Have you ever had bad experiences with sales assistants in Brown Thomas/Clerys etc?

smileyxx

Or Arnotts?

I find the MAC girls in Bts to act superior to the customer, and they always seem to be standing gossiping instead of helping anyone out.

However, Sandra in Clinique in Bts is a gem.

What are your experiences?:D

LivingDeadGirl

Laura Mercier counter in BTs in Cork, they might as well tell you to fcuk off. Sorry I'm not some rich old lady girls. :rolleyes:

jesus_thats_gre

My missus seems to have had quite a few bad experiences in BTs in Dublin. Was even told to get out of the way while trying on something at a mirror by a sales assistant who was trying to check herself out in a mirror.

gnxx

How on earth can somebody have a "quite a few bad experiences" in BT. Surely after 1 - 2 bad experiences you would avoid a shop?

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

My missus seems to have had quite a few bad experiences in BTs in Dublin. Was even told to get out of the way while trying on something at a mirror by a sales assistant who was trying to check herself out in a mirror.

XxlauraxX

gnxx wrote: »

How on earth can somebody have a "quite a few bad experiences" in BT. Surely after 1 - 2 bad experiences you would avoid a shop?

Exactly, has anyone here who has had a bad experience went to their mangers?!

eth0_

I only ever used MAC in BT's and tbh i'd never shop there again. They jack up the prices there, their "artists" are dreadful and have sold me the wrong shade of foundation on two occasions and generally don't know what they're doing - just look at them, most of them look like drag queens, as if they're in a competition to put as many MAC products on their face at once!

You don't get that in the MAC store in London, or MAC in Harvey Nic's in Edinburgh where I live.

jellie

ive never bought from the counters in BT in town but the mac girls in BT2 in dundrum have been nice & helpful anytime ive been in there.

fonpokno

I've found the ones in BT2 in Dundrum to be alright but I don't like the ones in town at all. They always make you feel like a total scumbag unless you go in dressed up to the nines...

Pinky Pixie

I think it is all to do with how you approach them. You really shouldn't let them dismiss you, all they are are glorified shop girls to me:). If they are rude or try to ignore me, I make myself seen. For example I was in BT last week and there was about seven girls all running around acting busy. So I stopped one and asked her to help me and got the usual "I'm just with someone",so I told her to find me someone else who can with my sweetest do it now I'm a big deal smile:p...and et voila service straight away!!! I think they can smell fear

joey54

Having had a bad experience with a girl at a mac counter I decided to go to the smashbox one. They were o helpful and so much more competent in their job.

They picked the perfect the perfect foundation for me and advised me on my skin type. There was absolutely no pressure to but either. Had I bought nothing they wouldn't have said boo!

I've been back there several times now to buy bits and pieces and each time their customer service has been excellent!

c7

Constantly hearing about this from my Mum who is in there a good bit. Completely different story before the Celtic Tiger apparently. She was in the home section and she asked about a vase and the sales assistant said he'd check to see if they had any in stock if "you go over and get it yourself".
Another time she spent a good bit on delph and cutlery and ended up carrying five or six heavy bags out to the car park. It's not as if it's far?
Was in there myself today just looking at something she had on hold for a second opinion. Waited 15 minutes at the counter with the girl running around the floor doing other things promising she'd come back. Eventually she came back from the stock room and I said I liked it and that she'd collect it tomorrow. "If I'd known that..." is what she said!

jesus_thats_gre

gnxx wrote: »

How on earth can somebody have a "quite a few bad experiences" in BT. Surely after 1 - 2 bad experiences you would avoid a shop?

Had 3 I think and no longer goes near the place..

StikkiNikki

I'm glad to hear (so far) that no Galway girls are on here OR no fashion floor girls are on this!!!

Speak to mangers if ye have problems.... Honestly, we're not all bad!

LivingDeadGirl

I know ye're not I've gotten some great customer service from other counters. But sometimes a bad experience kinda sticks with you.....

