Tag: ulta

If You Don’t Get Paid. Why Stay?

~ Joseph Kellner

I’m sure this post is going to cause a war between salon owners and salon employees, but these things need to be said. These are my opinions and I’m sure a lot of people (mostly salon owners) will disagree with me, but the way this industry is run is a complete joke. Currently, the “standard” compensation method in many salons is “commission-only.” Some weeks, your paycheck (when averaged against the hours you’ve worked) may end up far less than minimum wage and some weeks you’ll make considerably more than minimum wage

. In either case, in most salons, you’re expected to sit around in empty salons, do laundry, clean floors, answer phones, and perform a whole litany of other menial tasks that fall far outside your job description as a nail technician or hair stylist–tasks you may not be getting compensated to do. Most American workers are covered by the FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act), which is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The FLSA dictates that if you are a commission-only employee, your paycheck (when averaged into hourly pay for a two week pay period) must equal or exceed the prevailing minimum wage. If it doesn’t, the employer must make up the difference.

The FLSA doesn’t care what you’re doing at work. If you’re there at the request of your boss, you need to be getting compensated. If your employer requires you to sit in the salon and wait for business, they should be paying you.Whether you’re folding towels, sweeping the floors, answering the phones etc. Too many of you are being treated as servants. You’re told that you have to “pitch in” and “do your share” and “be part of the team.” It is one thing to clean up after yourself and help out your coworkers, it is an entirely different thing to work for free.

It costs an owner nothing to fill a salon with bodies and tell them to “sit and wait.” I know of salon owners who have never paid for reception services or cleaning services. Why would they when they can order their stylists do it for free? Some salon owners have even gone so far as to intentionally sabotage an employee’s books so they’ll be available to run the front desk, assist, or clean. These owners will keep their salons full of employees because they aren’t paying anyone hourly. It doesn’t matter to them that each of their workers is barely making enough money to pay their mortgages because the owners are simply collecting income from them. There’s no risk of loss involved, so they hire indiscriminately.

Salon are normally full of employees who spend every day sitting around, waiting to build their book–yet, the owner still hires until all the empty stations are full. Everyone in the salon is unhappy. The senior stylists and techs are frustrated because they haven’t built yet and are having to share the limited walk-in business with several new people. Every commission-based employee knows that a new stylist often means a pay cut for everyone in the salon.

You cannot point the finger at your team and blame them for their lack of income. You are the captain of the ship. Your leadership determines whether or not the salon succeeds. Every salon has an employee or two who consistently under-performs due to their own inabilities, but if every single one of your team members are floundering, the problem is with you; not them. You are failing them as a leader and you’re failing your business.

MORE TO COME

Too Much Responsibility, Not Enough Pay

~ Joseph Kellner

A former Ulta manager’s experience working for the beauty retailer has drawn many viewers and sparked discussion among commenters on TikTok. Posted by user Kenya Broadnax (@kbmakeupme24), the two-part retelling of her three years of experience with the company has drawn over half a million views as of Sunday. She has previously shared experiences working for other companies. In her first video, she says she worked for the beauty retailer from 2012 to 2015, starting as a cashier and working her way from a cashiering position up to a prestige manager position.

When she first took her position as a prestige manager within the store, she says she was offered $10 per hour because she did not have a college degree, even though the store’s standard for management was $17 hourly. They eventually agreed to $14 an hour, which she says their payroll specialist called “pushing it.” “The communication was terrible, payroll was terrible, the lack of schedule was terrible,” she says in the video. “We would open the store with two people—a manager and a cashier—and the manager would be in the office the entire time. As the cashier, you’re up at the front by yourself doing returns, doing exchanges, checking customers out, you’re color matching in prestige, you’re helping people, you’re trying to deter theft, all one person doing that entire job for at least two to three hours before someone shows up to cover you.”

