Bad Customers!

[ms.marymac]

Our X-Mas Eve was very similar, but fortunately all of the customers were patient and nice. We were DEAD most of the day. The folks that did come in just needed gift cards and stocking stuffers.

The people that want a miracle can be frustrating. You want to help them, but you can only do so much. I get a lot of people that want to smooth out texture. I can only put so much primer and foundation before it looks worse. I just tell them "this is what I can do...". If they get too rude, I just smile and hand them the brush or sponge.

BTW, did anyone read the article in Allure about the Allure staffers getting makeovers? It was interesting to read what their expectations were and how they felt about the outcome. I read so many comments on MUA where people were disgusted with their makeovers. Do you think a lot of people just want to see a version of what they normally do themselves instead of "a whole new look"? Does it go back to the idea that a lot of people are not comfortable with change? Hmmm...cosmetic counter psychology.

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ms.marymac BTW, did anyone read the article in Allure about the Allure staffers getting makeovers? It was interesting to read what their expectations were and how they felt about the outcome. I read so many comments on MUA where people were disgusted with their makeovers. Do you think a lot of people just want to see a version of what they normally do themselves instead of "a whole new look"? Does it go back to the idea that a lot of people are not comfortable with change? Hmmm...cosmetic counter psychology.

I think it's that a lot of people are so set in their make up ways (eg - they like bright colours, or they like neutrals only) that when an MA does something different they immediately don't like it. I've seen it on here, on MUA and in real life where people don't like their makeovers. a lot of the time the makeup is gorgeous, but it's just not what that person is used to wearing.

 

[littlemakeupboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MACgirl hey makeupboy, i reeeeallly dislike when customers do that!!!! especially when you greet them and they walk past you to the cash wrap, only to be directed back to you!! another thing i dislike is when customers say they like to look natural and barely made up and to pick out eyeshadows for them so here i go with my brown down, patina and such, apperantly to them natural is swimming, freshwater, and of course carbon and sketch. As mentioned above with customers thinkin that if your not thier ethnicity or skin color thye dont need your help here is one example: keep in mind the store im at has a large latino demographic. - at my counter thier is this girl named stephanie, she is a white as you can get! and spoke no spanish when she came to mac a year ago, but as of late the girl has picked up alot of spanish! Im really impressed by it for one! (she is even reading harry potter i nspanish lol!) so this customer comes in who speaks not a word of english and im the only spanish speaking person thier at the moment and im doing a appt., so stef asks the lady in spanish if she needs help, she quickly says no and i see this so i go up to both of them and ask the lady if she needs help (stef recenlty became an artist) and she puts on a huge smile and says to me thank god someoen who speaks spanish and i told her well stef speaks it too, and stef says in spanish i could help wth anything yo uwant, and she still was insistant i help her but i told her i was unable to because of my appt. so stef says to her in spanish i could help if you want and by this the lady was insulted and walked out......it was weird and stef felt bad that the lady didnt even give her a chance but i told her how proud of her i was! and reminded her how far she's gotten!!

hahahha that's my favorite

i also love when people will pick up a clearly brown lipstick and say THIS IS TOO ORANGE,i'm like uhhhh where do you see orange

Alot of african american women who come to our counter who assume that because i'm white and a male i don't know what i'm doing
but as soon as they see ken (the only other guy at the counter who happens to african american) they run to him,
I hate having to explain that I'm trained and can basically match anyone

 

[calbear]

Honey It's just the same for me and I'm a Black woman - all of a sudden they only want the white girl to help them or they want their makeup to look like the NW25 girls even though it's a theme day and we all have on the exact same makeup. (just grab the 'black girl pack' and call it a day NW45 Studio Fix, Chestnut lipliner and Oh Baby - since I can't seem to convince anyone to look at ANYTHING else!) And I'm sure we all have stories like this - we see it all, everyday. It sucks even harder when it's someone who looks like you that won't let you help them.



X-MAS day fun - Our system went down - so... you could not paywith a gift card, you could no buy a gift card, you had to call the 800 number to manually authorize every check and credit card payment as we had a line out the door of people waiting. Fun

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calbear ....(just grab the 'black girl pack' and call it a day NW45 Studio Fix, Chestnut lipliner and Oh Baby -.....

