Pros
- 25% discount on everything in the store; 50% discount on salon services at the store you work at. - Really easy work. - Getting to swatch and try out testers.
Cons
Ohhh boy... Okay, so first of all, I've been working here for almost 3 months now. When I was hired on, I was told that I would be getting around 20 hours a week, which is what I wanted. I took the job offer, and when our store was being set up, I was getting close to 30 hours. BUT. As soon as the store opened, the "Beauty Advisors" (glorified name for "cashier") were given 4-6 hours a week, and Prestige isn't much better, with only 9-12. That is still going on. ULTA LIES ABOUT ITS HOURS - BEWARE! ...But we have the opportunity to get more hours by constantly being on-call (in case someone calls in, etc.), which is super inconvenient and annoying. At the cash register, we are pressured to make sure EVERY SINGLE PERSON has an Ultamate Rewards account. And we are also pressured to push the ULTA credit card(s). They keep track of everyone's numbers and show them to each employee. Sometimes, they're even left out in range of customers' views. That seems to be the main focus of the stores these days: credit cards and memberships, instead of customer service and respect for employees. Employee discount doesn't work online, which is BS. Probably because they have no way of verifying it's actually you using it (they check your ID in stores). Oh! And every time you leave the building for whatever reason, you must be "checked" by a manager. Because ULTA assumes all employees are thiefs; we are taught that most shrink is due to employees stealing. They make you stand in front of the store, in front of customers, and some managers pat your jackets down while others just quickly glance at your pockets. Either way, it's embarrassing. I never get to leave the store earlier than 10 minutes after I've punched out because of waiting for a manager. Employees also are not allowed to bring purses into their store. We were given clear plastic totes to carry our stuff in with, and any cosmetics you own and plan to bring in to the store must be "green-dotted" (marked with a green paint marker); if they aren't, and you try to leave with an undotted cosmetic item, they will confiscate it and write you up. You must wear all black "dressy" clothes while the store is open. You must wear a minimum of eyeliner, mascara, and a lip product. Hair must be styled to their standards. Nails can be painted, but if they are chipped AT ALL, management will make you remove it. If you break any dress code rules, you will be sent home to fix the "issue" and you will not be allowed to make up the time you lost from your shift. You don't get a lunch break if you work less than 7.5 hours. You get two 15-minute breaks if you work 6-7 hours (but managers don't keep in track of breaks, so I guarantee you will not be given all of your breaks). One 15-minute break for anything less than 6 hours. Manager approval is needed for customer returns greater than a certain amount of money (I believe it's $50+). This can get annoying and frustrating (especially to the customer) because you have to wait for a manager to come to the cash register and approve it. Same with a few other cash register actions. The ear pieces on the walkies they make you wear ARE THE WORST. They hurt your ears, AND THEY ARE NEVER CLEANED. No training for new employees. This has a lot to do with the fact that no one gets any hours. Be prepared to have no idea what you're doing the entire time you're there. You just have to wing it and hope you're doing the right thing.