During her time at Ulta, she says she did not have the opportunity to take lunch breaks and worked under unprofessional management who were transphobic. In a second video, she says she essentially had too much responsibility for not enough pay and was expected to oversee more than she realistically felt able to with an understaffed team.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Broadnax via Instagram direct message, as well as to Ulta directly via email regarding the video. Several viewers expressed frustration on behalf of the poster and shared that they had similar stories about working for Ulta. “Sometimes I don’t know who Ulta hates more: clients or employees,” one commenter wrote. “That was definitely the company wide culture at that time,” another user said. “I got so fed up I walked out during my shift in 2015.” “Working at Ulta was the worst decision I have ever made in my life,” one user echoed.

Ulta lays off corporate employees

~ Joseph Kellner

Ulta Beauty laid off employees at its corporate headquarters and among its field management team yesterday as it works to reshape itself amid the ongoing pandemic. Spokeswoman Eileen Ziesemer declined to comment on the number of employees that were laid off but confirmed their last day was Jan. 12.

“While incredibly difficult, these decisions were made thoughtfully with a focus on resetting our corporate cost structure to operate more effectively and efficiently in the short-term as well as optimizing our enterprise capabilities to thrive in the long-term,” Ziesemer said in an email. “The associates leaving Ulta Beauty were of course treated with respect, compassion and support.” The layoffs hit roles across all corporate functions of the Chicago-area-based beauty chain, Ziesemer said.

It also eliminated open roles and reorganized some teams. She said the move expanded certain positions and “introduced a small number” of roles in investment areas. Like many retailers, Ulta has faced struggles during the pandemic. It closed its stores for seven or eight weeks during the shutdowns last spring, closed 19 stores permanently in the third quarter, and has eliminated jobs.

Makeup in particular has been a tricky category during the pandemic. Without excuses to leave the house, many have forgone wearing makeup for months. There are some bright spots, such as above-the-mask eye makeup, and pampering items, such as candles and bath products, executives said on Ulta’s earnings call last month. The shutdowns also drove traffic online. Ulta has 1,262 stores in the U.S., Ziesemer says. The company was founded in 1990. The company most recently reported its employment count before the pandemic. As of last February, Ulta employed about 18,000 full-time and 26,000 part-time workers, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission from last March. Ziesemer said the total number of corporate associates laid off yesterday was a “meaningful, but relatively small number of our total associates.”

My Short Time At A Ulta Salon.

~ Joseph Kellner

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!

 

Is Ulta Repackaging and Reselling Used Makeup to Consumers? A New Lawsuit Says Yes

~ Joseph Kellner

A new lawsuit filed in Chicago last week alleges that beauty giant Ulta has been repackaging and reselling used makeup to its unsuspecting customers for years.

Attorney Zimmerman represents Meghan Devries, a Chicago woman who works in the beauty industry. She became suspicious about some of the products she purchased from Ulta.  A woman claiming to be a former Ulta employee first brought the allegations to light in early January. Posting under the Twitter handle @fatinamxo, she wrote that whenever a customer returned a product, employees were instructed by Ulta to repackage or reseal the item and put it back on the shelf for sale. This practice, she said, included everything from makeup to hair and skin-care products, fragrances and hair styling tools.

She said that makeup palettes, for example, were cleaned up so that they looked new and returned to the shelf for reselling, unsanitized. She then shared screenshots of other Ulta employees making the same claims. Those tweets were cited in the class action complaint (pdf) Zimmerman filed in Cook County, Ill., last week. The suit also cites the claims of former employees that Ulta has a limit on how many returned items can be thrown away. “Managers will take used products out of a damaged bin, and if they look good enough to resell, they’ll put them back on the shelves and resell them so they don’t exceed their quota,” Zimmerman told ABC7.

He said that some of the products purchased from an Ulta store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago seemed to have been previously used, including eye shadows missing a brush and face cleansers that were already open. Those products, he said, could have pathogens on them that remain for weeks. “There is E. coli and Klebsiella bacteria, which is commonly found in intestine and expelled with fecal matter,” Zimmerman said.  Zimmerman told ABC7 that the goal of his lawsuit is to change the alleged company practice that limits the number of items that can be thrown away, as well as to provide compensation for customers who may have bought used products.