Two months ago I applied to a position at ULTA to see how the company is organized and how it treats its employees. And when I say employees I mean Hairdressers. A position was offered to me as a hairdresser from the company. And I accepted the offer and did not know how much I was to be offered, but assuming in the beauty industry it would be a low commission.  I started the first week in April as a hairdresser. ULTA provides all the tools a hairdresser needs without including shears. Shears are a personnel choice of all hairdressers. All the tools used where given to all to use since the company sells these name brand tools. You can provide what you want as long as the tools are what is being sold in the store for retail purchases to consumers. A lot of video training is provided to the stylist and a lot is expected of the stylist. Such as how to greet customers and direct them to the proper aisle to find there product they are shopping for. Mind you if you have a client in your chair you are to politely leave your client to help the consumer in the store to find there hair care needs and answer questions to them.  Also if you have a client in your chair you are to politely leave your client to answer the phone and make appointments. Which I feel professionally that is not good, especially if they are a new or returning client. There are no receptionists in the salon, but there are plenty of sales people in the store to help you with makeup and “RING UP” YOUR PURCHASES.

On my second week at the salon a employee who I worked next to had to go ahead a pick up there child at school because she was sick. A makeup appointment was then moved from her schedule to mine. I have been doing makeup for about 10 years so I thought to myself no big deal. But when the client came in she had a appointment with a stylist who also does makeup and had a full consultation on what would be used and types of color for her private. She informed me that she wanted the stylist who she originally talked to at the consultation and not me. I tried to calm her down but to no avails she did not need my services and wanted to know why the stylist she talked to was not there. I had no information for her and she then turned around and walked away. Tried to do my best I told myself. Also to let you know I had a customer in my chair while attending to this client also. So for ten minutes I had to take away from the paying customer.

She walked away and moved over to the makeup counters and soon got her service completed from a sales attendant for her function. I went back to her and gave her a managers card and asked her to call the manager if she needed to speak to someone. I also went to a store manager to explain the situation to her from my side. All seemed well. No information from my manager was given to me about the consultation she initially had, and no information on makeup color choices. NOTHING. If YOU ARE GOING TO MOVE A CLIENT FROM ONE STYLIST TO ANOTHER GIVE THEM THE CLIENT INFORMATION FROM THERE CONSULTATION. So things will run smoothly. Photo’s also help from the consultation. Later that evening when I was leaving for home another store manager came to me asking what had happened. I thought to myself who is this person nor did I know she was a store manager. Thinking to myself she must be looking for gossip I said it was none of her business. She came to me and said the other employees said I was very rude to her and would not accommodate her. That is when I noticed to myself there are a lot of chiefs here than employee’s.  I respectfully denied to answer her comments and the following day told my manager the whole situation. Nothing was ever done on the situation. Yes the salon manager had there favorites in the salon as per the industry. So you where at times pretty much left alone in the salon to clean and make appointments and play receptionist. You were not allowed to sit in your salon chair and had to sit in the back if you needed to get off your feet. Everything had to be in clear plastic bags so they could inspect when you came and also when you left the salon. I was told the meaning for the tight security of personal effects was there was a employee who would place makeup in there sandwich and leave with it. That person was using that technique to steal. I had once told a sales person on the floor she had lovely makeup and she could not even understand English. She latter told my salon manager that I was making fun of her makeup and that I would be written up. If something again came up. This is after 3 weeks mind you.

There were a few nice people to work with in the salon and you also had your “QUEEN’S” there also. I refer the them as “QUEEN’S” because there are the one’s who will smile in your face and then take all the clients that walk in. When you take a break or leave the store during or after your shift you must go to the front of the store and empty your pockets and be searched by a manager on duty to make sure you are not stealing. And it doesn’t matter if the store is busy it will be done in front of the customers. The search’s were done in front of a camera in the front of the store .Very, very embarrassing. That tells you something about the business.  I was hired as a hairdresser which meant to mean the had a position to fill in the salon. I brought some of my own clients to the salon which kept me busy for a short time but as time went on there was less and less business. I was told it would get slower because of the season. The store itself was only open for a 10 month period and not yet a year. I was told to upscale my tickets as much as possible and seen some stylists charge as much as $250.00 for a simple foil highlight. I was also told to go outside the store and bring in clients or customers. Even if that meant to stand in front of “TARGET” and give out salon business cards. To me that told me everything.  They did not have the business and wanted “YOU” a professional to go out and pretty much beg people to come in for serviced.  If a customer was walking around in the store especially in the hair product department, I was to help them find what they wanted but also at the same time “TALK” them in a conditioning treatment. Saying the product they were looking for was not as good as what the salon uses. Which was untrue we used the same products from the floor in the salon. SNEAKY!

After being asked to give out business cards in front of “TARGET” I knew this was not the place to build a clientele. That pretty much told me they were deceitful from the start and lied about the position they had for me. They had no business at all. And wanted me to beg for business. This is a old technique in the beauty industry to place on a professional and ask them, ‘Well how are you going to build a clientele, Joseph”. I told them by my work I will build a clientele. ULTA is a large corporation that can afford to advertise for there stores. But would rather go the cheap way of using the employees to do all the clientele building. If you have no business in the salon why would they hire me.  FREE LABOR!

I get paid to do hair, hair coloring, makeup etc. Not to go out and beg and lie to people to come into the salon. If you don’t have the business don’t waste peoples time. All in all if you are looking for a career in the beauty industry, I would highly recommend not going to ULTA, for any employment.  Professionals spend a lot of time in there craft and need to be respected, but in this day and age corporate business have prostituted the  beauty industry.

SAME SHIT DIFFERENT DAY!