BEAUTY MAILS: AN EMAIL FROM AN AVID READER, CHELLE CHIOA

FOR THE FIRST EDITION OF THE BEAUTY MAILS, HERE'S AN EMAIL FROM AN AVID READER, CHELLE CHIOA

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Hi Martha, I've been reading your blog since I got hooked on make up again =) just wanna share my experience on Mac people in Glorietta, you were right they're snooty. The last horrible experience I had was back when I started my frosh year in DLSU-M, I look young, a bit too young I guess coz my lower batch classmates of 2-3 years would tell me they thought I was younger than them and then a Thomasian mistook me for a high school student wanting to go in UST when I was in my 2nd year college :))

Anyway, I think they're a bit discriminating in terms of the age of their customers too coz I notice they attend to customers who look older than me and who can afford. I went there before for Mac eyeliners, but they didn't bother to accommodate me even if nobody else is there, they just ignored me, ugh, I went to Shu Uemura to get two great eyeliners better than Mac's (in my opinion) and the SA are a lot kinder too. 

Today I went there again, thinking I should be positive that I would erase that ugly memory of Mac people being snobs, but no... At first they greeted me and asked me if I needed anything, I asked for Colour Craft made with love lipstick but it was gone, yeah I understand that, but the girl went away knowing wala na yung gusto ko. Then they entertained other customers who look older than me, ignoring me most of the time. I asked for the eyeshadow in Goldmine coz I knew it was permanent and they said it was limited edition rin! The girl offered me to try the palette but I said I'm just want a gold eyeshadow, she had the 'whatever' look on her face and just handed me some eyeshadows that are close to gold and went away even if her VIP customer went out of the store already. My boyfriend told me to avail of their consultation like the other girls, I tried to but she just said 'yeah that eyeshadow would look good on you' and stood behind their counter looking at me. I had the urge to get all my money from the bank and slap them with it :)) as if I'm not a paying customer. 

Ugh, if it's not for Mac I wouldn't endure that bad customer treatment. Just wanna ask if you know any Mac place where the customer service is good? I tried Marrionaud in MOA and the SA there is nice naman but a bit snooty too :))

Thanks! Relieved I have someone to share my sentiment with Mac people... 

Hope you and your husband would stay strong for each other! I read your blog on that and it made me a bit teary eyed, I told my boyfriend about your story and he said if me and him were meant together like you two, we would end up together so we just have to love each other as if its our last and it did made me appreciate love as God gift. 

Love,

Chelle

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Hello Chelle!

First of all, thank you for avidly reading my blog. I'm always glad to be at your service as a make- up guru. I have tons of exciting posts to come so please do check my blog once in a while. Hope you could make people join by spreading some word about my blog, that's if, if that's not too much to ask. :)

Anyway, let's go back to your email. I do appreciate you sharing your experience about the SNOOTY MAC GLORIETTA SAs in Makati.

I've had my fair share of these snotty SAs way back when I started my make- up fixation. It just so happened that I was crazy about MAC so I started hauling like crazy. And apparently, MAC Glorietta is the most accessible branch to me.

I thought that maybe it was just me, overanalyzing stuff, until I opened this topic in the MAC thread in Girltalk. I came to realize, I wasn't the only one. In fact, there are tons of MAC lovers who experienced this bad customer handling in MAC Glorietta.

So here are some of my experiences:

I always aim for comfort when I dress up. Usually, I don't really like dressing up when I go mall strolling or shopping. You'd always see me wearing a tee, couture shorts and flip flops and of course, my bag. I really don't want to stand out amongst a sea of people in a mall. In a sense, it's also strategy for me because I don't want to attract looks and most especially, crooks. I'm fine even if I'm beside a "Nakapormang" person and even if in their opinion, I look as if I just went straight of the house then went to the mall. I DON'T GIVE A CRAP.

Sometimes my mom would even say "Para ka parating nakapambahay (You always dress up in your "home clothing".) I actually don't care sometimes, because for me, I wouldn't sacrifice comfort for style

Whenever I'd go to make- up stores, I'd always be wearing the same thing. And since I was fixated on MAC before, I was a frequent visitor of the Makati branch since it''s the nearest to my house.

Then this girl SA whom I can only describe as someone who reminds me of a girl version of Gollum, from The Lord Of The Rings was the first SA whom I encountered. I was so excited to purchase my first face powder from MAC. I was browsing through every counter because I'm so ecstatic because it seems like I'm in make- up heaven!

After 30 minutes, I decided to pay for the Studio Fix. Then this Gollum- looking SA told me that I was an NC40. It turned out that I was an NC42 so now I realize that these SAs are not trained well. 

Then she asked me "Ito lang kukunin mo, Miss?".

I replied: "Oo. Yan muna. Balik ako next time."

Then she gave this eto-lang-naman-pala-ang-bibilihin-paikot-ikot-pa look. Which really surprised and amazed me at the same time. I thought to myself. "Grabe makaasta ito, eh baka nga hindi niya maaford ang make- up dito."

