Lush staff, pushy and hardsell and new higher prices..

[earsup]

Went into lush today , browsed the soaps..now sold by the slice and not weight so seemed dearer but the staff hovered relentlessly and suggested every soap on display and enthused about each one... I found them very pushy and false... never used to be like that in there... and all items have gone up in price...are they on comission now ??..I find similar soaps on line now and cheaper and just as nice !!

Some things I do that work to reasonably politely minimise engagement:
-Wear headphones, don't make eye contact.
-Answer any questions with I'm fine thanks/just looking. Don't worry if it's an open ended question or whatever.

• Or smile and say "I'll let you know if I need anything"

I don’t go in anymore either and either does my 17 y/o daughter who used to love their stuff because of the staff homing in immediately. It’s a shame as it’s a fun store to browse. I actually get anxious when I walk past the store at the thought of going in and being harassed!

The staff in the one in Glasgow are lovely. I was so disappointed when the one on Sauchiehall Street closed down. Never had an issue with any of the being pushy and when they chat to you its always just about normal every day things. Not trying to push for a sale.

I haven't been in Lush for years because of the pushy staff.

I haven’t been in a lush store for years as I dislike their politics.

They've probably been told to hard sell the soaps as they've had a new redesign, I'm sure it's less soap for more money plus they got rid of the soaps I liked that were made with a different method and ended up lasting for months and months so I think they are trying to go up in price.

They are pushy. I know what I like from there though so just grab the stuff pay and leave.

I stopped going to Lush after all anti-police campaign.
For soaps I buy from The Natural Spa on Etsy, great prices, lovely soaps and fast delivery.
For hair shampoo bars, Gruum online.

I still hold a grudge from when Cosmetics to Go went bust and I didn’t get my money back or my order, and they popped up again as Lush a few months later. Hell will freeze over before I buy their stuff or set foot in one of their shops.

Lush also aggressively patent quite a lot. For example they hold the patent to solid shampoo - so if you are an indépendant cosmetic maker in the US - you cannot call your solid shampoo - solid shampoo - you have to call it things like hair wash bar - doesn’t really align with their friendly image ...

www.luckybreakconsulting.com/does-lush-have-a-patent-on-bath-bombs/

Solid conditioner* - the solid shampoo patent is now redundant !

One of my DC worked in LUSH they are trained and expected to be that "helpful" and the sales assistant s are pitted against each other.to win rewards dd said it was like the Hunger games

I found out recently, and it shocked me, that LUSH don't actually make their soap. They use melt and pour soaps in vast quantities and add in ingredients.

Lots of the competition is using the cold soap process and it's harder to get the scent to fix.

It might be why it's harder to find soaps that smell as stars LUSH products.

I stopped going here years ago because I hated their pushy sales tactics. I would barely put a foot in the door before being pounded on - hater going there.

I always recommend this on every thread about this sort of thing. I aware I'm not a bot, and I don't own this company - I just love it. thesoapmine.co.uk is fabulous. Small independent Welsh business. Cold process soap, hand made and poured. Lovely creamy lather, divine scents that stay powerful rather than fading to nothing. Solid shampoo, conditioner, facial bars, scrubs. She also makes bath bombs which I haven't tried because the kids always nick them. But they smell lovely after their bath so they are evidently good!

thesoapmine.co.uk/ clicky link hopefully

@Coniferhedge thanks for the Future Primitive link, it looks amazing, just up my street. I have just placed an order and can't wait to try out the bubbling bath grains and whipped soap!

If it wasn't so expensive then we'd probably buy items more regularly but I refuse to spend so much on a bath bomb and soap etc

And yes to the pushy staff, I quite often forget, walk in then straight out again as it's all too claustrophobic

Can anyone explain why they like Lush products? I don’t really get the appeal and feel I am missing something?

Maybe it’s because I am apprehensive about going in and being grabbed so I don’t really ever take in the information properly.

Can anyone explain why they like Lush products? I don’t really get the appeal and feel I am missing something?

I don't know if some is nostalgia for me, me and my friends used to go in with our pocket money and always buy a bath bomb, maybe I associate it with memories of out first shopping trips to town by ourselves. I do though like the smell, I find that despite having eczema prone skin they don't irritate it (although lots of people find it does irritate their skin), it feels like a real treat to have a bath bomb bath- seems my idea of a good time has seriously gone downhill since having DC hah. I find that others don't seem to dissolve as well, or they smell odd, or leave my skin feeling funny.

I was a huge CTG fan when I was a student. I've tried the odd Lush thing over the years, but I've never really been keen. The Liverpool branch is great though and my daughter loves it. I really wish they'd being back the old CTG Smaragadine bath foam. It was fantastic.

@Housewife2010 yes to the Smaragadine love! I adored the old CTG brand, their coconut hair conditioner was amazing for my hair. I've never loved Lush as much as CTG.

£6 a bath bomb these days! Who wants to spend £6 on a single bath?!

Plus the bleach/scooters to get the stain off the bath.