Hey Sephora, clean up your act!

Yesterday, my friend Fergie accompanied me on a really cool spy mission.  It was a mix of mystery shopping, market research, and training evaluations all in one.  The mission was to visit several retail stores, evaluate all aspects of the customer experience, and then based on best practices in the industry, provide recommendations on areas of improvement.  There was one brand in particular that we were evaluating.  We went to three malls in the Atlanta metro area - all of which contained a store devoted to the brand("branded stores") and a Sephora which carried the brand.  It was my goal to evaluate the customer experience differences between the branded stores and the Sephora stores.

I won't bore you with all of the details, but I have to say that the branded stores outperformed Sephora by leaps and bounds.  Although there were some variances, the branded stores' associates were friendly, helpful, knowledgeable about the products, did a great job selecting colors for my skin tone, provided me with a written evaluation of products I tested, and encouraged me to visit the store again.  Overall, they did an excellent job in building rapport  and selling all aspects of the brand.

Now on to Sephora!  My goodness.  I have to tell you guys this: the first time I set foot in Sephora, I wa an exchange student in Paris (summer 1997) and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  It was paradise! So many beauty products, fragrances, and skin care - all in one place.  Magnifique!

Well, my visit yesterday was not so "magnifique".  I typically purchase cosmetics from QVC, as you know, so its been a while since I've been to Sephora.  The first store didn't acknowledge our presence and we were standing right next to an associate for at least five minutes.  She was helping someone but she could have said "hello".   After over five minutes, we moved further into the store and waited until she was finished.  When I saw she was available, I asked her about the brand and she immediately told me that the brand was "not for African American women" and directed me to other brands. Since she is employed by the brand and not Sephora, I wonder how her employer would feel about her recommendations - especially since their colors are fine for AA women.  Also, the product displays were very DIRTY!!  Make-up was splattered all over the make-up testers and it was only 2pm in the afternoon (on a Tuesday). The bottles were stained with make-up and the jars had powder covering them.  At the next Sephora, we again, went unacknowledged.  The stores were also dirty and after nearly 10 minutes of not being helped, we left.

So, needless to say, I have a ton of info to report to the company and it doesn't look good for Sephora!

Comments

[RealBeauty101]

Gladys, it was really a shame. And the stores weren't even crowded!

[Gladys]

Yikes! And I like Sephora for perfume and such. The one I frequent here in DC always has the associates rushing up to you. So much so that I try to dodge them. LOL!