This is a great post about the weirdly fierce loyalty some companies inspire in people. Seriously, have you ever visited the Facebook page of a cosmetics company? Especially a sort of "cult" one, like The Balm or Zoya or something.* Fans of the company will leap to its defense in response to any criticism. "Well, if you think that, then you aren't a REAL FAN of this makeup company that is trying to get you to buy things, anyway." Shit like that. Well, not quite like that. But it's somehow creepy and it always baffles me. Why should I be loyal to a company if their products or service disappoint me? The products and services are the things that the company give me. That's their side of the relationship. Do these people really think they have a special friendship with corporations? That they love them back? It benefits them if you think that, but most companies don't care about your feelings, just your money. Just understand and accept that and you'll be happier. Be pleasantly surprised if they behave ethically or compassionately. And make friends with actual people.
*Don't get me started on the weirdness of companies whose PR or social media people give their fans cutesy nicknames in the style of Gaga's little monsters. Shudder.
I agree its odd...but if you think about it they were either gonna blindly support a company...or join a cult. Seriously though! Same people :p there are companies that I do lean towards but I don't defend them against someone else's opinion...that's rediculous and not my job :) oh and one word. Lushie. That is all.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the Lushies!
DeleteCORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE. Um... yeah. That style of marketing makes me... uncomfortable. I mean on one hand I guess it's good that companies want to please their customers, but on the other that jar of "fat girl scrub" (WTF?!?) won't keep you warm at night.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I mean, if my friend didn't keep her promises or screwed me over somehow, I would say something about her too. And a nail polish company is not my friend . . . I don't usually have to pay people to be my friends.
Delete(That garbage has made me entirely write off Bliss forever, too.)
Yeah, I can't stand this style of marketing, as genius as it may be for their profit margin. It just seems a bit...juvenile, right down to the flaming of those who dare dislike something about the product/company. That Bliss thing really makes me irritated. For a company that primarily markets its products towards women, you would thing they would try to be more body positive.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if body shaming right in the name of a product is really effective. Even if I weren't a man-hating feminazi, I doubt I would buy things like with names like that, because I think I would be embarrassed. Isn't it going to turn off as many people as think it's clever?
DeleteWarning: MASSIVE WALL OF TEXT AHEAD
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked at the CosmeticsCompanyThatShallNotBeNamed, we were told that we were the "Smart Stylish Friend Who Loves To Share". We would totally behave like your best friend/confidante because
1. We had to. As in, a manager was going off in our headsets about how we needed to be friendly with everyone.
2. A shitton f people have researched and found out that when you do behave in certain ways (greeting a customer, chatting with them, giving tips, recommendations, etc), they spend more. We are not your friend. We just want you to spend money.
3.People are very particular about the things they put on their face. Groming rituals are very intimate and personal. So when someone says "Oh, I don't like Product X", it's almost a given that someone else is going to say "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT PRODUCT X? PRODUCT X IS AMAZING AND WONDERFUL. YOU ARE USING PRODUCT X WRONG AND YOU HATE ALL GOOD THINGS". Natalie Dee did a post on her makeup blog about mascara, and commenters were more than a little miffed when she criticized Famous Expensive Mascaras.
That's funny, because whenever I go into my local version of that anonymous store, I have to chase associates around the store trying to get someone to help me. (And they never, ever seem to be found in the cheaper half of the store, but that's another thing.)
DeleteI guess I can understand it a little more with respect to a specific product. You at least have evidence that the product works for you, and a lot of people don't understand how much of these things depend on skin type/eyelash type, etc. When the problem is that their customer service is terrible and they won't reply to emails . . . the "don't you dare criticize them they are so nice and they really try because they love you and you are a traitor" rage is a bit less comprehensible.
Hello! So glad you liked my post :D I'm still proud of myself for not kicking over the stand of "Fat Girl Scrub"!
ReplyDeleteI hope you would have been proud if you have kicked it over too! Love your blog. You're one of the good ones.
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