The Counter Culture: The Other Side Of The Experience - Assistants Tell All Part #1

Just like there are some awful sales assistants out there in beauty land, there are awful, godawful customers. We thought it was about time some of those stories got aired on the blog and we've been asking on Twitter and Facebook for anonymous contributions in the last week. Here are a couple of the first ones we've gotten in as a taster:

"I work on a perfume counter part-time, 95% of the time people are lovely, but for some reason this Christmas was unreal for plain rude and at times, abusive customers. The one that stands out is when one man came in and was looking for a perfume for his girlfriend, asked some fragrances that were fruity, yet citrusy. I showed him a few and then he asked for it to smell more like 'sex', I assumed he meant sexy. But he assured me, no sex and went on to describe what sex smelt like, bodily fluids and all. Then demanded that I spray the perfume on my neck and chest area so he could smell it off me.

When I declined, another customer sniped that I 'must not have wanted the sale'."

"I'm not a beauty sales assistant but work in womenswear in a department store.  One lady trying on clothes in the fitting room, in there quite a while when I noticed a smell. Unfortunately she took a dump on floor. She 'nonchalantly' told me she had just been discharged from hospital for a bowel operation and had to go there seeing as though we had no toilets in store. The worst was she wasn't caught short, she hadn't any intention of trying on clothes at all, she went in there on a mission! It was a crap day let me tell you.

"Or what about middle aged man that kept trying to go into the ladies fitting room ... Tried to explain to him it was ladies only, he said he was waiting on his wife and she wanted him to go in. 'yes but the other ladies getting undressed in there might not want you in there', says I. 'Hang on I'll ask them', he says and proceeds to ask the other ladies, no one answered him, then he starts ranting about 'this backward f**king Catholic country' and how there should be unisex changing rooms like there are in other countries, and how pathetic I was on a power trip, separating him from his wife. It was actually funny. He looked like such a pervert. Anyway the wife comes out eventually and she's a much younger Thai bride. Fed right into the impression he gave everyone."

If you're a beauty or fashion sales assistant and would like to let us know about some funny/awful/jaw-dropping experiences you've had, we'd love to hear them! We know from talking to sales assistants and makeup artists over the years that there are many more clangers out there we'd love to tell. It's totally anonymous of course, and you can email your stories to info@beaut.ie. Cheers!