Does A 14 Year Old Need An Eye Cream?

Last week my sister came to stay with her children. Sophie asked me to help her do her makeup. While I was sorting through her makeup bag, I noticed an eye-cream from a well-known brand, along with a concealer. When I asked her about it, she told me that the sales assistant had told her the concealer wouldn’t work as well without an eye cream. She blatantly upsold a £30 eye cream to a 14 year old, who was paying for it with her baby-sitting money. Not only did Sophie leave with a £30 eye cream, but also TWO concealers – one costing £20 and the other costing £26.

Needless to say, my sister was furious, and now, so am I! We’ve both had a proper word with my niece about champagne taste on beer money, but she didn’t want the eye cream and she didn’t want two concealers. She wanted one concealer that was a bit of a treat. I think it’s rare, at 14, to have the social skills to say no with confidence, especially on a one-to-one at a beauty counter. Sophie is confident, but in this situation she didn’t feel she could say no.

So, before I blast a beauty counter, we have to look at the brands that set targets that encourage people to behave without sense or consideration of the bigger picture. Clearly, there is no 14 year old in the world that ‘needs’ an eye cream, and the fact that the concealer ‘works better if you use this eye cream’ only makes me think the brand should be making better concealers. Sophie is tall for her age but doesn’t look 20 – or anything near it. Clearly, though, the human picture of the consumer has been lost in a sea of targets because nobody would, if the situation was clearly laid out to them, take a 14 year old’s babysitting money for a product they obviously don’t need. Has nobody thought of a simple age check? It’s easy enough to drop into the conversation, especially where eye cream is involved. Most brands used to incorporate ‘selling skills’ into their counter training which focussed on recognising customer style and rapport building but this has disappeared from many brands. I also have enough access to inside info to know that at least a couple of brands give no new product training to their counter staff whatsoever, so how accurate recommendations occur is anyone’s guess.

Bricks and mortar stores have a strong contender in the internet beauty market, and yet, according to one report, only 6% of women buy their beauty on-line. I think we all probably know that the thing about sales targets is that the minute you hit it, it goes up for next time, meaning that anyone in beauty sales (or any sales, really) can’t relax for one minute. However, brand’s own websites are cannibalising their counters with tantalising offers of samples with purchase…and of course, the gold dust data capture that comes with any on-line purchase. Most brands will try and take some data at counter, but it becomes a little muddy because the data will then belong to the store the brand sits in rather than the actual brand, although the brand can use it.

There is always room for a personal consultation and counter sales staff do build up, where they are allowed to, immensely strong relationships with customers who come back time and time again. My point is absolutely not to have a go at counter staff but to highlight unrealistic sales targets born of a process of internal self-destruction. Internet vs counter. The only people losing here are people like my niece and her eye cream. All I can tell you is that she will never, ever go to that counter again, nor will her mum and nor will I. So, that inappropriate sale wasn’t only costly to poor old Sophie.

I have taken this up with the brand (internally, not at counter). They immediately offered a refund but at the same time, pushed the point that the concealer does work better with the eye cream. Can I say that I felt like screaming!

 

 

 


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31 responses to “Does A 14 Year Old Need An Eye Cream?”

  1. Laura

    When I worked on counter (and I only left that career 4 months ago) we were not meant to give a beauty consultation or one-to-ones to under-16s, simple as that (unless their Mum/Dad/guardian was with them). I left the industry as they increasingly want very young consultants/”yes” people/robots. Honesty, integrity, selling for “need not greed” are no longer desired in the beauty game. It’s very sad. I could write about this topic for hours! The whole industry has drastically changed during the 20 years I worked for it. Experience is not treasured but high LFL is.

  2. McKirsty

    This is gutting – your poor niece! I’m twenty six and just last week got talked into spending a further £26 on a second product I didn’t need; they caught me on a hormonal day 🙂

    Upselling like that to a teenager is so obviously wrong and I agree it says so much about the culture the brands are encouraging.

  3. That’s disgracefully greedy. Poor girl — but thank goodness she’s got you for expertise. Frankly I’ve come to believe that the majority of counter staff don’t really know what they’re selling and could care less as long as the sell something.

    Liked your interview on getthegloss, Jane.

