MA Rudeness/Bad MAC experiences/Rants

[Lauren1981]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glitternmyveins It's a shame there is this feeling coming from customers that mac ma's are so snooty. I think that alot of people find it quite intimidating going into a mac store full of fully made up mac artists. I know before i worked for mac I felt a little outnumbered when I went into a mac shop! But honestly if you get talking us we don't bite! I think that part of our image (which needs to look strong) can create this idea that we are full of ourselves. It's also a real shame to see so many people having bad experiences. I mean that one about yelling at a customer! That is just appalling! I can't imagine witnessing it! You'd just be in shock! I try to be as friendly as possible to everyone and super helpful. Is there a thread for any good customer service at mac? I feel like i need a little mac staff pick me up after reading this! x

hope you or any other MA's reading this don't feel attacked or anything. yes, i've had a shitty experience or two and yes i've spoken about them on here. i don't think anyone who has had a bad experience is thinking that MAC just employs a bunch of bitches or anything. lol! i know i don't feel that way. it's just a place where we can share similar situations. there's a thread somewhere in here that an MA started referring to the flip side of this which is BAD CUSTOMERS (i think it's still open but not sure). i've also noticed that the ladies that are effected more by this are the ones that don't really have a lot of counters to choose from or may be driving a shitload of miles to the closest one only to have a bad experience, which if i were in their position i'd probably be pissed also. i don't have that problem anymore. i used to in my hometown but being in south fla gives me a shitload of counters to choose from so my right to rant is pretty much non-existent at this point.... if i don't like someone at a counter i can just drive to a different one. i only frequent two of them and the choice between which one i go to depends on how much gas i have in my car. lol!!
so don't feel bad!! we know all are not rude bitches!!! and i'm sure you're a very sweet MA. my last visit to MAC was absolutely lovely and i wrote MAC (well, left a comment on the website) about how much i enjoyed my visit..... just wanted to throw that in there for ya

p.s. why don't you start a thread about MAC's good customer service??? just a thought

 

[Tahti]

^ There is one started, here..

I'm sorry if I offended any MAC artists with my rant about my experience so far..

 

[Lauren1981]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tahti ^ There is one started, here.. I'm sorry if I offended any MAC artists with my rant about my experience so far..

you had one that is SUPER justified tho.......
i don't have time go back and look but didn't you have the problem where the MA was making rude comments and remarks about you???
that's so horrible....

 

[User49]

Thanks Lauren1981. I don't feel offended or anything. I just think it's a shame that it's so commonplace for people to feel like the ma's aren't helpful. I don't want to sound ignorant or arrogant but I'm shocked to be honest that there are ma's employed by mac getting away with things like yelling at the customers! And even more shocked to find that some people are so uncomfortable with certain ma's that they have to drive to a different mac shop to get served! Considering most of em are so far apart. I don't think I could be bothered to do that actually lol. I'd just be like "excuse me, can you like do your job and just give me some advice" Rant over.

 

[Mabelle]

Re: Ever have a problem with a MAC MUA?

Quote:

Originally Posted by laraVENGEANCE ive never been to the one in cork, but i've been to the counters in galway, brown thomas on grafton street and the counter in dundrum... in galway they were nice and helpful but in both of the dublin counters theyve been really snobby and and unhelpful! its disappointing

ive been to a counter in galway (once, duno which it was liek... 3 years ago) and i found the MA very rude and disinterested. She kept ignoring me and was speakg to me like i was stupid.

i was very frusterated.

 

[buddhy]

This is 100% my problem, not anyone else's but if I know I'm going to MAC I don't put much make up on, only something really subtle on my eyes. I feel ashamed of my abilities incase they judge me.

I would hate to think of them laughing at my atempts when I leave!!

 

[L1LMAMAJ]

I feel like when I go into certain MAC stores without any makeup on, they don't really care too much about assisting me. They probably think I wouldn't buy anything or know nothing about makeup. However, when I have a full face of makeup on and it looks nice, they always compliment and give me lots of assistance.

 

[Boasorte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buddhy This is 100% my problem, not anyone else's but if I know I'm going to MAC I don't put much make up on, only something really subtle on my eyes. I feel ashamed of my abilities incase they judge me. I would hate to think of them laughing at my atempts when I leave!!

