Frustrations With MAC

[nelyanaphonexia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MACGoddess While you and 15 other people in your area might want a certain collection to come to your counter, there may be no other person in the area that will respond to it, you know? Think McQueen, SUPER bright shadows and paint pots along with lips and face products; it was a very fashion forward collection, very backstage trendy...a small town with only one MAC counter won't really be the place to release that collection. People may be overwhelmed by it bc it is so intense and the launch would suffer bc of it. They try to launch products where they will be most fitting bc it is a business, it costs them a lot of $$ to ship these products but also they lose more $$ if they sit in the drawers for 6 mos only to be sent to a CCO.

LOL. I can totally understand this. While it makes me sad that I moved from a larger city in Texas to the middle of nowhere Texas, and now I only have a counter to shop at. NO one here buys the bright colors that I know of. I live in one of the most conservative cities in the US. I even get looks from the women who work at the department stores when I buy bright colors of makeup, oh yeah, you know, the loud whispers. Just loud enough for you to hear them say, "Ooooh, she must be a slut! buying blue and purple eyeshoadw!! tsk tsk!". Yeah, I can't wait to get out of here.

I really just don't fit in.

So I can see why they don't send the pretty colors to where I'm currently located. It's sad for me, but I don't mind the drive to DFW, mostly because it's a trip out of here!

 

[panther27]

There are way too many exclusives.And Macy's gets excluded all the time which isn't right.MAC should at least let Macy's have that stuff once in a while.I know others that feel the same way I do

I hope that MAC will not do so many exclusives in the future.

 

[nunu]

too many LE collections..As soon as you go buy from one collection you have to start looking at the next collection , then the next collection...i still didn't have time to play with my naughty nauticals stuff!! LOL

Another frusteration is that MAC in the Middle East doesn't get their collections when the collections are released in the USA/UK. My counter released Neo Sci fi last week, so i'm still waiting for cool heat while others have finished raving about it and moved to sonic chic, new view and electroflash. I asked the MA's what collection is after NSF and they didn't know

 

[nursee81]

some of the MA at the counter and at f/s stores can be a little on the B*tchy side while other are extremely nice. for the most part everytime i go in to any mac store or counter i spend at least a $100 if not more so getting some good CS would be nice. that why i stopped shopping at macys mac counter cause the girls there were really out of control. Dont they work on commission??? i had stop buy mac when i moved to florida b/c everytime i went in to try something out they would act like they didnt have the time. mean while there was no one in the store customer wise. so i just stop wearing it and would shop at sephora but just recently i started getting back in to mac 5 yrs later. and i have spent well over $1000 dollars in the past 2-3 months. shhhh dont tell the hubby he will kill me.

 

[MacArtist]

We don't work on commission and I'm sorry you had bad customer service. We as MAC artists are trained to give EXCELLENT customer service and if you are not receiving the service you deserve then I would complain to the manager. Artists with bad attitude bring the company down, by losing customers and losing $$$ for the company.

 

[nursee81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacArtist We don't work on commission and I'm sorry you had bad customer service. We as MAC artists are trained to give EXCELLENT customer service and if you are not receiving the service you deserve then I would complain to the manager. Artists with bad attitude bring the company down, by losing customers and losing $$$ for the company.

sorry i thought you guys did. yes i agree that bad cs brings the company down, that is why i stop shopping mac but thankfully they recently had the f&f sale and got me hook again. i love their products dont get me wrong but when you dont have a good cs they lose out and the other closest mac was an hr away. but its all in the past.

 

[ms.marymac]

Re: MAC Frustrations

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyPlum Why do u feel they have to learn about Specktra? With all due respect to Specktra and Specktrites, I dont think Specktra is the be all and end all of MAC! MAC provide us with the knowledge when they see its necessary and no sooner or later. If there are going to be any changes, they are great at communicating this to the store managers. Why alot of ppl feel MAs need to know about collections so far in advance, im not sure? How would it benefit customers or MAs exactly? I had a customer come in store in May asking for Big T e/s. I said it was LE and rec'd her similar colours and explained LE. She wanted that exact shade so I then told her abt Cool Heat coming out (in UK) in July and mentioned there will be teals and v v similar shades coming out. She looked at me,like yeah right I'm gonna wait another two months! What more could I do, she wanted it then and there (dont we all??!) ... As a customer and MA I want to know abt whats hot right now and yeah maybe whats coming in the future but its not the end of the world if I dont know what kinda MU trends I will be wearing in winter. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it... I agree its wrong that some MAs dont know about current collections or the upcoming ones (i.e. within that quarter) ... but our trainers dont expect us to know all the upcoming collections or know exactly every colour coming out and how dis/similar it is to x, y or z (except for current season, obv). At Update we are not taken into depth about every colour - yes the information is provided to us but the trainers dont sit there and go through each colour and talk abt them in depth. Neither do we really get that much time to look at every single product (unfortunately). Usually there are abt 20 of us and one tester of each product out. A lot of them have the working names rather than actual ones too so we arent always going to know the exact name until they come in store... Our Update training days are jam packed with lessons, customer service workshops, videos, tasks etc and as a trend based company we are informed about current trends and associated techniques as a whole, rather than individual colours. Yes as a MA it is our responsibility to look through our note books and read abt the colours etc and most of us do (I cant speak for everyone) but at the same time we cant be expected to know every single name and its dupe! There are some MAs who are addicts and may know about specktra and all the product names etc but not all. I have only met one other colleague who has actually heard about Specktra... and if it was such a big deal, the powers that be would tell us to log on every night but they dont... cos we hear it from the horses mouth, as and when we need to. which is enough. I know this thread it about ppls frustrations but sometimes I think these frustrations need to be cleared so you guys can understand us better and see where we're coming from too... hope u dont mind. and finally... phew! I really hope you all have better experiences when you next go to MAC. Love DP xxx

