Poor hair advice in drugstore experiences

[joflakes]

I was in a drugstore today looking for semi-permanent hair dyes. I asked someone who worked there if the small section I could see in front of me was the only section of semi-permanent hair dye they had. She gestured to the huge amount of other dyes and said 'even though they say permanent they're just the same as semi-permanent'.

shudder:

If I'd bought a permanent instead of a semi-permanent dye based on her supposedly expert advice I'd have been really annoyed! They're totally different!

Has anyone else had a similarly bad experience in a store?

[jeanniet]

People who work in stores are just employees; they're not experts. I work in tortoise rescue quite a bit, and you would not believe the crap information people get from pet stores--it's to the point where I just tell people that if a pet store employee told them to do it, don't. It's always a good idea to do your research first so you don't get misled. Salons are sometimes a better option for information, but not always, so be careful.

[joflakes]

People who work in stores are just employees; they're not experts. I work in tortoise rescue quite a bit, and you would not believe the crap information people get from pet stores--it's to the point where I just tell people that if a pet store employee told them to do it, don't. It's always a good idea to do your research first so you don't get misled. Salons are sometimes a better option for information, but not always, so be careful.

I know, but this was so basic! I've never worked in a drugstore and I know the difference. I had done research before fortunately!

I can imagine...it's shocking to think that people give out advice that could harm or hinder an animal.

[spidermom]

For some people, semi-permanent color unexpectedly becomes permanent, so maybe that was her experience.

[joflakes]

For some people, semi-permanent color unexpectedly becomes permanent, so maybe that was her experience.

Hmm, maybe! Or the reverse - a permanent washed out as a semi would.

Still...not good! I could have permanently scarred my hair :p

[pepperminttea]

People who work in stores are just employees; they're not experts. I work in tortoise rescue quite a bit, and you would not believe the crap information people get from pet stores--it's to the point where I just tell people that if a pet store employee told them to do it, don't. It's always a good idea to do your research first so you don't get misled. Salons are sometimes a better option for information, but not always, so be careful.

I feel your pain, but with hamsters. Pet stores always keep them in such tiny cages, and then they encourage people to buy similarly tiny cages (some smaller than your average shoebox) that the animal will often have to live in for the rest of the life. :( It makes me so angry.

[ktani]

I was in a drugstore today looking for semi-permanent hair dyes. I asked someone who worked there if the small section I could see in front of me was the only section of semi-permanent hair dye they had. She gestured to the huge amount of other dyes and said 'even though they say permanent they're just the same as semi-permanent'.

shudder:

If I'd bought a permanent instead of a semi-permanent dye based on her supposedly expert advice I'd have been really annoyed! They're totally different!

Has anyone else had a similarly bad experience in a store?


Some emplyees on cosmetics counters are well trained and others not so much. I am sure it must have been a frustrating experience you may want to talk to management about.

It would increase their business if their employees were trained on the topics they are asked about. That is where the problem is with management. You would be helping them understand this simple truth.

I usually drugstore shop the larger chains and the counter help there is trained and knowledgeable.

[heidi w.]

Huh! Someone's expecting expert hair advice from a drug store? Really? The box is s'posed to explain everything, I thought.

WOW. I would never got to a drugstore anticipating that single person in the joint knows squat about anything hair related. I can read.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Some emplyees on cosmetics counters are well trained and others not so much. I am sure it must have been a frustrating experience you may want to talk to management about.

It would increase their business if their employees were trained on the topics they are asked about. That is where the problem is with management. You would be helping them understand this simple truth.

I usually drugstore shop the larger chains and the counter help there is trained and knowledgeable.

Headquarters and managers know nothing about all this kind of thing, even. They just order what the business tells them to carry in inventory. That's just the way it is.

heidi w.

[joflakes]

Some emplyees on cosmetics counters are well trained and others not so much. I am sure it must have been a frustrating experience you may want to talk to management about.

It would increase their business if their employees were trained on the topics they are asked about. That is where the problem is with management. You would be helping them understand this simple truth.

I usually drugstore shop the larger chains and the counter help there is trained and knowledgeable.

I doubt I'll mention it to the manager. It's just a bit poor when someone doesn't know something so basic.


Huh! Someone's expecting expert hair advice from a drug store? Really? The box is s'posed to explain everything, I thought.

WOW. I would never got to a drugstore anticipating that single person in the joint knows squat about anything hair related. I can read.

heidi w.

Well, I wasn't expecting EXPERT advice, merely the ability for the employee to know what the difference between permanent and semi-permanent hair dye is. When there around about 500 boxes of hair dye in store, it is easier for me to ask someone who works in that department to indicate which type of dye is where rather than read each one...which I will do if I see a specific one I was interested in, of course!

