Very Cavallari - General Discussion

[PhoneCop]

30 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

When Kelly is the voice of reason, you know you've gone off the rails. 

Redemption arc? LOL

I'm fully willing to bet that the only real problem the staff has with Kaylee is that she calls their immature, shiftless selves out on their shit. Like Jay said, shipping is simply not that hard—mistakes will happen, but when we're talking empty boxes by the dozen, that almost certainly points to a crew of irresponsible fuck-ups who should have a taskmaster riding their asses, if not firing them outright.

[RHJunkie]

Jay continues to be MVP of the show. I really appreciate how he provides commentary that so effectively captures the idiocy of everyone around him. The highlight was when he walked over to the girl that manages the 'technical' aspects of shipping and confirms that all she does is hit 'print' and then collects the labels, LMAO. He's absolutely right - shipping is not complicated, the problem is people who don't care enough to pay attention to the details.

Kristen is surprised by how well Jay handled overseeing the company for one day, he's been giving her sound business advice from the start that she doesn't listen to. He is more astute to the management side of things compared to her. While Kaylee may have been a great worker, bringing her back knowing the issues the rest of the staff had with her is asking for trouble - again, which is what Jay warned Kristen about. If she was serious about getting the staff on point, she should have fired the lot of them after discovering that Kaylee and Brittany are the only two that are serious about their jobs. How hard is it to replace people who are showing up to socialize and half-ass a job? Or bring back Kaylee and fire the lot of them who aren't pulling their weight and take issue with having a manager that calls out their laziness and mistakes. But alas, this show is primarily to promote the business - I guess it wouldn't make for great TV if Kristen made sound business decisions and ran a well-oiled machine. 

[EarlGreyTea]

9 hours ago, PhoneCop said:

Redemption arc? LOL

I'm fully willing to bet that the only real problem the staff has with Kaylee is that she calls their immature, shiftless selves out on their shit. Like Jay said, shipping is simply not that hard—mistakes will happen, but when we're talking empty boxes by the dozen, that almost certainly points to a crew of irresponsible fuck-ups who should have a taskmaster riding their asses, if not firing them outright.

Agreed. Kristin said last season that she didn't want cliques, but that's exactly what has happened. The fact that the sane people in the office (Brittainy, Kristin) like Kaylee and the vapid ones don't, is a big point in Kaylee's favor. I really, REALLY get that it is very hard to work for someone you don't like, and God knows I know the feeling of absolutely dreading work because of a boss, but then that's when you put your head down, find a new job as quickly as possible, and peace out.

Why were there co-managers of shipping anyway? That seemed like a dumb idea from the jump.

Is is the done thing to fire an employee without the CEO knowing? I suppose if it's bad enough, maybe?

[PhoneCop]

Depends on the size of the company and the nature of the hierarchy, I imagine. If this were a normal situation, it sounds like Kaylee was high enough that dismissing her without Kristin's input would be highly unusual, but...this is UJ and Kristin hasn't done a stellar job of structuring things.

It also raises this question: If Kaylee was let go while Kristin was at the Emmys and now Cyber Monday is upon us, that points to a gap of about two months. If Kaylee was so valuable an employee, why didn't Kristin look into the matter sooner than she did? Oh, right, manufactured drama.

It's so weird that we have all these retconned employees and storylines. Well, retconned isn't the right word exactly, but it sure feels that way.

[Stan39]

Ugh. I can’t watch anymore. Kristin is so bad at her job that it’s unbearable. Yes, she hired a crew of fuck-ups to run her business, but she shows no leadership whatsoever and is a complete pussy when it comes to dealing with even the smallest of issues. Sending Jay in and bringing back Kaylee (which may be a good hire but she should have prepared her staff for her comeback, especially if HR fired her). 

It’s like Kristin’s store is a half-assed way to drum up “drama” for this show, but even this show is just a half-assed attempt to stay relevant. I want to see Kristin put some effort into SOMETHING to make this all somewhat believable, but at the end of the day she’s just lazy and doesn’t care. 

[EarlGreyTea]

 I'm waving the flag aboard Team Kaylee. As I've said before, I've had a boss I really disliked and was, frankly, scared of. You know what I did? I kept a smile on my face, found a new job and peaced out. She never know how I really felt. I hate the endless cliques and passive aggressive faces from the UJ staff. Colby can go the way of Shannon as far as I'm concerned. I really can't with incompetent ass people refusing to own their own mistakes. Brittainy seems to be as much of a hard ass as Kaylee, yet the staff seems to like her. I wonder why that is. I have a theory or two.

They claim Kaylee doesn't know anything about shipping, but frankly, based on their piss poor results, none of the people in shipping know anything. I will say it's a major fail not telling the shipping people that Kaylee was in charge for that day.

Isn't it convenient that Kristin is always out of town when the store is busiest or operations are the most complicated?

[WhosThatGirl]

Huh, the most interesting thing was the last couple of minutes and Kristen meeting up with her old friend. I would watch that. It wasn’t stuff about her store and her business that constantly feels manufactured at times and it felt like he was having a real conversation with someone. I know kelly is supposed to be her best friend but they don’t seem to ever be having a real conversation.

[heatherchandler]

1 hour ago, WhosThatGirl said:

Huh, the most interesting thing was the last couple of minutes and Kristen meeting up with her old friend. I would watch that. It wasn’t stuff about her store and her business that constantly feels manufactured at times and it felt like he was having a real conversation with someone. I know kelly is supposed to be her best friend but they don’t seem to ever be having a real conversation.