Thank you. I try to be familiar with most of our products, but I don't know every single new color that is coming out 6 months in advance. Once they get here I may know most, but as soon as I memorize those a new one comes out in the next week...lol! MAC has one of the largest amount of SKUs out of all cosmetic brands IRRC, and I am doing good to be familiar with the permanent collection and and most of the current collection featured. I may be able to say, "Oh, if you love that type of look, come back In Oct, we have a whole collection devoted to that coming in."

I really think that most people that come into counters love MAC, but they are not like most Specktrites...they just need their staples and maybe some new products to update their look. You mention a name or tidbit about an eyeshadow and they just look at you with a blank look.

Or they just look at you like you are crazy b/c you are excited about a new product. Or they are looking for Goldbit. That's coming from a couple of years of experience at different counters.

I have honestly done less and less homework as my MAC career has progressed. After standing on my feet all day, the last thing I want to do is come home and study more makeup...I want to hang out with my DH and the cat and RELAX...

 

[purplerinne]

I've never had a problem when I go into the SF pro store (i want to live there) but I notice when I go to my Nordie's counter, if I don't look a certain way, I get kinda "frowned" upon...but I guess that's more of the MA's that work (or used to work) there....

Oh, and I can't keep up with all these LE collections...but as long as Specktra has the heads up on all the collections at least I can budget my money....

 

[Vicodin]

It sucks that we don't have "back to MAC" here in austria and not a single pro store

 

[MaryJane]

I have several Mac counters, both freestanding and department stores, in my area and have frequented all of them over the years (I've been shopping Mac for a long time). I can probably think of a handful of times that I have received poor service, the majority of the time the MA's are extremely helpful.

Like in any other profession, you'll find some people who are more knowledgeable than others. I would never expect the MA's to tell me if colors from LE collections are comparable to others ~ Mac puts out way too many LE's to keep track of every color.

If you aren't receiving good service from a particular MA then don't buy anything from them. You can always shop on line.

 

[BALLOO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Babs There's also the B2M program in Italy.

We have also B2M here in Greece.

 

[panda0410]

I have to say this slightly off B2M issues and others aside... the consistency of MAC products are in decline... in the last 2 months alone I have purchased 3 pigments and one lipstick that are NOT the same colour. Before you jump on this let me point out that all 4 items were legitimately purchased - NOT off ebay, the lipstick itself was from the same collection and batch code (Ahoy There) and the 3 pigments were all a shade off as well. The lippie was the most obvious - I got 2 x brand new ahoy there lippies and both of them are different colours. One is a dusty pink with slight shimmer (a little like masque) the other is a pale seashsell pink with obvious gold glitter. All 3 pigments were at least one shade off - perhaps excuseable here considering there are a few years between the batches, but for me this is becoming more and more frequent. The lipstick just flat out pissed me off because its not the first time this has happened AND its from the SAME batch.....

 

[SMMY]

FYI for people complaining about MAs not knowing what's in a collection. Last year MAC released 49 collections. I don't know how many products that would entail, but let's say six products per collection for a nice round number, though that's probably low. That's 294 products within a twelve month period. This year we're already on collection number 20 (Colorforms) and it's only July. I imagine it would be hard enough to keep track of the permanent Mac catalog, but to try to keep track of the constant influx of products every two weeks would be very difficult. Then when you have someone who comes in and wants you to go into the "way back machine" and compare an item from a limited edition of say two or three years ago that you no longer have, to some new item that just came in three days ago, well then, that's when I'd start pulling my hair out if I was an MA. In three years time, that is around eight or nine hundred limited edition products to try to sift through, which would be nuts to expect someone to have memorized. MAs are people, not computers.

I don't think a lot of the people here, who think that just knowing what products are coming out in the next month somehow makes you more qualified than a Mac MA, have any idea what the job is like. Working eight hours behind a counter with the public is vastly different than sitting at home in a comfy chair perusing Specktra and memorizing the upcoming collections for the items they are interested in.
Just had to vent because I'm tired of people thinking they understand what it is like to be a Mac employee when actually they have not a clue.
Not a Mac employee here, just venting. And showing the MAs some respect. Personally I've never had a bad encounter with a Mac employee, but maybe that's because I have realistic expectations.