  4. Jessica Rose

    I use to work for a well known make up store and we were told (from the bigwigs above) to push people into buying two or more items to push our KPI figures up. Everyone is given a sales target per day to achieve. If you didn’t reach you target then you had to explain to the Area Manager why you didn’t and what you were going to do about it. ALL PEOPLE working on make-up counters are given a daily sales target to achieve and if they want to keep your job then you have to reach your target. Its that simple. Which to a results sees situations like above and people leaving with things they didn’t really want. Sadly.

  5. donna

    The companies use late teens in anti ageing campaigns these days. Very scary as now its you need this and this and this and this as teenager or you will look old. WTH!!!! I was mid twenties before I even thought about an eye cream and it was a Body Shop one!

  6. Laura

    @Jessica Rose, some of the big cosmetics companies out there (and I won’t name names, but think high end and big) are now moving away from the ‘Average Unit per transaction’ as a measure of success. In the old days, we used to have to aim for an average of 2-3 items per transaction, with an average sales value of £X. Towards the end of my time on counter, they were firmly moving away from that average measure and looking more at conversion of sales from consultation as a measure of how well the service was executed. Of course, that’s just one brand out of many, and they can’t directly control what happens on counter because greedy consultants (and I can say that with direct experience – I’ve worked with many) will always try to drive sales up which will bump up their sales pad (which means more commission).

    I totally agree with you re: the pressure to keep sales up for fear of being under performance management. There will always be daily sales targets to achieve (as a counter and individually) with often ridiculous LFL % increase on last year. If you’re given a target to hit, you still have to do it and some people will go about it unscrupulously for fear of losing commission or being performance reviewed.

    It’s one of the many reasons I moved out of the industry; it’s no longer about giving people a wonderful experience and making them feel a million pounds as they walk away from counter, it’s no longer about that lovely afternoon spent picking treats from cash you’ve saved up for ages. It’s all about the company and not about the consumer. Very sad, as it used to be such a treat to both work in and be a consumer of luxury beauty. The more that the big beauty brands ignore the needs of the client, the more the consumer will moved to purchasing online to get the better deals without the pushy, patronising service.

  7. I must say that even now when I am at the counter I find it super dificult to say no. I always get pushed to buy now and buy more without being given time to think about it on my own time. This is why I don’t like shopping at the counters. I might go to get some quick swatches and feel of the product but most likley I will quickly walk away before the shop assistant jumps on me and will buy the product online when I had enough time to ponder about it.

  8. FiMacD

    I’m in my FIFTIES and often find it hard to say no at high end make up counters (I’m getting better though!), so can only imagine what it would be like for a 14 year old!

  9. Parisa

    Quite frankly, you see under-16s everywhere acting like grown-ups. They “need” to go to spas, they “need” a beauty channel on Youtube, they “need” expensive fashion items and they’re celebrated as “experts” for this behaviour. Remember Tavi Gevinson? Fashion and beauty “expert” at the ripe old age of 12. It was laughable then and still is, but the media gave Ms Fashion Expert all the desired attention. And don’t get me started on celebrities who bring babies and toddlers to haute couture shows and show them off wearing Chanel or Dior. And it’s not just fashion and beauty, today kids are everywhere, even they clearly shouldn’t be at certain places or events.
    So why are you surprised that sales people at beauty counters treat kids like grown-ups? The person who sold your niece the stuff maybe just thought that she was dealing with another of those Youtube brats, so why should she go into an argument with a customer and risk being reprimanded if the young “beauty expert” made a complain to management that the evil sales girl didn’t want to sell her the beauty things she so desperately needs for the next video?

    1. Jane

      The assistant offered the eye cream as an upsell. Sophie didn’t ask for it – that’s what the difference is. Sophie did ask for a concealer – and was sold two concealers. I AM surprised that she was told the concealer would work better with an eye cream which is how the upsell happened in the first place. It’s normal for girls to want to feel and look like young adults, it certainly doesn’t make them brats whether they have a Youtube channel or not. But, there’s another difference – and adult and a young adult, and they need different levels of personal skills when at a sales counter.

  10. My teenage daughter had a similar issue with a brand. As she went over with her friends (all 13/14) they were handed baskets which the consultant then added a “free gift” to, to thank them for “shopping”. They left with a load of stuff they didn’t want because they thought it would be rude not to buy as they had been given a ‘free’ gift and because the lady was VERY pushy. Luckily I was nearby and got their money back for them- I don’t think this is an uncommon experience, sadly.