I totally get what you mean, but at the same time, I usually laugh quietly about some of the makeup the MUA wears
This one MA eyeliner was put on so bad, there was no straight line, and her blush was crazy pink, not even blended right, and I was wondering, who the hell hired her?
But you should go in there with makeup on, so they can honestly tell you if it looks right, and what you can improve.
I go in there sometimes with eyeshadow, and take my glasses off right before entering the store(IDK why, when I know I can't see far so if they look at me and say hi, I keep walking lol)
then ask someone who works there if it looks okay

 

[Melanie1784]

Mine is an experience at benefit, i bought some products so they offered me a make up lesson make over. I was told they would do one side of my face and i would do the other, that didn't happen!
I got there and they were all friendly until they passed me onto the girl doing my make up. I removed my make up and she asked me to put on moisturiser. After that she used their new flawless foundation compact, which made me a weird yellow colour!! Then put on blush and bronzer. She kept telling me about their stuff and i have alot of it so i was like ooh i have that and instead and chatting with me about them she seemed pissed off at me! sorry for being a benefit fan! Then another girl working there was chatting to me about where i work and people we both know and she shot her the most evil glare! at least the other girl was pleasant.
I asked her to teach me how to do smokey eyes and my god! i looked like i had been out the night before drinking, drunkenly slept at someones house and crawled out of bed! it looked vile! there wasn't enough on! To make matters worse she hadn't put enough concelor on so i looked like a dead person (i have bad dark circles). She then kept trying to sell me the foundation which i said i had only just bought a dior one so didn't need it. After that i bought a few products but she was still rude and pushy, and made another appointment for me. I will never go to that benefit counter again.

 

[Strawberrymold]

I have a MAC store near my house. Normally when I go to shop I have a list of things I have researched first and want to try. When I go to buy makeup I shop with a bare face just in case I want to try anything on beyond swatching it instore. I can't tell you how many times I have had mean, rude or just down right *itchy artists ignore me because they thought they could assume my skill level or gauge how much I would spend. I use my pro-card so I can only make so many purchases per period...so when I do it is large and in MAC-Tastic charge. I got so sick of my service there that I now will drive three times as far to go visit my lovelies at my new favorite MAC store. I adore all the MUA's there, they know me by name and always are willing to show me "the best stuff". They even let me borrow their brushes to apply things I want to try on. Even though I am not in very often they have taken the time to get to know me and don't judge! So too bad for the other store... guess they won't be getting my money!

 

[Delilah]

Re: Ever have a problem with a MAC MUA?

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurlyBrunette Anyway, now that I rambled on about this I want to know if anyone else has experienced an unfriendly or rude MUA?

Yeh

I've only experienced unfriendly service from MAC. I find it intimidating enough going to makeup counters & having strangers touching my face... When it's someone with an attitude it makes it even worse.

Usually me & my boring, neutral work makeup gets ignored, which is fine by me. A visit to MAC last week started with the usual criticisms about dehydrated skin/bad skincare regime & then the thickly applied SS foundation, I was given a dirty look & attitude when I wanted to see how foundation would wear before purchasing.

Look, I'm sorry, but all foundations wear differently. I've had bad oxidising from MAC as well as slipping into creases I didn't know I had. I know its annoying when a customer takes up your time without purchasing, but I have no alternative to trying your products. I can't stick my fingers in there & go for it! So don't roll your eyes and 'uh huh' me when I say I'm going to see how it wears for today.

It's this attitude that is the reason MUA's often hear the 'oh, I have sensitive skin' and other reasons for not purchasing straight away. If you hear that, let a little warning bell sound in your head that you are projecting that snooty vibe.

On the flip side, the Armarni counters I've been to have always been nothing but nice.

 

[Yushimi]

Re: Ever have a problem with a MAC MUA?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delilah Yeh I've only experienced unfriendly service from MAC. I find it intimidating enough going to makeup counters & having strangers touching my face... When it's someone with an attitude it makes it even worse. Usually me & my boring, neutral work makeup gets ignored, which is fine by me. A visit to MAC last week started with the usual criticisms about dehydrated skin/bad skincare regime & then the thickly applied SS foundation, I was given a dirty look & attitude when I wanted to see how foundation would wear before purchasing. Look, I'm sorry, but all foundations wear differently. I've had bad oxidising from MAC as well as slipping into creases I didn't know I had. I know its annoying when a customer takes up your time without purchasing, but I have no alternative to trying your products. I can't stick my fingers in there & go for it! So don't roll your eyes and 'uh huh' me when I say I'm going to see how it wears for today. It's this attitude that is the reason MUA's often hear the 'oh, I have sensitive skin' and other reasons for not purchasing straight away. If you hear that, let a little warning bell sound in your head that you are projecting that snooty vibe. On the flip side, the Armarni counters I've been to have always been nothing but nice.

Have you ever asked for a sample of the foundation? Then you could test it for the day at home or when you go out instead. That's what I usually do lolz. Then I go back if I like it, if I don't...then I go back for a different colour or a different foundation.