 

[jasminbarley]

*****

 

[AdlersMommy22]

im very frustrated that the only place mac is even sold in illinois is up by chicago.... true thats the most populated city in the state but geographically it doesnt make sense to only have mac in chi. i live in CENTRAL illinois and have to drive 3 hrs to get to a counter. wtf??? common mac theres millions of ppl in IL that dont have access to your products 1st hand. no fair

 

[AdlersMommy22]

im sorry the closest MAC to me is @ Macy's easy in aurora IL 117 miles away... kidding me? Lk i can make a 2 and 1/2 hour drive with a 3 month old just to go to mac.. SO ANNOYING.. sorry this is just something thats REALLY been making me mad lately...

 

[jaclynashley]

Re: MAC Frustrations

Quote:

Originally Posted by DirtyPlum Why do u feel they have to learn about Specktra? With all due respect to Specktra and Specktrites, I dont think Specktra is the be all and end all of MAC! MAC provide us with the knowledge when they see its necessary and no sooner or later. If there are going to be any changes, they are great at communicating this to the store managers. Why alot of ppl feel MAs need to know about collections so far in advance, im not sure? How would it benefit customers or MAs exactly? I had a customer come in store in May asking for Big T e/s. I said it was LE and rec'd her similar colours and explained LE. She wanted that exact shade so I then told her abt Cool Heat coming out (in UK) in July and mentioned there will be teals and v v similar shades coming out. She looked at me,like yeah right I'm gonna wait another two months! What more could I do, she wanted it then and there (dont we all??!) ... As a customer and MA I want to know abt whats hot right now and yeah maybe whats coming in the future but its not the end of the world if I dont know what kinda MU trends I will be wearing in winter. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it... I agree its wrong that some MAs dont know about current collections or the upcoming ones (i.e. within that quarter) ... but our trainers dont expect us to know all the upcoming collections or know exactly every colour coming out and how dis/similar it is to x, y or z (except for current season, obv). At Update we are not taken into depth about every colour - yes the information is provided to us but the trainers dont sit there and go through each colour and talk abt them in depth. Neither do we really get that much time to look at every single product (unfortunately). Usually there are abt 20 of us and one tester of each product out. A lot of them have the working names rather than actual ones too so we arent always going to know the exact name until they come in store... Our Update training days are jam packed with lessons, customer service workshops, videos, tasks etc and as a trend based company we are informed about current trends and associated techniques as a whole, rather than individual colours. Yes as a MA it is our responsibility to look through our note books and read abt the colours etc and most of us do (I cant speak for everyone) but at the same time we cant be expected to know every single name and its dupe! There are some MAs who are addicts and may know about specktra and all the product names etc but not all. I have only met one other colleague who has actually heard about Specktra... and if it was such a big deal, the powers that be would tell us to log on every night but they dont... cos we hear it from the horses mouth, as and when we need to. which is enough. I know this thread it about ppls frustrations but sometimes I think these frustrations need to be cleared so you guys can understand us better and see where we're coming from too... hope u dont mind. and finally... phew! I really hope you all have better experiences when you next go to MAC. Love DP xxx

Yes I totally agree that MA's don't neccasarily have to know about collections coming up months from now but all I'm asking is to at least know the next collection .
The woman who helped me called Neo Sci-Fi the orange packaging collection then left me to help an older woman who's wallet looked alot heavier while in the middle of helping me !

I see where your coming from but it's so frustrating since I'm used to coming to the MAC store hugging my favorite MA and gossiping to her about upcoming collections .

 

[nursie]

jasminbarley, i understand what you're saying, especially when i think about someone returning a really popular product (volcanic ash exfoliator) that lots of other people would have wanted.
but i am germ phobic.....at work, with patients with mrsa, we cant allow any items that patient has touched touch us without gloves on (towels, the tv remote)...i dont think the responsibility should be on the mac mua's to determine if a returned product was touched or not, and throwing it out is better safe than sorry for ALL the customers

im only a couple of years into buying mac and i love the line, but i do have friends that loved mac about 10 years ago and they have moved on to other brands because they say the quality is now poor...they hate the eyeshadows and say they are hardly pigmented compared to what they used to be. for me, i think they're great....were they really much better than what they are now?

 

[jasminbarley]

*****

 

[nursie]

oh ok, yes i did misunderstand you, i dont want someone's used stuff (no offense to swappers, hey this is my germ phobe thing)......but, now that i do understand you, i disagree with that too

it's easy to end home and realize you haaaaate the shade of what you just bought, id hate to think i'd be stuck with it, and that's with me having never returned anything i've bought...i just like the knowledge that i can if i needed to.