SA behavior

[Haloinrverse]

how do you prefer sales associates to behave towards you?

would you rather they greet you, act super peppy (almost to the point of being smarmy) and not leave your side until theyve helped you find everything?

would you rather they greet you and leave you alone, but be available for help?

are you lucky if you can even get them to help you, let alone not be rude for no reason?

 

[Laura]

I'd like them to greet me & leave me alone til i ask for help.. That's what many of the SA's are like where i live except for the dam MAC cow's

 

[Joyeuux]

Greet me and leave me alone!

If sales people follow me around, there's a stronger likelihood that I'll just leave the store. I don't like the feeling of being pressured into making purchases. I do, however, appreciate people who are genuinely helpful, giving me assistance when I need it.

 

[keaLoha]

i prefer they greet me & leave you alone, but accessible for any questions. sometimes, i feel like i'm more "educated" about the line than they are.

 

[FacesbyNiki]

Greet me and leave me alone. Let me see what I need before you pounce on me.

 

[NYAngel98]

Definitely just greet me & leave me alone!!! I'll ask someone if I need help finding something... I hate when they follow you around pulling things off the shelves left & right, so you end up feeling bad when you say "no thanks, ummm no... uhhh NO THANK YOU!" lol

 

[Scarlette]

Ok, I understand your comments towards SA.. but I am one, of two years in the beauty industry at Benefit. Here's the deal.. if we don't make sales goals, our ass is grass. We are trained to pull customers from the isles and try 4 products on them, get the yes or no and then ring em up or send them home. If we do not do this, we are subject to possibly being fired or warned many, many times. We are graded on our pulling performance and if we "leave the customer alone" then our grade goes down. It's Macy's policy to review our sales performance every 6 months and we will not get a raise unless we open at least 2 express credit cards per week and our items per transaction have to be close to 2.0. It's VERY hard to get a raise and when we get one, we only get 10 cents. We work off of commission and that's just enough to pay the health care bill on our paycheck. When I get a walk-up customer, I ask her if she's tried Benefit before and to show me what she likes. It's my job to find her products she has not tried and things I think she will love. With a sales goal of $100 per hour, I have to do anything I can, but not be " in your face" or fake about it, although the company sometimes prefer that we butter people up a bit, I don't like to do that. The company has already said something about my sales being low, so it gives me something to worry about while at home, at school, etc. It's not an easy job at all, and I understand totally why SA are how they are, we need the commission and the numbers to make the company get off our backs. I am looking into being a freelance artist, where there is not so much pressure to sell, just do the make up and get paid.

 

[Haloinrverse]

i hear where youre coming from. im an SA too. health care? whats that? the option to work towards a raise? must be nice!

 

[FacesbyNiki]

Originally Posted by Scarlette Ok, I understand your comments towards SA.. but I am one, of two years in the beauty industry at Benefit. Here's the deal.. if we don't make sales goals, our ass is grass. We are trained to pull customers from the isles and try 4 products on them, get the yes or no and then ring em up or send them home. If we do not do this, we are subject to possibly being fired or warned many, many times. We are graded on our pulling performance and if we "leave the customer alone" then our grade goes down. It's Macy's policy to review our sales performance every 6 months and we will not get a raise unless we open at least 2 express credit cards per week and our items per transaction have to be close to 2.0. It's VERY hard to get a raise and when we get one, we only get 10 cents. We work off of commission and that's just enough to pay the health care bill on our paycheck. When I get a walk-up customer, I ask her if she's tried Benefit before and to show me what she likes. It's my job to find her products she has not tried and things I think she will love. With a sales goal of $100 per hour, I have to do anything I can, but not be " in your face" or fake about it, although the company sometimes prefer that we butter people up a bit, I don't like to do that. The company has already said something about my sales being low, so it gives me something to worry about while at home, at school, etc. It's not an easy job at all, and I understand totally why SA are how they are, we need the commission and the numbers to make the company get off our backs. I am looking into being a freelance artist, where there is not so much pressure to sell, just do the make up and get paid. I was an SA too. But I didn't pounce on someone when they first walk up to the counter. I worked for Clinique, the pushyset ones around so I know how they can be, but I was never like that. I would let you know I was there, then stepped back when you say you didn't need any help. But if you showed some interest in something, then I would walk over.

 

[FeistyFemme]

I'd prefer an SA greet me and leave me alone. I hate being followed around at the counter, simply because I usually have an idea of what I wanted to get anyways but I want to see it in person first. However, I have had good experiences when the SA stuck to me like white on rice, and found things that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise (and I love them!). But for the most part, I prefer to be left alone.

