I truly sympathize with true MUA's who are unable to compete and feel that substandard people are taking their jobs. Especially when it's being done in a shady and underhanded manner. Unfortunately that's life when it comes to big business and I applaud them for standing their ground.
SO true. I've gone and had makeovers and felt gorgeous because of the way it complements my face. But at the same time, I've gone and had makeovers done where it didn't look good. At all. I actually had a friend I knew that worked at the local MAC counter do my makeup once and told her I wanted a smokey eye look that would fit my face. I'm Asian so my eyes make it a little hard to work with, she made me look like I got punched in the face ._. All I saw was black and it was way too close to my inner corner, it just made my eyes look ridiculously small. But then I went for another makeover with a new promotion they had, and the MA this time around that I didn't know, did my makeup gorgeous! I asked for the same look and she made it almost soft, but still sexy. It really depends because they do hire across the entire range and it's hit or miss. Some of them really know what they're talking about when you ask for advice, others don't know a darned thing. But that happens with everyone in every kind of industry I think.
I think the people who said all the harsh things at this site are being a bit dramatic. Every company is going to have haters. No matter what they do. I use MAC because it's the only brand that's actually worked for my face. I have really oily, picky skin and usually makeup just slides right off. But MAC is the one brand I can go to for continual use and dependency. As ChrisMakeupMan said, it's always up to the individual artist. I'm not a professional, I'm a normal consumer. So perhaps that's why I like it so much, who knows?