Warning

[thenightlook]

So I had no idea that when you work for MAC.. They tell you every day specifically what make-up to wear. And if they think your look isn't cute (ex: smoked purple and viva glam riri 2 gloss on top) even though customers like it and they keep buying those two products after seeing them on you, they will let you know that you have to change your lip and they will choose the lipstick. There is no individuality involved working in this brand. Tomorrow I have to have a shiny, dewy face and some other products that I don't want to wear that aren't complementary to my features just because we need to push a specific product line. I hate being shiny bc I'm naturally oily... By lunch, I will be a mirror. Literally the on-reflection trend. If someone asks to try something on, my manager suggested asking first, "so do you think you're going to buy anything today or are you just trying this on and then leaving?" (So you know how much time to spend on them) - I think that's INCREDIBLY rude to say to a customer. I hate my job!!!!!!!

 

[thenightlook]

Plus I have 5 managers that tell me the same thing over and over. Think "Office Space." Wish I had been warned like this.....

 

[Reneemelancon]

I was working for macys in cosmetics department and my new manager came in while I was out for my sick leave and I'm assuming she decided I couldn't benefit the company so worked to get rid of me , now she's doing the same thing to a girl who just returned from maternity leave bc she's worried she will be too focused on HER BABY . My experience at Macy's was a horrible one after our old manager moved to Texas . They treat people SO TERRIBLE.

 

[thenightlook]

Woww that is awful!!!!!!! Some people have no heart, no soul & no conscience!! =[

 

[Kristin Bacon]

in my extensive experience retail is like this period! every store i have worked at i hate now. they always tell me to apply at the nordstrom mac counter but i havent cuz i have a feeling it will be jus like every other retail job i have had and i ended up quitting cuz they treat ppl like shit. sorry to hear this but i cant say i am suprised.

 

[Kristin Bacon]

and i also have the oily mirror face and hate that look too. i wear studio fix powder cuz i want it as matte as possible. that would piss me off. so they grab a tester and say we think u should wear this???? how annoying. i hate anyone telling me how to wear my makeup

 

[thenightlook]

I love studio fix powder for the same reason!!! and yeah they don't want me to wear it at all, and thats exactly what they do... ("grab the mineralize powder and put that on instead in the beauty studio.." ugh. i wore my studio fix anyways... its so sad b/c i get so many compliments on my skin/make-up outside of work and i just can't be myself there.. I'm so close to quitting but idk what to do =[ now i know why i see so many disgruntled mac employees with bad make-up though.. b/c someone else is controlling their whole look ! plus the air conditioning is broken in my store so its been 100 degrees every day..... i'm thinking of asking to be transferred...

Nothing is ever good enough for my extensive team of micro-managers, like I consistently make well over my sales goals but they still want more..more...more.....

 

[Kristin Bacon]

I love studio fix powder for the same reason!!! and yeah they don't want me to wear it at all, and thats exactly what they do... ("grab the mineralize powder and put that on instead in the beauty studio.." ugh. i wore my studio fix anyways... its so sad b/c i get so many compliments on my skin/make-up outside of work and i just can't be myself there.. I'm so close to quitting but idk what to do =[ now i know why i see so many disgruntled mac employees with bad make-up though.. b/c someone else is controlling their whole look ! plus the air conditioning is broken in my store so its been 100 degrees every day..... i'm thinking of asking to be transferred...

Nothing is ever good enough for my extensive team of micro-managers, like I consistently make well over my sales goals but they still want more..more...more.....

yeah girl i have worked for a sterling silver jewelry kiosk, a 99 cent store, hot topic which was one of the worst, and sally beauty supply which was another of the worst for that shit. nothing was ever good enough at sallys, never. the morale was so low in the store i had jus had enough of it. they made us wear whatever was the new products but i wear braids so that didnt work lol. then ppl asked where i got my hair for extensions, they said i should lie and say i got it from my work even tho it was clearly not the same hair lol. at hot topic on your work reviews they would mark u down if u didnt constantly buy new clothes from them to wear to work. i worked there twice, the first time i loved the clothes so it wasnt a issue, but the second i only went back cuz i needed a second part time job. so i didnt wear the newest clothes since they can be expensive, so i got talked to and bad reviews. ugh jus how stinkin retail can be. i know at sephora they kinda tell them what lipsticks to wear. not sure its like your experience tho. i love makeup and would rather be a pro makeup artist than retail. jus i was thinkin having experience as a mac employee would help cuz the things u learn. maybe i am wrong lol. sounds super shitty. and having a whole team of douches bothering u all day ugh. i hate that super fake we love our jobs its so great act they put on. plus i already sweat in the mall cuz the flourescent lights so much so it being that hot i would pass out. and i hate wearing all black. i have five freakin cats

 

[caitlinx]

Brutal, I always thought the girls looked so individual sad to hear!

