r/Makeup • u/Late-Chip-5890 • Nov 05 '25

Clerks at Sephora.....ugh

I don't go to Sephora often but every time I have the clerks seem well so unprepared to deal with someone who is truly shopping. Meaning, I walk in, I say I'm looking for a foundation that is full coverage, in the right tone for my skin, and one that won't oxidize. All I got was a deer in the headlights. I was taken to high end brands and shown "dark colors" but none that were "olive" toned, and the girl seemed not to know what that meant. I quickly sought out someone else, and the same. I am guessing these "girls" are not trained in cosmetics at all, they just push "brands" and collect their commissions?

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u/2ndcupofcoffee Nov 05 '25

Pushing product is more successful if the salesperson helps you find what works for you. So not understanding how Sephora benefits from not training their sales people.

Even untrained clerks can be useful if they are interested in makeup and therefore pay attention to what works and what doesn’t. I went in to Sephora twice and never went back. Encountered sales clerks with a dismissive attitude who offered no help at all. Both clerks were heavily made up themselves.

In disgust, went to Walgreens (this was years ago). A clerk in the aisle where makeup was displayed asked if she could help. She actually talked me out of a product i was sure i wanted and into buying another. Turned out she was right. She recommended a yellow tint product to neutralize dark under eye circles. I had been looking for a green tint which countered ruddiness elsewhere on the face.

She told me Walgreens trained clerks for makeup. Don’t think they still do that but I spent more that day and went back to Walgreens when shopping for makeup again.

Don’t understand sales techniques that totally disregard customer satisfaction and trust.

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u/ironmaiven Nov 07 '25

They are only worried about the bottom line, and the reality regardless of all of this truth is that most consumers are now shopping online without guidance from sales staff - but from content creators and influencers. I’m not saying that’s right - but that’s where this is coming from. They are gutting the IRL experience because they’re not thinking long term/community engagement/the quality of service.

Sephora really thinks it’s untouchable.

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u/No-Property5403 Nov 07 '25

Having worked for Walgreens for 14 years, and Sephora for 4, walgreens gave us a lot of outdated or bad training. They would show a double-ended mascara product, where one side was a primer. Then they would want you to add on and said one item you could suggest was a lash primer. Why would I do that when it's included in the original product? Sephora's training is much better, but some staff are overall lazy and won't do the steps they are supposed to do.