Experiences at Sephora

ILuvShopping

ILuvShopping

★☆★★☆★★☆★
Jun 4, 2007
23,747
3
#1
Does anyone here work at Sephora or know someone that does?

this may be a slight rant but i'm just curious if anyone else experiences the same thing in their local stores.

I really wanted to like this store but i've been there twice since it's opened here and i've been disappointed both times. not in any of the products but more on a customer service level. My first stop in there was during the week and I was probably 1 of 3 customers in there... I knew what i wanted at the time so this wasn't really a huge deal (except i didn't know where to look) but they had 3 people working, none of them helping anyone, and never once did someone come ask me if i needed help. and when i went to buy my items i had to stand there for about 3-5 min for someone to come help me.

the second time i went in there was this past saturday late afternoon/early evening. they weren't busy at all and had about 4-5 people working. i slowly wandered around the store and once again never had anyone come ask if i needed any help. i'm looking for a whole new skincare line and makeup so i was ready to spend a bit of money. the sales girls just all stood up near the cashiers talking. so after about 15-20 min of wandering around the store and never being approached once, i left with nothing. i don't really have the desire to go there again. might as well goto ulta.

sorry for the rant! i guess i just feel when you have such a specialized store with so many different products the sales people should be more willing to help you and not wait for you to come to them.
 
#2
I have had mixed experiences at Sephora. Quite a few times I have had wonderful service and really nice SAs, and a few times, there has been some attitude involved where I have felt like they looked down upon me, etc. It depends who the person is, but it would be nice to have consistent service.
 
#3
I have also had mixed experiences with the SA's.. Sometimes very helpful and sometimes almost snotty.. I have been completely ignored in there aswell. Just depends on which SA it is i guess.
 
#4
Honestly, if I go to Sephora I truly expect it to be SELF SERVICE. I go to get a refill on what I already know and like or I go experiment on my own.

If I really want to learn more about a specific brand, I'll go to that particular counter at a department store.

No offense to any Sephora SAs out there...they are friendly at the cashier station and all, but I rarely am acknowledged and don't expect to be when I go to the one near me.
 
#5
^^ I will follow up on my own post to say that I DO have a much better experience (being greeted, offered help) at a Sephora which is a little further away from me but the location isn't as convenient.

And to Sephora SAs' credit, I can't imagine how anyone can be versed in knowing about all those product lines, unless you are someone truly passionate about makeup, skincare, fragrance, etc. But maybe I'm way offbase? I just haven't really engaged a Sephora SA for indepth help on any particular line.
 
#6
Wow..I have almost always had the exact OPPOSITE type of experience when I go into a Sephora.

I frequent 3 different Sephora locations, and no matter which one I go to, I get approached by about 5 different SA's..."Can I help you find something?", "Looking for anything in particular?", "Have you seen our new (insert overpriced product du jour here)?".

Sometimes I would like to just be left alone to browse. I am just like a little kid in a candy store when I am in Sephora, but it gets a bit annoying with all the SA's running after me with those little black baskets....

Maybe they know an easy sale when they see one..ha ha ha :P
 
#7
I thought about starting a thread on Sephora's customer service recently myself. It is such a frustrating experience. There's always a greeter at the front door smiling like he or she is thrilled you're there, and the cashiers are friendly, but trying to get someone to help with a question proves difficult.

I took my three teenage nieces in one day last month to get them new mascara and eyeshadow. The SA made a vulgar reference to my 13 year-old nieces' curves. It was disgusting. Then she asked me how old my other niece was. I told her she was 17 and she said something inappropriate about her too. We had a P.F. Chang's bag with us since we had leftovers from our lunch. She wanted to know what we ate and tell us all about her favorite meals there, and on and on. Helping us answer our questions was the furthest thing from her mind. Finally she flitted off and I went and found a slightly more helpful guy who told me that in the future I should make an appt. to have a makeup consultation. Geez! Just for mascara and eyeshadow recommendations?

From now on I have vowed only to shop at Sephora on-line. It's much more pleasant and the shipping is free over $50, I think.
 
#9
Ouch! Sorry to hear about those sucky experiences. Last time I was in Sephora, there were 3 salesgirls. Two of them were especially helpful in my quest for makeup. They were both very knowledgeable on products, shades, colours, and application tips. Overall a great experience. The only thing that could've been better were those lousy samples I got. One tiny tube of mascara for 180 USD spent!
 
#10
In general, I've had pleasant experiences at the Sephoras in NYC, with the minor exception of the one in Herald Square- but they have to deal with tourists so I don't blame them. However, I avoid the ones in NJ malls altogether for reasons already listed above.
 
#11
Hmm, I've been to several different stores in the midwest and have always had pleasant service. But, like pursegrrl said, I don't really expect to be helped at Sephora, I just like to go in and see the fun new cosmetics and pick up a few standards. If I really need makeup advice I go to a Chanel counter.
 
#12
Yeah, I'm surprised you have had such bad experiences at Sephora. I'm probably at Sephora at least once a week. The SA's treat me pretty well and are rather helpful. They don't always come up to me and ask me for help though, but I don't find it to be a problem when I need help. They are always around the corner. Those SA's who have helped me on several occasions before have continued to help me too. I highly doubt they get commission though. That should explain the lack of service. I really like Sephora but I do understand that it can sometimes be a snobby environment depending on who the SA is.
 
#13
like pursegrrl said, i think of it as a self service store and i actually enjoy not being asked a million questions. i like walking around testing things for myself at my own pace w/o interference. i must say that the times i do have a question they have always been great!
 
#14
They're not very knowledgeable in general. I've had conflicting recommendations and advice given by different SAs. There isn't really much in terms of service but then again, they're not on comission and have no individual sales goals. The plus side is you will find great service if you happen upon a great INDIVIDUAL, but it's not company standard, unfortunately.
 
#15
I have had good and bad experiences in different stores. The majority of the time, it's positive. I do remember one time that I went to one store and was trying to get someone to help me and I got an attitude. I wanted to know a specific lipstick color they had on a display. The *****y GUY said, "oh that's a mixture of several colors" and walked away. Ummm Hello...which ones?!? So I was like "can you tell me the combination then" and made him actually explain step by step what the colors were, then I left.

The thing that also pisses me off is I have been in stores with no customers with several SAs, and then when you get to the cash register, they ask you if anyone helped you with your purchases. :wondering:
 
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