J.R. Watkins Lemon Cream

At Hokulea's blog, Christmas cancelled, she writes about trying to help customers whose orders have expired. Although I don't understand the procedures or what she does, it sounds like sometimes you can get a caring, kind representative like Hoku at a large company. And it doesn't hurt that she has a very specialized skill (makes jewelry) and knew what to do to expedite a ring. So here's my try--again--to get a cream I like that has been discontinued, only I wrote a paper letter and put it in an envelope with a first class stamp, and hope I get a Hokulea clone:

Dear J. R. Watkins Customer Service, I apparently sent my daughter on a wild goose chase when I asked for your Shea Butter Lemon Cream in a jar (4.6 oz.). This product no longer is available, anywhere, either from your sales staff or local stores like Walgreens. So she purchased Shea Butter Body Cream in a tube (3.3 oz.) which the web site more or less said was the same thing. It isn’t. Read the label. I know ingredients are listed in order of quantity, and although many are the same in the two products, many are different in quantity and type. The first five of the jar product are water, shea butter, glycerol stearate, PEG-100 stearate, and steric acid. The first five in the tube are water, shea butter, glycerol stearate, steric acid and cetearyl alcohol. Both lists are followed by Macadamia seed oil. Both PEG-100 stearate and cetearyl alcohol are an emollient, an emulsifier, and a moisturizer, and the cetearyl alcohol is also an opacifier and a thickener. That’s the difference I see on the label, and probably makes the tube product work. But I don’t like tube products--too much of the product is left inside the tube, plus I just like the jar product. You don’t mention on the label that it is a moisturizer for the face, but I use it on my face, and it doesn’t interact with my cosmetics. Do you still have some in the vault of discontinued products that I could buy? I’m 70, and not to give you a sob story, but I think my skin looks fine for my age, and I don’t want to try something new. Please check around for me, and get back to me soon--I only have 2.5 jars left (plus 2 tubes). The lavender is OK, but I love the Lemon Cream.

Update: Here's something I wouldn't have thought of when thinking Watkins--an architectural tour.

Update 2: I now have 3 more jars of Lemon Cream Shea Butter sent to me by Lynne at Seasons for Success. Excellent service!

Dear Valued Customer

Rarely do I get a letter from a company that starts that way and ends well, but this one did. I have used the freebie from SiteMeter since I started blogging 5 years ago, and so do most of the bloggers I visit, because yesterday I was frantically looking at them. SiteMeter had "upgraded" and I'd lost every reason I'd used them, including my total count, which I figured was about 245,500. What was available to me was totally worthless, so I fired off an e-mail of complaint. Apparently several thousand others must have too.

Dear Valued SiteMeter Customers,

As you’re no doubt aware by now, we’ve chosen to roll back our website to the previous “classic” version.

Based on some performance issues we were experiencing along with feedback from the community it appears we have pushed our new site live prematurely."

Ya think? Today, my old version with the features I like was back, but if I'd had more time to pursue it yesterday, I would have already replaced the code and would never have known I'd been switched back.

There's a very basic marketing principal in business and in relationships. You can't give away something and then later change your plan and expect people to value your product and pay for money what used to be given away.