I agree.  Do she and Kelly know each other that well?  They seem nervous around each other.  And then we are forced to watch her with Jay?  Why do we have to watch her?  

[WhosThatGirl]

5 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

I agree.  Do she and Kelly know each other that well?  They seem nervous around each other.  And then we are forced to watch her with Jay?  Why do we have to watch her?  

Right? It was also odd to me that Kristen was talking to Kelly about heading to LA for the pop up shop and was like “I should stop by Laguna” and kelly then was all “how does jay feel about all this traveling?” Considering Kristen avoids laguna, wouldn’t kelly her supposed best friend ask about this or say something along the lines of “oh yeah it’s been some time, right?”

[PhoneCop]

I actually found Kelly not completely intolerable with Jay, so I guess now I subscribe to the notion that she and Kristin bring out the unwatchable screechiness in each other.

3 hours ago, EarlGreyTea said:

Brittainy seems to be as much of a hard ass as Kaylee, yet the staff seems to like her. I wonder why that is. I have a theory or two.

This is where I wish I knew what's going on in the producers' minds, because unless they're passive-aggressively throwing everyone under the bus, why do they consistently show Kristin to be an inept leader, running a company of incompetents (and Brittainy) who appear to be ganging up on the one visible POC? Not great optics and not a great advertisement for the brand. I mean, I won't be surprised if it eventually comes out that UJ is Jay's tax shelter/laundering front, but there are quieter ways of going about that than running a weekly series about it on E! for multiple seasons. Odd choices have been made here.

All that aside, it still seems like the staff's problem with Kaylee is that she simply expects basic competence and they're just not up to it. Matt saying he'd been planning shipping operations for months? Yeah, okay, kid. I bet the PowerPoint was spectacular. And Colby might actually surpass Kelly in making me want to gouge out my eardrums—"like" doesn't have to be every third word, dear, it really doesn't—so she can return to being a background player whenever.

[heatherchandler]

They don't like Kaylee (I think that is her name, they all have very similar names) not because she is "verbally abusive" but because she isn't a sickly sweet ass kisser.  Though I will say that if someone grabbed a phone out of my hands I would be in HR so fast.. I would not work with someone who rips phones from people's hands.  

[WhosThatGirl]

35 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

They don't like Kaylee (I think that is her name, they all have very similar names) not because she is "verbally abusive" but because she isn't a sickly sweet ass kisser.  Though I will say that if someone grabbed a phone out of my hands I would be in HR so fast.. I would not work with someone who rips phones from people's hands.  

Yeah, the reason she got fired was the phone thing and that isn’t okay. Unless Kristen was making sure she’s going to some type of behavior management thing because that behavior isn’t okay. And obviously however it was done was enough to get her fired. She didn’t get fired because the others were complaining about her, she got fired because she ripped a phone out of another’s hands. Where is the employee  who got the phone ripped out of

their hands? Let’s talk to them.

[alexa]

The Yelp reviews for Uncommon James are what you would expect from watching the show.  I am not sure why anyone is wasting their money after reading the reviews.  Honestly, they are very bad.  

[Stan39]

I’m rewatching Laguna Beach. I’m pretty sure high school Kristen would laugh at and mock adult Kristen until she developed a neurosis. 

[Misslindsey]

On 3/26/2019 at 1:13 PM, alexa said:

The Yelp reviews for Uncommon James are what you would expect from watching the show.  I am not sure why anyone is wasting their money after reading the reviews.  Honestly, they are very bad.  

I just fell down the rabbit hole reading the Yelp reviews for Uncommon James. Besides the shipping issues, one of the biggest complaints seems to be cheap jewelry.

[WhosThatGirl]

25 minutes ago, Misslindsey said:

I just fell down the rabbit hole reading the Yelp reviews for Uncommon James. Besides the shipping issues, one of the biggest complaints seems to be cheap jewelry.

I was reading a few of them too. They also hilariously called the whole thing a passion project for a reality star and not worth the money. I mean.. I don’t know.  I can’t say I haven’t bought things that are a reality star brand, I have many items from Lauren Conrad’s line. But I don’t know.. hers feels different from whatever uncommon James  is to Kristen. I’m not sure how to explain it.

[Tatum]

12 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

I was reading a few of them too. They also hilariously called the whole thing a passion project for a reality star and not worth the money. I mean.. I don’t know.  I can’t say I haven’t bought things that are a reality star brand, I have many items from Lauren Conrad’s line. But I don’t know.. hers feels different from whatever uncommon James  is to Kristen. I’m not sure how to explain it.

Probably because fashion (and the related enterprises) is something Lauren has claimed to be interested in since she was a high schooler and her entire professional career has been closely related to this industry. Whereas Kristin is more of a "let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" kind of person. It's unclear to me whether she's into this fashion line and wanted to reality show to move the product, or she wanted a reality show and the clothing line is a way to have something to film about since Jay won't let her pimp out their personal lives or their kids. Either way, there is something not very genuine about Kristin.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Tatum

[Stan39]

12 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Probably because fashion (and the related enterprises) is something Lauren has claimed to be interested in since she was a high schooler and her entire professional career has been closely related to this industry. Whereas Kristin is more of a "let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" kind of person. It's unclear to me whether she's into this fashion line and wanted to reality show to move the product, or she wanted a reality show and the clothing line is a way to have something to film about since Jay won't let her pimp out their personal lives or their kids. Either way, there is something not very genuine about Kristin.

All of this. 