GalwayGirl1983

I asked in BTs in Limerick if they had any size 10/12 of a particular kind of jeans - she told me they were all out of the 'large sizes'!! Feeling really fat I went off and actually found them on another shelf in a 10!! I bought them cos i loved them but emailed the manager after who called me and apologised but added that technically a 10 is a 'larger size' in that brand..:rolleyes:

StikkiNikki

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

I know ye're not I've gotten some great customer service from other counters. But sometimes a bad experience kinda sticks with you.....

Totally understand! I've had a few bad experiences too!!

Can't stand when make-up counters offer foundation thats WAY off your natural colour, such a waste. :mad:

Terri26

GalwayGirl1983 wrote: »

I asked in BTs in Limerick if they had any size 10/12 of a particular kind of jeans - she told me they were all out of the 'large sizes'!! Feeling really fat I went off and actually found them on another shelf in a 10!! I bought them cos i loved them but emailed the manager after who called me and apologised but added that technically a 10 is a 'larger size' in that brand..:rolleyes:

a size TEN is large? oh my God! I think the last time I fit in anything that is a size 10 I actually was 10 yrs old!!

joey54

Hopefully this recession will bring one positive thing, better customer service. For the last few years the service industry has been getting away with Murder.

Ok not everyone is but for every helpful staff member there are another few unhelpful ones floating around!

LivingDeadGirl

StikkiNikki wrote: »

Totally understand! I've had a few bad experiences too!!

Can't stand when make-up counters offer foundation thats WAY off your natural colour, such a waste. :mad:

MAC have done that to me(I'm lighter than NC15, the lightest shade they carry) and so have Make Up Forever(unfortunately I bought that one by mistake, she kept telling me it was perfect etc). Why lie if it looks too dark? Trying to make a sale I guess... I recently found however that both GOSH and Revlon do lovely shades for lighter skin tones(at dramatically cheaper prices). I LOVE my new GOSH foundation. A tiny bit of white powder and I'm all set(ran out of translucent, its practically my colour anyway ).

Can't wait to go to the States and get MAC foundation for dead people like me :cool: NC10/5 ftw!!

Pythia

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

Can't wait to go to the States and get MAC foundation for dead people like me :cool: NC10/5 ftw!!

If they sold it here, they'd make a fortune. I don't know why they don't, considering most people in this country have very pale skin. 15 is too dark for my natural colour as well. Estee Lauder Double Wear in Shell is just light enough for me to wear.

LivingDeadGirl

Pythia wrote: »

If they sold it here, they'd make a fortune. I don't know why they don't, considering most people in this country have very pale skin. 15 is too light for my natural colour as well. Estee Lauder Double Wear in Shell is just light enough for me to wear.

That's exactly what I think too! No wonder half the country are orange! :rolleyes: Are those shades only available in Pro stores, or just freestanding MAC stores?

Gauge

Woah woah WOAH. What's this about <NC-15 foundation? I need it! Can it be got in MAC in Heathrow/US? Sorry for dragging this off-topic, but this is a big revelation for me!

eth0_

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

Can't wait to go to the States and get MAC foundation for dead people like me :cool: NC10/5 ftw!!

You would think that _IN IRELAND_ they would sell the palest shades!! lol

fuzzywiggle

By far the worst MAC counter is BT2 in Dundrum. All the girls stand around gossiping about where they're going out over the weekend and when they're not doing that, they hog the mirrors touching up their make up! And heaven forbid you'd want to get into a mirror to try a product or you just get looked at like you've 2 heads.
And it's at that point i say ''can i use the mirror please?''

LivingDeadGirl

Gauge wrote: »

Woah woah WOAH. What's this about <NC-15 foundation? I need it! Can it be got in MAC in Heathrow/US? Sorry for dragging this off-topic, but this is a big revelation for me!

