I love when customers try to tell me how to do my job...

[Kiseki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by righteothen You're awesome ^_^. Not enough men are comfortable enough with themselves to wear whatever they want, so I am very proud of you. And seriously, what's the problem with men wearing makeup? I know some guys who could definitely use it...

Most men are curious as to what makeup feels like and want to try it. I have been using concealer, foundation, pressed powder for years and always looked natural. Of course it always has to be sheer formulations like tinted moisturizer, otherwise it looks obvious and odd, but I never had any problems at work and usually asked to give advice on products and so on and so forth. Outside of work I'll use liner, mascara some gloss and don't have any trouble with it and the occasional smoky eye with Carbon when I'm up for it.

More and more men are turning towards makeup specially towards concealers and bronzers and if you're a good SA, you'll make that shy guy around the makeup counters comfortable, he'll be devoted to you for life.

 

[Juneplum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by giz2000 I usually approach a customer with a smile and "Please let me know if I can get anything for you."

i know cos u always take such good care of me gizzy

that's why ur one of my FAVORITE MAC MA's ever!

 

[MissMarley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilMAClady In mild defense of these "annoying" customers, please remember that many of us consumers, I'm sure yourself included, have come across one too many lackluster employees that didn't know what they were talking about and couldn't care less. So try and keep that in mind when you are at work. You are in CUSTOMER SERVICE....

Just adding in, the internet makeup boards are absolutely full to the brim with post after post about idiot MAs and crappy customer service. After a while of reading that, it does get old, and honestly, it starts to be hurtful. This is a forum where we can vent about the way customers treat US, and so we know we aren't alone in having people treat us like dirt, throw things at us, shove us around...none of which is acceptable behavior. So while I appreciate your point of view, you don't need to defend consumers here- we all are in this business because we chose to be. And we appreciate those clients who make our jobs a little less frustrating by not acting like we're the dirt underneath their feet. We all know we're in customer service. But you cease to be a customer and become a public nuisance or an embarassment to yourself when you engage in the behaviors you've seen talked about here.

 

[MissMarley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiseki Most men are curious as to what makeup feels like and want to try it. I have been using concealer, foundation, pressed powder for years and always looked natural. Of course it always has to be sheer formulations like tinted moisturizer, otherwise it looks obvious and odd, but I never had any problems at work and usually asked to give advice on products and so on and so forth. Outside of work I'll use liner, mascara some gloss and don't have any trouble with it and the occasional smoky eye with Carbon when I'm up for it. More and more men are turning towards makeup specially towards concealers and bronzers and if you're a good SA, you'll make that shy guy around the makeup counters comfortable, he'll be devoted to you for life.

I absolutely adore my male customers. Most of them are just there for skincare, but sometimes we'll get into powder, concealer, etc- even my 55 year old dad wears a concealer to cover up his broken capillaries. I like my male customers so much because they seem to be more responsive to advice, they like to ask questions, they like to know how products work...and because I really like the line I work for, I love to talk to them!

It's interesting to see my male customers sometimes though, because I can tell that in my Midwest town, they aren't always comfortable around the cosmetics counters. It's a town where there is a lot of bigotry and intolerance, and I hope I can make them feel like they are ALWAYS welcome with me. One of my best guys brought his dad in for a facial...he told no one had ever touched his dad's face. Now, my customer is a very flamboyant man, and definitely not the norm for this town. His dad was a rather grizzled old farmer, weather-beaten and the kind of guy who speaks in mono-syllabic grunts. But once he sat down, and I showed him how an exfoliating scrub felt, and I did the three-step skin care on his face and patted on some eye cream, he looked back and said "No one has ever treated me like that. I didn't think anyone would care about what I looked like or how my skin felt." and then he turned and leaned into his son and thanked him- I've never had a father-son bonding moment at my counter (just lots of mother-daughter time), and it was cool

And then the son told me that if he was into women, he'd totally marry me, and I think that was quite the compliment.

Anyway, long story short, I love my male customers (I've never had a single one act rudely) and I wish more men felt comfortable coming to the counter.

