Lush staff intimidated/accused my dd and her friends

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Dd 15 had Christmas money/ vouchers to spend in Lush£30. Went in with 2 lovely girls from school and were smelling perfume testers. Approached as per usual by sellers, one girl didn’t turn round to listen and carried on smelling. None had anything in their hands.Seller then told said girl off for being rude and said it looked suspicious. Went over to speak to other staff who collected in a huddle and started watching them. Girls left as felt uncomfortable but returned as wanted to spend their money and also to complain to manager.Told her what happened and that they wanted to make it clear that they weren’t shop lifters. Dd said she was very fake charming and excused their behaviour by saying they get shoplifters in the store. Manager proceeded to follow them round the store pestering asking if they wanted anything in particular/if they had decided what they wanted to buy yet even whilst they were paying for bath bombs. All other staff doing the same and taking in turns to follow the girls with eye signals. Then all followed them to door and watched them leave the shopping centre through window.

Dd is devastated/ mortified and vowing never to return. She used to love Lush. I’m so pissed off as this was a cheer up trip. They work hard at school and my dd doesn’t generally have money to spend in there.Upstairs in her room now really upset. I could bet your bottom dollar I wouldn’t have experienced the same and surely you need good grounds to accuse and intimidate anybody.

Should I complain to head office?

This attitude is as old as the hills unforuntately. I can remember being followed around the Disney store by a member of staff when I was about 15 and shopping with my cousin. Pupils from my school were also banned from our local branch of Woolworths because some kids in our uniform were caught stealing from there.

Its a shitty attitude to have really. YANBU at all.

Mountain... molehill...

I understand discomfort but I can't relate to feeling outraged. ~12yo DD was in local variety store trying on makeup (the samplers) & got some sharp remarks from staff "It's there to buy not just sample!". I was there & whole thing was awkward but DD was just deciding what to buy (spent at least £20 before she left). I can imagine local store gets loads of teens trying & never buying.

YABU for expecting Lush to treat your DD any differently. I hate Lushs practicenof tryingnto sell you their stuff

OP I was heavily pregnant, 17 with my hair in bunches and braces on my teeth, walking round a well known shop when I realised I was being watched by store detective. I knew who she was as I knew people who worked there. I was obviously an unmarried wild teenager in her view, in fact I was married doing a responsible job and looking to spend money. I had time to kill so a led her a merry dance round the store, picking things up, putting them down and on to another display. I didn't spend any money and turned round and said "Bye" to her before I left.

Tell your DD that although it is annoying in time it will stop, I'd probably change being in my 60s and respectable looking to be that dodgy looking 17 year old.

On a serious note I'd put it on facebook or twitter. I did that when I got harassed at a wellknown supermarket petrol station where you could pay at the pump, I've now got to the age where they assume I'm incapable of doing something so technically difficult. I got an apology and a voucher for £25.

I hope she is OK.

I understand why they might keep a discreet eye on that age group but to specifically target and make them feel self-conscious is horrible and unnecessary. Surely it will put off their main customers (teen girls)! The fact they have got a shop-lifting problem is not your daughter's problem and they can't treat everyone like a shop-lifter if they want to make their over-priced smelly stores attractive to their core demographic. YANBU.

Forgot to say I was 17 and heavily pregnant, think she imagined I'd got half the stock up my jumper!

Give it 6 weeks and all the staff will have left so she can go back!

In seriousness they are awful - ethically, service wise, overpriced compared to their past.

@OkMaybeNot I also used to get followed around by a security guard when I used to live close by a specific Boots. I used to love winding him up and dart around the shop looking suspicious

I am not familiar with Lush but they sound horrendous if their customer service means following people around and pouncing.

As well as treating your daughter and her friends as suspicious I would complain about their sales technique.

I'm sorry she has had such a bad experience and hope she'll soon be over it.

Don't patronise Lush, there are other manufacturers of similar products which are just as good and don't give hassle.

That’s really not on. I have worked for Lush and I know that’s absolutely not how their customer service should be. I would write to Head Office, explain what’s happened and which store, and I am sure they will respond helpfully.

how does that excuse the unwarranted rudeness of the initial interaction?

