I cannot praise the souk + SEPIA Tribe & Team enough. I'm London/UK-based and the ordering process was super efficient with extremely fast delivery and regular emails to keep me updated. I needed some follow-up assistance and the team were awesome, especially Siena who looked after me in a warm, friendly and very productive way. Kudos all round, top customer service - I will definitely purchase again!
Response from souk + SEPIASep 26, 2021
It is a heartwarming experience to be publicly praised for something that matters most to us! Thank you for letting the world know how souk + SEPIA does business, Anne!
We take great pleasure in making sure that you all have a pleasant experience for each time you order. We dedicate every fiber of our being into the work we do to keep you happy.
There's no denying that Siena is a valuable asset to the team. To further inspire her to continue her excellence, will make sure to send your praises her way. With your continued support comes the longevity of our positions in the Tribe!
From the bottom of our hearts, we send you our warmest thanks! May the Universe grant you spiritual and financial growth. Keep spreading the positive vibrations of love! ❤️❤️❤️
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
PE
PE
Good experience but plenty of room for improvement
Update: Changing my rating to a 5 due to the thorough and awesome response from the owner/ customer service rep. I love that they are taking the feedback from their customers seriously and considering ways to improve. I really do love this online boutique and will buy from them again and often with confidence, knowing they have a solid customer support model that will help address any issues I encounter during my shopping experience with them.
Original Review:
It takes a while to get shipped (as detailed in their faq section) but I have enjoyed my experience with them so far. During my experience, I have observed three opportunities for improvement:
1) the return policy does not clearly state how much it will cost to return an item so I was unsure how much it'd cost prior to initiating the return process. But once it was initiated, the return was simple and straightforward.
2) the sizing is WAAAY off on some of their pieces. I am usually a size 6-8 and ordered the Namur (one size) thinking it would actually fit considering I'm a fairly small/medium sized woman... nope. The dress was SO TIGHT and the split was so high, my entire hip/thigh was literally out. Like underwear and side booty all the way EXPOSED. Their clothes are cute but they need to really do a quality analysis on their pieces, especially those that say "one size" and consider how they can offer more inclusive sizes and product offerings. I rarely have trouble with fit issues so I can only imagine how frustrating it is for women needing a larger size. Also, the Eohiban sweater's proportions are completely misleading on the site. Online, it is depicted as an oversized, long sweater but in real life, the sweater fits more like a button up crop sweater. Not cute 😢
3) the kabuyanda sweatsuit seems to be intentionally confusing on the website. On the site, the pictures show both the pants AND the top in multiple pictures, leading me to believe they came as a set...nope. I paid $69 for JUST THE PANTS. I really felt bamboozled. Apparently, they are separate and would have to be added to your cart separately even though they are shown as a set. I would never pay $138 for a matching sweatsuit.. especially one with the words "sorry, 30 waffles is my limit". Um whet? Lol... so strange. It could have said something like black excellence, Jesus is king...something! Do better, y'all lol!!! I don't want to walk around with anything that costs that much money, talking about how fat I am at brunch.
I believe with some additional qa (to ensure accurate sizing), more inclusive sizing, and transparency, this could be a great online boutique. I gave them 4 stars because although there were issues, the return process seems really simple, customer service was really great (I emailed and got an almost immediate response), and the pieces that did work, WEEERKED. It was only half of what I ordered because the other half had major sizing issues or weren't as I expected but I'm excited to include them in my wardrobe as staple pieces for years to come.
Response from souk + SEPIASep 23, 2021
Dear Patrice,
From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank you for gracing us with a feedback that's honest and with the purest of intentions. We are grateful for we consider ourselves lucky to have you as a customer.
We find ourselves nodding in agreement to the things you have pointed out. Things that we can improve on as a company to make our customers' overall experience impeccable.
To address the sizing issues, we have implemented the adding of vendors in our blacklist. Basically, when a merchant has received complaints, not just with sizing, but the overall quality of a product, we add them in the list of suppliers to be wary of doing business again in the future.
This is one way for us to make sure that we only send the best ones to you. Since we are working with merchants from across the globe, we have limited control with the quality assurance side since the merchants usually have their own quality assurance people to handle this.
We would like to apologize for the confusion regarding the Kabuyanda set. We did not intend to mislead you with the picture in the website. On the lower right part of the site when you click the Kabuyanda, you can see two circles placed beside each other. One says "Pants" and "Top" for the other. Customers are given the chance to click which one they want to order out of the two.
Despite all that, we are not taking away the fact that it can potentially be confusing to other customers as well. No worries, we shall make sure to send this information to the right people so they could help us.
Apart from that, we are very thankful for all the good things you have said about us. You have judged us fairly and we cannot ask for more. Thank you so much, Patrice! I have high hopes that you will claim more blessings this year.
With Gratitude,
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
RT
Robin T.
So bad with returns
So bad with returns. If your not happy with your item, your stuck with it!
Response from souk + SEPIASep 23, 2021
Hello Robin,
With our deepest regrets, we would like to express the disappointment we feel for ourselves here. We could have gotten a positive feedback from you, but got the opposite instead.