To me it is like going into a supermarket and asking for the chicken section and being told that pork is almost the same! :lol:

[ktani]

Headquarters and managers know nothing about all this kind of thing, even. They just order what the business tells them to carry in inventory. That's just the way it is.

heidi w.

Actually they do. They do not do the training. They arrange it. Cosmetic companies have reps (representatives), who can train and give needed information. It is done but not everywhere of course. The information is not a replacement for hair colour hotlines for example or calling a hair colour company directly and getting customer service for very specific questions. The quality of information, depends on how well those reps are trained.

Prior to the internet, I called cosmetic companies and corresponded with them by mail, in addition to having worked in the wholesale beauty industry and being given information to pass onto hairstylists by company reps. It is done.

ETA: http://www.pito.org.nz/index.cfm/careers_information/pharmacy_assistants.html
"Also, cosmetic houses and most pharmaceutical companies provide short training courses for pharmacy staff."

[Viola88]

Employees should be free to say "I don't know" without repercussions from management instead of guessing.

[Amber_Maiden]

Oh god. What an idiot. That was beyond stupid of that person to tell you that. If you work at a drugstore you should know things... GAH!

Hmm... Yes. I have had a DR tell me that shampoo and conditioner contained no chemicals, and that the allergic reaction I was having was something I must have ate. Even though the rash was on my scalp, and it only appeared after I started sing the shampoo/conditioner, and only got worse when I used it. They wanted me to take pills to cover up the problem, and cut out a variety of things I couldn't cut out of my diet (I'm a gluten free vegan. I'd die without soy ;) ). I ignored them, stopped using the shampoo and conditioner, and the rash went away. And that's how I found out I was allergic to SLS.

[woolyleprechaun]

LOL. This is why I do absolutely NOTHING to the hairiness unless Ive checked it out here first :) In the past I have had haircare advice from a girl who had fried all her hair off with bleach and chemical straightening, had an inch of fuzz left to which she had attatched equaly fried extensions, and had somehow melted off her eyebrows. Needless to say I smiled and nodded, then ran very fast :)

[ktani]

I once called a cosmetic company to get the pH of one of their products. The representative in customer service did not know what pH is or anything about it.
I felt bad for her but it was her lack of training not she who was to blame. I did get the the information in the end but it can be bad and badly handled. She was a nice young woman who was ill prepared for her job and that to me was not her fault.

[aisha.christine]

I've had people in specialized stores give me similar "advice."

I asked a girl at Sally's where the deposit only dyes were, and she directed me to a heavy-lift dye for dark hair. When I told her this wasn't what I was looking for, she said she had assumed that is what I wanted because I had dark hair. Why would someone make that connection without checking with the customer first??
A more appropriate response on her part would have been, "Here are our deposit only dyes, but if you are looking to get your hair this certain shade, I suggest *insert item*"
I just wanted to tone my hair, not change the color. GAH.

As much as I empathize with your situation, they do think they are just doing their job. That kind of stuff isn't as important to them as it is to us, usually. It's unfortunate, but most often true.

[Littlewing13]

Well they are just the same... if you know what you're doing. Most colours are just the colours. Its the peroxide that changes it. You can use a permanent colour & mix it with 1.9% peroxide, but the diy colours usually only contain the peroxide corresponding to what it is designed for (most darker colours contain 6% peroxide). But in theory you could buy 1.9% & mix the colour cream with that. Or even water if your hair is quite porous.

But I do think that she didnt know what she was talking about if she couldn't explain it to you. As far as hairdressers knowing more... Some do, some dont. Some do their own research & some just barely pass their course & then forget half of what their taught.

Also lots of what I was taught was the exact opposite to what I've found on here. You have to remember that the hairdressing industry is geared around making more money, and that means encouraging new styles, new colours, changing all the time. Usually this means their clients have shorter hair, so they aren't used to dealing with nor taught about really long hair care. Most people (not us LHC) don't care if its a semi or a permanent, long as they get their change.

[lovinglocks]

Some people's hair won't keep colour and even permanent will fade right out. I just figure she must not really care about really helping the customer.

[PixxieStix]

I feel your pain, but with hamsters. Pet stores always keep them in such tiny cages, and then they encourage people to buy similarly tiny cages (some smaller than your average shoebox) that the animal will often have to live in for the rest of the life. :( It makes me so angry.

