Bath & Body Works | What would I change?

Here we are, three days before Christmas with nine days before the year's end and I am sitting here wondering where the year went. I felt that way a lot this year...as if the sands of time and I were racing in the hourglass.

Time seemed to pass more quickly and I am not sure if it was because I am caring for my father in law that made the moments free seem few and far between, or if it is I am just noticing those moments more now than before. I know time is precious... and fleeting...and trying to fit 28 hours into 24 never works.  Hence the non-sleeping, mind racing at night.

And in the darkness when I should be sleeping and I am not, I am thinking and organizing all that I will do and what else needs to be done.

Bath and Body Works thoughts find a way to always be creeping in there at times and when I was thinking about this years, everything, versus last years, everything...I find it was no contest.  For me...and this is just my opinion...but for me this year needed a big red redo button.

I guess that is what corporate thought of this year.  That we as consumers needed a big red redo button from the things of the past. 

We all have heard it said, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it." I guess they felt as if many things were broken because 2017 will go down as the year of change.

And Change is never fun.

What would I like to see change?

First and foremost. Get all of your stores in line and on the SAME page regarding corporate rules, regulations, and operations. Make sure your sales associates are all trained with the SAME information regarding products, sales, COUPON usage and customer service.

At any given time, social media shares a prime example of the varying behaviors from store to store. A policy should be a policy everywhere.  Sadly, it is not and it is frustrating when a store uses their lack of sales goals being met to dictate what coupons they will honor. Or to the other extreme when associates know it is one coupon, per person per day coupon and favorite customers are permitted to come in with 30+ coupons to use at once for their haul, that is later shared on social media.

Next. Online sales. For me, not shopping at a local store because not all of the bad seeds were cleared out previously when you broom swept, means I need to travel 45+ miles to shop at another store.  Not always practical with the price of gas and bad weather, so I found my only other option was to shop online.  Sadly, so much that is offered in the store never makes it to the online site to purchase so rather than missing out on a few things from a collection, I don't make a purchase at all. 

I know that there are also many homebound readers who also only have the online venue as an option to shop and they do complain to me that their choices are very limited versus the store. Please try to make online a little better that way.

Body Care scents.  An olfactory professional I am not...but with a lack of fragrance choices...other than the regular coconut in everything collections we see, I fear I am not the only one.  Visit. Social. Media.  We, your consumers, are clamoring for new as well as those scents we loved from the past to be revisited.  And every year we find the requests go unheard. Twice a year, dragging out Cucumber Melon for a semi-annual sale is not what we meant.  Those we see online. 

Thanks. Surely among the dusty shelves in the archives library, there must be recipes for something to WOW us.  I will hold the ladder for ya....let's look together.   I mean, you do have in store scent testing...can we have some of those please?

Body Care - Care.  Yes, we all want to smell great and get some sort of benefit from using a product.  And, okay, maybe the other formulas you offered did none of that. But ESSENTIALIZING everything we see from lotion and shower gels to candles and pocketbacs only bored us with the randomness of other brands you tried to be. 

Be You.  I have a Rae Dunn mug that has that carved into it. 

Be You.  I could show you how much I spent on the Essentials everything this year. 

Not much.  If I want to have essential oils, I have the Aromatherapy Line available to me...well wait... Y'all went and messed that up for me scent wise too....Geesh.  Saying you're putting Essential oils into something does not make me want to spend more for it or want to smell like hemp.  

Or making something hypoallergenic didn't do anything for me except dry me out like a prune, literally.... and get aggravated that I had to order it online...pay to ship and when I went to return it...get guff at the register because it was purchased online. Options are great....yes, but please try not to "apothecary look" everything.

Candles.  Oye.  Where to begin with that topic.

Scents. - You know what we like.  And, you know we want new.  And Oldies. Three years to bring back the Sweet Shop candles?  Can I ask what the heck took so long?  Did you not see the secondary market price for some of these? 

Why can't we have Sweet Shop Candles every year...with other sweet shop scents.  Pretty labels too...don't forget that.  And while your at it I hear rumors that French Baguette is in the works....  Again, Thank you...but what took so long....we love that one.  The original French Baguette now...no tricky essentializing that.