[RHJunkie]

5 hours ago, Tatum said:

Probably because fashion (and the related enterprises) is something Lauren has claimed to be interested in since she was a high schooler and her entire professional career has been closely related to this industry. Whereas Kristin is more of a "let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" kind of person. It's unclear to me whether she's into this fashion line and wanted to reality show to move the product, or she wanted a reality show and the clothing line is a way to have something to film about since Jay won't let her pimp out their personal lives or their kids. Either way, there is something not very genuine about Kristin.

I agree, particularly to the extent that Lauren's interest in the industry has probably led her to do more research about the best ways to promote and deliver her products. They have taken very different approaches and I'd argue that Lauren has taken better advantage of her platform and connections than Kristen has (not necessarily that Kristen doesn't care as much about fashion as Lauren, but I'm not sure she cares as much about it as a business as Lauren does). Lauren has a sales and distribution agreement that allows her to create her products, maximize wholesale costs based on committed purchase orders and she has no additional expenses. This allows her to produce better quality products in bulk (saving her money) and she has no overhead expenses to deal with.

Kristen seems to care more about brand aesthetic than about product quality. If you paid $9.00 for a necklace (like Lauren's) and it broke after 5 wears, you're less inclined to be that upset about it. But you're paying upwards of $40 (+tax and shipping) for simple jewelry designs that break easily and don't look like you paid $40 for it and that's the biggest problem. As a consumer of Kristen, that $40 isn't for the quality of the product, it's to pay for her crappy manufacturing prices, it's to pay the rent and bills for a large and unnecessary storefront location in Nashville and it's to pay for a shitload of employees who are incompetent and fuck up your orders but are necessary for the continued existence of her reality show.

Edited March 29, 2019 by RHJunkie

[Tatum]

22 minutes ago, RHJunkie said:

I agree, particularly to the extent that Lauren's interest in the industry has probably led her to do more research about the best ways to promote and deliver her products. They have taken very different approaches and I'd argue that Lauren has taken better advantage of her platform and connections than Kristen has (not necessarily that Kristen doesn't care as much about fashion as Lauren, but I'm not sure she cares as much about it as a business as Lauren does). Lauren has a sales and distribution agreement that allows her to create her products, maximize wholesale costs based on committed purchase orders and she has no additional expenses. This allows her to produce better quality products in bulk (saving her money) and she has no overhead expenses to deal with. 

Kristen seems to care more about brand aesthetic than about product quality. If you paid $9.00 for a necklace (like Lauren's) and it broke after 5 wears, you're less inclined to be that upset about it. But you're paying upwards of $40 (+tax and shipping) for simple jewelry designs that break easily and don't look like you paid $40 for it and that's the biggest problem. As a consumer of Kristen, that $40 isn't for the quality of the product, it's to pay for her crappy manufacturing prices, it's to pay the rent and bills for a large and unnecessary storefront location in Nashville and it's to pay for a shitload of employees who are incompetent and fuck up your orders but are necessary for the continued existence of her reality show.

Yes, I obviously don't know either woman, so this is entirely speculation, but Lauren seems a lot more personally invested in her line. It isn't a vehicle to get her to another end game, it is her end game. She doesn't want to put her name on anything shitty and if her line starts failing, she wouldn't just shrug it off and start another vanity project in its place. I think this was a way for Kristin to stay relevant but not to have to stoop to any of the hijinks so commonly committed by her other reality star cohorts. (And not piss off Jay to the point where he figured paying child support for three kids was still better than staying married- I'm just about positive dude has an iron clad prenup, and while child support for three kids at his income level wouldn't be cheap, it still might necessitate a downgrade in lifestyle for Kristin). 

I've always gotten the impression that Jay was pretty transparent about wanting a trophy wife that was happy to stay home with the kids and make organic, homecooked meals, entertain them in a enriching ways that didn't rely on ipads and TV, and maintain the peroxide and size 2 body. There probably isn't that much she's "allowed" to do and not make any waves with him. I've always thought there was a pretty clear change in her outward personality after he cancelled the wedding and then they reconciled. I know I don't know them and this is based on like, 3 quotes from her, but I thought she pretty strongly implied during one of her E! interviews that Jay broke up with her because she was traveling and partying with her Hollywood friends too much, and Jay wanted his future wife barefoot and pregnant. It seems in reconciling she resigned herself to be that person. What I can't figure out is why. He's rich, sure, and not unintelligent, but he just seems so grumpy and boring all the time. I think circa 2006 Kristin would have told him to eat shit.

[WhosThatGirl]

Wow all you guys have expressed really thoughtful responses to my wondering post about why I actually own Lauren’s products more than Kristen’s and I strongly agree.

Also yes the jay and kristen relationship is a little strange to me. I doubt doubt that they care about each other and love each other, I’m actually coming more around to them but I agree with others that I think kristen still wants an in in Hollywood still(also she did get a new hosting type reality show I think this past week) and I do wonder how Jay would feel about that. I agree I think that was part of the reason the wedding was called off the first time and Kristen has said as much, in this show and she did this odd interview for E a couple years back, I tried searching for it on YouTube but no luck. But what’s interesting she did of let her career take a sort of backseat. She did a few things like her books and she put her name on a few things and did press a few times but I think she wanted to do more. That’s why she always uses the “I gave up my career for you!” She doesn’t want uncommon James to just be an online thing, she still wants to be in Hollywood. It is kind of odd that she said in an interview recently though that la wouldn’t be the place for her to start a second store.

