I want moisturizer, not a lecture, please.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

RecoveringKinkoid: I just remembered that my sister once applied for a job at our local Body Shop, but she was turned right off it by how aggressive and pushy they wanted their sales staff to be.

Well, now, they did decend on me when I entered, and greeted me and offered help, but I didnt feel like they made pains of themselves. It seemed that they all knew that the one girl was helping me and they didn.t all need to pounce on me, like they do in TBS. She offered help, answered some questions, and gave me the space to look around on my own in peace. She was actually quite helpful, as I'd never seen products like theirs before and frankly would not have known what to do with them at first.

They were friendly, and I was in a social mood anyways, so the experience was actually quite fun for me.

[Ironclad Alibi]

RecoveringKinkoid: I just remembered that my sister once applied for a job at our local Body Shop, but she was turned right off it by how aggressive and pushy they wanted their sales staff to be.

When I read this I was wondering why an auto repair shop would have an aggressive and pushy sales staff?!?!? Then I realized that Body Shop referred to the store in the mall.

[Flying Grype]

Lady Legira, yeah, I do know at least a couple of people who have that reaction to Lush.

RecoveringKinkoid: I just remembered that my sister once applied for a job at our local Body Shop, but she was turned right off it by how aggressive and pushy they wanted their sales staff to be.

[Lady Legira]

The women was idiot and will never encourage a second visit if she keeps going on like that.

That said, I would like to be able to walk into Lush. I can barely walk past on the street because the scents from the shop are so intense which sets my asthma off. *sigh* So I wont buy the products online because they may well have the same effect at home.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

The Body Shop ran me out of the store with their constant "greeting" me. They greet you in Lush, too, but they also are willing to leave you alone to explore and shop. They don't force themselves on you.

I am not in love with their shampoo bars. The one I have is okay, but if I use it twice in a row, my hair is kind of limp. I think I have too much hair to get the shampoo in thorougly or something, because it does not suds much and I can't tell how much is in there.

Here's my take on the bubble bars and bath bombs: I used one every day, sometimes more than once for a week in Vegas. I had no problems. I basically used myself as a test subject. I then bought one for my newphew, who had no problems. And my daughter, who at some point during the following week, after using it a lot, developed a slight burning in her girl parts that went away without incident after rinsing off the bubbles. (My husband is a little heavy handed putting bubbles in, and he used it a lot drawing her bath. And she's four. So too much suds to often on baby skin=bad idea.)

[Flying Grype]

Since everyone is ranting and raving here, can I get a comparison to The Body Shop?

The Body Shop is now owned by Clairol or some other big evil cosmetic empire, and it's just the corner of their business that catches 'green' shoppers who won't buy the rest of their animal-tested and unethically-manufactured products. I think Lush is actually a more ethical company, like TBS used to be.

Ingredients-wise they're probably on par with each other, with some natural ingredients and some unpronounceable synthetics. I am not sure if they guarantee that everything will be veg*n.

Lush specializes in soap, shampoo, skin care, and bath products, whereas TBS branched out into perfumes and cosmetics as well. I have never had a problem with either brand in terms of scent sensitivity or skin irritation, whereas the big drugstore brands do bother me on both counts. I rarely buy soap at Lush because it's so expensive, and there are other local brands that are cheaper and better on my skin, but I love the solid shampoo bars. One bar costs $7-12 CAD and lasts me about six months, and if you buy two you get a free can to store it in.

My experience with Lush staff is that they're attentive to the point of being slightly annoying when I go into the shop already knowing what I want. But they're not as pushy as TBS staff.

[blas]

I understand that everyone has their days, but I mean, you have to be dealing with something beyond just normally a bad day if you are telling customers that they can be arrested for not signing their card.

I mean, that kind of lecture and attitude goes beyond a bad day. That's either a huge power trip, or someone who really needs out of customer service.

[Kristev]

Maybe she was just having a bad day. Suppose her husband/boyfriend/lover or family member is gravely ill? Or something terrible has happened.

I say try again, and if she's still hostile, then complain.

[sixums]

To Sixums: This wouldn't have happened to be at the Rockingham Mall, yeah? I thought they had opened that location in September. Then again I've not been to that mall in several ages.

