Pros
Met amazing friends that became family. Working alongside brilliant makeup artists Everyday is different Philanthropic company with opportunities to volunteer for VIVA GLAM in the community. Fantastic health benefits. Generous sick time Fun, playful, music playing atmosphere. Doing makeup everyday Personal style and self is celebrated The best store manager I’ve ever had. The 13 years I’ve worked with her, she had the best work ethic, fair, fun, genuine, worked with all of us and amazing artistry. She’s the #1 reason I’ll miss working at MAC. Fast paced Gratis (free makeup) So much on the job learning of makeup, back office, money handling, customer service, cleaning, mailing, training, phones. 60% makeup discount Tattoos, fashion colour hair, all kind of makeup styles are welcomed. New makeup collections are constant Trendy Paid weekly Good vacation hours LGBTQ is celebrated and inclusive Offers permanent and freelance (non permanent) positions. Helping people from all walks of life with such a personal touch & creating memorable experiences for them.
Cons
Work weekends all the time. There is no set schedule so you work early mornings or lates nights constantly and varies week to week. They were hourly (Mac store) and introduced a commission structure after Covid where my pay was cut by almost 6.00. Commission is 3% of sales. I never recovered from this. Up the commission to 5-6%. Not a livable wage for California as a 3rd key. Free makeup services, they need to go back to paid for services. Creativity has been lacking in collections for past few years. Store closed after 13 years in business, we did the digging otherwise it would’ve come as a surprise. I think this was more on the mall we were located in. Retail with high goals, can be let go for not achieving for 3 months. Past few years introduced “scripts” for email and phone, I’ve always felt this as disingenuous and not custom like from before. Must be punctual at all times for shift, breaks and lunch, a few infractions will lead to dismissal per policy. “Blackout period” dates oct-dec with no time off allowed. Stores had their own and managed instagram profiles but were taken away, this was a mistake in my opinion as it gave the surrounding community and world a glimpse at the artists, their work and vibe at every location. Part time positions are “flex” which could mean you work 12-20 hours weekly. Great if you have another job but not a livable wage. I’ve called it years ago that I think MACs game plan is to be exclusive to Ulta and Sephora in the future with no actual stores. Stop with the red lipsticks all the time. Asian market colour stories are now the only normal for US instead of catering to all of the US regional consumer as before. Which means collection and colour redundancy. Think warm and orange for everything. Constantly discontinuing items alienating a loyal base. The replacements have just fizzled. Needs a full scale revamp with fresh perspectives. Especially lashes, skincare, and store displayers.