August Strok Stack Replacements: Follow Up

Original August Stork Stack

Okay, so a few days back we received our August Stork Stack in less than ideal condition in the mail box and boy was it a sad day. I took pictures of the damaged goods, the same ones I posted in my initial review and emailed them to member support.

 Stork Stack has Awesome Customer Support!  

I must say Mary was awesome and not only emailed me back in less than 24 hours she shipped the replacement products to me the same day via priority mail! How's that for awesome customer service in action? There was absolutely no issue with them sending out replacement products; except they didn't have any of one of them left and so had to send us an alternate product instead. Here's a look at our replacement products packaged in a regular sized Stork Stack box. 

August Replacement Items

They happily replaced the missing Green Toys Submarine and since we already have one of these and love, love, love it for a bath time and pool toy, it will be given to one of our many expecting friends for fun in the tub with their new little one when they get to that point! They also happily replaced the book that was damaged by the liquid cleaner in the original box. I was so glad to get this new book as we own another Nancy Tillman book called Where Ever You Are, My Love Will Find You and we love reading it for a bedtime story, so couldn't wait to start reading this new one! It's Time to Sleep My Love, doesn't disappoint, it's adorable. Unfortunately it's not currently being used as a bedtime story because K- has decided that her "new book" should be read only while sitting on the big girl potty in the bathroom. So it's become one of our go-to reads for potty time - hey, whatever works right?

Customer Support, I'm sure would have been happy to replace our Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam but unfortunately after all the stacks went out this month they didn't have any left. I will admit I was a little disappointed in that since this was a product I hadn't tried before and I was looking forward to using. My husband on the other hand thought it stunk and was happy we didn't get another one, so I guess it ends up being a wash. Instead of the Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam, Mary included some "alternate" products to make up the value of the original one and now we'll have some other things to try.

The Rest of the Replacements

The Burt's Bees Baby Bee Shampoo and Body Wash is a product that we've used before, love and will happily use again! In fact I've already got it packed in our bathroom kit for our vacation in Canada to see Nana and Opa in a few weeks! It is a lot smaller than the Bionee Pure Hair and Body Cleansing Foam, but it's a product that I love, so I can't really complain too much.

I've heard of Rockin GREEN Laundry Detergent before, but I've never tried it. I believe it's actually watermelon scented as it's "Featuring: Smashing Watermelon;" hmmm, not sure how I feel about that as we're a family that uses "free and clear" laundry products with no scents, dyes etc. I think I'll try using it for our towels, bathmat and possibly socks the first time around just to see what it's like. I'm curious, so I'll give it go and it's only 2/4 loads worth, but unless it's absolutely amazing I doubt I'll be switching anytime soon, especially since watermelon is one of my least favorite scents! 

Finally, they sent us two small samples of Dr. Robin all natural chemical-free sunscreen for children. Okay, here's another one I've never heard of. I'll toss these in the pouch on the baby carrier or stroller bag though and we'll use them since we go through sunscreen like it's madmen around here. K- doesn't consistently wear a hat and I'm terrible about wearing one unless I'm on vacation or it's cold outside (go figure). Since we spend a lot of time outside, whether we're commuting on foot, bike or bus (we don't own a car,) playing in the yard, gardening, or at the park we're constantly getting sun exposure. We pretty much use sunscreen at least on our faces, necks and backs of our ears year round, so these will get used. Plus we'll get to try something new.

All told, while I was disappointed not to just have my regular stack show up like it should, I was really pleased with the response and reaction I got from Stork Stack Customer Support. Mary was great and easy to work with, I didn't feel silly for contacting them and it was possibly the fastest replacement products I've ever received. I honestly feel like a company's customer service department says a lot about the company as a whole and I would give my one and only interaction with Stork Stack's customer service a 10 out of 10! Just one more thing to love about them! 

If you're interested in checking out Stork Stack and want to save $10 on your first order feel free to use this code F9DE8478 at checkout! All of our past Stacks have been phenomenal and I'm sure we'll have some sort of resolution soon for this one! The items in this box with the Green Toy included would have retailed for about $47.00 which is pretty awesome considering that you can get your first Stack using F9DE8478 for only $17.99.

I am a current stork stack subscriber. I was in no way compensated for this review. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. If you purchase your own stork stack using my referral code I may receive a $10 credit on my next stack. Once you create an account you will receive a referral code of your own to share.

Thoughts on Citrus Lane & All About the June Box

Open your Citrus Lane box and this is what you should see! I love the bright yellow tissue and informational card. If you want the contents to be a surprise unwrap the tissue before opening up the info!

Our June Citrus Lane box marks the one year point in our subscription. I honestly never thought we'd continue this long with them when we signed up for the first box a year ago, but here we are; still receiving them.

The box as it comes in the mail.

Some of our boxes have been over the top awesome, some average and some have been complete misses for us. It all comes down to personal choice and lifestyle. You get what you get and it either works well for you or it doesn't and you move on. That's the chance you take with a surprise subscription box and I'm okay with it.