That cracked me up!

It was always my mission to encourage women of colour to branch out and try something new, but that Studio Fix/Chesnut/Oh Baby was a hard habit to break for some.

I had some comments about ethnicity when I worked for MAC as well. Like people who walked up to the counter and said that they needed help so I offer it and they say, "Oh, can she do my makeup" and point to a black MA. Or some would even just flat out ask. At first it bugged me and I would try to persuade them, but then I realized their issue, not mine. Or I would match up a woman of colour with foundation and they wouldn't believe it was the right shade until a women with the same shade of skin as hers agreed that it was OK.

One day I had a lady walk up who wanted a smokey eye demo and let me brag for a moment: I rock the smokey eye on women of colour. So, I start to gather everything up and she is just looking uncomfortable. Then she says, "Can she do my makeup? I would prefer a black woman to do this." and points to a black MA. I said, "Sure." I wasn't going to force her. Well, that MA was not so skilled at smokey eyes. She absolutely demolished this poor lady's eyes. It was Carbon shadow from lash to brow, smudged wide around the outer corner of the eye and all smudged underneath. Smokey not so much, it was more like she rubbed her eyes in a pile of campfire ashes. I felt bad her demo turned out like that, but then I remembered that she made that choice.

It went both ways too. I saw a lot of white customers seek me out instead of black MAs at our counter. Their loss. One of the most talented makeup artists I have EVER seen was beautiful NW45. She could make ANYONE look amazing. Some women would pass up an opportunity to get their makeup done by her, so that a white MA could do it. I would always think...fine...whatever. Your loss, dumbass.

I've heard the arguement that customers want someone who looks like them and can identify, but I think that is a silly arguement. You end up missing out on some great opportunities. MAC is one of the few lines out there that really focuses on every skin colour.

 

[MisStarrlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calbear just grab the 'black girl pack' and call it a day NW45 Studio Fix, Chestnut lipliner and Oh Baby

Hahahahahaha!!!
You just listed the #1, 2 & 3 sellers at my store. UGH!! I try to get them to at least switch them to Beaux so it doesn't look like they have a disco ball on their lips.

I would much rather do someone's makeup that is different than me. I ca do my own face every day & play all that I want. And besides, so many more colors show up with so much less work on an NW45 skin than my NW15.

Naked Lunch, Shroom, Grain, Orb & about 15 other colors all look exactly the same on me.

 

[lara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisStarrlight Anyone have any Christmas Eve horror stories?

Boxing Day - we ended up dragging our counters around to create barricades to stop our bay from being completely swamped, and ended up desperately ringing for security to come and guard us because we were being verbally assaulted constantly (number of times called a cunt in a single day = 12, and that's a new record) and a few guys took a swing at one or two of us because we were forced to block side access to the escalators for security and safety reasons.
Never, never again. I sure as hell hope that I got a double time-and-a-half wage for that day.

I'm the go-to gal for make-up for women of colour at my counter, so I always get a little giggle when people blanch when they see that their MA is someone with a hardcore case of moon-tan. I take pride in understanding and/or furthering my knowledge of the particular needs of various skin colours, so it's always nice to get a thumbs-up afterwards. Breaking down the make-up stereotypes!

 

[ms.marymac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lara Boxing Day - we ended up dragging our counters around to create barricades to stop our bay from being completely swamped, and ended up desperately ringing for security to come and guard us because we were being verbally assaulted constantly (number of times called a cunt in a single day = 12, and that's a new record) and a few guys took a swing at one or two of us because we were forced to block side access to the escalators for security and safety reasons. Never, never again. I sure as hell hope that I got a double time-and-a-half wage for that day. I'm the go-to gal for make-up for women of colour at my counter, so I always get a little giggle when people blanch when they see that their MA is someone with a hardcore case of moon-tan. I take pride in understanding and/or furthering my knowledge of the particular needs of various skin colours, so it's always nice to get a thumbs-up afterwards. Breaking down the make-up stereotypes!

That's it. When are they going to give MAs a makeup brush that doubles as a taser?

 

[FacesbyNiki]

One request, please brush your teeth and wash your face before coming to any counter to have make up done.

