MAC MA's.. How do you deal?

VioletB

Well-known member
Ok so as you all know I recently got hired on with MAC. I'm super happy and excited and thrilled but there is just one thing that is seriously bugging the holy living shit out of me. SOOO many of my friends are bugging me about discounts/free stuff!

Let me preface this a little bit. I know policy, and I know gratis is a way for a company to say thank you for being an employee and a way of giving opportunities to try new stuff / promote looks / colors, etc etc. Gratis is a privilege, not an obligation, and not to be abused. With my Estee Lauder gratis I never gave it to anyone except my mom. (On a side note.. I think I owed it to her for stealing all her stuff when I was little!!) BUT nobody ever *cared* or asked about Lauder stuff. Now that I work for MAC it is a whole different situation. I'm pretty sure that I will be totally selfish with any gratis that is given to me anyway!! (There were some Lauder things I wasn't particularly sad to let go!)

So here is my question. How the hell do you get people off your backs without being blunt or rude? I really just want to flat out say no.. but seriously I think I'm too nice? Whenever anyone asks me about stuff I just kind of laugh and say that I wish I got it for free too!! And everyone is always asking about discounts.. Seriously. That is so damn rude. If a friend worked at a restaurant I would not go in and expect free food just because I was a good friend. So what the hell?? Tell me what you guys think!!!
 

calbear

Well-known member
This is where being an evil, rude b*tch comes in handy. I know it's hard and you don't want to seem rude but it's really rude for people to ask. Any and everyone who finds out that you work for MAC will ask for free stuff. My friends/ family/ everyone who knows me - knows better than to ask me anything close to getting them anything.

The last time it happened the convo went something like this:

(coworker at weekend job): WOW you work for MAC?
(me): yup
(her): how much is your discount?
(me): WHY? (said while giving her the blank stare) and what's your name again? (now my eye's are rolling with disgust)

It is usually easier to just stay away from drama like this because i have seen too many co-workers at MAC purchase products using their discount expecting to get reimbursed only for friends/family not repay them and they have to just chalk it up as a 'gift'.

If you have to - use an excuse like mac has a really low limit of how much you can purchase in a limit and you are close due to some freelancing work you needed products for.
 
I agree with calbear. Do not let people take advantage of you. If you can't be blunt, just flat out make excuses. I work at a "high-end" fashion designer's boutique and some of my friends have the nerve to ask me about discounts and such. Depending on who it is, I either be blunt or say "sorry, I'd love to hook you up, but I can't." Simple as that. If they can't take NO for an answer try to be more straight forward. Good luck with everything!
 

kobri

Well-known member
I don't work for mac, but everyone and their dog asks for my discount from my work (seriously one girl who works with my second cousin asked me to pick up stuff for her). If it's a stranger I just tell them that there was a problem with someone over using their discount and now loss prevention is watching like hawks. My family knows to wait for the friends and family days.

Also one girl at work (who totally hates me) found out that I have a pro card and was like oh great you can pick stuff up for me when you go. I told her my card hadn't arrived yet and I'd let her know when it got here- it will mysteriously never arrive.

You should tell them that you are required to wear your gratis to work for the required looks and you can't give it away incase they ask you to wear it. Isn't therea purchase limit in place anyway?
 

Mizz.Yasmine

Well-known member
tell them ull use ur discount only on their birthdays.and they have to pay u first.

thats what i've always done at any job i got bugged about.lol it worked!i couldnt think of any other special day that everybody gets and is always a diff month/date!

as for a couple very close friends/family i didn't mind the bugging as much becuz i know they've hooked me up too.
 

_Ella_

Well-known member
don't get me started on this one...
nonono.gif


At the company I worked for, I had a certain amount of free products per three months. If I wanted more, I had to pay for them. I always bought for myself and my mom and grandma and managed to stay within that amount.

Then some people I hardly know asked me also for products but were not willing to pay. I always asked : oh, let me get it straight, are YOU asking me to have ME paying for YOUR products?
th_crazy2.gif

That did it most of the time.
 

COBI

Well-known member
When I worked in retail, "sharing" (i.e. abusing your discount) was considered on par with stealing and was a terminating offense. So, I never had any issue telling people that if they asked about the discount. I pretty much live on the straight and narrow when it comes to business things, so people dropped it after that.

The purpose of the discount when I worked in retail besides an extra benefit is that they want *you* (the employee) to use, wear, display, promote, etc, the products that are being sold (whether it's clothes or makeup).
 

Bernadette

Well-known member
I told everyone how closely they monitor your buying and that it wasn't worth losing my job over, sorry.
Then, I posted a myspace blog saying to not even ask me because it wasn't going to happen and that if they were my friends they would want to go buy from me.
Nip it in the bud!
 

Shimmer

Well-known member
"I really like you, but I like my job more. You can download and print the application for a PRO card at _____ though!!"
 

MissMarley

Well-known member
"Friends" (not my real friends, but casual acquaintances) do this to me all the time. I tell them they can get their own discount if they'd like to open a Macy's credit card with me!
 

ms.marymac

Well-known member
I actually had one girl that would say, "What do you have for me?" every time I ran into her. She would pester me about my MAC shirts and say I should give them to her, because once they shrank, they wouldn't fit me anymore.
angry.gif
I finally told her that I work hard for my gratis and MAC jewelry/clothing and that I'd put my shrunken MAC shirts on my cat before I would give them away.

This is one of our perks and like I said, we work too hard and put up with too much mess to be doling out free makeup. Tell your friends they are welcome to submit a resume...
winks.gif
 

Chrystia

Well-known member
Hopefully your friends aren't the one bugging you. Good friends I've found typically do not ask for discounts or free stuff. Casual acquaintances are more likely to ask you for those "perks". And you are right it is very rude to ask someone for discounts/free stuff.

It does happen a lot when you start out, but if you stand your ground eventually it does die down (or you become very used to just saying no). I just tell people my gratis is for me to try new products to help me sell them so that it is actually part of my job. For me to give away my gratis would be unethical and disrespectful to the company who absorbs those costs so that I can sell their products. My discount is for my personal use. I work hard at my job and my discount is a reward for that work. THat's what I told people and after a while those people stopped trying. Good luck, it is a bit of a problem in the beginning but it does get better.

Congrats on the new job! Have fun with it, You'll love it.
 

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