Cosmopolitics
Well-known member
I work at a drugstore makeup counter.
The company's actions concerning the counter are deplorable. We aren't allowed to reprimand customers if they are opening sealed makeup, "testing" it, "testing" other products on the shelves such as lotion, etc. "It will drive the customer away" they say. So how am I to ensure quality product?
The thing is, I can't. I'm not allowed to do that either, apparently.
I went through the lipsticks on Sunday and tried to damage out quite a few of them because they had clearly been touched, used, mashed-up, you name it. When I came in the next day, I was confronted by one of the managers.
"You can't do that." he said. "That's thousands right there."
"Well, exactly." I said. "Maybe we should prevent this problem altogether by, I dunno, being able to tell the customer "no" or put up signage saying "don't do this"?"
"We technically can't do that either."
I opened up a tube of lipstick, the tip completely worn down, obviously used. "Would you buy this?"
"I dunno, I'm not a girl."
"Makeup has hygiene issues, especially lipstick and mascara. You can get cold sores and other illnesses if you use unsanitary makeup."
"Still, we can't damage it out. Maybe wipe the tops of them off with tissue or something." :what:
"That isn't going to help. Who wants to buy a lipstick that clearly looks like it has been tampered with? I wouldn't!"
They wouldn't let me do it, even after I explained why it needed to be done. The company is knowingly selling you tainted makeup and it makes me sick to my stomach.
This is a very good reason why I buy my makeup at MAC.
Other tidbits:
The girls at the counter get no formal training. They recieve a regular cashier's training, and that's all. Everything else is guesswork. The cosmetics brand "schools" (more like meetings, seminars, and not really a school) are for the head "beauty advisor" only, and even then, she says, you don't learn much there.
The girls are often hired for the position because they are a pretty face, garrulous, and "put-together." There is no knowledge needed. I'm only lucky I knew about makeup when I started.
A case in point is one of the high school girls who works the counter in the evening. She is dumb as rocks when it comes to cosmetics. She wears foundation that is a couple of shades too dark for her face.
"It makes me look tanner." she says. No, it makes you look like your face is dirty. When people ask her about makeup, she is completely clueless. Same for the head "beauty advisor." She's also dumb as dirt when it comes to makeup.
We are also expected to sell things that we know absolutely nothing about. I've been talked to a couple of times because I refuse to sell something which I haven't a clue about. I refuse to be dishonest.
I'm tempted to resign my position. The disgusting quality of the makeup they allow on the shelves probably is the final straw.
The company's actions concerning the counter are deplorable. We aren't allowed to reprimand customers if they are opening sealed makeup, "testing" it, "testing" other products on the shelves such as lotion, etc. "It will drive the customer away" they say. So how am I to ensure quality product?
The thing is, I can't. I'm not allowed to do that either, apparently.
I went through the lipsticks on Sunday and tried to damage out quite a few of them because they had clearly been touched, used, mashed-up, you name it. When I came in the next day, I was confronted by one of the managers.
"You can't do that." he said. "That's thousands right there."
"Well, exactly." I said. "Maybe we should prevent this problem altogether by, I dunno, being able to tell the customer "no" or put up signage saying "don't do this"?"
"We technically can't do that either."
I opened up a tube of lipstick, the tip completely worn down, obviously used. "Would you buy this?"
"I dunno, I'm not a girl."
"Makeup has hygiene issues, especially lipstick and mascara. You can get cold sores and other illnesses if you use unsanitary makeup."
"Still, we can't damage it out. Maybe wipe the tops of them off with tissue or something." :what:
"That isn't going to help. Who wants to buy a lipstick that clearly looks like it has been tampered with? I wouldn't!"
They wouldn't let me do it, even after I explained why it needed to be done. The company is knowingly selling you tainted makeup and it makes me sick to my stomach.
This is a very good reason why I buy my makeup at MAC.
Other tidbits:
The girls at the counter get no formal training. They recieve a regular cashier's training, and that's all. Everything else is guesswork. The cosmetics brand "schools" (more like meetings, seminars, and not really a school) are for the head "beauty advisor" only, and even then, she says, you don't learn much there.
The girls are often hired for the position because they are a pretty face, garrulous, and "put-together." There is no knowledge needed. I'm only lucky I knew about makeup when I started.
A case in point is one of the high school girls who works the counter in the evening. She is dumb as rocks when it comes to cosmetics. She wears foundation that is a couple of shades too dark for her face.
"It makes me look tanner." she says. No, it makes you look like your face is dirty. When people ask her about makeup, she is completely clueless. Same for the head "beauty advisor." She's also dumb as dirt when it comes to makeup.
We are also expected to sell things that we know absolutely nothing about. I've been talked to a couple of times because I refuse to sell something which I haven't a clue about. I refuse to be dishonest.
I'm tempted to resign my position. The disgusting quality of the makeup they allow on the shelves probably is the final straw.