 

[NYAngel98]

Originally Posted by Scarlette Ok, I understand your comments towards SA.. but I am one, of two years in the beauty industry at Benefit. Here's the deal.. if we don't make sales goals, our ass is grass. We are trained to pull customers from the isles and try 4 products on them, get the yes or no and then ring em up or send them home. If we do not do this, we are subject to possibly being fired or warned many, many times. We are graded on our pulling performance and if we "leave the customer alone" then our grade goes down. It's Macy's policy to review our sales performance every 6 months and we will not get a raise unless we open at least 2 express credit cards per week and our items per transaction have to be close to 2.0. It's VERY hard to get a raise and when we get one, we only get 10 cents. We work off of commission and that's just enough to pay the health care bill on our paycheck. When I get a walk-up customer, I ask her if she's tried Benefit before and to show me what she likes. It's my job to find her products she has not tried and things I think she will love. With a sales goal of $100 per hour, I have to do anything I can, but not be " in your face" or fake about it, although the company sometimes prefer that we butter people up a bit, I don't like to do that. The company has already said something about my sales being low, so it gives me something to worry about while at home, at school, etc. It's not an easy job at all, and I understand totally why SA are how they are, we need the commission and the numbers to make the company get off our backs. I am looking into being a freelance artist, where there is not so much pressure to sell, just do the make up and get paid. I used to be a SA at a clothing store where it was also not how much you sold, but how many things... which I always thought was stupid. Why would they rather me sell 10 $1 items in one sale - than a sale of one $150 jacket? It was completely ass-backwards to me, and I still don't get it - luckily I got outta there quick & I was only 16, so I didn't know any better... LOL And there too we had to walk around and help - and cashiers would have to ask every customer if anyone helped, and we'd have to put in the helpers employee # before ringing up their stuff, which sometimes sucked - b/c if nobody helped them, you had to put in YOUR #, and if they only buy one thing, it made your quota go down. All that for a measly $6 an hour??? Hell No! LOL

 

[Shoediva]

Surely- Greet me and leave me alone! I will automatically be turned off by pushy SAs. I also do appreciate a knowledgeable SA, who is able to answer all my questions.

I know that being a SA is not an easy job, and I commend you guys.

 

[Scarlette]

Originally Posted by FacesbyNiki I was an SA too. But I didn't pounce on someone when they first walk up to the counter. I worked for Clinique, the pushyset ones around so I know how they can be, but I was never like that. I would let you know I was there, then stepped back when you say you didn't need any help. But if you showed some interest in something, then I would walk over. Clinique is already one of the BIG THREE at Macy's, an established line that doesn't have to worry too much about getting their name out there. The associates there don't have to sweat too much about goals because they have "gift time" to make up for losses and I noticed that Clinique regional coordinators only come in like once per year. When you work for a small line like Benefit that doesn't spend money on advertising, it's difficult to make sales,and even if we are owned my Louis Vuitton, his name is not stamped with a big LV on the box, so we have to do whatever we can to show the customer that this is a luxury product that belongs in a department store and is just as good as the "Big Three", which are Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique.
The Sharky people at the Big Three are pushing sales for their own comission, we are pushing to save our jobs and the counter and for the very little commission that we do get.

When I ask customers if they have tried Benefit before, I am only trying to figure out what the customer wants. If you've been to a Benefit counter before, you would know that 90% of our products are unlike anything else and just by looking at it you wouldn't know what it was. We have to show people and demonstrate in order for people to understand what we sell. We don't get much of the walk-up traffic like the Big Three does, so we have to traffic stop customers, without this selling method, we wouldn't be in the stores and I would be out of a job.

 

[PnkCosmo]

Originally Posted by Scarlette I am looking into being a freelance artist, where there is not so much pressure to sell, just do the make up and get paid. Have you considered working at a Sephora?
No commission sales pressure, and the whole team gets bonuses 1x per month based on how well the previous month was.

 

[Scarlette]

Originally Posted by PnkCosmo Have you considered working at a Sephora?
No commission sales pressure, and the whole team gets bonuses 1x per month based on how well the previous month was.

I [gasp] do not like Sephora. Many reasons why, mainly I don't believe in having that many brands in one little store without extensive training on each line of products. I've sneaked in on Sephora associates before and asked them about products I know a lot about and they had no clue. They showed me an "eye concealer" that was actually a lip primer. I always have difficulties when going into that store.

