To her more than one million social media followers, The Apprentice winner Karishma Vijay provides daily updates on all aspects of her ‘chaotic life’.
From her excitement about her forthcoming wedding and new product launches to behind-the-scenes chat about The Apprentice and her flourishing relationship with Lord Sugar, nothing appears off limits.
She proudly took to social media to reveal Kishkin had clocked up £250k in sales in just 72 hours (as reported by BusinessCloud) after the 29-year-old was crowned the winner of series 20 of The Apprentice.
However, her business has been less forthcoming in providing updates when responding to complaints from a growing number of unhappy customers.
Most of the complaints have focused on the quality of Kishkin’s customer service – described as ‘awful’ and ‘terrible’ by some – as well as the length of delivery times.
Many customers have reported significant issues with their orders, unreliable tracking information, processing delays and items not arriving as expected.
Several people have complained about the quality of the company’s customer service, claiming their emails and messages have been ignored.
Out of Kishkin’s 80 reviews on the online platform Trustpilot, 62 per cent gave the company the lowest possible one-star rating, compared with 20 per cent who awarded it five stars.
Across all 80 reviews, Kishkin received an average score of 2.2, which Trustpilot describes as ‘poor’.
One-star reviews
Sarah Swindell was one of those to post a one-star review.
“Terrible customer service,” she wrote. “Placed my order. Got an email saying two weeks. Fine. One month later. Nothing. It took forever to get a response to emails but I finally got a refund. Terrible communication and unable to fulfil orders.”
Tommy Fallon also posted a one-star review three days ago.
“Placed an order a month ago and despite getting an email to say it was sent out on April 21st, it’s still not arrived,” he said. “Awful service and I’ll be asking for my money back.”
Sarah Mends went as far as saying people should boycott Kishkin after giving the company a one-star rating.
“Took my money, haven’t sent order (been over a month) and they aren’t responding to my emails,” she wrote.
Helen Mair reported a similar experience and said the lack of updates was at odds with Vijay’s high profile on social media.
“Over a month now since I placed my order and paid,” she wrote. “No goods received. No reply to emails or social media. However, she does have the time to flaunt on social media how great she is. Totally disappointed in someone I followed and trusted.”
JG gave a one-star review and claimed: “Like everyone else I expected better. Showing off on Instagram that they received £250,000 in orders in the first week after winning The Apprentice…however what they don’t show off about is that they actually have no products to sell.
“When I ordered I was told two weeks but nothing, so I looked on tracking and it says at least the end of May, no emails, no contact! Absolutely dreadful…I asked for a full refund and have an email saying they will refund…let’s see what happens! I think Lord Sugar may have some regrets in the future.”
Someone calling themselves TJ gave a one-star review and wrote: “Learn to run a business before getting ahead of yourself and buying a Porsche mate! Give me my money back.”
Sam Kooner gave a two-star review following their negative experience.
“I was very excited to order this product but whilst the communication has been regular it’s absolutely shocking and disappointing how long my order has taken to be delivered,” Kooner wrote.
“It will take a lot for me to order again. It shouldn’t matter how much of an increase there is in orders – don’t allow orders until stock is ready for dispatch?”
Five-star reviews
However, not everyone was unhappy, with 20 per cent of people giving five-star ratings on Trustpilot.
Karishma Vijay, winner of The Apprentice
They included Claire Berry, who posted yesterday. She wrote: “Apart from the long delivery time, which I sort of expected with the BBC programme the company featured on. I received update emails on progress and a money off code as an apology for delay. I am delighted with the products … and I have placed a second order.”
Someone called Tania branded a number of the reviews as ‘fake’, adding: “Don’t knock a genuine and engaging businesswoman.”
Samantha Knott gave a five-star review and wrote: “Like some of the other reviews say there was a delay in getting product but only about two weeks and given it’s a start-up I don’t mind. Fab quality product is the most important thing – I’m happy to wait for it.”
Veteran reviewer Kate, who has written a total of 57 reviews on Trustpilot, gave Kishkin five stars after what she described as an ‘excellent’ experience.
“Ordered April 17. Update on April 28. Arrived by Royal Mail today (May 5),” she wrote. “Confirmation of order straight away. Advised due to popularity there may be a delay but please be patient. Cannot relate to the negative reviews at all. Well done Karishma. I wish you every success. I very much suspect I will be ordering again.”
BusinessCloud contacted Kishkin and The Apprentice star’s PR representative, Andrew Bloch, for a comment but has not currently received a response from either.
According to Companies House, Michael Ray was appointed secretary at Kishkin on April 29. He has worked for Lord Sugar for over 30 years in various capacities and is currently group finance director.