Price. - work on that.  It's wax in a jar with some "essential"  oils, wicks, and a label. One day it's this price, then the next day, it's higher. Some candles qualify for a sale then the next day they all do... You are making me dizzy. Pick a price and I will buy it.

Labels - OYE again. I like pretty labels and pretty jars.  I like labels that tell a story. I like labels that belong to a group of other candles as a collection.  I will buy more. (I didn't this year).

What I don't like is STUPID...SLANG...(makes you look like you lost all hope for an idea for a collection)  Message Labels. 

If you want to have a Happy Birthday, Congrats...etc. collection...good.  Wonderful. 

But this Urban Dictionary collection of Nonsense labels with scents that don't match the name was horrid.  Nailed It?  with a Nail on the label?  Who...who  thinks that is a good label?

What's next? A picture of a rock?  Opps my bad...we did have that.

And putting those types of labels not only on candles but pushing them on us via hand soap and pocketbac labels made me question what was the thought process in coming up with that.  If I want something like that...I can go to Spencers.

Well, that and...(lowers my voice) using others design work without checking with the designer. Yes, a year that will be remembered with candle label-gate.  Once...okay.  Twice...wellllll.  A entire collection....Bye Bye design team for making the brand look bad.

Collections. -  I thought it fun to visit the store every month ( I went everyday too but I digress) to see it change into another fragrance destination. 

January was something warm and tropical...Hawaii...Bali...you get the idea. I liked that the stores options from Home Fragrance to Body Care all worked within the theme. And the next month would come and we would be off again.  This year..... Blah.  No themes!  No cohesiveness.  No Signature body care scent changes.

Bland essentials over and over again...and good for us changed the way the store would look. Not inviting.  And the months would pass and I would wait for the next thinking...okay what else can we get but a theme?  Right?.... and once again huge dissapointment...and more money in my wallet.  

Last minute decisions?  I thought surely FALL and HOLIDAY I am going to be BROKE!!!!   Yay!

Nope.  Come closer.  Ya, right there. 

We....like...Holiday Traditions.  We like Fall Traditions.  Scents.  Body Care.  You started it and we loved it... Don't take away your money makers and our favorites.

What a mess for both of these this year.  Old labels on body care from last year brought out well past the selling times showed us you recognized you screwed up and were NOT ready for this year.

Twisted Peppermint, Vanilla Bean Noel and Winter Candy Apple Holiday Traditions on a small table was terrible.  Body Care Forms were missing....and Twisted Peppermint Spray comes out Christmas week??? And limited?  What's Happening??? 

Then you offer these traditions scents in another collection doused with essentials.  Sure, sure the tables are cleared of many of them but those of us who know what they were and what they should be knew the difference.

Options. - By this I mean....give all of your stores the chance to sell more by sending them all of the options you send to other stores.  Big sales and little sales levels.  I see things on social media and wonder where did that come from? Only to find all of the stores around me never got it in.

For example, the Holiday House $28.50 Wallflower.  How can a stores sales level ever grow and change if they are not afforded the same products a higher sales level store gets?  In an age where everything is shared in a social media instant it would be great to also have the chance to enjoy all products.

Holidays. - They are big deals.  I know you know this.  CELEBRATE THEM! 

Valentine's Day is coming... are we ready with a great collection of body care and home fragrance.  Is there a great candle to mark the occasion?  With a pretty label I mean. How about some chocolate temptations kind of signature body care?  Sweet Candy scents too.  And noooo not winter candy apple please. If they can put delish scents in shampoo and conditioner can't we have that in body care too? Gimme some cute hand soaps and pocketbacs and don't forget wallflower warmers.

Easter. Mothers Day! 

SPRING...SUMMER...Fourth of July! FALLLLLL Halloween!  Christmas. New Years!  Get those designers going to come up with ideas to make 2018 more better than ever. 

New Years is almost here and No sort of Celebrate body care and home fragrance anything is in stores as we prepare for Semi- Annual Sale time. Or as I like to call it..."lotion all over the products in a box time."

My hope is that the SAS goes quickly and the store gets back to it fully stocked, ready for sale look and feel. Then I am ready for a destination...and a collection to purchase.  

So, where will you be taking us Bath and Body Works?  Somewhere warm I hope. 

It's only in the low 30's here with a chance for snow!