  11. LilyM

    I’m so glad you posted this! Incidents like this would always happen to me when I was around that age and a bit older- I’d save up for ages, go to a beauty counter and was treated so condescendingly all the while being sold products I didn’t need. They didn’t particularly look good on me either; I was an easy target to make a quick sale. I’m not as shy and reluctant to say no anymore, but sometimes I still find it difficult to say no to products I don’t want so I absolutely feel for your niece.

  12. PhotoGirl

    How unfortunate! Good on you for taking up for your niece. I hope you also told her that fourteen is not too young to develop the ability to say “no.” In fact, given the number of adult situations that she will soon be confronted with, if she hasn’t been already, fourteen is probably just the right age.

    That said, I understand exactly where the counter staff are coming from because I worked at the counter of a major cosmetics house in a very well-known American department store while paying my way through university. The pressure to sell was enormous, and I don’t imagine that it is less so today. It was not enough to meet the customer’s stated needs, we were expected to send her away with no fewer than three items. Every. Single. Time. And believe me, one was called to account if one did not! Also, we were paid a very low base rate and expected to make a living wage through our three per cent commission. We had weekly and monthly sales goals that we were expected to meet, and it was not unusual to be shamed in front of an entire district during the weekly conference call if those goals were not met. In those days, it was rare for a customer to return a product, but if she did, that return was deducted from the next commission check.

    People think that working at a cosmetics counter is like a walk in the park, but I found it to be a very high-stress environment. It is all about the money. What I observed was that most companies care little about the consumer, and even less about their employees. (And don’t even get me started on the pitfalls of working with an incredibly ill-mannered public.) The bottom line is what matters. I was overjoyed to hand in my notice when I graduated from school.

    1. Jane

      I have heard the “3 things” before and lo and behold..that’s what happened to Sophie.. two concealers and an eye cream. I couldn’t be a beauty sales consultant in a million years – I know how difficult people can be and they need the skills of a diplomat to withstand it, no doubt. My beef isn’t really with them – we all know it’s low wages and hard, hard work. Sophie certainly is taught how to say no, but it was a one-to-one in an unusual environment for her and it was just too difficult on this occasion. I think now she is £75 down she might be able to find her no voice next time!

  13. Hannah

    Hmm it’s possible the sales rep didn’t realise the buyer was just 14, especially if she had £76 to purchase on said counter? No idea if your niece looks 14 but many teens do appear to be in their late teens/early twenties these days…?

    1. Jane

      This is true – as stated, she is tall for her age but she doesn’t wear much make up, if any, usually, and really doesn’t look older for her age.. x

  14. PhotoGirl

    @Jane Seventy five pounds?! Oh, that is awful. That’s about $107 USD, an absolutely princely sum for a fourteen-year-old, and even for many adults! An expensive lesson, indeed, and I am glad that the company concerned has offered her a refund. I hope they’d do the same for a young girl whose aunt was not an internationally known beauty blogger.

    Although I shop online whenever possible, when I do go into the stores I am astonished by the amount of money that kids in the twelve to sixteen year old age range have to spend. Older than that and one can assume that perhaps they have a part-time job, but where do the younger ones find so much pocket money? And the marketing aimed at young people is relentless. In a world where sixteen-year-olds are used to sell eye cream to fifty year old women, one can certainly forgive a young girl for believing it when she’s told that she needs it, too.

    1. Jane

      I refused the refund – it’s a painful lesson for poor old Sophie but also for the reason you point out- not everyone has an Auntie Jane – so she just has to suck it up and start doing some mega-baby sitting! But I do know she won’t ever make the same mistake again.

  15. I’d leave a comment but my head just exploded.

  16. Anna Öberg

    I’m sorry your niece was made to part with her hard earned cash like that. I do think it entirely possible the sales assistant thought she did “need” an eyecream though. On Instagram and blogs there are so many very young girls and boys using rather advanced anti-aging products. Many times I’ve thought people were a lot older than their actual age, just judging by what products they use. I find it a bit sad that someone in their late teens/early twenties is made to believe they need to use Estée Lauders Advanced Night Repair (an example i saw today).

  17. Jen Liney

    Does the world know La Hirons is now headless. Awful experience for Sophie, so,etching we can all learn from.