Despite that, we're happy to inform you that we have a new and improved returns process with Happy Returns. https://soukandsepia.happyreturns.com/.
Please feel free to visit the aforementioned link to start your return.
Believe me, it's relatively easy. Just put in your order number and your zip code. Once done, you can select the item/s you wish to return and we will be giving you a Happy Returns booth location near your address to make your return.
We hope the information has been helpful. Please feel free to write us at [email protected] should you require further assistance. Wishing you a lovely rest of the day!
With Gratitude,
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
LA
Laila
I just think its weird and annoying…
I just think its weird and annoying that you're sending out an 'review my product' (or review the site) email before you even send a tracking number, process the order or before we receive the item.
Response from souk + SEPIASep 22, 2021
Hi Laila,
It is with deep regret that we receive what could have been a 5-star review from you. We do understand that you feel frustrated with what has gone on so far, but we are happy to tell you that there already exists a tracking number for your order.
The latest update we have is that your item is on its way to USPS since the 17th of September. We will be emailing you the tracking info for your reference.
We're sorry for the automated email you got when you have not even received your order yet. We did not mean to annoy you with that. If there's anything you'd like for us to do to for you, please send us an email at [email protected].
With Gratitude,
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
SM
Sharron M.
I'm waiting for my second order/…
I'm waiting for my second order/ excellent clothing
Response from souk + SEPIASep 22, 2021
Hi Sharron,
It's a real pleasure to be on the receiving end of a 5-star review such as this, but what feels way better is the trust that you have given us considering you had ordered for the second time already.
We keep getting better because of the love and support people like you have sent our way. We are firm believers of maintaining a healthy relationship with our customers because if you all are happy, then we know we're doing our jobs right.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! May you enjoy good fortune throughout your days in this Earth. If you think there's something we can help you with, please do not hesitate to write us and we'll be more than happy to assist you.
With Gratitude,
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
TB
Taia B.
First let me start off by saying I love…
First let me start off by saying I love supporting black on businesses. And the fact that they have amazing style and their clothing was one of the reasons I decided to order from them. I made my order on September 4 for my birthday which is October 9. I expected the order to come from Jersey as other people that I know have placed orders and stated this is where they ship from. To my surprise I received an update on my shipping on September 15 two weeks after my purchase stating that my shipment was coming from China! Upset to say the least I obviously will not have my shipment for my birthday being that it’s coming from China and the label was only create it shipment has yet to be made as of today September 16! For the life of me I can’t understand why it takes two weeks to ship in order let alone create a label! By far the worst experience! I will never order from them again and I will be sure to let others now how this process went
Response from souk + SEPIASep 22, 2021
Hi Taia,
Thank you for letting out your sorrows on us. We are deeply sorry for any misunderstanding on our part as we never intended to make you feel misled. We have posted both order processing and shipping times in our website's FAQs page (https://soukandsepia.com/a/faqs) to make sure we are transparent with our customers.
Not to worry, as we have checked your reference number and we see that your order has already been delivered to you on the 20th of September as per the tracking link we have for your order.
Our explanation for your items coming from China is that souk + SEPIA is an online marketplace for curated fashionable items from around the globe. We have suppliers particularly in the US, UK, Tibet, Thailand, China and Lagos, Nigeria.
But this does not affect the quality of the items we sell as we take extra measures to ensure our customers receive their money's worth for the products.
We do hope this helps clear any misconceptions you may have about us as we do hold your respect in high regard. Please don't hesitate to write us should you require assistance. Wishing you a lovely rest of the evening.
With Gratitude,
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
ND
Nancy D.
This is my first order through souk +…
This is my first order through souk + SEPIA - I placed an order a few weeks ago and my item has yet to ship. No shipping updates either, unfortunately, it will likely be my last visit.
Response from souk + SEPIASep 21, 2021
Hi Nancy,
We would like to express our regrets for any trouble that's caused. We would like to apologize for this unpleasant experience. We would just like to clarify that our order processing, per our FAQs page (https://soukandsepia.com/a/faqs), takes 5 to 10 business days, a total of 2 to 4 weeks for your items to get to your doorstep.
Upon checking, we see that your order has been ordered on the 8th of September with the latest shipping update on the 19th of September saying your order is on its way to USPS.
With this, we're still within the processing timeframe for your purchase. We humbly ask for your a little bit more of your patience this time. Please allow a few more days for your parcel to arrive.
Customers should be able to receive an email notification once the items have shipped out, which includes a tracking number. We hope this helps clarify. Should you need more help, simply send us an email at [email protected].
With gratitude,
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
KA
Kay
Customer service is good
Customer service is good
Response from souk + SEPIASep 20, 2021
Oh dear, that is one of the things we are best known for, Kay! We're glad you're satisfied with how we took care of you. Please don't hesitate to write us back should you require our assistance! Luck be with you! Keep safe!
—The souk + SEPIA Customer Gratitude Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.soukandsepia.com
IG: @soukandsepia