So I just shrugged the thought off. I just thought to myself, maybe I was analyzing too much.

I went back there again and she gave me a not-so-sincere smile. I was there to buy my Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. And she wasn't friendlier as compared to our first encounter, which is weird because she should be because I'm a frequent customer prospect!

I went back again to get my lipsticks, bronzing powder and eyeshadows and a whole lot more. She was all smiles after my first two purchases, but I had this feeling that she's a total "Plastic" since I had visits where I don't buy anything. I just look around to satisfy my make- up craving. Then if I don't buy, she doesn't even have the decency to at least thank me for paying a visit nor inform me of anything that could make me want to come back and buy more. Ugh. I think they did not undergo any decent Sales training.

Then I chanced upon this scary gay version of Goliath, another MAC Makati SA. I was looking at the eyeshadow counter. I was looking a bit trashy since I came from school and travelled all the way from Diliman via the MRT during the rush hour so you could pretty much visualize that I kinda' looked harassed. He saw me swatching at the eyeshadow counter because I was looking for a possible green eyeshadow purchase. Then I decided to compare each first before getting anything because I don't want to end up wasting money in the end. Then I told the Gay Goliath "Sige, balik ako." And he just turned his back without even saying thank you nor giving a smile. Ugh! What a disrespectful and badly- trained SA.

My mom and I went on a make- up shopping spree in Rustan's. She got herself some Chanel make- ups and I told her that I want something from MAC. We went to the store and this Gollum looking girl SA was attending these two middle- aged Chinese women. She was like a dog to her master. Then my mom went to the Face Powder counter while I was looking through the lipstick section. My mom asked her when she passed how much the Belightful powder was. And she just passed by my mom and said "3350php." and went straight ahead to the Chinese customers. Well, maybe in her mind, Chinese People=Rich People so even if she wasn't needed and she looked like a nuisance to the two Chinese women who seemed to want to browse on their own, she still stayed beside them. Then my mom said "Ayoko dito. Pangit service." Then I told her that they were like that ever since even though I was a regular customer then mom said: "Bakit ka kasi bili pa ng bili dito? Turuan mo ng leksiyon yang mga yan." Then the Gollum girl SA approached us and said: "Yung inyo po Ma'm, yung Belightful, kukunin niyo po?"

Then my bitch of a mom replied. "Ayoko. Mas maganda Chanel." Then she was like holding our Chanel purchase right to her face.

Then the next time, we went there. I was browsing around then my mom sat on one of the counters and started checking her Bobbi Brown purchases. I'm sure she did it on purpose. Then she put it back and said "Ano may bibilihin ka?" Then in a semi- loud voice I said, "Ayoko, pare- pareho ang colors." Then we walked away without even looking back. That's 100 points for me and my mom (YEAH! :P)

I'm so sad because MAC has pretty good stuff but because of their Snooty SAs, I started steering away from the store, then started to divert my attention to other products. MAC is the cheapest as compared to other brands out there, but because of the snooty SAs that will make your shopping experience not worthwhile, well, that definitely won't make the visit and the purchase worth the time and money.

I'd love to purchase some more MAC products because I like the brand. But it's much worth visiting a store when they have cheerful and sociable SAs. The reason why I'm fixated on Bobbi Brown right now is because of the brand's kind SAs namely Bea and Dennis, who treated me like a queen even though I was in my "Pambahay" outfit. There is also Roby of Nars Makati, who cheerfully assisted me when I was just browsing at their counter. These people, make shopping worthwhile. And these people are most likely, the ones who will earn. A LOT.

I tried Marionnaud and so far, they have semi- snooty SAs. I actually don't care anymore. I'm in a state wherein: If you treat me like crap, then you're gonna lose a salary. I also heard that some bloggers and girltalkers are fond of the Shangri- La branch because of this SA named Lara, who's kind, funny and very entertaining. Unfortunately, MAC Shang is sooo out of the way for me.

I have to pass by MAC Powerplant Mall yet. I always see girl SAs there. I'm planning to get an eyeshadow soon so I might pay MAC a visit. Let's see if this branch has snooty SAs (I hope not! Please, so I won't have to be back to that Makati branch!)

Well, as you can see, I got carried away with my post. But I enjoyed my time answering your email. So if you still have any questions, I'd gladly answer them as soon as I can.

And I'm quite surprised that you were touched with my hubby and I's story! :) Aww...I'm glad it was able to inspire or reach out to you in a way. :) That's true, I do believe that even if everything tries to set you guys apart, if you guys are SOULMATES, then you would always end up with each other. Please read up on the myth of the ANAM KARA. It's a Celtic (?) myth on circles.  It's just a very good soul food. And I do believe in the Anam Kara. I told about this story to my hubby. He said that it's like our contemporary belief on "Soulmates". People who are destined to be together.

And for those who are willing to send me an email. Be it experiences, personal queries or questions about me or anything about make- up, skin care, art, theater and etc., kindly don't hesitate to drop me an email at hotkiss_212100@yahoo.com :)

Thank you very much Chelle! Keep on reading! :)