  18. Emma

    Thank you for writing this and highlighting the problem being the brand, not so much the consultant. I know exactly the brand you are referring to as I used to work for them and I can tell you, the pressure to sell those three products together is high. We were told that you absolutely could not use one without the other two, and told it so many times that you believe it yourself. That said, it does depend on the consultant sometimes too, personally if a young girl came to counter I would never pressure and I know many others who wouldn’t, but unfortunately many that would. The consequences of not achieving high targets could make you miserable, unfortunately much as brands would rather push a certain ‘we really care about the consumer’ it’s all about targets.

  19. Marilene

    Very good article and comments, especially hearing from ex-professionals in the beauty field. Totally agree, beauty products are for me an experience as some like to tease and find out about nice wines and not always the most expensive ones are the best
    My by the time 17 years old daughter believed she needs a good eye cream and a conceal since she was 14 is very important. Guess the social medias & pressure of being up date and on the roll with friends is part of this.
    I know it’s not a cheap concealer but from my personal desire & need wanting a nourishing concealer as I’m one of the oldies who love make up & beauty products, I needed a smoothing long lasting, not making the under eye are cakey(?) concealer. Clarins brought out the ‘Instant Concealer’, which is by far the best concealer, I have found and works fantastic. Both my girls, ages 18 & 23 are happy with it too.

    I am wishing the beauty industry, will acknowledge ‘true purposes, especially females have a love and fable for make up & beauty products. Instead of the more they work on their profits and disregarding true purpose of customers buying their products and consultants enjoy working for them instead of being pressurised by sale figures, they should come back to the roots where the beauty industry more consumer friendly started. I have worked as an beauty adviser many years ago, where I only was earning by my sales. My personal target was true and happy advised customers always came back, which in the long run works so much better.
    N.B. Sorry English isn’t my first language, so apologies for mistakes and writing style.

  20. sandra evensen

    I never buy at beauty counters, i always find myself pushed to buy (I have social anxiety so im a very easy target to upsell) things i dont need and when i ask for something they always lead me to the most expensive version. Now i google, read blogs and reviews instead

  21. Jo2

    Firstly, that’s dreadful. Even as an adult I have stock phrases I use to get away from a counter though.
    But really brands should learn to move away from money based targets. Sure, make a profit but don’t push products for the sake of pushing products. How much more is a new customer who enjoyed their counter experience and may be loyal for life worth if they buy one product they wanted instead of feeling pushed into buying things they didn’t? I tried to argue this when I had a Saturday job at a well know health and beauty high street store that was not Boots… I had a great store manager who was on board but anyone higher up just wanted the mascara offer of the week pushed onto as many customers as possible…

  22. Poor Sophie! 75 pounds is a lot of money even for an adult woman with a good income! I very rarely buy from the counter. I prefer Sephora where they offer their help if needed, but since they don’t work on commission, don’t pressure me. I’m sure there are great counter girls/guys out there, but the pushiness makes me stabby and because of it I usually leave without buying anything. They need to rethink their strategy. No one likes to be pressured to spend their hard earned money needlessly. These people remind me of used car salesmen sometimes.

  23. Irca3

    I bet I know which counter it was as I was told the same thing when trying to purchase a concealer. But of course I was confident enough to point out that maybe the product was not good enough. It seems as though it could be a sales technique to upswell products.

  24. Well… It’s plenty of money and I don’t see a reason for so young girl to buy two different expensive concealers AND extra cream, but in all the years I try to find my concealing Holy Grail I definitely got to the same idea: ALL tone-updating and concealing make up works much better being mixed with your moisturizer or eye cream, depending of area of use. It was not honest to push a very young girl for extra specific product though – she could perfectly mix concealer with tiny amount of her day cream (which she needs anyway if she is using serious make up and then washes it off properly)..

  25. Alison

    Anti-ageing products are aimed at a young market, so I’m not surprised (though very disappointed) that a counter will sell product that isn’t suitable to the customers age range. However, and this isn’t an excuse, just a reason, there is enormous pressure to meet sales targets. I got into trouble when I was a No7 consultant for advising a young woman NOT to purchase a particular product. She didn’t need it, it wasn’t suitable for her. I’ve always felt you don’t build trust and loyalty by flogging anything you can get the customer to pay for. Just one of the reasons I left retail and went back to being a happy medical p.a. And as for the person who blithely took over £60 off a kid, she needs re-educating. That or firing.

  26. The Gossip Darling (@gossipdarling1)

    Crazy!! This is so crazy! How can you sell an eye cream to a 14 year old?! This is just terrible

    Mel | http://www.thegossipdarling.com

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