Buckle your belts, I'm back in a not so usual slot this week. As I mentioned in my last post I'd had some time away from work. I'm now back into the swing of things, and quite happy about it. I want to preface this post by saying that I do actually love my job (beauty consultant, for those who don't know. That's corporate speak for "counter bitch with a brush belt") but there's one aspect in particular that I want to talk about.
Since the middle of last week I've been jack-knifed from a life of leisure to a world of work and the one thing dulling the shine for me is how people behave at a make up counter. I'm not going into any details regarding specific situations but rest assured, my sleep-addled brain repressed any former experiences in this department. In the words of HRH Céline Dion "It's all coming back to me..."
Like, seriously. If you're not reeling from the shock of someone barking that they're "only having a look" from across the lipstick display then you're throwing yourself bodily against the shelving units and re-merchandising an entire section before an investigating manager finds the placed ripped asunder.
Now, I know in my own heart and soul that some sales people will hound you until you part with your hard earned cash. I'll get to that part later on. Making a purchase isn't always a smooth sail, but let me run through a few tips with some helpful input from the "inside", as it were. I promise you, we're not all bad. A fair few of us genuinely want to help, having either witnessed or been on the end of a service similar to the above description.
Read on for a revised etiquette curriculum.
Hygiene.
Please, please, do not approach a make up counter and use products or testers straight from the display packaging. Would you share your lipstick with a friend? If the answer's yes, you'd want to be fairly good friends and privy to each other's oral hygiene. If your answer is no, then why would you do it with so many potential other people?!
Applicators will be supplied for appropriate products, if not then the products will have been cleaned and sanitised. That's to cover the necessary bases for hygiene regulation and to keep you safe. You should still ask a consultant to apply products, or lend you a clean brush for you to use on yourself.
I am openly pleading with you not to make one of my clan follow your around the counter with sanitizing spray and a spatula to scrape away cream products.
Communicate.
You know that product you read about? Or maybe you just wandered in to a store but it caught your eye anyway? Yeah? Well guess who knows a good bit of fairly relevant information about it.
The person who asked you if you needed help, most likely.
The best thing you can ever do is talk to your consultant. Whether you know exactly what you want or you haven't a clue, always ask. If you're just having a browse, work away. If you end up needing something then by all means holler.
Everything you need to know about the product will have been handed down to us by the company themselves. If we've discovered anything unusual or interesting about the product in our time using it, you'll be informed. The worst thing you can do for yourself is fly solo through your mission and end up missing out. Being frosty doesn't make our day go quicker either.
Respect the counter condition.
By that I mean, try to leave the counter the way you found it. It's just simple manners, to be quite honest. I'm not asking you to bring Detol and wet wipes in your handbag but try to pop things back on shelves. Putting your testers back in the wrong place is not a problem, we appreciate that you took the time to put them back at all! We'll straighten everything up later.
Part of our job is to maintain the space we work in for the public, by helping us out we really appreciate that. If you frequent any counter and you do leave the place in a horrific state, please amend your ways. The boys and girls looking after you have other responsibilities too.
Don't fear your consultant.
Let me say this. No one is gonna nail you to the floor and rob your wallet. No ons is gonna take you aside and give you a Chinese burn until you cough up the dough. You'll definitely never see a line of mascara'd and lipsticked counter staff doing the Haka between you and the door until you agree to buy the serum, moisturiser and the foundation. We're not scary people, honestly!
We work with a range of products, if you give us your situation we'll do our best to provide you with the best of what we have for your needs. I won't lie and say that making money isn't part of our job, it absolutely is. Targets are a key factor in working in retail and they determine how well we do. I've yet to meet a sales person who would send someone away with the wrong products just to rack up some numbers. The right people for the job will never lump you with something you can't use. If someone does, avoid them like the plague!
In retail your customer care is as important, if not more important, than your figures. So if I have a fantastic run on my targets but I'm horrible to people, can you guess where I'll end up? The post office of a Thursday. It literally pays us to be nice. Plus we get to play with make up all day. We're like pigs in shite!
Don't take the piss.
I can't put it any plainer than this. Do not walk into a store and take the mickey out of the people working there. It's rude, it's disrespectful, and it's a waste of time on both parts.
Do not repeatedly ask for samples of products. Many companies work on a tester order basis. If the majority of product is given away as samples, they're left waiting for new testers to arrive.
Do not sit at a counter with no intention of buying anything but requesting that your consultant apply a full face of make up. Seriously, do not do this. There's a service charge at the very least.
Do NOT do the above and then follow it up with "Oh, well I'll be going through duty free.." They have their own staff, thanks.
Lastly, do not berate whoever is serving you about the price of your purchase. We have no control over that whatsoever. You're paying for higher quality ingredients as well as the service you receive at the point of sale. This is why the products have the price tag.
After that, I think I have no more bases to cover. Let me just say that there are so many fantastic people that I meet on a daily basis. One of my favourite things about my job is the amount of interaction and communication that goes on. Many's the time a woman has come in to top up her essentials and five minutes later we're burning the ears off each other because there's some common denominator between our lives. That's Ireland in general for you, but still.
There's always one or two characters who'll shake up your day one way or another. They say variety is the spice of life, so I suppose I should appreciate that if my job were an ice cream, it wouldn't be vanilla!
I'll have more make up based posts for you soon, don't you worry. For the time being I've been pre-occupied finding my feet a little bit. Documenting the experience has been a help!
If you've had any bizarre experiences at a make up counter, let me know. You hear the best stories about counter connections!
Until next time,
clean up after yourselves!
J x
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