For us, the June CL box was at best, just average. It was disappointing, but it was disappointing for personal reasons and not because it was a terrible box. All in all it was a fine box and had the products in it worked for us now than we would have been thrilled. They don't and we're not.  Here's a look at what was in June's box.

June Box contents - the toy broke within a couple hours. I contacted Customer Care and they happily replaced if for us with a different one! Customer Care at Citrus Lane Rocks!!

That being said, one thing I love about Citrus Lane is their outstanding customer service and their real interest in making their subscribers happy. They ask for honest feedback and opinions about the boxes, they collect that information in many different forms: surveys, social media feedback, direct email and phone calls. In my experience, they listen, they open a line of dialogue and they'll go the extra mile to make you not only feel like you're a member of a great community, but that your voice matters. I have had direct dealings with several members of the Citrus Lane team over the last year and all of them have been polite, positive and respectful. I even went so far as to get discouraged and to send an email asking them whether or not feedback from their subscribers really did matter to them, and the answer wasn't just a resounding "yes" it was a here let us show you how much it does. With that said, we look forward to another year of ups and downs (mostly ups, but lets be realistic; there are going to be some downs) with Citrus Lane!

As for the June box, the items in it were great. Our box was for an 18 month old girl. Unfortunately the only things we could use right away out of it were the Episencial Sunny Sunscreen and the happy tot+ pouch. Both of which we already regularly use. The sunscreen works really well and this was a small enough size to easily throw into a diaper bag. The pouch got eaten up almost immediately. The new plus pouches by happy tot are great because they add veggies to the mix for a more balanced pouch.

 

The sun hat from iPlay was a great addition to this box and one of the reasons we actually signed up for the box last year. Although we didn't get the "Fun in the Sun" box in May last year, it was that box that gave me the final nudge to try out Citrus Lane. 

We have owned several iPlay products including infant sunhats and they're awesome. They have SPF protection, wash and wear well, are soft, light weight and super convenient to pack because they fold up so small. This is a hat you'll use over and over again. You can get them in different styles and a lot of them, like this one are reversible for the added bonus of two looks with one hat! 

Unfortunately for us, we got a size 2-4 toddler hat. iPlay only makes three sizes of hats 0-6 months, 6-18 months and 2-4T. They're all generously sized. While I would have loved to have a new 6-18 month hat in our box, we didn't get one. We didn't get one of those because Citrus Lane does their best to send products that your child won't immediately out grow and stop using. They would rather error on the side of caution and send something too big, than send something you can't use at all. As a parent, I really appreciate this most of the time! This time I didn't, but that's only because the hat is SO big that we'll have to put it up until at least next summer. Who wants a summer hat you can't use in the summer when you get it? At least I won't have to buy one for next year. Honestly, I wish they had an option to customize your child's current size under the profile information, but that isn't something they've done... at least not yet. They're always listening to customer feedback though, and who knows, it may be something that changes in the future.

Finally, because CL strives to send out a balanced box of items, there was a summer toy. This month they sent out toys from Spielstabil, which is a subdivision of Haba the German toy company and the toys are made in Germany. I honestly love Haba products and was really excited to see this toy included in the box as we'd never tried anything from their Spielstabil line. Citrus Lane sent out different sand and water toys this month and we got an apple tree sand mold. 

It was a cute toy, and I would consider other sand molds from them in the future, if I had some reassurance that this wasn't a normal occurrence.

Unfortunately, within about 2 hours of my daughter playing with it inside, the handle popped off! I was shocked as this shouldn't have happened. Spielstabil prides themselves on "Indestructible, BPA free toys made to last." So, either ours was a fluke or it somehow got broken in shipping and my daughter just managed to pull it apart because it was loose. I don't know.

They were out of the toy originally sent to us, so customer care sent 2 different products by Spielstabil (same value) instead and we've already had tons of fun using them. This is my daughter playing with them at the park.

 Either way, I contacted Customer Care at Citrus Lane about the broken toy and they sent us a replacement. The replacement toys actually made the box a little bit more fun and less disappointing because now we have something from the June Citrus Lane box that we'll be able to use all summer! Once again, many thanks to the awesome customer care team!

If you're interested in trying out your own Citrus Lane box or signing up for a subscription you can do so here. If you use this link, https://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Audrey.Albinger when you sign up you'll save $10 off your subscription! Or if you'd rather try just one month to see if you like it, click here and enter code TAKEHALF at check out - your first box will cost only $12.50 and that's a deal! Word to the wise: you must sign up before the 5th of the month to get that months box or else you'll get the following month's box. You can cancel your subscription at anytime right on their website. If you do sign up I'd love to know your thoughts! 

No compensation was received for writing this post. All thoughts, opinions and photos are my own. We choose to subscribe to Citrus Lane and have done so at our own expense since June 2012. If you sign up from one of my links on this page I may receive a $10 credit to use for future Citrus Lane boxes and I greatly appreciate that!