 

[MisStarrlight]

PS...I had an Asian customer to me today w/ her elderly mother & all I could think about was your posts, Ruffage. It was just a foundation match, but I was able to take a completely different approach. Thankies :-D

 

[Michelle3]

i love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just got home from work (sephora) and i needed this!

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiseki There is no "guy-liner", there is eyeliner, period and some guys like to wear it. I was wearing liner before this guy liner thing anyway... Jean Paul-Gaultier caught on pretty quick on this and launched his man makeup line (it bugs me because all products have notes of Le Male perfume on them) and so now it's OK for guys to shop for makeup. On the other hand, whenever I'm buying eyeliner, I'll go throught the: SA - "Would you like me to gift wrap this for you?" Me - No thank you, it's for me. (followed by an nervous look from the SA because she thinks she made a faux-pas) It's kind of odd to go through this, specially whenever I'm at a new store or there is a new SA helping me, I'm one of those "Hi, how are you doing, could you please get me (insert product of the day) please? Why thank you, have a nice day" customers so I don't relate to any of the situations here. But some places aren't friendly at all for guys to shop for makeup, yesterday I was looking at the Dior counter, I was wearing a friggin' suit and the security officer was standing next to me, just staring, at a point I turned to him and said "Have you worn Dior's loose powder, what do you think of it?" and he immediately disappeared.

i'm not against men wearing makeup if it's well applied. the men I named...their makeup is not. i think if a guy can wear makeup well, more power to him. the one male artist that worked in my store wore foundation, powder, contour, and eyeliner on a daily basis and nobody could tell because he applied it well...the same should be for women with the exception of more dramatic/colorful makeup. and i'm not against that on men either, if it's well applied.

my gripe was simply about 15 year old girls coming in to just play with our products to put eye shadow and makeup on their boyfriends because they've seen some male actors and musicians wear it (tackily applied). I actually hear that as their reasoning "Pete Wentz wears eyeliner, and he's straight so why don't you try it?" then they proceed to chase the poor lad around our store, and throw product and testers everywhere simply playing around.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilMAClady In mild defense of these "annoying" customers, please remember that many of us consumers, I'm sure yourself included, have come across one too many lackluster employees that didn't know what they were talking about and couldn't care less. So try and keep that in mind when you are at work. You are in CUSTOMER SERVICE....

It's not so much an annoyance as it is just plain rudeness. Some customers have a tendency to treat the employees helping them as if we're less than human, and for the most part, we certainly don't treat them that way--those that do really suck and shouldn't work in customer service. It goes beyond working simply in customer service, it's treating people the way you'd like to be treated. If it were the other way around and I came to the work place of some of these clients mentioned and treated them like shit, they wouldn't like it very much. I have run into employees who do a shitty job, and guess what? I don't go back. That's why I try my damndest to make sure that I'm giving excellent client service to everyone who crosses the threshold of my store, and all I'd expect in return is to be treated at least half as well as I'm treating them. For the most part I have excellent clients who are respectful and willing to learn and consider advice requested. Unfortunately, there's a small handful of people who simply don't have any manners, patience or respect. And if I hear that "I can treat you however I want, I'm the customer." or "It's YOUR job to do (insert ridiculous task here)" nonsense, I'll scream.

