Working For A French Company Without Any of The French Perks!
Pros
1. L'Occitane part time sales associates are genuinely kind and enchanting to work with. 2. The products are nice. Although most are chemically ladened and outweigh the "natural" ratios (L'Occitane lists all their ingredients on packages), the products are nice. Nicer than the products are the decorations that the company sends out for the stores. 3. The true L'Occitane customers are a joy to service. They aren't demanding, rude, or nasty. They know your name, you know theirs, and relations are built which is key in this industry. 4. Behind many of the brand's products are a "true story" which can be very romanticized but it's a great marketing strategy. 5. The boutiques don't smell like a "department store" and don't have that feeling that a department store has. L'Occitane has capitalized on the "Provencal transportation" in their free standing stores and it's quite cozy. 6. L'Occitane has a lot of cult-like favorite products that have inspired countless other knockoffs. 7. Co workers (not managers) are supportive, work well as a team, get things done without having to be asked or told, and run the stores hands on, hands down! A manager can be gone for weeks for personal reasons and part time associates will buckle down and take care of business. Very rare in a workplace and even more rare as part time employees.
Cons
1. Every permanent, non-seasonal employee has a key to the store. L'Occitane likes to think that if you have a key, regardless of how little you get paid and how hefty the workload, that "The Key" gives you "empowerment." You are absolutely not empowered when you make a little more than minimum wage, hardly get any hours, are never eligible for any benefits, and no member of management (store, district, regional, etc.) ever says a sincere thank you, not to mention the embarrassing "raises" that they offer. 2. For being such a wealthy company in the cosmetics, bath and body league, this company offers none to very little gratis. During one campaign, L'Occitane gave their employees two sample packets and a sample sized vial of a serum for gratis. Sample packets are already complimentary to customers but to offer it to the employees was a slap in the face. Shows how cheap this company is. 3. There are hardly ever any classes and trainings. When they are available, it's limited to a few hours and it's hosted, taught, and ran by someone who knows very little about how to motivate, teach, and reach out to the staff that are in attendance. The "class" is a waste of time, far for most people to drive to, and provide very little information on the sales floor when engaging with customers. 4. The brand touts itself as being philanthropic, hardly ever using marketing strategies, and saving money by using "recycled" materials. This is one of the most wasteful companies I've ever worked for. In reality, when products are marked out, the company elects to have the managers of the stores themselves toss it out. We should be donating products to various shelters, homes, and local communities in need. Another great waste is the amount of paper used for marketing that is thrown away. This company does not offer any recycling options for their customers and does not care about the environment. For L'Occitane, profit over people is their true strategy of philanthropy. 5. L'Occitane hires people who are extremely unfit for management positions, whether it's a store manager or a regional one. Unfit, unintelligent, disengaged, lacking necessary skills that would benefit the company, the people, and the customer. This company has the saddest, most depraved group of management that I've ever seen and it's no surprise that staff turnover is so high. Management doesn't like to service the customers so they're not great examples for sales associates. 6. L'Occitane is greatly linked to the Chinese market and not every single product is created in France. Many things at L'Occitane have a "Made in China" label on them. 7. L'Occitane gives a lot of gifts with purchase and other free goodies to bribe customers to come back in to shop with them but it's having an adverse effect. Once you begin to give away the goods, the products begin to have very little worth. 8. This brand has no ethics nor culture for they lack identity and admission. What a shame since some of the most amazing people who have been employed with this company have been lost to greater companies and competitors.