...

Does Lush happen to make unscented or very, VERY lightly fragranced soaps? Maybe a shot in the dark here.

It was. They could have been, I go to uni in Maine so I haven't been to Rockingham in a looong time. It only looked like they opened very recently because the two girls had only about half the number of products on the shelves than I would have thought, and there was boxes of bathbombs that they were stocking as people were roaming the store. I could be wrong, just an observation on my part.

That is possibly the only complaint I would have about them. If you have several of their products grouped together the smell can be pretty overpowering. The boyfriend and I had to roll down the windows because his soap mixed with a few other things was giving me a headache while driving. They make a few unscented body lotions I believe, I'm not sure about soaps. Snow Fairy (shower gel) is very strong when I use it in the shower, but afterwards the scent is very light. Happy Hippie is the same way, although after the shower I can barely smell it at all. Not sure about their bar soaps because I haven't used them (just Ice Blue, which is strong).

I've never seen anyone working at lush who acted like that. at every lush i've been to (australia, 3 in Japan, hong kong, hawaii & canada) they've always been super friendly.

That's why I was so shocked and kind of upset. Every store I've been in has held a certain excellence of customer service that I hold high regards for. Hell, I have a friend that works at a store in RI and they were adamant about attitude when interviewing her.

Re: the debit/pin thing, yes, you don't need to sign most debit things, but she was running my card as credit. The back of my card says 'not valid unless signed' but no one's ever raised much of a fuss beyond politely asking for my ID. She was way over the top, IMO.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I know, right? I went to Lush A LOT when I was in Vegas, because I was alone a lot, due to the husband being involved in the Sharepoint convention all week. I was left to my own ends most days, and frankly, the girls (and the couple of guys) that worked in the Lush store were so friendly and nice, it was almost like a party in the place.

I mean, I didn't just go in there to hang out, I bought stuff every time, but it was a fun place to linger a bit with other women and enjoy a little of the fun atmosphere and their nice company. I even commented, "Ya'll always seem so friendly and happy in this place. Is it a nice place to work?" And they were all like "Oh, yeah, we like it here, it's a laid back place to work." And they seemed to mean it.

Heck, I dunno if they are all like that, but that store was. Maybe the clerk was having a terrible day. Who knows what's going on with people.

[PepperElf]

OMG wtf?

I would suggest contacting lush about her.

I've never seen anyone working at lush who acted like that. at every lush i've been to (australia, 3 in Japan, hong kong, hawaii & canada) they've always been super friendly.

Perhaps if you contact the company they'll set her straight in how to treat customers.

[Broomjockey]

On topic:

...That's not on topic...

they'd be able to charge big penalty fees again.

Unlikely, since if you report the card stolen, you're liable for something like $50 tops.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't think they have unscented products. But I will give you a hint...you won't need the entire thing for a bath. If you have a bath bomb, bust it up into chunks inside a bag and just use a bit. Same with a bubble bar. Just slice off a chunk. They say use a third, but you won't even need that much. This stuff is strong.

[ralerin]

To Sixums: This wouldn't have happened to be at the Rockingham Mall, yeah? I thought they had opened that location in September. Then again I've not been to that mall in several ages.

On topic: Boyfriend got me a Lush bar for Christmas two years ago. While it was nice and moisturizing and all, I didn't like it for 2 reasons: 1. He got me the red "Rockstar" bar, which stained my tub; and 2. The super damn strong scent. I used it as a closet freshener for at least a year before the smell got down enough so I could use it without suffering an allergy attack by being within 10 feet of it.

Does Lush happen to make unscented or very, VERY lightly fragranced soaps? Maybe a shot in the dark here.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I have never heard of Lush, but now I feel a need to track it down.

That cashier was waaaaay outta line. geeeesh.

I just visited the Lush UK site . . . and now I'm wanting to check it out more. But I can't seem to find out where their stores are in the US or if there's one close to me (Greensboro NC, to be exact).

Those shower jellies sure sound scrumptious . . .

Edit: Erm, nevermind. Just ran another Google search. Closest US store seems to be in Raleigh - 90 minutes away.

At least I can order online though and not have to worry about getting dressed and leaving the house.