Take this afternoon for example. I got held up during a 1:00pm consultation, which ran ten minutes into my 2pm consultation. The woman patiently waited for me and I quickly got her into my chair and started talking to her. In the middle of my consult, a rude girl of maybe 19 or 20 got in between me and my customer and practically yelled "Excuse me, can I get some help?!" in a loud, disrespectful manner. It made my client uncomfortable and it made me feel disrespected. I simply said "I'm actually in the middle of an appointment, but let me radio to another artist to help you." We were very busy, there wasn't anyone available at the time, so I thanked her for her patience (lack thereof) and said someone would be with her shortly. Maybe a minute and a half goes by, and here she is in my face again, "I've been waiting here FOREVER. I. NEED. HELP." Again, disrespecting me and my client, who was patient enough to wait her turn like others. I said once again that we were very busy and everybody was assisting other clients and someone would be with her shortly. If her request was simply like needing to know if we had an item or what the difference between items were, I would have paused to help her. But she had an entire list and wanted someone to help her find and apply the items (basically an appointment without an appointment). Again, I thanked her for her patience (lack thereof) and continued my consult, still looking around to grab the next artist available to help her.
She gets on the phone, and within earshot I hear "Well I'm at fucking Sephora and this stupid bitch won't get anybody to help me, I've been waiting here for like 15 minutes." (More like 3-5 minutes) Honestly, how important are you that you can interrupt my appointment with someone who called ahead of time and had the patience to wait on me, then call me a bitch when you know I can clearly hear you and I was nothing but polite to you? It's unfortunate that people in general behave this way. There's a complete lack of respect there. If the tables had been turned and I said to my client "Sorry for the interruption, that stupid bitch over there doesn't have any patience." She'd shit her pants. Not that I'd ever say it, not just because I'd probably lose my job, but I have a respect for HUMAN BEINGS. Which is what MUAs and SAs are. We're PEOPLE too. We deserve to be treated with the same respect that our clients can expect to be treated with. I have the right to refuse to serve someone, and I've exercised it. I do not hate working in customer service. I don't hate people. I simply refuse to tolerate people who don't know how to respect other PEOPLE.

So I'm sorry lilMAClady that you've had bad experiences with MUAs or SAs at other places, I've had bad experiences myself, but that's taught me to be a better client service employee. Unfortunately, it's perhaps made some shoppers bitter to where they have to repeat the vicious cycle by being downright disgusting towards someone else.

 

[dp3]

Couple quick questions:

At MAC, when are the busy hours and when are the lulls?

Also, I was wondering if the brushes you (MUAs) use on customers are paid for by MAC. I would think so, since they are like office supplies.

 

[Kiseki]

Those people like that girl on the cell-phone are just frustrated individuals who can't stand up for themselves against people who matter, be it bosses, husbands, wives etc and want to take it out on someone whom by professional courtesy isn't allowed to answer back.

That girl wasn't being a nuisance, she was just rude and that's putting it mildly, having worked in customer service many years ago I feel your pain. I remember telling this very rude woman who practically threw her credit card in my face "Listen miss, I'm only behind the counter 8 hours a day, the other 8 I do try to sleep and the remaining 8 hours? Guess out, I'm usually standing where you are. The difference between the two of us is that I would be ashamed if I behaved anything remotely to what you're doing right now and my mother taught me some manners."

And then her credit card was denied, karma is as karma does, so in a store with other customers, I put on my most condescending face and whispered "By the way miss, your credit card company declined this purchase, do you have any other means of payment?" and she got all red and left.

I don't have horror customer service stories (nor is this the thread to post them) when I'm in the US, honestly of all the counters I've visited, Macy, Nordstrom, Sephora, everyone has been super nice to me and help me out with any questions I do pose, maybe because I'm a guy, maybe because I'm very polite and don't waste their time or maybe because I've had the luck of always running into good professionals. And although I don't think I've ever crossed paths with any of you, I'm sure you're the same way.

I do remember waiting for 20 minutes at a MAC counter because these two young girls where there bugging the poor MUA excruciatingly making her put on all sorts of things and then taking them off and then not being sure it suited her, they were loud, rude and obnoxious and when the MUA said "Will you make up your mind, do you mind if I go see if I can help out those two gentlemen?" and one of the girls said "Honey, let 'em wait, patience is a virtue.", I just turned and said "Good, I hope you're a very virtuous person the next time you have to wait while someone like you is in front.", the MUA started to try and apologize and I just smiled and said "I practically live in the mall, don't worry, we'll come back and good luck.

 

[BloodMittens]

Okay, this isn't really a "customer" story but it's a customer service story that I just got yesterday.

So I had an interview at Ulta yesterday because I need a job that actually pays me and Victoria's Secret isn't doing that for me. So I got the interview and I came in, I asked "Excuse me, sorry to bother you." to a girl who was filling the shelves and she just continued doing it and said "Mmmhmmm?" very rudely like she didn't want to be bothered. So I said "Um... I'm here to see "blank" for an interview."
"OHHH! Hi! Come right this way!" and she smiled so big I was scared out of my mind. I was just like (O_O);; Whoa.