[Tatum]

I think I remember that interview. It was right after her first child was born. I was kind of surprised because Kristin came off as SO insecure, which didn't seem like how I remembered her. One thing that stood out was it was pretty obvious by the timing that Kristin and Jay reinstated their engagement right around the time Kristin became pregnant. She made it a major point to say that yes, she wasn't photographed wearing her engagement ring until after she was pregnant (I mean, she would have been pregnant in the picture, but it wasn't necessarily known when the picture was published, you'd have to do the math based on her due date) but the pregnancy did NOT precede their reconciliation. They had privately reconciled BEFORE she took the test. I posted about it on TWOP- I should see if I can find it.

ETA: found my original quote:

Quote

I watched it. I am surprised they would do it now when she's pretty much admitted she's no longer relevant in Hollywood. Two things that stood out- despite all tabloids claiming different, K-Cav wants it known that SHE broke off her engagement to Jay Cutler and not the other way around (of course this the same girl who claimed that He's Just Not That Into You didn't apply to her and she's never been given the brush off), and 2. Kristin also made sure to emphasize just how many offers she's gotten for a reality show with her and Cutler. It wasn't oh, we've been approached but we aren't into it, it was we have been asked SO many times... I used to like her on Laguna but don't really like her now.

I did find it amusing though that she supposedly broke up with Cutler because he wanted a housewife and they get back together and she's now a SAHM. Also for the record, Kristin emphasized that their revived engagement did NOT coincide with her discovering she was pregnant.

Reading this 6 years later, it appears I was still salty about a quote she gave US Magazine around the time He's Just Not That Into You (the movie) was released, and they asked a bunch of Hollywood starlets what anecdote they had about a way a guy had let them know he wasn't that into her, and Kristin said that had never happened to her. Paris Hilton said something similar. Kim Kardashian, surprisingly, told a story about a guy rejecting her and I thought that was very cool of her to admit.

Edited March 29, 2019 by Tatum

[RHJunkie]

1 hour ago, Tatum said:

I've always gotten the impression that Jay was pretty transparent about wanting a trophy wife that was happy to stay home with the kids and make organic, homecooked meals, entertain them in a enriching ways that didn't rely on ipads and TV, and maintain the peroxide and size 2 body. There probably isn't that much she's "allowed" to do and not make any waves with him. I've always thought there was a pretty clear change in her outward personality after he cancelled the wedding and then they reconciled. I know I don't know them and this is based on like, 3 quotes from her, but I thought she pretty strongly implied during one of her E! interviews that Jay broke up with her because she was traveling and partying with her Hollywood friends too much, and Jay wanted his future wife barefoot and pregnant. It seems in reconciling she resigned herself to be that person. What I can't figure out is why. He's rich, sure, and not unintelligent, but he just seems so grumpy and boring all the time. I think circa 2006 Kristin would have told him to eat shit.

3

Damn, I didn't know all of that! lol

[Tatum]

16 minutes ago, RHJunkie said:

Damn, I didn't know all of that! lol

Well, I don't know it either. It's all conjecture on my part. I'm not in her inner circle. But I do believe she has more or less gone on record saying Jay has influenced a lot of her decisions from the time they got re-engaged.

[RHJunkie]

6 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Well, I don't know it either. It's all conjecture on my part. I'm not in her inner circle. But I do believe she has more or less gone on record saying Jay has influenced a lot of her decisions from the time they got re-engaged.

I mean, I didn't even know he called off the wedding and then they reconciled or any of the quotes you mentioned. It seems like reasonable conjecture based on known circumstances and comments made by Kristen. 

[WhosThatGirl]

Well I think we are kind of right about why Jay called off the wedding the first time, he did want kristen to be a stay at home type of wife. And she didn’t want to. Right after the wedding was called off she was a contestant on  Dwts.

Also thanksfor finding your original post about the special @Tatum that special was a odd thing. It was so random because I don’t even think Kristen was doing e carpet stuff around that time and they randomly were doing a special on her? And yeah I remember her not wanting to do a reality show too. 

Again im not sure what her end game is with this show. I still laugh when she talked about not wanting the kids on until they express they want to.. it’s like her kids are babies still. Does she think this show is going to be on for a while? 

Edited March 29, 2019 by WhosThatGirl

[snarts]

Interesting. Everything I've read says that Kristin ended the engagement for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. He wanted her to be a SAHM and she wanted to do it all. Kristin then appeared on Dancing with the Stars and suddenly Jay was in the audience, they were back together and she was pregnant. In interviews (and on the show), counseling has been repeated mentioned as saving their relationship.  Obviously, having 3 kids in less than 4 years slowed down her career for a bit but lately Jay seems nothing but supportive of her endeavors, especially since he retired. 

Personally, I see her flitting about from one interest to another. Uncommon James is the second jewelry line she's had. It recently expanded to include home goods & kid clothes. I believe she still has her shoe collection with Chinese Laundry. She just announced her 2nd cookbook.  She's been part of the E! pre-award show crew for few years.  Now she's hosting the return of Paradise Hotel.  If Very Cavallari were canceled today, I think she'd just move on to the next thing. 

[WhosThatGirl]

Yeah I mean she has more than enough going on, my whole thing is I have a problem taking her serious with this show and with her whole “I’m running a buisness!” Honestly I’m sure she is quite smart buisness wise, especially with all her endeavors that she does but when it’s shown on this show, I just laugh. I’m not sure why I can’t take it serious when it’s on screen in the show.