I worked in the pet care department of a pet store for over two years, and the misinformation customers would come in with just about boggled my mind! They received incorrect information from so many other places that when I took time to explain cage size requirements (birds, fish, hamsters, turtles, you name it!), REQUIRED cleaning maintenance, proper varied diets, etc., people would look at me like I was crazy. I prided myself on my ability to talk un-qualified pet parents out of purchasing certain animals, and thankfully worked somewhere where I was given permission to refuse to sell a pet to someone who was not willing to take care of it properly. Alright, end of tangent.

But yeah, I had a similiar experience at Sally's once, when I went to purchase the right stuff to bleach my hair prior to doing my henna, and the girl told me that the henna would melt my hair, I assured her it wouldn't, and then she told me that they had everything I'd need to "fix" my hair a few days from now after my henna experiment failed. *eye twitch* If I want professional advice, I make sure to go to a professional, people in most stores kind of "just work there".

[AngryVikingGirl]

If I want professional advice, I make sure to go to a professional, people in most stores kind of "just work there".
Exactly. People working in these places (and many other e.g. hair salons) are rarely doing it out of passion, I think. They usually learn these professions because their marks are not good enough for something else. It shows on their attitude. It isn't a professional challenge to serve the customers perfectly, to do wonders. It's just something they get paid for.
Of course, there are people who do these jobs out of passion, I had a period when I wanted be a hair stylist too, actually - but it's common in certain areas that it's not their dream job.

[excentricat]

I feel your pain, but with hamsters. Pet stores always keep them in such tiny cages, and then they encourage people to buy similarly tiny cages (some smaller than your average shoebox) that the animal will often have to live in for the rest of the life. :( It makes me so angry.

Just try the fish department. Last time I was there I made them take the starfish out of the tank with the Harlequin shrimp that was eating it. It was a tiny shrimp, so they couldn't see big chunks coming off, and they just had no idea that it would do that. It pains me to think all the invertebrates are going home with someone basically just to be killed, but I can at least stop it from happening in front of my eyes.

[holothuroidea]

People responsible for stocking merch should know, essentially, what goes where. Permanent dyes go here, semi-permanent dyes go here.

In this case, they probably didn't stock any semi-permanent dyes. Her answer should have been, "We don't have any, sorry."

It was a really stupid thing for her to say. I would have corrected her, I'm a jerk like that sometimes.

[holothuroidea]

I worked in a big box pet store when I was in high school. Don't ever buy an animal, even a fish, from one of those.

In fact, if you can avoid it don't shop there at all if you care about animals.

[Elenna]

Are the petstore animal breeders that bad? I've known several people who brought "doggies in the window" and ended up with really crazy animals. I'd do any research on the breeder and about the breed.

[PixxieStix]

Are the petstore animal breeders that bad? I've known several people who brought "doggies in the window" and ended up with really crazy animals. I'd do any research on the breeder and about the breed.

Yes, yes they can be, and for large chain stores, usually are. And you should see what those animals arrive in! There were times I wanted to throttle the deliver guys and the breeders.

[Johanna]

I'd rather tell someone I was unsure than guess and give them bad advice. I was a shelf stocker at a supermarket for a little while. I was stocking things in the toiletry aisle when some came up to me asking for advice for cream on a rash...and got annoyed when I said I couldn't help with that. (It wasn't a regular type rash like eczema or a heat rash, more of a wtf is that, go see a doctor now!) It's a supermarket not a pharmacy/drug store.

Any time I go into a store and they aren't a certified specialist, I always take advice with a grain of salt.

[Johanna]

Are the petstore animal breeders that bad? I've known several people who brought "doggies in the window" and ended up with really crazy animals. I'd do any research on the breeder and about the breed.

When I got my pets I avoided the pet stores and the backyard breeders. I got mine from the RSPCA. That way these been temperment checked, desexed, wormed, had their shots. Best kitties ever :D

[holothuroidea]

Yes, yes they can be, and for large chain stores, usually are. And you should see what those animals arrive in! There were times I wanted to throttle the deliver guys and the breeders.

If it had happened to me now, I would have quit as soon as I discovered how the animals got to the store. But I was very young and I needed my job.

Yes, it is that bad.

[caadam]

When it comes to retail, you really have to step back and look at things with an impartial view.

I've been in retail for six years (though not recently since I've been in college), and that might not seem like a long time for some people, but it's long enough to know that sometimes when an employee doesn't give the best advice, it might not always be their fault.

I really think it could be one of two things: Either this employee is being unethical by giving unsound advice rather than offering to find a manager to answer the question, or the employee was encouraged by management to always have some kind of answer, to never leave the customer hanging. And yeah, some stores can be that way.