You mean by the girl who flatly ignored the staff member?

Email head office As the rude comment, overt following is not on. but tbh it’s part of life. There are shoplifters, in Superdrug/lush etc it’s likely the shoplifters are teenage girls, especially groups of girls. So your dd is going to be targeted by security in general She’s going to have to learn to ignore.

asking if they wanted anything in particular/if they had decided what they wanted to buy yet even whilst they were paying for bath bombs

I find it hard to believe that whilst you dd was actually at the till paying for items that the staff were asking if they wanted to buy anything. it doesn't make sense and would be very odd.

I hate Lush. I would never set foot in one. Over-priced, rubbish and staff who seem to think working there makes them one upon many of their customers. I don't understand why anyone rates the stuff- it's a bit King's New Clothes.

She didn’t ask to be harassed. It’s rammed in there and probably couldn’t turn round if she tried. Why shouldn’t she carry on shopping in peace. Perfumes are at the back they probably fielded off 5 other similar sellers to get there.

Unfortunately, YABU. It’s their job to minimise loss through theft.

Yes still all staff still doing the same whilst they were paying. The whole thing was odd, weird and uncalled for. Doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

So basically if you’re a girl and go shopping with friends you can be treated like shit

According to some posters on here, yes.

No. If you work in a shop, you need some reasonable suspicion, evidence would be even better.

I didn't know, because I never go into Lush, that company policy is to bug customers. I certainly won't go in there now I know that's their policy.

I think it would be more than acceptable for your daughter to write to them to complain on both counts - ie LEAVE CUSTOMERS ALONE as well as pointing out that not all teens are shoplifters.

Also, fake charm is patronising and unpleasant to deal with.

I don't know if their staff are badly treated by management but there are plenty of other shops they could work in, if so.

Just a random question, how were they smelling things if they had nothing in their hands...? Did they have their hands behind their backs bent over sniffing things?

Also seems a bit odd that a member of staff would accuse someone of being rude just because she didn't look round. Because otherwise they'd accuse about 75% of their customers of being rude. I think there may be a little more to the whole story than what has been said / perceived.

But having said that, most retail staff are understandably suspicious of groups of girls as they are pretty much the biggest shoplifters. If they have only been followed in one shop then that's a bigger surprise than this episode to be honest!

YANBU OP, I remember being followed around all the time when my DCS were in a pram/pushchair and it made me feel like shit. It never happened when DH was with me or on the rare occasion I could go out without DCs in tow. I understand they have to protect thier stock but they should be more descrite, high street stores really can't afford to loose custom, if shopping is unpleasant, people will just go online.

So basically if you’re a girl and go shopping with friends you can be treated like shit

In Lush? Yes. Not only girls either, it amazes me how much shit people put up with in their stores.

Their customer service is utterly appalling, designed to harrass people into purchasing by manipulative techniques including telling people who don't comply that they are rude.

What I would do in your complaint is to make it clear that you are complaining about Lush's policies and how they require staff to treat customers; it is the company who train people to use intimidatory techniques.

My particular bug bears were the way they followed children around to use pester power to get sales, also the way they plastered customers with their cosmetics without asking first including one child with visible ezcema.

Unfortunately, YABU. It’s their job to minimise loss through theft

The OP is not being U and being hassled by shop assistants in the name of preventing theft is not acceptable without good reason. Simply being a teenage girl is not good reason.

You mean by the girl who flatly ignored the staff member?
I do not, @SoupDragon, as you well know.

There were 3 in the group, it would have been daft for all 3 to turn round & acknowledge the assistant's overtures. And I didn't perceive any "flatly ignored" going on - merely a disinclination to turn around & engage.

The assistant was coming on as if she were a teacher who'd caught them hanging out behind the bikesheds. It's really not within the remit of any customer facing role to unwarrantedly accuse customers of being rude or looking suspicious. All the rudeness was on the part of the staff here.

Used to work at Lush many moons ago, still loved them for years, then liked, now despise. So righton, fake and OTT now not to mention Mark Constintine's wankery. Thankfully DD grew out of this shop and it's products by 5 years old

I’d definitely complain