 

[Strawberrymold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by glitternmyveins Thanks Lauren1981. I don't feel offended or anything. I just think it's a shame that it's so commonplace for people to feel like the ma's aren't helpful. I don't want to sound ignorant or arrogant but I'm shocked to be honest that there are ma's employed by mac getting away with things like yelling at the customers! And even more shocked to find that some people are so uncomfortable with certain ma's that they have to drive to a different mac shop to get served! Considering most of em are so far apart. I don't think I could be bothered to do that actually lol. I'd just be like "excuse me, can you like do your job and just give me some advice" Rant over.

Even though I do drive a bit further now to get good service I am kinda glad for it. The ladies at my new store have turned me onto so many wonderful things that I never would have picked out. Normally I wouldn't care as much for something like clothes or shoes but this is MAKEUP! I want to be excited by the MUA who helps me! I want her to tell me her fave color combo's and tricks... That's funny though. At my old MAC store there were times that I wanted to say something like that... or maybe I should just ask them to reimburse me for the extra gas

 

[Elusive21]

Ugh . . . I had kind of a bad experience at Benefit yesterday. I went in there to try the Boi-ing concealer. The SA told me that I should get shade 1. I asked her if I could try (swatch) both of the shades just to be sure that I would be getting something tbat I really wanted. She let me do it and after swatching I happily said "You were right - shade 1 is the right one for me" to which she flippantly replied "Yes, I know, I'm a make up artist you know." I thought that was rude. Yes, I realize that she is a makeup artist but I am still the customer and I would like to swatch both shades just in case. I wasn't rude to her or anything and I didn't act like she didn't know what she was talking about. I have a lot of respect for MUAs but I just wanted to swatch both shades (sometimes when 2 shades are pretty similiar I end up buying both just in case, and that's what I was trying to figure out.

I'm also from Ukraine (been living here for 14 years so I don't have much of an accent at all most people don't even notice it) and she started asking me TONS of questions about where I was from and why my accent is so different from hers and all the places that I have lived at. I hate being interrogated about my background - all I wanted was to buy my concealer and some Georgia powder and get out of there lol. It was such an umcomfortable coversation.

Now I don't think I'll ever go to that counter again. I'll just order my Benefit makeup online.

 

[charnels]

that sucks that you had a bad experience. i just wanted to put it out there that i once went to my local mac counter during a really bad blizzard. stupid, i know, but i was leaving for london the next day and needed some things i had ran out of for my trip. when i got to the counter, all of the mac employees had gone home, and so a girl from the lancome counter came over and helped me out. she said that all the girls at the counters help each other out when someone is sick or has to go home. i was lucky that the girl was very knowledgeable about mac even though she didn't work there, but maybe the girl you dealt with was in a similar situation, which is why she was not familiar with mac products.

 

[CandiGirl21]

Dear M.A.C worker,

Why do you have a job working at a M.A.C counter in Macy*s located at Chicago, IL in River Oaks mall? Yes, YOU know who YOU are! When I was heavy into make up, I frequent there and you were always present. Maybe I did something negative to deserve your horrible, lazy service? Normally I support my sistas earning money, but you my dear don't need that job! It's sad to see other workers trying to take on three-four customers while you try to maintain your afro.

Look, when I said I wanted my Hello Kitty beauty Powder, that's what I meant! Instead of my beauty powder you gave me the blush and not that's not a simple mistake. Because you proceed to make mistakes whenever I enter the store and recieve you. I gave you a chance and You continueously mess up. Which is why when I plan on buying more M.A.C, I will try not to catch an attitude and ask for someone else. Oh, and I hope you're not one of those workers that complain about crappy, over demanding costumers.

Sincerly (and I do mean sincerly),
Former M.A.C Costumer

 

[Candy Christ]

I'm happy I found this thread because I had my own rude experience. Anywho...Remember I went in no makeup AT ALL! Just moisturizer.