[Stan39]

I don’t know about their relationship prior/off this show, but Jay doesn’t strike me so much as controlling as he just doesn’t give a shit. He’s going to do whatever he wants to do, all the time, and if you don’t want to join him he’s fine with that. The problem is, he has all the money so I’m sure Kristen ends up caving in. He definitely has all the power in the relationship. It’s amazing how much control you can exert over people when you just don’t care. 

[WhosThatGirl]

7 hours ago, Stan39 said:

I don’t know about their relationship prior/off this show, but Jay doesn’t strike me so much as controlling as he just doesn’t give a shit. He’s going to do whatever he wants to do, all the time, and if you don’t want to join him he’s fine with that. The problem is, he has all the money so I’m sure Kristen ends up caving in. He definitely has all the power in the relationship. It’s amazing how much control you can exert over people when you just don’t care. 

That is interesting, the not caring aspect. I do think Kristen has some money of her own though so I don’t know if she really needs him for that. I think she’s just worried he will change his mind and their lives. She was nervous about him possibly going back to football again and they he up and decided they were moving houses. Granted it was in the same state but at first she wasn’t a fan of this. 

Edited March 31, 2019 by WhosThatGirl

[SarahC]

Hey,  have you guys heard? Kristen is running a God damned business here! I would've forgotten myself,  but she says it about 5 times each episode.  

To me, Kristen just doesn't seem passionate at all about what she's doing, so it's hard to really care. It's a contrast from Lauren who had been focused on fashion pretty much since the beginning of her being on tv. I used to find Kristen very charismatic and easy to watch, but not anymore.  

[Stan39]

9 hours ago, SarahC said:

Hey,  have you guys heard? Kristen is running a God damned business here! I would've forgotten myself,  but she says it about 5 times each episode.  

To me, Kristen just doesn't seem passionate at all about what she's doing, so it's hard to really care. It's a contrast from Lauren who had been focused on fashion pretty much since the beginning of her being on tv. I used to find Kristen very charismatic and easy to watch, but not anymore.  

Why do you think she’s not passionate? Is it because anytime an employee wants to tell her about a problem she yells at them that she doesn’t have time for it and shouldn’t be dealing with it? Is it because she doesn’t even know what her employees jobs really are? Or know when HR fires an employee? Is it because when she interacts with her employees she’s vague and confusing and puts them in uncomfortable situations and then.. just... leaves? Is it because she runs a company that somehow repeatedly ships empty boxes to its customers?

Honestly, I think Jay is more passionate about that store than Kristen. He at least seems to understand it and people better than she does. 

I haven’t look at her store/company reviews, but for those who have, are there replies from customer service? Or are people just leaving bad reviews and nobody from UJ seems to care?

[Misslindsey]

A lot of what I gathered from the reviews is customer service is all over the place. Some people claim that there were fast response times with emails and such, and others said they were slow. There were some reviews of the store that mentioned employees were on their phones the whole time and not very nice. On Yelp occasionally a customer service representative will respond to some of the issues in reviews. It does not seem to be for everyone that has a problem with whatever they purchased, more like sporadic. 

Most of what I read on the reviews were the quality of the jewelry was quite poor for the price paid. Common complaints were that the jewelry tarnished very quickly and that a lot of the jewelry turned people's skin green. Also, shipping still seems to be a problem with a lot of customers receiving bent or broken jewelry. Someone mentioned a 5% restocking fee for returns.

[Stan39]

18 minutes ago, Misslindsey said:

A lot of what I gathered from the reviews is customer service is all over the place. Some people claim that there were fast response times with emails and such, and others said they were slow. There were some reviews of the store that mentioned employees were on their phones the whole time and not very nice. On Yelp occasionally a customer service representative will respond to some of the issues in reviews. It does not seem to be for everyone that has a problem with whatever they purchased, more like sporadic. 

Most of what I read on the reviews were the quality of the jewelry was quite poor for the price paid. Common complaints were that the jewelry tarnished very quickly and that a lot of the jewelry turned people's skin green. Also, shipping still seems to be a problem with a lot of customers receiving bent or broken jewelry. Someone mentioned a 5% restocking fee for returns.

Thanks. I was just curious how the store responded. A lot of businesses take the time to reply to negative reviews to show they care and what to fix the issue. It doesn’t sound like UJ is doing much of that. 

[WhosThatGirl]

For me I agree that I don’t find Kristen passionate about the store or really anything related to it. She likes being a boss, though. She’s running a buisness here! I mean that’s a joke that we all talk about but that’s what she is passionate about.

And look yeah, the mean girl squad on the Kaylee girl is dumb, I agree, and not how any of the women this age should actbanout her. And the reason they don’t like her is just because they don’t like her personality. But the reason she got fired actually seems like a big deal, she ripped a phone out of someone’s hands, enough force that it caught someone else to fire her. That’s kind of a problem. I wish that the issue wasn’t that these girls don’t like her kissy because I wish someone would bring upnwhat she did instead of Kristen just being like “oh she just took a phone out of someone’s hands, whatever”.  

[EarlGreyTea]

I really can't take any more of Kelly and Kristin's constant screaming laughter in their interviews. Also the whole stilted convo with that guy was so forced, cringey, and fake. Why must we have fake ass storylines featuring Kelly, the one person who has nothing to do with the business? Of COURSE he was an actor/model. Probably hired a la Wirth to pretend he gives a damn. I can't stand Kelly's vapid ass, but even I felt bad at her not being able to get a word in edgewise.

Colby only apologized to Kaylee because she got called out. Guarantee that if Kristin hadn't put the smackdown on her, she would have continued talking shit behind Kaylee's back and encouraging the other employees to do it too. She's only sorry to have been called out and seen as not nice.