 

[NYAngel98]

Sphora, Ulta etc. are good when you know or have an idea about what you are looking for. Since most of the people working there are teenagers or people that really arent' beauty professionals. If you know you want a foundation or something, and they have testers - you can pretty much figure it out on your own, but that really isn't the place for serious Q&A.

 

[FacesbyNiki]

Originally Posted by Scarlette Clinique is already one of the BIG THREE at Macy's, an established line that doesn't have to worry too much about getting their name out there. The associates there don't have to sweat too much about goals because they have "gift time" to make up for losses and I noticed that Clinique regional coordinators only come in like once per year. When you work for a small line like Benefit that doesn't spend money on advertising, it's difficult to make sales,and even if we are owned my Louis Vuitton, his name is not stamped with a big LV on the box, so we have to do whatever we can to show the customer that this is a luxury product that belongs in a department store and is just as good as the "Big Three", which are Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique.
The Sharky people at the Big Three are pushing sales for their own comission, we are pushing to save our jobs and the counter and for the very little commission that we do get.

When I ask customers if they have tried Benefit before, I am only trying to figure out what the customer wants. If you've been to a Benefit counter before, you would know that 90% of our products are unlike anything else and just by looking at it you wouldn't know what it was. We have to show people and demonstrate in order for people to understand what we sell. We don't get much of the walk-up traffic like the Big Three does, so we have to traffic stop customers, without this selling method, we wouldn't be in the stores and I would be out of a job.

*hugs*Coming back to this thread and reading what you said. You are right. I didn't have to really push for a sale. Some nights I would be standing there with nothing and then the next night, I would have a great night. My cosmetic department was small with Clinique, Lancome, Estee, Clarins, and someone else *can't remember* so we would actually help each other with sales. Strange I know, we were actually like family. But I have seen where other store counters have to push for a sale.

Again, sorry... I haven't worked at a counter in about 2 years and I have forgotten what it's like. And to actually think I'm trying to go back. sigh..

 

[FacesbyNiki]

Originally Posted by Scarlette I [gasp] do not like Sephora. Many reasons why, mainly I don't believe in having that many brands in one little store without extensive training on each line of products. I've sneaked in on Sephora associates before and asked them about products I know a lot about and they had no clue. They showed me an "eye concealer" that was actually a lip primer. I always have difficulties when going into that store. Glad I am not the only one that feels like this..

 

[girl_geek]

I agree with the others, I'd rather them leave me alone until I have questions. I also (obviously) want them to be knowledgeable about the product and be able to help me find the products and colors that work best for me, not just give me any old product and try to make me buy it! I recently bought a Clinique foundation, and I bought the palest shade they had in that line and it was still too dark and too orange for my skin -- yet the salesperson almost sold me an even darker shade! (Or maybe they just need better lighting in that store, lol!)

However I totally understand the pressure to make sales -- my husband used to work at a bank in Wal-Mart, and they were required to walk down the aisles and try to get random shoppers to sign up for bank accounts! (They always had some sort of raffle to approach the customer with, then had to give their little sales speech...) Needless to say the shoppers were not always polite, and trying to reach goals for new accounts caused my husband a lot of stress! And this was in addition to his normal teller duties. Fortunately he managed to transfer to a stand-alone branch where he doesn't have to do that anymore!

So I can certainly sympathise with you SA's, after listening to all my husband's stories!

 

[PnkCosmo]

Originally Posted by Scarlette I [gasp] do not like Sephora. Many reasons why, mainly I don't believe in having that many brands in one little store without extensive training on each line of products. I've sneaked in on Sephora associates before and asked them about products I know a lot about and they had no clue. They showed me an "eye concealer" that was actually a lip primer. I always have difficulties when going into that store. Well, you could always be their exception!

I've been told that the Sephora SA are "assigned" to a few lines. Once they've been there a couple months. They're supposed to learn all about those couple of lines, so when people ask questions, they can take them to the lines they know best. Then, as they work there longer, they will slowly start to learn about the other brands.

So, let's say you have a question about Urban Decay. You should try walking in & asking for the SA that knows the most about that line.

Also, some brands send trainers more often than others. So, that has a big part to do with how much PK a SA might know about a line. At my Sephora, I see people from Urban Decay, Tony & Tina, Dior, & Benefit the most.

Also, I've found that with Sephora, it depends on who's working there at that time. My Sephora seemed to go through a huge turnover about a year ago; but since they've had this newer manager, the same gals have stuck around. They are quite helpful to me when I go in there. I just make sure to talk to the regular gals, not the temporary holiday staff.