The Sephora Skin IQ System: A Rant

Source: http://sephora.com

Ladies and… well, I’m pretty sure just ladies: A rant.

When I go to high end stores, I don’t just go to lighten my wallet and threaten my credit score. I go for an experience. I go to be pampered and doted on, and to speak to the best, most pushy retail professionals there are. Seriously. It’s fun to me to be up-sold. (Up selled? Upselledidized? Probably not that last one…)

I consider Sephora to be one of these stores. I walk in there, I want to be wowed.

I will preface the below with this: I adore Sephora. I could spend hours there, covering my hand in swatches until I’ve forgotten what color my actual skin is. I’ve had fantastic conversations with sales people who have actually given me great advice and insight. This is not a general complaint against the brand or company or retail chain. But GOSH was today frustrating.

I was wandering the skin care section of a rather big Sephora, and was approached by a salesperson. She asked if I needed any help, and I said, “Yes, actually. I have dry and uneven skin. What should I use?”
“A serum,” she said.
We both blinked at each other for a moment.
“So, like…” I hemmed and hawed. “What should I use?”
“For uneven texture, definitely a serum.”
The awkwardness mounted.
“Which one?”
Annoyed that I wanted clarification, she marched me over to the Skin IQ screen, poked at it a few times, and came up with 70 options.
“You should use one of these.”
“Ok. Which one?” I asked, confident she wouldn’t have an answer.
“Everything we have here is good.” Told you I was confident.
I began the song and dance of trying to shed her from me, as her presence was both annoying and depressing. I poked at Sunday Riley’s Good Genes and squirted it on my hand.
“That’s good, too,” she said. “You could get that.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep looking,” I said, and scooted away, shedding bits of sanity behind me.
Oh, and I didn’t buy any of the 70 serums.

I’ve worked retail. I know the struggle, the boredom, the annoyance of customers. But this was really unbelievably bad service. She literally talked me out of buying anything. That takes talent.