Can you imagine being retired at 35? I'd go nuts continuously fixing up the house.

That pasta Kristin made looked SO good.

Edited April 1, 2019 by EarlGreyTea

[RHJunkie]

20 hours ago, WhosThatGirl said:

For me I agree that I don’t find Kristen passionate about the store or really anything related to it. She likes being a boss, though. She’s running a buisness here! I mean that’s a joke that we all talk about but that’s what she is passionate about.

And look yeah, the mean girl squad on the Kaylee girl is dumb, I agree, and not how any of the women this age should actbanout her. And the reason they don’t like her is just because they don’t like her personality. But the reason she got fired actually seems like a big deal, she ripped a phone out of someone’s hands, enough force that it caught someone else to fire her. That’s kind of a problem. I wish that the issue wasn’t that these girls don’t like her kissy because I wish someone would bring upnwhat she did instead of Kristen just being like “oh she just took a phone out of someone’s hands, whatever”.  

There's no proof of the force that was used in the exchange of taking the phone away. Repeatedly saying that she ripped the phone from someone's hand could be intentional language to amplify and exaggerate a situation that may be inappropriate but describing it in a way that makes it seem threatening, which is a whole other category of offense. It is clear that Kaylee was not well liked before the incident happened and that her management style was not well received. It could just as easily be that the phone incident was magnified as a nail in the coffin type of situation in order to get her out. Saying 'she ripped a phone out of my hand' sounds like an injury was involved and Kaylee's action almost severed a limb or something. I think it's more likely that she grabbed the phone out of someone's hand out of frustration and that the result was not injury or threatening, but the result was disrespectful and inappropriate. I don't think that warrants an immediate firing for a first offense. I think HR should have had the meeting with Kaylee, informed her that incident would be written and added to her employee record and given that it's the first offense, a warning be issued and she is warned that any future incidents will be forwarded to Kristen for consideration of her employment status with Uncommon James.

[WhosThatGirl]

12 minutes ago, RHJunkie said:

There's no proof of the force that was used in the exchange of taking the phone away. Repeatedly saying that she ripped the phone from someone's hand could be intentional language to amplify and exaggerate a situation that may be inappropriate but describing it in a way that makes it seem threatening, which is a whole other category of offense. It is clear that Kaylee was not well liked before the incident happened and that her management style was not well received. It could just as easily be that the phone incident was magnified as a nail in the coffin type of situation in order to get her out. Saying 'she ripped a phone out of my hand' sounds like an injury was involved and Kaylee's action almost severed a limb or something. I think it's more likely that she grabbed the phone out of someone's hand out of frustration and that the result was not injury or threatening, but the result was disrespectful and inappropriate. I don't think that warrants an immediate firing for a first offense. I think HR should have had the meeting with Kaylee, informed her that incident would be written and added to her employee record and given that it's the first offense, a warning be issued and she is warned that any future incidents will be forwarded to Kristen for consideration of her employment status with Uncommon James.

I mean yeah it should have been looked at but Kristen is just blasé about it and I don’t think that’s a good boss move but whatever. Again I wish this was the issue and not the stupid mean girls issue we are dealing with. 

This recent episode had too much  kelly and Kristen. I did like the stuff in laguna. I feel like these brief moments with her in laguna and talking about her brother was the most real Kristen has ever been on this show.  And then she snapped back into her boss persona and I can’t.. take it serious. 

[RHJunkie]

20 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

I mean yeah it should have been looked at but Kristen is just blasé about it and I don’t think that’s a good boss move but whatever. Again I wish this was the issue and not the stupid mean girls issue we are dealing with. 

This recent episode had too much  kelly and Kristen. I did like the stuff in laguna. I feel like these brief moments with her in laguna and talking about her brother was the most real Kristen has ever been on this show.  And then she snapped back into her boss persona and I can’t.. take it serious. 

I agree that if the employees want to make a point, they should be focusing on the incident with Kaylee and not being catty behind her back. While I don't think HR handled the situation appropriately, I will be clear that Kristen handled all of it wrong. Given that Kaylee had already been fired and Kristen knew of the animosity between Kaylee and the other employees, she should have washed her hands of it and done a hiring process to find a reliable and competent person that could start a managerial position with a fresh slate. Since she didn't do that, what she should have sat down with her staff and explain her decision to offer Kaylee her job back but also acknowledge what had happened and reassure them that she will discuss the matter with Kaylee and reinforce that her past behaviour was not appropriate and should not happen again. And she should have expressed to Kaylee that she's on a short leash and that she needs to be mindful of certain things because her work style is only as good as its ability to motivate others. I agree, she was completely dismissive about the entire thing and so I can see why her employees would be annoyed with how things went down. Kristen basically went to them and said 'I'm re-hiring Kaylee because all of you suck and are incompetent and you just need to deal because I'm the boss and I don't care what you think or how you feel'. That is essentially what she did.

Kristen is a shit boss and I'm not sure if that is for the cameras or not.