In February, I decided that I would cave in and use MAC foundation. Alright, so I go to the MAC counter at my local Macy's (literally like 7 minutes by walking) so of course you know I'm going to be there whenever I want anything MAC. So I go and remember that this is New York and this February was a chilly one. So I decide to bring my bestie Jessica with me. So we walk to the counter and I asked the girl who I've NEVER seen before if she can match me. She obviously wasn't that swamped and she kept me waiting for about 20 minutes, even though she wasn't doing nothing but standing like a bimbo looking in drawers for the ten minutes before she actually got to me. I would have understood except that she apparently didn't need anything from the drawers since no one asked her to look and she had no one to ring up(the girls at the counter are loud when they shout what they need to be rang up, this is how I'd know). So I was hoping I would just get this lady I always see there but she was busy so I get this lady I never see before. Her eye shadow didn't look too amazing to me; she just had some good basic skills. So then she asks me what do I need after I told her like 20 minutes ago. So I tell her I would like to get matched and then I tell her I don't like SPF and I ask her if anything doesn't have SPF in it like Face and Body or Studio Tech(correct me if they do though, but it's not shown on the site). So she proceeds to butcher me for almost ten minutes on why am I not wearing SPF and what's wrong with me and just blabbering on how she's Middle Eastern and she wears an SPF of 50 and I'm so fair and all this nonsense. Alright, whatever. So she says she'll match me, leaves for ANOTHER 10 minutes before she finally comes back. She takes two Studio Fix Fluids in NC30 and NC35 to match me to, IN THE DEAD OF FEBRUARY and proceeds to tell me that the NC35 is giving me a nice glow compared to the NC30. By February, my tan is beginning to fade so I would be an NC30 but common sense tells me to tell her maybe she should try the NC25. She tells me oh no no the NC30 is a dead match(at that time, even though I still had some tan left, basically it was just base color now, it was STILL darker than my skin) she's telling me that the NC35 is making me look so glowy and beautiful and oh it's so nice. She keeps going on and on about SPF and all the MAC foundations have SPF and THEN she begins telling my friend that her face is very crusty. So I tell the MA that my friend has dry skin and her foundation was meant for combination and apparently she knows that, I just told her. She starts telling my friend that her makeup is crusting off and oh you're so red buy some yellow powder. I could tell that my friend is just getting so pissed off. So while she's STILL painting me with Studio Fix she's on and on about my friend looking flaky and red and trying to make a freaking sales pitch to her to buy Studio Fix PPF telling her to buy an NC shade and balance out her skin. So she's finally done being the rude queen of the day when she rings me up for a Studio Fix PPF. I told her I'd like Studio Tech and a Blot Powder. She begins to tell me that I'd like the Studio Fix so much better and Studio Tech isn't for me and Blot Powder has no coverage, so I tell her I want the Blot Powder to go OVER the Studio Tech, she says oh no you'll love the Studio Fix. So I tell her may I please have a Studio Fix Fluid and just to keep the powder, I'll take it too. So then she's STILL talking about my friend's skin and proceeds to dust like 19 pounds of Studio Fix PPF in NC30 on my friend, now my friend looks like a yellow orange cheeked oompa loompa. I'm looking like a war painted unblended shade matching victim. As right as she's about to ring me up she asks if I'd like a brush, I say sure can I have a 109 brush. She tells me there is NO 109 and I must have seen a fake, but I can have a 187, 189, or 190. I tell her can she look for the 109 and she tells me no, there is no 109 and I tell her that's untrue, it's on the MAC website. She tells the lady who I HOPED to get to look for it, the lady doesn't look for it, and she just tells her no we don't have those. So the rude queen proceeds to tell me that I've seen a fake and there's no such 109 and how the brush is fake, it doesn't exist, yadda yadda. So I tell her I would like a 190, now she's trying to cajole me into buying a 129 and would I like the short handle version also I tell her no thanks, I already have a powder brush. So she finally rings me up. She then tells me her name which I couldn't understand, mocks me and my friend when we can't say it, and says oh I guess you can't have free lipglasses and free samples now and walks away laughing. I call her to the counter to say thank you and at least be nice and while I know she hears me(no one was around her and no one was at the counter and she was RIGHT there), she doesn't turn. I called her about five times and she doesn't turn, she just walks away. Once I get outside, I realize that the NC35 side of my face was actually orange, and that she had not only upset me, but my friend who could have been a potential customer of her also. Well I never saw her there again, and I've been back a few times so I'm guessing she left or was fired. Either way she was just so rude and unprofessional.

Sorry this was so long but I wanted to get this out. Thanks very much for reading!

 

[iadoremac]

I think if you are faced with another situation like that you should just ask to speak to someone else

 

[Candy Christ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iadoremac I think if you are faced with another situation like that you should just ask to speak to someone else

I doubt a situation like that is going to happen again. I pretty much stopped going to that counter all together. It's funny how the people who work in a counter in the Bronx think they're the shit compared to the ones who work at Henri Bendel and act like normal people.

 

[Boasorte]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candy Christ I doubt a situation like that is going to happen again. I pretty much stopped going to that counter all together. It's funny how the people who work in a counter in the Bronx think they're the shit compared to the ones who work at Henri Bendel and act like normal people.

There's a MAC counter in the Bronx? Since when? I find the MAC MUA in Manhattan's Bloomingdales to be big be atches