thing is not growing your business even if it is satisfying some other internal need.

They’re a small business and with this kind of attitude they will stay small. Growing up in a business environment myself, it’s hard to disassociate myself from certain attitudes regarding success and how to conduct yourself in a professional manner. If they want to stay small then yes, they can continue on just as they are, be themselves in all their sharp-witted, vindictive glory and cancel accounts of people they don’t like.

Normally, this is something I would keep in my forums and not really discuss on the blog because it really doesn’t have an effect on the box itself and I personally had not been a focus for their tactless responses. But now it has affected me so I feel I needed to mention it. Though it doesn’t reflect on the box, it does shed light on the company itself. It’s a shame because the idea is good but treating people they way that they have been is absolutely unacceptable.