Some stores expect their employees to always have an answer, to always be on top of their game. When really, it's only hurting business; it's giving a false impression of good customer service by teaching floor employees to act like they know what they're talking about. Which sucks for them when they run into a customer like yourself who knows exactly what you're looking for.

I've worked under some pretty crappy management, and I've been scolded a few times for actually telling a customer, "I don't know the answer, but let me find the department manager for you." Yeah, I've been scolded for that, you know why? Because after I did that, God forbid, I went to go get a manager to help the customer out. I left the customer "hanging." lol

It's stupid, but then that's crappy management for ya. You have to really observe both situations and discern what's happening.

But I would say that in either situation, always go to management. It's their problem in the end—they're the ones who need to be assertive and train their workers to do their jobs in an ethical and efficient manner. Because if you stand there and scold the employee, you're either going to just scare them, or irritate them into defying you. lol That's management's job. :D And they're paid for it.

[Babyjolie]

Huh! Someone's expecting expert hair advice from a drug store? Really? The box is s'posed to explain everything, I thought.

WOW. I would never got to a drugstore anticipating that single person in the joint knows squat about anything hair related. I can read.

heidi w.

Haha! I agree! On another note.. I also don't take hair advice from anyone who doesn't have beautiful/long hair. It just makes sense to me.

[sfgirl]

I get frustrated like this with makeup at ulta. I honestly refuse to buy make up anymore where the employees aren't professionals. :/
Like "oh no you're pale, that means you have pink undertones"
No, I have yellow undertones but I'm still pale. Gah, some places.

[joflakes]

People responsible for stocking merch should know, essentially, what goes where. Permanent dyes go here, semi-permanent dyes go here.

In this case, they probably didn't stock any semi-permanent dyes. Her answer should have been, "We don't have any, sorry."

It was a really stupid thing for her to say. I would have corrected her, I'm a jerk like that sometimes.

Exactly my point! She was even unloading stock at the time.


I'd rather tell someone I was unsure than guess and give them bad advice. I was a shelf stocker at a supermarket for a little while. I was stocking things in the toiletry aisle when some came up to me asking for advice for cream on a rash...and got annoyed when I said I couldn't help with that. (It wasn't a regular type rash like eczema or a heat rash, more of a wtf is that, go see a doctor now!) It's a supermarket not a pharmacy/drug store.

Any time I go into a store and they aren't a certified specialist, I always take advice with a grain of salt.

Yep. I know, I worked in a store before and I was the same. If I don't know, I can't tell you!


When it comes to retail, you really have to step back and look at things with an impartial view.

I've been in retail for six years (though not recently since I've been in college), and that might not seem like a long time for some people, but it's long enough to know that sometimes when an employee doesn't give the best advice, it might not always be their fault.

I really think it could be one of two things: Either this employee is being unethical by giving unsound advice rather than offering to find a manager to answer the question, or the employee was encouraged by management to always have some kind of answer, to never leave the customer hanging. And yeah, some stores can be that way.

Some stores expect their employees to always have an answer, to always be on top of their game. When really, it's only hurting business; it's giving a false impression of good customer service by teaching floor employees to act like they know what they're talking about. Which sucks for them when they run into a customer like yourself who knows exactly what you're looking for.

I've worked under some pretty crappy management, and I've been scolded a few times for actually telling a customer, "I don't know the answer, but let me find the department manager for you." Yeah, I've been scolded for that, you know why? Because after I did that, God forbid, I went to go get a manager to help the customer out. I left the customer "hanging." lol

It's stupid, but then that's crappy management for ya. You have to really observe both situations and discern what's happening.

But I would say that in either situation, always go to management. It's their problem in the end—they're the ones who need to be assertive and train their workers to do their jobs in an ethical and efficient manner. Because if you stand there and scold the employee, you're either going to just scare them, or irritate them into defying you. lol That's management's job. :D And they're paid for it.

That makes sense. I have worked in retail before so I know how meh management can be!


I get frustrated like this with makeup at ulta. I honestly refuse to buy make up anymore where the employees aren't professionals. :/
Like "oh no you're pale, that means you have pink undertones"
No, I have yellow undertones but I'm still pale. Gah, some places.

Haha...I've never needed help with make up before but that does sound a bit annoying. On the upside you seem to know your stuff! :)

[Littlewing13]

Some people's hair won't keep colour and even permanent will fade right out. I just figure she must not really care about really helping the customer.

Its because of the peroxide. A certain strength will open the hair shaft just enough to let colour penetrate, too much will also allow the colour to escape again. Same with semis, if it doesn't open the hair shaft enough then the colour will only sit on the outside, & will wash away after so many shampoos.