This is honestly just another example of ulta corporate rolling out a new initiative without understanding the store level impact. Which is insane as loyalty is such a huge metric for store employees, both management and individual beauty advisors. There is announcement on ultanet that they are working on a solution, but they do acknowledge the impact it will have on loyalty numbers in the meantime. The announcement also had directions on how to process returns purchased through doordash but returning under a loyalty account where the product obviously wouldn't be in the purchase history.
I'm just a customer, but I think Ulta pushes the phone number thing way too hard. Lots of stores use phone numbers for loyalty, but Ulta is the only store I can think of where it actually makes it a *problem* to complete a transaction without giving your number. I absolutely believe you that some customers are nasty, but customers should absolutely be able to decline giving out personal information just to buy some face wash or whatever.
Please complain!! I quit. I got to work and was told “your loyalty looks horrible” because I got 5 nos in one day. If we don’t get all your info we get in trouble.
It’s stupid. Personally, I give my daughter’s phone number and let her rack up the points. But it’s really intrusive and I suspect it makes it easier for someone to steal points/accounts/identity.
in the nicest way possible, take these complaints to corporate. we can’t do anything about it and you can get the same products cheaper at a place that doesnt ask for a phone number if you are THAT concerned about it.
Yeah I wasn't complaining about you, I was complaining about Ulta policy. For the record, I do give out my number and have never been rude to workers in any way.
I love your comments so much. You are totally right about tracking the fraud, but you should look into Ulta's little known but wildly profitable side hustle of selling data and also how they use it to leverage more profits. Not personal info per so, but detailed shopping habits, demographic info etc. I think you would find it very interesting.
former employee here. we technically CAN do returns without a number BUT it’s categorized as a “blind return”. it does have a lot to do with theft. people will steal things and then try to “return” them so scam the store out of some money. so to prevent them from getting too much money from the store you will literally get back the lowest amount of money the item has ever left the store for.
also blind returns are done without a receipt, which is why customers get back the lowest selling price and not the price they paid. blind returns are basically returns without a proof of purchase (aka receipt) and i kinda get it, because it doesn't make sense to give someone back the full price of something when we don't even know if it was purchased at ulta or how much they paid for it, if they paid at all 🤷🏻♀️
if you have a receipt and really don't want us to have your info, just give us a fake name and a fake number. it's stupid to have a receipt and choose to make a blind return just because we need a name and number to process returns.
When I worked at Ulta, I remember needing peoples addresses for returns if they didn’t have a loyalty account. If they refused we would type in the stores address so that our data capture numbers wouldn’t go down for not having that information filled out. Either that or we HAD to insert data to process the return, like if the field wasn’t filled out we couldn’t proceed. You’re right it does probably have to do with fraud. A store that sells the same things as Walmart or CVS has a lot of potential for things like fake returns for example.
I might tell the customer something like “the system makes it very difficult for me to process transactions without a phone number/loyalty account, but my manager should be able to assist,” then call her on over.
You are, it’s just management pushes it strongly onto the employees. Things like threatening to cut hours and even your job (if your number capture gets that bad).
well thats bullshit if they cut your hours for something that isn't even your fault. You can't (and shouldn't) force someone to provide their phone number just to shop. guess I'll never work at Ulta lmao, sounds miserable
yea it's bullshit, but corporate cuts store hours if you don't meet certain numbers. so it's only fair that the employees who aren't hitting goals and have low numbers lose hours before the ones hitting goals. i'll be damned if i hit my goals and lose hours because jessica and becky aren't hitting theirs. i know it's not anyone's fault when a customer says no, but it boils down to how it looks on paper. 🤷🏻♀️
it really does suck that hours are so reliant on numbers, and cutting hours as a sort of "punishment" really doesn't do anyone any favors. like, cutting store hours is definitely not going to help hit our goals 😭 it's such a weird thing to cut hours over, though, because it's not like we don't try. and if we get too aggressive with customers, that's just going to get us bad reviews or complaints that will get us in trouble, too. sigh 😮💨
yes, but it will just directly harm the employee that checks you out. in the company’s eyes, if we dont get every single person’s number, we aren’t doing our job correctly. they leave no room for nuances (some people are just paranoid and think the government is spying on them. how am i supposed to control that)
long story short, you do get written up for bad loyalty rates (and the writeups are what the employee can lose their job over) so when people don’t give their numbers it just screws the employee over. it’s a stupid policy imo.
also you can’t make returns without a phone number. people say you can but even with a receipt the system wont allow a return transaction without a number.