I dunno about Heathrow, but US yeah!

otwb

Had lovely experiences in BT's Dublin & Galway...then went back to the counter and got the b!)@h from hell in BT's Dublin before christmas, she was apparantly too busy to help me with a foundation colour and wanted me to come back in a couple of hours...

...shaken, I phoned the big sis for advice and backup and then, on her recommendation, toddled off and found help at the prescriptives counter instead...where I ended up spending the €200 that I'd planned for (PLEASE let them work on commission)

Those women can deffo smell fear

Lia_lia

The girls in the Mac counter in Cork are hopeless. Last time I was there I asked a girl if could she could help me find the right shade and she said to come back later because they were all busy. Herself and THREE other girls were stacking shelves and sorting out the display, surely one of them could have helped me!

Catari Jaguar

smileyxx wrote: »

Or Arnotts?

I find the MAC girls in Bts to act superior to the customer, and they always seem to be standing gossiping instead of helping anyone out.

Those MAC bitches are renowned for that. Even the make up artists from other counters can't stand them.

Gauge

There is one MAC counter girl in Cork who is very good. When I was buying foundation/powder for the first time she went through each one they had to see if liquid/cream would be better and tried several shades. She also gave me a lot of information about brushes without pushing MAC products on me. That's the kind of help I appreciate because I am so terrible at matching shades to my skintone and colouring. I've never received that level of assistance from another MAC employee- mostly when I ask for help picking shades they look at me as if I have five heads. For makeup 'artists' that told themselves in such high regard (before I approached them they were talking about all the freelance jobs they had gotten) they don't seem to be able to give much knowledgable or worthwhile advice.

LivingDeadGirl

Has anyone had their make up done in the one in Cork? I had mine done recently on a Saturday(so I knew it'd be busy, fair enough) and was quite annoyed because it took an hour and a half! Between faffing about and being questioned by other MAC girls and robbing and looking for products from each other it took that long, good thing I wasn't in a rush! Why not just have more than one of each product open, they'll all be used anyway.
The girl I requested wasn't working that day either. The girl doing it instead spilled dark pigment all over one side of my face, tried to wipe it off with a cotton bud(facepalm moment right there) and had to redo my foundation, disaster. When it was eventually finished it looked nice but to be honest I could've done a better job myself. The girl who did it got the job because her mate worked in a recruitment place(she wasn't just a sales assistant either). :rolleyes:

eth0_

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

The girl who did it got the job because her mate worked in a recruitment place(she wasn't just a sales assistant either). :rolleyes:

The people in MAC in BT's aren't all trained makeup artists, believe it or not.
However, if you went to a stand-alone MAC store in London or the USA, they are all trained makeup artists.

*Lees*

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

Has anyone had their make up done in the one in Cork?

For my sister's wedding we were going to get our makeup done in MAC but it turned out that they were booked out on that day!So instead we decided to go in a few weeks beforehand and get them to try out some stuff on us then buy the products and do it ourselves!!
The girl my sister got was really nice and helpful and told her everthing she was doing and asked her what she liked etc! The one i got wasn't so helpful, she just ploughed ahead and did my face, i had to keep asking her what she was doing and it was as if i was annoying her by asking!!
Both our faces looked fab in the shop mirror so we bought the products, spent about 200euro each! When we got outside we actually looked like painted dolls, the foundation was caked on my face it looked revolting and my sister looked like a ragdoll with the 2 red circles on her cheeks!! When i went through my products i realised she had given me 2 wrong eyeshadows too so i had to go back and change them!
We were so happy that MAC had been booked out on the actual day of the wedding because the makeup was so much nicer when we did it ourselves!!
Any other time i have been to MAC for anything they haven't been great! They always answer my questions but they don't put in a lot of effort with customers and generally come off as being really bitchy!! A lot of them have a superiority complex too, god knows why it's just a shop that sells makeup at the end of the day!!!

fonpokno

LivingDeadGirl wrote: »

Can't wait to go to the States and get MAC foundation for dead people like me :cool: NC10/5 ftw!!