[WhosThatGirl]

34 minutes ago, RHJunkie said:

I agree that if the employees want to make a point, they should be focusing on the incident with Kaylee and not being catty behind her back. While I don't think HR handled the situation appropriately, I will be clear that Kristen handled all of it wrong. Given that Kaylee had already been fired and Kristen knew of the animosity between Kaylee and the other employees, she should have washed her hands of it and done a hiring process to find a reliable and competent person that could start a managerial position with a fresh slate. Since she didn't do that, what she should have sat down with her staff and explain her decision to offer Kaylee her job back but also acknowledge what had happened and reassure them that she will discuss the matter with Kaylee and reinforce that her past behaviour was not appropriate and should not happen again. And she should have expressed to Kaylee that she's on a short leash and that she needs to be mindful of certain things because her work style is only as good as its ability to motivate others. I agree, she was completely dismissive about the entire thing and so I can see why her employees would be annoyed with how things went down. Kristen basically went to them and said 'I'm re-hiring Kaylee because all of you suck and are incompetent and you just need to deal because I'm the boss and I don't care what you think or how you feel'. That is essentially what she did.

Kristen is a shit boss and I'm not sure if that is for the cameras or not.

Yeah, whenever she talks to her employees, it is not professional at all. At anytime. This is why it has to all be an act for the show but even so for someone who

claoms she just wants a professional working Atmosphere, she sure as hell doesn’t lead by example. It doesn’t even make her look good, it just makes her look like she might still be that teenager from Laguna Beach trying to be a HBIC. 

[EarlGreyTea]

1 hour ago, RHJunkie said:

 I agree, she was completely dismissive about the entire thing and so I can see why her employees would be annoyed with how things went down. Kristen basically went to them and said 'I'm re-hiring Kaylee because all of you suck and are incompetent and you just need to deal because I'm the boss and I don't care what you think or how you feel'. That is essentially what she did.

Kristen is a shit boss and I'm not sure if that is for the cameras or not.

Kristin - and Brittainy, to an extent - is very dismissive of her employees. On the one hand, I can see why. Most of them are gossipy, clique-y idiots who can't fill a box properly. And who cares if they don't like Kaylee? And they're in their early twenties, an age where you're more sensitive and prone to drama. But on the other hand, employees need to be feel that they're being heard, that they're valuable, etc. And being on the floor and doing the work means they have insight that the higher-ups don't.

Example #1 is when Brittainy said to shipping that they needed to do the shipping manual ASAP, because "taking a photo doesn't take long." On the one hand, she's right. But on the other, it's dismissive of the work it actually does take to put a manual together. It's a delicate balance between holding an employee's hand and acknowledging their efforts. And nobody in management on this show seems to realize that.

It's clear that the drama necessary for a reality show is harming day-to-day operations. Matt should have been out the door in a real business, but since he brings drama for the show, he stays.

Edited April 1, 2019 by EarlGreyTea

[alexa]

2 hours ago, RHJunkie said:

I agree that if the employees want to make a point, they should be focusing on the incident with Kaylee and not being catty behind her back. While I don't think HR handled the situation appropriately, I will be clear that Kristen handled all of it wrong. Given that Kaylee had already been fired and Kristen knew of the animosity between Kaylee and the other employees, she should have washed her hands of it and done a hiring process to find a reliable and competent person that could start a managerial position with a fresh slate. Since she didn't do that, what she should have sat down with her staff and explain her decision to offer Kaylee her job back but also acknowledge what had happened and reassure them that she will discuss the matter with Kaylee and reinforce that her past behaviour was not appropriate and should not happen again. And she should have expressed to Kaylee that she's on a short leash and that she needs to be mindful of certain things because her work style is only as good as its ability to motivate others. I agree, she was completely dismissive about the entire thing and so I can see why her employees would be annoyed with how things went down. Kristen basically went to them and said 'I'm re-hiring Kaylee because all of you suck and are incompetent and you just need to deal because I'm the boss and I don't care what you think or how you feel'. That is essentially what she did.

Kristen is a shit boss and I'm not sure if that is for the cameras or not.

Totally agree.  I didn't even hear the whole story about the firing, but I found it alarming that she would hire someone back with no question marks, and not tell the rest of them before her showing up to some cocktail party.  And then for Kristen to accuse them of not being professional--omg, of course they were in shock, and it only made Kristen look completely unprofessional. 

It didn't help the rehired employee or the existing employees one bit.  I can completely understand that feeling of being exposed to someone that treated you badly, and how that could cause you to get emotional and caught by surprise.  There are some hurtful people in the workplace, and just because it is business doesn't mean you don't have feelings.  

[WhosThatGirl]

Yeah I think we could all point out so many instances wheee Kristen is terribly unprofessional. I would hope it’s for the show and that this is not how it really is but then I read the yelp reviews and Uncommon James isn’t great, from what I read there. It really is kind of a mess. And probably part of that is Kristen and maybe even the show. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by WhosThatGirl

[SarahPrtr]

On 4/1/2019 at 2:21 AM, Misslindsey said:

A lot of what I gathered from the reviews is customer service is all over the place. Some people claim that there were fast response times with emails and such, and others said they were slow. There were some reviews of the store that mentioned employees were on their phones the whole time and not very nice. On Yelp occasionally a customer service representative will respond to some of the issues in reviews. It does not seem to be for everyone that has a problem with whatever they purchased, more like sporadic. 

Most of what I read on the reviews were the quality of the jewelry was quite poor for the price paid. Common complaints were that the jewelry tarnished very quickly and that a lot of the jewelry turned people's skin green. Also, shipping still seems to be a problem with a lot of customers receiving bent or broken jewelry. Someone mentioned a 5% restocking fee for returns.

All jewellery from UJ is just brass or nickel with silver plating, not genuine silver.  It's not the fact that they exist, but WHY are people buying this shit??!!!  You can get REAL solid silver jewellery for less than half that price, which will not cause allergic reactions or turn your skin green.