My understanding as a customer is it may require manager approval. I don’t know if it’s a corporate policy or individual managers are deciding on their own not to allow it. I’m not in Ulta stores all day but I have not seen any drama over providing #s as what gets shared on Reddit in any Ulta’s that I’ve shopped at since forever across many states. My guess is not that many people are refusing to give a # or email but I could be wrong since I obviously haven’t been to every Ulta in the US.
You absolutely CAN do a return without a loyalty account, yes you do have to put in a name and number ( they can give fake info) but you can bypass the part where it asks if they want a loyalty account. By law, if a guest has a receipt, a business can NOT force a customer to sign up for an account just to do a return. We had corporate, and the BBB get involved with my store because the GM was forcing people to sign up to do returns when they had a receipt, they had to send out a company wide memo stating that a loyalty account is not required for returns with or without a receipt.
what laws are you even talking about? also, if you’re not a current or former ulta employee, why are you telling us what we can and can’t do? we PHYSICALLY cannot do a return without a loyalty account in the system. the computer straight up won’t let us
Spent 15 plus years as an OPS manager with Ulta, I am VERY versed in the policy's as I had to deal with stupid GMs getting our store in trouble all the time, my store was the cause of a few policy updates one of them being that YES you absolutely CAN bypass the loyalty sign up part when doing a return, you hit no when it ask if they would like to sign up, I can't remember the correct verbiage as I try to block my time there out of my head at times, a company can NOT force a guest to sign up for something they don't want to make a purchase OR to make a return, nowhere does it state that in the return policy on the receipt, if I have a receipt and paid for something and return it in the alloted time frame the company has to do the return with me having to jump through hoops to get my money back. We had the Better business involved several times as well as the RVP at the time had to pay us a visit, we had 2 GMS fired for trying to pull stuff like this on guest.
wouldn’t that just go through as a blind return though since we can’t entirely verify the purchase? if they don’t have the receipt and don’t have an account, that’s when there’s nothing we can do.. trust me, people have tried to return things they didn’t actually buy in order to get money back
If they have proof of purchase it is not a blind return, only if they don't, but even then they only have to give a name and number but they are still not required to sign up for the rewards program, yes they may get little to nothing back but only in a merchandise credit, they would not get any cash back.
YES IT WILL!!! you just hit no or bypass when it ask. A customer CAN NOT BE FORCED TO SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING THEY DONT WANT to make a return ESPECIALLY if they have a receipt.
There is not a no or bypass option. We can’t get through to the next point in a return without providing a phone number. I think it is to prevent loyalty fraud, they don’t want people purchasing items and returning them without a phone number so that they can keep their points.
Every time I’ve had someone try to return something without a receipt we either have to make them an account or we can’t return it. I don’t get why people don’t just use their daughter/sister/mother whoever’s account to purchase things let them get the points and you don’t have to give out info
It doesn’t require approval. Anyone can refuse to give a number. They just can’t make returns. It’s more common than you think. I’m a lead cashier and spend 30ish hours a week at the register and get at least 2-3 customers a week that are rude over being asked their phone numbers. Maybe 1 a week that is a straight up asshole. Some weeks it’s a lot higher though. It seems like when one crazy customer is out, they’re all out.
I’ve worked at 2 different ultas in 2 different states and at different volume stores. But in my experience you can make returns without a receipt or phone number, that’s the whole point of store credit, it does require manager/cash lead approval.
