To hate Claire’s Accessories

[RumbleStrutt]

Special day for DD so she was allowed small amount of pocket money to spend in Claire’s. As soon as we get in there I immediately want to leave. Most of it is utter tat; ugly, overpriced environmental disaster that will end up in landfill. I can cope with some of the headbands and scrunchies but just hate the in-shop experience.

Manager gleefully reminds us it’s “buy 3 get 3 free” (what kind of economics is that?!). I’m thinking please don’t want 3 things as then I’ll have to stay here whilst you choose another 3 and have 6 items of crap in my house.

Luckily she only wanted 2 that were reasonable choices so we go to pay. Manager says I can do these 3 for 2 so choose something else if you like (very nice of her) so that takes another 5 mins.

Go to pay and asked for email address. I say just print the receipt it’s ok. Manager excitedly tells me all the coupons I’ll get and how her friend got £50 worth of stuff for £17. She meant well but I’m wanting to literally run out of the door at this point.

It’s nice seeing some of the groups of slightly older girls shopping together and having fun but I just can’t stand it and have boycotted Smiggle for a similar reason.

Anyone else?

This too will pass. My two won't be seen dead in there since they were in about Y6.

Yes. Piercing guns can cause a huge amount of trauma to the skin and tissue.

The method used to pierce the skin is much more forceful as you're piercing the skin with the earring (basically forcing it through) as opposed to creating a hole with a needle before putting the jewellery through slowly.

All piercing jewellery should also be longer and bigger than "normal" earrings (not the case in Claires) to account for any swelling and inflammation while the piercing heals. That's why tattoo parlours use longer barred studs with a labret backing to account for the swelling - the butterfly studs used in Claire's can get stuck in the ear as it swells and heals.

Piercings should be done by an experienced, licensed piercer who uses sterile, one-use needles and sterile jewellery in a proper, clean environment, not by a Saturday girl in the shop window of Claire's.

I say all of that as someone who had three lots of lobe piercings done with a gun. I've also got several other piercings that got done with a needle. Yes, all my gun piercings healed fine, but if I had DC, they'd be going to a licensed piercer and getting theirs done with a needle.

Hate it, our local one is so bloody crammed full of tat that every time you turn round you knock into things ! Hate the way they rip kids off with their pocket money it's so pricey. Surprised they haven't folded actually.

What did you expect? You know what the store is like. H&M do better accessories.

I feel sorry for your daughter. She probably was having the time of her life and you're stood around sour faced "literally wanting to run out". I'm sure it wasn't that painful let her spend her spending money.... :(

They pierce babies ears. It’s basically child abuse. Disgusting company, I won’t go near them.

You can't properly sterilise a gun for starters.

This is from a piercer I follow on FB

GUNS FOR EARS ARE BAD. There is no way of putting it. This time of year I ramp up the educational posts because if people aren't told, they simply don't know. People need to know that there is a better much safer way of piercing now. Guns and/or piercing systems are old, out dated and unsafe. No matter how people try and redesign them the bottom line is that the machine is reused without any form of real sterilisation.

REUSED. Over and Over again. Think about that for a second. You go to a pharmacy, female named chain store, jewellers. Thousands of kids before yours have all had their ear on that gun.

The summer holidays haven't even started, and so far I have removed, fixed or given advice on 6 sets of piercings done via a gun

Plenty of info if you google it, here''s one I found quickly

SAY NO TO PIERCING GUNS

You're not supposed to like it, you're an adult.

Having said that I worked there for a while as a student and it was truly awful. That was largely due to the regional/district/something manager who was horrendous. Maybe it was nicer elsewhere.

sunsetsandsandybeaches
the Shop assistant is being paid to do a job, she could have put the gift card voucher number in the computer and that would have worked. No one else was in the shop, it’s not as if she was rushed of her feet. So yes she should have gave a shit!!

Isn't it the poor man's/woman 's Accessorize?

For fucks sake. Another precious ear piercing hijack. I did some of mine with a darning needle when I was a kid. I have used home kits as an adult. I think Claires should rebel against MN and start offering full Bush removal to over 18s. Just to piss off the that's on here.

Totally agree with you! I went there for a toe ring… ended up with three as 3 for 2 but they were massively overpriced and immediately went green! Everything in there is utterly overpriced tat! Thank goodness I have a son who won’t be interested.

The worst infection I ever had was from a posh London piercer with a needle. Tragus. Had to be treated for e coli from shitty fingers

Mississipi71 · Today 15:07
Isn't it the poor man's/woman 's Accessorize?

what a smart arse comment! Snobbish in fact. It’s geared towards children and pre teens.

Why not just say chav. It's what you mean. Nice.

I think you have unrealistic expectations of a young girl working what's probably a shitty Saturday job for minimum wage.

Yes, she could have done things differently but I think expecting her to give a shit about a rubbish job is a bit much!

Any piercing can get infected, but the risks are much higher with guns.

I voted YABU

Simply because its not about You and your preferences
Its your DDs pocket money .

Jeez, that’s gross.

Anyone else want to moan about the upselling and pushy staff at Lush? The rich man's Claires 😀

sunsetsandsandybeaches · T
so get this right? Because you work for the minimum wage, it’s a shite job? Talk about looking down on folk! I work for the minimum wage and it’s not a Shite job thank you very much. Plus it wasn’t a young girl on a Saturday job. She could see my daughter upset she wasn’t getting her teddy. She could have put the code in. Which showed the card was valid. God mumsnet is getting awful these days. Feck of with your superiorness.

I know it's not your thing but its your daughters. Those older girls in groups that you admired, that will be your daughter very shortly. You won't be wanted or needed, Claire's will be a memory. Try and make it a good memory for both of you. My girls who are older were talking recently about their times in Claire's, about how grown up they felt going in and choosing their items with money from grandparents. Yes I would lose the will to live but believe me a lot worse than Claire's will be coming down the line

... I just silently think that humanity has a lot to answer for.

It's a shit job - unpleasant and unsatisfactory. It has shit pay. It doesn't exactly contribute to society but meh.

Other jobs also pay shit minimum wage money - some of them aren't shit jobs as they are enjoyable or interesting. Or they are important jobs (care being the obvious example).

When my DD first went into a Claire's she was about 7. Her eyes widened and her whole face lit up as she looked around at all the sparkle. She loved it, and we bought one tiny keyring, which she treasured for ages. She's now 10 and we go in there every so often as a treat as she still loves it I know it's not ideal, but let them enjoy things while they can. She'll be a teenager soon and will probably get moody and grumpy like I was. I probably won't see her face light up at all then!