 

[GinghamDot]

It's been a very long time since I worked at a counter (and it wasn't MAC), but they were thankfully not nearly that obnoxious. I got to wear whatever I liked, although they obviously liked when you wore newer colors and formulas. Goals were a real pain, though, as I worked evenings and weekends and it would be so, so quiet. And don't get me started on credit goals, either. Yuck. Really sad to hear how MAC is managed at the counter level; it doesn't speak well to the management higher up the chain.

 

[LvDelightful]

I know people who worked for Macys and the credit goals are what did them in. The catty managers and the customers that were serial returners were just the icing

 

[Kristin Bacon]

I know people who worked for Macys and the credit goals are what did them in. The catty managers and the customers that were serial returners were just the icing

Fuufuufuuufuufuufuckmylife!! OMG at sally beauty we had so many serial exchangers and returners. This one chick was like obsessed wit me, idk why. she came in for half my 8 hr shift sometimes, buying something lil here and there like nail polishes. then she would return or exchange them after she used them once. so she never paid for polish or whatever else. haircolor even. she would dye her damn hair then return the containers saying she didnt like the color. my DM said i jus had to deal wit her and give her what she wanted. many others did this same shit, but she was the worst and a stalker. I mean constantly asking me what i thought about everything ever. I can only imagine that there are those ppl in department stores and mac counters too!!! i feel like after a while if u keep abusing a return policy they should have in a computer how many returns every phone number and name has and cut them off. this is unrealistic im sure, but i wish!!! If they want the sales associates to wear the newest and latest they should be able to buy atleast one of each item of new le collections when they come out.

 

[thenightlook]

I used to work at hot topic and it was terrible how the managers wanted me to fold the shirts against myself instead of on a counter and I kept telling them, "my makeup will be all over these shirts, I can't just hold the shirt under my chin and fold it." And they never understood The serial returners are the worst... They always want a free full face applied ugh! I haven't even gotten any gratis yet =___=

 

[thenightlook]

I consistently feel like the manager wants to create hostility & competition within the "team" to get us to work harder/sell more just to get more hours... Oh yeah and "basic training" consists of a trainer speed-reading PowerPoint slides out loud. Questions are not encouraged. Gossip is greatly encouraged. Not too excited to go to update except I want to see the new products...

 

[thenightlook]

How the freelance position is described on this website - how people say you are thrown into the water without knowing how to swim - is how they treat the perm part-timers now. No gratis so far.. You get a sketchy discount until your staff card comes that is too much of a hassle to use... I wish the training had been more in-depth about selling (esp about how to convince the client that they need these products) They promise so much to you but fail to deliver - it is remarkable that I have managed to make my goals every day. Still trying to hang in there.. I'm not easily discouraged but how I am treated by upper mgmt makes my positive attitude turn sour.. I'm getting the idea that it is better to be a freelancer and have the freedom to go from store to store as you wish

 

[Kristin Bacon]

I haven't even gotten any gratis yet =___=

oh yeah they did say that shit to me to. the fucking clip board fold against the chest lol!!!! and no gratis sucks omg. that would help ease the bs a lil atleast

 

[GinghamDot]

Again, my last retail/counter experience was eons ago, but I think some of my colleagues enjoyed the bitchy competition. I enjoyed undercutting this bitchery by ringing little things for them (like the kind of thing I could have rung for myself or them, from their counter), walking clients to their counter when I knew their needs would be better served by that brand, etc.

 

[thenightlook]

It's so bad at my store now - we can't even get the freelancers to come back. Ugh. Dishonesty is so rewarded at this company like we have a couple of artists that combine two different transactions into one transaction so their AUS is artificially raised and therefore, they get more hours. Those coworkers now have inflated egos and are trying to boss me around on the floor (ex: "you get these two back to MACs and I'll get the lady that just walked in with a list." *rolls eyes*) Still no gratis. Total nightmare