And so then I was in my interview, and we got to the point that last year this time, this Ulta was the only ONLY place for people to come from around to get higher end makeup brands. Too Faced, Urban Decay, etc. And then she told me, our store was the number one seller of ALL Ulta stores. (And I can believe it, this Ulta was the only thing close to us for 20+ miles)

So she explained to me "We didn't have to be extremely nice to our customers, because in a way they didn't have anywhere else to go, you know?"

I just kinda sat there and let that sit in my head... and I was like... "WHA!?"

And then she said "But now, because they opened the other Ulta about 5 miles away, and Sephora in the mall, we have no other choice but to definatly hire customer service people and nice girls, because now our buisness is going down. So people actually have to WANT to come back."

"And also, you are going to be the first girl hired here who knows customer service like the drop of a hat, so you are probably not going to be liked by the other girls, because they will lose regular customers to you. And you will be promoted before them most likely and you won't be here as long as them before you get a raise."

I was just sitting there and letting this milk in. I had been expecting you know, the normal retail speech "Our customers are our lives, blah blah." and then I got this.

I don't know, I thought it was funny. But if I have a 1-up at this place I might as well take it, especially with the amount of money they offered me because I've worked retail before and I have awards and such for customer service. I think I would be crazy if I didn't take this job.

But still... I think that's nuts. And I always wondered why my mom told me she always had rude girls there, but I never did 6(._.)

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BloodMittens Okay, this isn't really a "customer" story but it's a customer service story that I just got yesterday. So I had an interview at Ulta yesterday because I need a job that actually pays me and Victoria's Secret isn't doing that for me. So I got the interview and I came in, I asked "Excuse me, sorry to bother you." to a girl who was filling the shelves and she just continued doing it and said "Mmmhmmm?" very rudely like she didn't want to be bothered. So I said "Um... I'm here to see "blank" for an interview." "OHHH! Hi! Come right this way!" and she smiled so big I was scared out of my mind. I was just like (O_O);; Whoa. And so then I was in my interview, and we got to the point that last year this time, this Ulta was the only ONLY place for people to come from around to get higher end makeup brands. Too Faced, Urban Decay, etc. And then she told me, our store was the number one seller of ALL Ulta stores. (And I can believe it, this Ulta was the only thing close to us for 20+ miles) So she explained to me "We didn't have to be extremely nice to our customers, because in a way they didn't have anywhere else to go, you know?" I just kinda sat there and let that sit in my head... and I was like... "WHA!?" And then she said "But now, because they opened the other Ulta about 5 miles away, and Sephora in the mall, we have no other choice but to definatly hire customer service people and nice girls, because now our buisness is going down. So people actually have to WANT to come back." "And also, you are going to be the first girl hired here who knows customer service like the drop of a hat, so you are probably not going to be liked by the other girls, because they will lose regular customers to you. And you will be promoted before them most likely and you won't be here as long as them before you get a raise." I was just sitting there and letting this milk in. I had been expecting you know, the normal retail speech "Our customers are our lives, blah blah." and then I got this. I don't know, I thought it was funny. But if I have a 1-up at this place I might as well take it, especially with the amount of money they offered me because I've worked retail before and I have awards and such for customer service. I think I would be crazy if I didn't take this job. But still... I think that's nuts. And I always wondered why my mom told me she always had rude girls there, but I never did 6(._.)

How unprofessional of her to say that about clients. Just because clients didn't have anywhere to go doesn't mean they deserved be treated like shit. Whenever I go to Ulta I either get ignored, or followed to death for fear that I'll shoplift. The only people at the Ulta in my town that are polite to me are friends with my boyfriend, so they courteously speak to me, especially if I'm with him.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dp3 Couple quick questions: At MAC, when are the busy hours and when are the lulls? Also, I was wondering if the brushes you (MUAs) use on customers are paid for by MAC. I would think so, since they are like office supplies.

I know you asked about MAC specifically but busy hours/slow hours depend on the location of the mall for the most part for just about any retailer.