What what what?? I had no idea they did lighter then NC15 at all!

It seems to be a recurring theme that everyone has had trouble with the MAC girls... I just don't understand why they're all plastered with make up. How can they expect people to trust their judgment when they can't even do their own make up properly.

LivingDeadGirl

eth0_ wrote: »

The people in MAC in BT's aren't all trained makeup artists, believe it or not.
However, if you went to a stand-alone MAC store in London or the USA, they are all trained makeup artists.

Well maybe they should be if they're going to offer professional makeovers?

CathyMoran

A dress was not taken up for me within a requested time frame in BT's in Dublin, it was for a very important occasion (my wedding) but they rectified the situation asap and were very appologetic...good service will always get you to come back.

I had a wonderful experience with a lovely lady in House of Fraiser Dundrum Chanel counter, she went out of her way to offer me makeovers (I only wanted eye and lipstick) whenever I came in when I was really ill a while back...it made all the difference. The ladies who work on the BT Chanel counter are also good even though they know that I wear minimal makeup (just lipstick, eyeshaddow (sometimes) and rarely mascara).

If I get bad service which is not rectified I will go elsewhere.

ellips

Gauge wrote: »

There is one MAC counter girl in Cork who is very good. When I was buying foundation/powder for the first time she went through each one they had to see if liquid/cream would be better and tried several shades. She also gave me a lot of information about brushes without pushing MAC products on me.

not sure if we're talking about the same girl, but i have gone back several times to one girl in Mac in Cork because she really does her job well! She has helped me pick out eyeshadows, concealers and showed me how to apply for best effects etc and which brushes are best, but there is never any pressure to buy with her! But I always end up buying because she picks out such good matches for me!

Can't remember her name, but she's very slim, has long dark hair and these gok wan type black framed glasses :-)

PrivateEye

Whenever I'm in Bt2 going to the blokes section downstairs I FLY through that ''young 'uns at the make up counter'' section and do my best not to make eye contact with them. Makes you feel like some shoddy-character who just woke up in a laneway.Can sense their 'Queen of the Worldness' a mile away.


The people in other shops in town (The folks in U.Outfitters Temple Bar couldn't be nicer if they tried) are normally grand but for some reason the likes of BT will always employ South Dublin Princesses with image in mind, normally it actually puts customers off.

joey54

Felt the need to post this after my experience today.

As I said earlier I went to a smashbox make-up artist and was extremely happy with their work and manner.

Anyway, today I was in a large department store in town and walking throw the cosmetics section when i was suddenly grabbed by one of the benefit make up artists. I tired to walk away but before I knew it I was in the chair having stuff plastered all over my face, without them cleansing my skin first!

Now I was on my own and had a lot of bags and didn't feel comfortable just having my bags at my feet, anybody could have grabbed them.

I didn't want to make a scene so as soon as she was done I promptly left.

Just after writing up a letter of complaint which I will be sending in in the morning, along with the "make-up artisits" name.

Hope I'm not over reacting!

jellie

joey54 wrote: »

Felt the need to post this after my experience today.

As I said earlier I went to a smashbox make-up artist and was extremely happy with their work and manner.

Anyway, today I was in a large department store in town and walking throw the cosmetics section when i was suddenly grabbed by one of the benefit make up artists. I tired to walk away but before I knew it I was in the chair having stuff plastered all over my face, without them cleansing my skin first!

Now I was on my own and had a lot of bags and didn't feel comfortable just having my bags at my feet, anybody could have grabbed them.

I didn't want to make a scene so as soon as she was done I promptly left.

Just after writing up a letter of complaint which I will be sending in in the morning, along with the "make-up artisits" name.

Hope I'm not over reacting!

sorry but i think you are overreacting. you couldve said no & walked away. even be rude if necessary. i doubt she physically lifted you from the ground & put you down on the chair.

tinkerbell

You are totally overreacting tbh, why didn't you just say you didn't want a makeover?