Also, STOP SCREAMING ABOUT ANAL SEX at a freaking restaurant!!!  You're not at your own house, you're with other people!!!  Laugh and eat together, maybe talk a little loudly, but WHY are you screaming about your sex life like that at a public place???  I love sex talk and the dirtier, the better (only with girlfriends), but we're at each other's homes, not at a place where people are eating.

PS.  I feel so badly for any girl whose first time was through anal sex.  That is beyond horrifying.  The whole virgin-not-virgin thing is such bullshit.  Find someone who feels the same way as you do and make sure you're 100% sure about your first time and have regular sex. 

[Loves2Dance]

When Kristen made the comment about Britt (I refuse to spell that ridiculous spelling) is sloppy because she tries to wear too many hats---it's a pot meet kettle moment. Kristen is doing so much that everything is subpar. In a real business, the boss would have been around on Cyber Monday not on the other coast with the Head of Operations. If this was Year 10 on Cyber Monday---sure...but this is Year 1 after a HUGE boom in business. She needed to be there getting her hands dirty. You can do 1,000 in a day? Prove it. 

What happened to Britt? Girl needs to crawl out of Kristen's ass and stop looking at her as a mentor. Really, the only thing she is teaching you is how NOT to run a business. 

I own a handful of LC's clothing that I got from Kohl's. Did being a fan influence my purchase? No, but it did get me to look at it. Price, quality and fit mattered more. Did I look at UJ because of Kristen? Sure, but I can get the same cheap stuff on Wish for pennies on the dollar.

I've been apart of a wholesale group in the kid's boutique world. It's really not that difficult; if you have the financial backing to get set up with wholesalers, a factory and start designing. That is essentially what Kristen did and her admitting to not knowing how to do work-ups showcased how little design experience she has. All of her things are basic---which is the look she is going for---but it's basic. Unlike Lauren who actually showed a passion for fashion in high school, went to school for design, interned in the fashion industry and has kept her foot in from Day 1. To me, Kristen saw this as an easy way into the fashion world without doing the homework and her crappy jewelry with unrealistic prices are the result. UJ will do well for a while, but it won't take off in Kohl's or Nordstroms as long as it's turning people's skin green. 

[snarts]

9 minutes ago, Loves2Dance said:

To me, Kristen saw this as an easy way into the fashion world without doing the homework and her crappy jewelry with unrealistic prices are the result. UJ will do well for a while, but it won't take off in Kohl's or Nordstroms as long as it's turning people's skin green. 

I don't think Kristin has any real interest in the fashion world.  Also not sure why Lauren Conrad is a constant comparison, like they're somehow the same person with the same ambitions. How many years ago were they in high school?

Also, Nordstrom has been selling her line for awhile now. https://shop.nordstrom.com/c/jewelry/uncommon-james-by-kristin-cavallari~18630

Edited April 1, 2019 by snarts

[Loves2Dance]

18 minutes ago, snarts said:

I don't think Kristin has any real interest in the fashion world.  Also not sure why Lauren Conrad is a constant comparison, like they're somehow the same person with the same ambitions. How many years ago were they in high school?

Also, Nordstrom has been selling her line for awhile now. https://shop.nordstrom.com/c/jewelry/uncommon-james-by-kristin-cavallari~18630

Lauren is an easy comparison because they're about the same age, from similar backgrounds and gained their fame in the same way. What they did with that fame took two different routes, but have ultimately put them in similar rings. 

If Kristen had zero interest in fashion, she wouldn't have a clothing line out---even if it is just for children.

As for Nordstroms, I said 'take off'. If I walked into my local Kohl's right now I could walk right into an entire Lauren Conrad section with labels, racks and signage. In contrast, there is not a single piece of UJ in my entire Nordstrom's store (or stores within 100 miles, I looked). I'd have to order it online and get it drop shipped from the company. If you read one of the reviewers that is exactly what happened to her---she ordered something, it arrived broken, she went to the store to return and the replacement had to be shipped to her and it again, arrived broken. LOL

[snarts]

It's like comparing apples & peanuts, they have completely different ambitions and goals.  Lauren always wanted to be a fashion designer.  She used her fame & notoriety to help get her there. She's been successful, her line is mass produced and she seems happy in that world.

Kristin dabbles in jewelry and shoes and cookbooks, but her true love has always been the entertainment industry (still think the Nashville store is only open to support the show) which is why she does all the hosting with E! and now Fox.  I'm just spitballing here but I think her ultimate gig would be to replace Kelly Ripa/Kathy & Hoda/etc.

[Tatum]

1 hour ago, snarts said:

It's like comparing apples & peanuts, they have completely different ambitions and goals.  Lauren always wanted to be a fashion designer.  She used her fame & notoriety to help get her there. She's been successful, her line is mass produced and she seems happy in that world.

Kristin dabbles in jewelry and shoes and cookbooks, but her true love has always been the entertainment industry (still think the Nashville store is only open to support the show) which is why she does all the hosting with E! and now Fox.  I'm just spitballing here but I think her ultimate gig would be to replace Kelly Ripa/Kathy & Hoda/etc.

I agree with this. I’m sure she likes fashion- she’s always pretty well put together- but as a consumer. I think UJ is just one more outlet for her REAL brand- herself. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by Tatum

[SallySarue]

Typical boss...underestimating the amount of time it takes to get tasks done. Thinking they can do it in a shorter period of time. Please lady, I'd like to see you do it. Management always thinks they could do the job better and quicker than the "peons" that are actually in the trenches doing the work, while they sit around having meetings about how great of a job they would do. So annoying!!