Sephora reviews

3.7

65% would recommend to a friend

(9,602 total reviews)
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Guillaume Motte

81% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Sephora has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 9,602 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sephora employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Ventas al mayoreo y al menudeo industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

10K reviews
3.0
Nov 14, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- free products from brands (but you don't get to choose which ones. Mostly items you don't want) - free hemming for uniform - initial makeup and skincare training from Sephora University. It's a great training and you can get to travel. After that, good luck in getting any formal training that's not from a brand representative training about their specific products - Videos of the latest products and trends. - Coworkers who become close friends. All of non-management became a friend.

Cons

- have to work almost all day to get 1 hour break - micromanagement like CRAZY! Watched, watched, watched! Hoovering over you, and constantly asking if you're okay or if you have any questions or how things are going, or how much money we have to do in the next hour, or what are you doing, or where are you going or when you're finished with that then do this... - fake-friendly managers - Employees don't get promotional perks that clients get. You would think employees should get the same treatment as customers, and then MORE! And the 20% discount is bad. Anybody can get that at ULTA - getting a TSA search when you leave the store, even if you don't go in the back room. - Employees are second priority. You have to nag. -gratis (free products you can choose from a bin) are given as a reward for good work, but management never gives it out unless you jumped a building in a single leap - pay ranges that are all over the board. People talk and aren't happy.

1.0
Nov 7, 2011

Unbelievably chaotic.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

*Gratis - when products are not expired or damaged *Friendship - genuine cast members *Friendly and sometimes knowledgeable Brand Reps *Free samples *Fun atmosphere - for the most part *Advancement opportunities - if you continuously annoy upper management enough or enjoy being a total kiss ass

Cons

I have been in a few different positions within the company - leadership and cast. There's a sense that upper management, DM, RVP, and up, need to learn a thing or two about economics. There is so much micro-management that the Store Director nor Leadership can even use the bathroom without getting an "okay" first. The whole concept of entrepreneurship is to let store management run their business. They know the areas of concern (at least those that are competent) and opportunities for improvement. After all, they do spend countless hours on excess conference calls and overbearing reports that spit out numbers from a poorly designed and outdated operations system. I've been with the company for almost 4 years and still don't have a clue what the individuals at "home office" actually do. If upper management actually relieved SD's from conference calls that seem to do more harm on the business and allowed more time to focus and run their business, Sephora would be able to earn more profit. Sephora pays WAY below the average for this type of industry. Heavy demands can seem oppressive at times and can create a heavy workload for management and cast. They start to feel undervalued and overworked. There are too many requirements for the little compensation offered. We have to obtain brand knowledge, maintain cleanliness of store, help multiple clients, ensure a fun shopping experience, meet/exceed sales goals, memorize assigned brand sales goals/top products, multi-task between worlds if short staffed, help operations with brand updates/missing product, tolerate a horrible commute, listen to constant criticism - during "observations", "P4D's", "coaching" opportunities, etc. It's enough for anyone to just throw in the towel. It's just sporadic, chaotic chaos. It makes you feel like a screaming banshee. The average for a SD is $61,000? Are you serious?! It's such a shame since this company is known for being a "innovator" in the beauty industry. I really wanted a career within this company. Too bad for them. Sephora stores end up losing a lot of great individuals.

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Glassdoor has 12,211 Sephora reviews submitted anonymously by Sephora employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Sephora is right for you.