For example, Fashion Valley Sephora (In the heart of town, with a built in transit center, six department stores, 4 built in restauraunts, right off the main highway) is busy ALL THE TIME. I work at UTC Sephora (Further up towards North County, smaller mall, not as much public transportation as FV) and we get busiest between 12-3pm on weekdays, and 12-7 on weekends. Our slowest hours are the first hour we open and the last couple of hours before closing.

 

[powderpaint]

Oh, man. Replace 'South America' with 'China' and/or 'India' and you have my average working day. Snapped at, hissed at, grabbed at, shouted at. I do my best to not let it bug me, but I'm not your freakin' dog, don't click and whistle at me.

Oh my God same here! Theyre something else!!!

 

[BloodMittens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Pixie04 How unprofessional of her to say that about clients. Just because clients didn't have anywhere to go doesn't mean they deserved be treated like shit. Whenever I go to Ulta I either get ignored, or followed to death for fear that I'll shoplift. The only people at the Ulta in my town that are polite to me are friends with my boyfriend, so they courteously speak to me, especially if I'm with him.

Yeah I know. I was just like... ummmm... >_> How can you treat your clients like crap just because they have no where else to go?

It kinda bothered me, but oh well, if I'm hated by the other girls because I'm polite and have good customer service skills like you're SUPPOSED to have when you have a job in retail. Then fine whatever. I'll just get promoted sooner probably anyways, so oh well for those girls.

Plus this is only temporary until I can land that full time job at MAC. I have to wait till November 6(._.) because they don't have an open spot for full time perm yet... but I already did my demo and everything, and they said I did really good, but I really really NEED a full time perm, not a part time, so they told me I just had to wait till November and the spot was mine.

So yeah... just gotta wait while working at Ulta... -_- Gurg...

This is going to be interesting... I think I'm going to be scary swamped with customers... that's what I'm really afraid of, and then leaving those customers that rely on me to be kind while the rest of the girls are horrible still...

~sigh~

 

[claresauntie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BloodMittens ... I think I'm going to be scary swamped with customers... that's what I'm really afraid of, and then leaving those customers that rely on me to be kind while the rest of the girls are horrible still... ~sigh~

First, thankfully being "scary swamped" is just practice for MAC where you will be "scary swamped" constantly.

Second, make sure all of your good customers know where you're going, and take 'em with you!

 

[BloodMittens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by claresauntie First, thankfully being "scary swamped" is just practice for MAC where you will be "scary swamped" constantly. Second, make sure all of your good customers know where you're going, and take 'em with you!

Oh I can imagine. Especially since it's the only MAC store near us unless you want to travel to downtown Chicago.

I'm going to have fun though

I actually work better under pressure. When I'm bored is when I start to hate my job, I can't wait! Especially since Holiday is coming up, that is going to go by so fast, but I'm going to have so much fun

 

[astronaut]

OMG at Ulta! Part of me is not surprised because the Ulta near me gives shitty service as well. But the other part of me is shocked at how blunt and straight forward they were about treating customers badly on purpose! My Ulta has a bunch of stuck up SA's who act like their the shit because they work with makeup or something. Whatever, you ain't that cool!

 

[BloodMittens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by astronaut OMG at Ulta! Part of me is not surprised because the Ulta near me gives shitty service as well. But the other part of me is shocked at how blunt and straight forward they were about treating customers badly on purpose! My Ulta has a bunch of stuck up SA's who act like their the shit because they work with makeup or something. Whatever, you ain't that cool!

No joke right?

I love your avater! Shin-chan and his ass dances are hilarious.

 

[MAC_Pixie04]

I bought a few CHI brushes at Ulta only because they were on sale. Well the sale didn't start until the day after I was there. I went to check out and the prices weren't coming up as sale prices. I was like "These are supposed to be 50% off.." and she goes "That sale doesn't start until tomorrow, so the prices haven't changed yet." I polite stated, "Well the sign is up right now, so I think you should honor it." And she said "Well if you come back tomorrow we'll honor it then. Do you want me to cancel this transaction or are you gonna pay?" Haven't been back since, which is a shame because it's a great store with lots of product, but I do not deal with bitchy workers anywhere, not in food, not in retail, not at public offices. When you give someone a shitty attitude, it only perpetuates the cycle, so they'll give a shitty attitude to the next person, and them to the next and so on and so on.