Lord Sugar has made an extraordinary intervention in support of The Apprentice winner and his new business partner, Karishma Vijay.
The 29-year-old received a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar after being crowned the winner of series 20 of The Apprentice.
However, furious customers of her skincare brand, Kishkin, have taken to online platform Trustpilot to complain about wait times and ‘non-existent’ customer service after placing their orders.
Out of 128 reviews, 65 per cent gave the company the lowest possible one-star rating, compared with 16 per cent who awarded it five stars.
BusinessCloud first reported the problem on May 19 and The Apprentice winner has been sharing videos with her one million social media followers of lorries leaving her offices packed with orders.
Despite that, Kishkin’s average Trustpilot rating has fallen from 2.2 to 2, which Trustpilot describes as ‘poor’.
Now 79-year-old Lord Sugar, who has been hosting The Apprentice since 2005, has taken to his own social media platforms to speak out in defence of Karishma.
Lord Sugar has taken to social media to defend Karishma Vijay
He said: “My new partner, Karishma, got a bit stressed.
“Didn’t know what hit her really when she won The Apprentice.
“Very, very, hard-working young lady, out there packing and packing parcels all day long.
“She’s had thousands of orders and it’s taken her a while to get on top of it all and she’s just learning.
“That’s what I’m here for. I’ll make sure I help her get on top of it even if I have to pack them myself, which I have done in my career.
‘I’ll pack them myself’
“I used to load lorries, pack parcels, I used to do everything, sit on production lines.
“It’s great that she’s actually been thrown in the deep end.
“Sorry to anyone who has been disappointed with the wait but I tell you, you’ll love the product when it turns up.
“This girl knows what she’s doing with that.”
Overwhelmed with 50k+ orders
Karishma replied: “Thank you Lord Sugar. We were overwhelmed with over 50k+ orders and 12,000 emails. We tried our best.
“Everyone either has got their order or will get it this week. Thank you all for the support. Kishkin isn’t a small fish no more.”
In the 72 hours after being crowned the winner of The Apprentice, Kishkin clocked up £250k in sales.
Among the latest Trustpilot reviews is Mary Ridout, who gave it a one-star review and posted on May 27: “I ordered in April and absolutely nothing. Yes, you’re new but no excuses for lack of processes and stock management. Absolutely terrible. Stop posting social media and go and help your team get this in order.”
Mixed reviews
Tracey Price also gave it a one-star review and wrote: “Ordered April 28 (and) still not received. Sent 3 emails, no reply! Ordered through Klarna so have informed them and my payments have paused thankfully. Do not order from this company. The customer service is non-existent. Would have expected better from a company that had the backing of Lord Sugar!!!”
However, someone calling themselves Muna, gave it a five-star review and wrote: “Ignore all the hate because Kishkin does work wonders. All the review are about getting the order late but before you place your order it does give an estimated time of delivery which clarified with high number of orders, delivery time will take longer. But let me tell you when it did arrive I used it straight away and I have noticed a difference in my skin within three days. Absolutely stunning. 100 per cent recommended.”
BusinessCloud has previously contacted Kishkin and The Apprentice star’s PR representative, Andrew Bloch, for comment.