Miaireland

I find the girls at the Lancome counter in BTs in Cork great. No matter what I buy they always offer to show me how to apply it and have had my make up done there a few times and it has always looked wonderful.

I also found the girls in Elizabeth Arden very friendly and helpful.

Miaireland

joey54 wrote: »

Felt the need to post this after my experience today.

As I said earlier I went to a smashbox make-up artist and was extremely happy with their work and manner.

Anyway, today I was in a large department store in town and walking throw the cosmetics section when i was suddenly grabbed by one of the benefit make up artists. I tired to walk away but before I knew it I was in the chair having stuff plastered all over my face, without them cleansing my skin first!

Now I was on my own and had a lot of bags and didn't feel comfortable just having my bags at my feet, anybody could have grabbed them.

I didn't want to make a scene so as soon as she was done I promptly left.

Just after writing up a letter of complaint which I will be sending in in the morning, along with the "make-up artisits" name.

Hope I'm not over reacting!

To be honest I think you might be a bit. You could have said no to be fair. I doubt she/he held a gun to your head and forced you into the chair.

MysticalSoul

Karen at the Prescriptives counter in BT in town is fab - did a thorough colour testing. I am extremely pale, and the Prescriptives makeup on me, looks fresh, rather than overdone, as I have experienced with other brands I have tried. There is another girl I have found good there too, but for the life of me, cannot think of her name.

Larianne

I used to work for MAC and I hated going into BT's!! I used to go into look for pro products that I could order. And I'd feel intimidated. Dunno what it is about the place. I've never felt like that at any other MAC counter (oh except one time in Sydney!). I actually used to work in BT's on a different counter and I hated working there. The attitude of some people - hello you work in a shop. Working in the perfume section was great though.

Yes, some of the girls, well a lot aren't trained make-up artists but I have to say the training you are given is very good (and I had had 2 yrs training in make-up). And you do workshops every 4/5 months. I saw a good few girls who didn't have any experience become brilliant make-up artists. Problem is many aren't hired for their artistic ability and more their look (In BTs Grafton Street). Aswell as that, there is only a handful of full time staff in there, the rest all have mad hours - like 3/4 hour days. So they wouldn't be getting as much hands-on experience.

And I don't ever believe you are forced to buy something. You can always say no. Irish people are just afraid! And complain if some is rude, how else are management gonna know??? Where I worked it was commented a lot how we had so much more time for customers and were helpful compare to BTs. Sometimes we were also mad busy too though, so if you go into BT's on a Saturday expecting a great experience don't. The shop can be bedlam,so think of the retail artist who's trying to do an application, getting asked 20 million questions by customers and looking for products on the floor all at the same time. It's tough going!!

I myself am NC15 shade and I really don't understand why they don't sell it. Apparently they did before but it didn't sell well. Us Irish do tend to like the darker foundation. (Oh how I tried and tried to ween people off it!!!) I used to have to wear NC20 in work (didn't look too bad with some bronzer up me neck!) and I was constantly shown to customers that you can wear pale foundation and look decent.

And the reason why they sometimes look like drag queens? Well MAC is a very fashion orientated brand so when new products come out, there is usually made catwalk looks to go with it so the artists have to wear the look too. They're called Look Days. And well sometimes its fun to wear mad colours you wouldn't normally wear out. I used to get some strange looks when ordering at McDonalds for my lunch.

Tip: if you want to get your make-up done go to the girl wearing make-up how you like it or to any of the older looking make-up artists. They'll have more experience and listen to what you want, not just lash any auld thing on your face.

And the Benefit experience: It's called Traffic Stopping and it's what Benefit do and how a lot of the time how they get people to buy stuff. Honestly, you should have just said no I haven't the time!!!!!

Sinall

I was at the Mac counter last year buying a present for my best friends birthday. I picked a set of four eyeshadows and was browsing around looking for something else. A guy working there came up and recommended some lipglosses which looked nice so I said fine. Was delighted with his helpfulness until we were heading to the till and we passed a girl from the Mac counter and he muttered to her "Easy sell, ha ha ha!". I'm sure he didn't mean for me to hear but it was really off-putting and rude.

