Boots (Chemist) why are they so useless with testers?

[PollyPerky]

I rarely if ever buy 'drug store' make up but now and then have a look. No matter which Boots I am in- my local medium sized one or a big one in a city- there are rarely the full range of testers. Today I looked at Rimmel, NYX, Soap & Glory, and Natural Collection, before giving up. The rays of testers for eye shadow, blusher, lippy and foundation were all empty or almost empty.

Who is supposed to sort these in stores? Merchandisers, store staff or who? And why are they not there - do people pinch them?

I see people nicking them all the time.

Good god East people must be desperate to steal a tester!!!

I used to work for Boots - people stole them or otherwise ruined them (smashed eyeshadows, smushed up lipsticks etc) - but sometimes we just didn't get sent any for no apparent reason.
Spoke to a security guard in Primark once told me that people steal single pairs of pants, single kit is, bobbles etc out of multipacks rather than spend a pound on the whole pack. Basically, some people will steal anything.

Why would anyone steal a tester? Shouldn't the staff have them replaced when they find that they were missing in the first place?

In the past two days at the shop I work in I have discovered several thefts/ substitutions.

Paw Patrol slippers- 1 size 8, 1 size 9 left on a hanger with the opposites missing. Pack of 7 bodysuits, 3 left after someone decided to help themselves. Socks, numerous packs of five short one pair. Underpants, someone deciding to play pick and mix between styles: 1 of each of size medium removed from styles one and 2, 2 of style C thrown on the shelf with packaging not in evidence anywhere. Not to mention numerous chocolate bar wrappers and a toffifee box stuffed in between clothing.

I could go on for hours. People are thieving twatheads.

Put if you steal a tester, why not steal the real thing? I don't understand this.

A tester is filthy- people have used it on their hands and some people even use the lippy testers on their lips. Why would anyone nick those?

I think Boots is hopeless. Clearly, the testers are never checked, or replaced (even though the product is in stock, above the tester on the shelf) and often the stock is low anyway (compared to Superdrug.) And the stock is often in the wrong place on the stand - ie shades all mixed up and never in line with the testers (if there are any.)

I know this is 'drug store' make up but it never used to be like this.

People will indeed steal anything.

In the shop I work someone recently opened a box of sandwich bags and pulled a couple out.

Druggies I'm guessing but why not take the whole box?

but why would you steal an open pan of blusher or eye shadow and not a new box of it?

My local Boots is the same. It's not something I've noticed in other stores though, just Boots.

The new ones are often security tagged - even brands like Maybelline have one in the wrapping of their mascara.

Surely thats because Boots is popular, has a large selection of products, and its full of teenagers (and others) at the weekend testing out all the products and promptly nicking all the newly replaced testers. Its the same in our local large Superdrug.

The testers in our Kiko store are firmly glued down, but still some get nicked but its a very small store so not as easy to get away with.

I wouldn't go so far to say that Boots is hopeless its just that as soon as they replace a tester it will get nicked (because its new) so unless they have someone on guard at every aisle its impossible to keep up with replacements.

There are no security tags on L'Oreal, Rimmel. NYX, Soap & Glory lippies, etc etc. Sorry but I still don't get why they would nick testers unless in their perverted minds they think it's not stealing because it's a tester - so therefore it's 'free' to help yourself to.

Why would people steal a tester over the real thing? It's obvious: they're not tagged, no plastic wrapping and if you're caught, easy to pass off as your own.

polly I'm guessing you didn't spend much time as a teenage girl hanging out with other teenage girls, this is like a rite of passage on a Saturday afternoon. Hence you calling them 'perverted' unless of course you are trolling.

People on my local fb selling page are constantly flogging make up and perfume with ‘tester’ clearly visible on it. No one ever calls them on it.

An issue this causes in my local Boots is that people open the plastic wrappers or seals on the real products to use those as testers and it's not just one that will be opened but several. On occasions I've gone to buy something and not been able to find an unopened one on the display.

I used to work for Boots and testers were stolen all the time.

I always assumed people thought they 'didn't matter' as they weren't real stock. Of course, real stock could be being stolen as well but that wouldn't be so obvious.

You can't just replace the tester from stock though, it doesn't work like that, not least because they are often different to fit in the pressed displays or have a special dispenser or something.

Tantpoke I am not calling teenage girls who shop 'perverted'. How on earth did you get to that conclusion?

By 'perverted' I meant their odd moral code whereby it's ok to steal a tester because it's there 'freely to sample it' but not free to take away for your own use at home.

FWIW I used it shop in Woollies on a Saturday when I bought Miners and Outdoor Girl. It was on display on the counter with an asst looking at us from the other side!

Umm I have never stolen a tester but I have paid for them! There is a problem at the till so the assistant get the code from another make up item, I pay, get it home and it says TESTER. This has happend about three times, I kid you not!

People do steal them, they seem to think it doesn't count as theft!
The manufacturers only send in a certain amount of testers. Staff are not allowed to replace testers with an actual product.

There are testers missing from my local Boots as well.

Another thing is that there are no MIRRORS anywhere to test the testers. Are you meant to test everything on the back of your hand?
I test lipstick on my hand for reasons of hygiene but what about foundation, concealer, blusher and eye shadow? I'd like to try them on my face to see what it looks like for real. Also Boots do not provide tissues to wipe of the tested make up.

I find Superdrug as bad. Never any testers!

My local boots is bad too. And it's not just missing testers, some of the shelves are disgraceful. The soap and glory one is the worst of all! I've stopped bothering to look now.

And even more annoying.... when there’s no tester and people open a product and stick their mits in it, to test. I wanted to buy something this week and of the 4 units available, they’d all been opened, seal broken and clearly “tried & tested”.