Photo: @bellagerard/TikTok; Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com
Kim Kardashian's SKIMS is among the biggest brands out there. So why is its customer service so bad?
By John Sundholm — Written on Jan 12, 2023
Kim Kardashian is one of the biggest moguls around, and the success of her SKIMS line of shapewear, swimwear, lingerie and other clothing proves just how big a tastemaker she really is.
Since its 2019 launch, SKIMS has become a billion-dollar company.
But for all that popularity and exclusivity, Kardashian seems to have a bit of a problem when it comes to returns and customer service.
A customer claimed SKIMS sent her order and personal details to an entirely different person.
In a series of TikToks, fashion editor Bella Gerard described the odyssey of trying to get her messed up SKIMS order refunded—and she's not the only one who's frustrated.
Gerard said that she loves SKIMS products so much that she orders them at least once a month, despite frequently receiving PR and editor gifts from the company.
So much so, she says she stopped to shop one of SKIMS' super-brief, blink-and-you-miss-it drop sales in the midst of running the New York Marathon.
The order went immediately haywire—she received a woman named Laura in Portugal's order, not her own.
Gerard was concerned not only because she wanted her items, but because the order included all of Laura's personal information.
Worried about identity theft, Gerard contacted SKIMS' customer service to ensure her order, and her personal information, hadn't been sent to the wrong person as well.
SKIMS told her that her order was not refundable and that due to the flash sale her items were no longer available. Which, of course, did not address the problem.
After explaining the situation again, SKIMS refused to refund her order unless she sent Laura's order back first.
As she quickly learned, that is against the rules of the Federal Trade Commission, which classifies wrong orders as "gifts" from the company that sent them.
Gerard's video quickly went viral—and that made SKIMS customer service change its tune about her return and refund.
Once her TikTok video gained traction, SKIMS not only offered her a refund but also gave her a $100 gift card, as she revealed in a follow-up video.
They also assured her that her order had not been sent out at all, so she didn't need to worry about her personal information falling into the right hands.
But that ended up still not being the end of the story.
After Gerard tracked Laura down, she found out she had in fact received Gerard's order after all.
Meanwhile, Gerard's followers were causing such a ruckus for SKIMS online that the company's Director of Customer Service ended up contacting her directly.
Gerard explained that this small and easily solvable shipping problem became a major issue simply because SKIMS customer service "failed to take me seriously until I took to social media."
Gerard says her conversation with SKIMS ended positively, and that they are still her "favorite brand."
But Gerard is far from the only person who's had negative SKIMS customer service experiences.
TikTok is full of video from SKIMS customers detailing everything from damaged products, to poor construction and, like Gerard, major shipping issues.
Similar to Gerard's experience, customers have reported SKIMS refusing to replace or exchange damaged or faulty merchandise and denying customers refunds.
One woman was even denied a refund for a shirt that arrived with marker ink all over it. SKIMS offered a 30% discount instead.
As a fashion editor with pull in the industry, Gerard seems to have been able to get through to the company that they need to improve their customer service procedures.
She says they discussed ways they could improve and she was assured that they are "dedicated to change."
Still, the newest video on TikTok about negative SKIMS customer service experiences was just posted yesterday by a woman denied a refund for a $90 t-shirt that pilled after just four wears.
As one commenter summed up the situation, "Who’s handling their customer service dept!!?? North and Penelope ????"
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.