On the plus side for BT, I find Louise at the Chanel counter really good and knowledgable about what works for different skin tones etc.

Femelade

I went into mac in BT in cork..i was just browsing, i dont own any mac, but the girls there were just staring at me as if to say "look at teh state of yerwan" so i left, never went back.

My sister on the otherhand loves the girls at the lancome counter, she went into buy eyeshadow she had seen and loved, but they were out of them, so the girl behind the counter gave her one from a sample pack they had, for free!! nice one.

badolepuddytat

MAC counters tend to be staffed with snooty cows alright, browsed in BTs a few times but refuse to hand over cash in return for such shoddy service. I tend to buy a lot in one go and expect a certain amount of attention/advice/courtesy, not an exasperated sigh if I'm acknowledged at all. The girls in Dublin airports MAC counter were barely civil the few times I've browsed there also so I've gone elsewhere. Interesting that they're off-putting to so many people, I wonder do they think that snobbishness enhance the brands image I think once you're at a certain level of product the quality is going to be similar enough across the board and market forces will eliminate shoddy, overpriced goods so I won't fund that attitude in the hope that I'll look twice as hot with this foundation/mascara instead of that one :rolleyes:

E.L

I used to be a manager in Mac (not dublin by the way) I could not believe the attitude of most of the staff when i started. They were more interested in chatting or applying lipgoss than serving customers and I believe that came from the top.
We attended training where the trainers reinforced the "you are better than the rest" attitude. I had to work hard to bring in new customers and finally most of the staff left because they didnt like the changes.

I ended up with new staff that were friendly and approachable. I left a while back to go freelance , and I continued to recommend some products to my clients, on most occassions I was told that when they tried to purchase they felt like the staff were rude and ignored them. One lady was unsure of the MUA's recommendation and was told "well when you dont know anything about makeup it can be hard to know what you need but this is what you need"


I hope that the fact i used to work in mac doesnt turn people off booking me, I think you can get bad and good service wherever you go and I know some lovely and not so lovely people in MAC.

nesbitt

I went to Mac in BT2 in Blanchardstown Centre last year. I found the staff okay. I am not a 'youngwan' and I like make up and know what I want. Maybe they do sense when you won't take any crap.....

However I found the quality of the products very heavy and did not use out the purchases or indeed consider a repeat purchase. Drag queen :eek: is not my thing, I like a fresh polished look.

My recomendations is go early when stores are not too busy. Try Clinique, Lancome, Prescriptives whatever ya like but smile be upbeat but confident and if unsure or feel swamped the best line is 'Thanks that seems nice and I'll think about it'.

I have found staff in Debenhams in Blanchardstown make up sections very nice, same for Boots in Liffey Valley, Clerys have all the brands you could want. I love Bare Minerals ID and have made a few purchases in BT2 in Blanchardstown and the girl was lovely, even put a lovely bit of gloss on my 11 year old and it was enjoyable experience.

So shop around do not be intimidated its your money.;)

eawoody

I used to be a Department Manager at BT's in Dublin, and unfortunatly I have to say it is not only a dreadful place to shop it's also a dreadful place to work. EVEN I was sometimes intimidated by the attitude's from the staff. I often had to keep reminding them that they only work in the shop they don't own it, and if it wasn't for the discount they couldn't afford to shop there either!!! But here's a tip, if you have any problems with refunds or bad customer service, make a big enough fuss and you will get ANYTHING you want.... they would rather give you what you want, than let other customers see you making a fuss
I hate the place anyway, and I will NEVER shop in BT's AGAIN!!!!

E.L

hi livingdeadgirl
i tried to pm you but im not allowed to as i have not posted 25 times yet.
if you want to pm me your email id be happy to get back to you
e.l