 

[glamgirl]

I agree with all of the post. Before working as a MA, I didnt realize that alot of women are clueless about makeup. They want to know what color looks good on them. I think by the time you are in your 20's you have tried different colors and know what works and doesnt. I will pick out three or four colors. if they dont like my suggestions I ask another MA for a suggestion. It is there final decision and sometimes they dont like anything. There are customers who want you to devote all of your time to them and not step away to help other people, those are the ones that piss me off. But for the most part most customers are nice its the not so nice ones that make it bad for the rest.

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FacesbyNiki One request, please brush your teeth and wash your face before coming to any counter to have make up done.

Amen! I had one woman look in the mirror at what I had applied so far and she happened to check her teeth. She then proceeded to pick a piece of vegetable out of her teeth with her 2" long nails. It literally made me sick to my stomach to finish the application.

 

[Janice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Whore Amen! I had one woman look in the mirror at what I had applied so far and she happened to check her teeth. She then proceeded to pick a piece of vegetable out of her teeth with her 2" long nails. It literally made me sick to my stomach to finish the application.

sorry for the

t: , but

 

[amoona]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FacesbyNiki One request, please brush your teeth and wash your face before coming to any counter to have make up done.

lol ok I totally went to get my make-up done during Ramadan and I was fasting all day and didn't eat and I kept apologizing tot he MA cuz my breath was probably horrible. She was soo sweet about it and as soon as the sun went down I grabbed a piece of gum and I'm sure it probably made her day haha.

 

[maxcat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lara Boxing Day - we ended up dragging our counters around to create barricades to stop our bay from being completely swamped, and ended up desperately ringing for security to come and guard us because we were being verbally assaulted constantly (number of times called a cunt in a single day = 12, and that's a new record) and a few guys took a swing at one or two of us because we were forced to block side access to the escalators for security and safety reasons. Never, never again. I sure as hell hope that I got a double time-and-a-half wage for that day. I'm the go-to gal for make-up for women of colour at my counter, so I always get a little giggle when people blanch when they see that their MA is someone with a hardcore case of moon-tan. I take pride in understanding and/or furthering my knowledge of the particular needs of various skin colours, so it's always nice to get a thumbs-up afterwards. Breaking down the make-up stereotypes!

Holy sh**. Just.... Holy Sh**.
Is this a MAC counter? Because your MRO should know about that. We have excellent security where I work.
Permission to start using MoonTan? That's GREAT.

 

[Barefootgirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glamgirl Before working as a MA, I didnt realize that alot of women are clueless about makeup. They want to know what color looks good on them. I think by the time you are in your 20's you have tried different colors and know what works and doesnt.

I didn't. I didn't even start experimenting with make-up until I was well into my 30s, and I'm still always amazed and delighted when the MA suggests a new colour or a combination of colours that looks great.

Demanding that the MA share exactly your skin shade is quite pathetic and if I may say so, verging on the racist.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Quote:

They want to know what color looks good on them. I think by the time you are in your 20's you have tried different colors and know what works and doesnt.

Not among my friends. The majority of them don't know anything about makeup. A good majority asked me during our senior year asked me about makeup so that they looked professional.

The few who do play with makeup are decent except one. She refuses to see the problems with her makeup. *shrugs

 

[glamgirl]

OMG, people can be so rude.

 

[glamgirl]

I have had that happen to me. I got a little offended, but I purposely didnt do my best work on her.

 

[redambition]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxcat Holy sh**. Just.... Holy Sh**. Is this a MAC counter? Because your MRO should know about that. We have excellent security where I work. Permission to start using MoonTan? That's GREAT.

no-one can do much about it.

Boxing Day = MAYHEM in australian stores. it's the start of the stocktake sales, and all the freaks come out of the woodwork. these people come from all over the city, line up all night to be first in the store in the morning. as soon as the store opens, it's like the running of the bulls. people madly sprinting to the department they want to go to to start grabbing.

if you fell over in a shop on boxing day, people would just walk over you and pull any items you were holding out of your hands to have for themselves. these women (and men) fight over items on the shelves. it's scary.

 

[claresauntie]

I'm sorry, but WHAT!?!?

You had throngs of people there and you were getting screamed at and insulted and called "the c-word"????

For the love of Pete, WHY!?

That's just insane.