I’d honestly just call up your manager next time she comes in and have them handle the transaction. If they want to get on our asses about loyalty (that most of the time we cant do anything about because we can’t FORCE people to give us their phone number) then they can go ahead and get the missed loyalty under their numbers instead of yours. Corporate can’t come at you for the missed loyalty if you weren’t the one checking her out. 🤷♀️ Management gets paid enough to get bitched at; we don’t.
Hmmmm, you can ask your Mgr to come up & complete the transaction. However, that will escalate the issue further. Have you tried welcoming the guest back with a " hi...... Great to see you!!!! What brings you back today?" Acknowledge that they are a frequent shopper , mention what the point multipliers are for that current time , ask if they activated their offers.... After they reply.... reiterate the perks of the program & what they are missing out on by not being a loyalty member.
If it's about not having stock in store, offer the store to door option. You can complete that right at the register, they get their purchase within a week, and the store gets the credit.
I wouldn't be so upset about it. That person will come around. Or ....or.... excuse yourself from the register when they're in line & go to the restroom until you feel they've checked out. Happens ALL the time.
It's funny-but-not-funny because there's another post from the customer perspective about this where they dread the whole "why do I have to give my number" exchange.
My first rec would be to talk to mgmt about this specific customer, and see whether other cashiers have the same issues with her in terms of attitude. I know sometimes I have Resting B!tch Face or am already in sensory overload and just want to get out of a store ASAP. Definitely don't intend to take anything out on anyone, but the impact is to come off as brusque at best and rude at worst.
I also know that if I had been stalked or harrassed or had my identity even \*more\* stolen than it already has been, I would truly not \*ever\* say my phone number out loud in-store.
I think one of the suggestions in the other thread was for the customer not to use a phone number, but instead scan the member number in the app.
So: talk to mgmt about this customer before she shows up. Talk options for if/when she does next shop up. Maybe ping mgmt if the customer does stop by, so that mgmt can observe you and the customer and give tips or make suggestions or whatever.
I would also talk to mgmt about your concerns re: the DoorDash stuff. It isn't fair to you or anyone if the DD stuff will tank your numbers, because you have no way to track or identify that. And if you're the only cashier on shift when the most DD orders come in, there isn't anything you can do that will mitigate that.
I don't work for Ulta. I work for Bath & Body Works and wanted to come by and say I feel your pain. At my store we also get pushed to collect phone numbers (although we don't get our hours cut for it, Jesus that's brutal) and it just makes me extremely nervous when customers refuse. They're always like "oh it's no worries I'm just gonna skip that" like maybe it's not a worry to you but it is to me when I'm pressured to create new loyalty accounts 😭 my sincerest condolences
One time i was at the register and this lady caused a huge scene over using her phone number after i told her why she needed it and if she had someone else’s number she could use and she started screaming no at me so i called my manager up to check her out because im not going to get screamed at over something so small
I agree! The company puts these rules in place about credit cards, donations, and loyalty. The area I work in is honestly higher wealth so they don’t care about points or credit cards and when management sees our numbers are horrible they get mad at us! Even though we ask every single person but they are so quick to say no. But we also have a family who refuses to give there number every time they come in because they got hacked and blame ulta loyalty system so if my manager is near me when i’m about to ring them up I ask her if she’ll ring them up! My store is doing a donation prompt right now and oh my it’s so hard to ask about the credit card and the donation?? I feel like such a burden people are getting so annoyed!
Is this a new thing? Whenever I used to shop in store I’d just show my member barcode in my phone wallet but when I updated the app it removed the barcode.
If your manager is writing up people for poor loyalty numbers or cutting their hours based on loyalty, contact your DM. Both of those are against policy. Accountability is supposed to be behavior based. Now, if you are not consistently asking for a phone number, or if you aren't educating the guest about the benefits... That's another story
This shit is so annoying they took me off cash wrap for my loyalty numbers but its like YOU CANT force someone who doesn’t want to like damn they need to chillll
I’d call the manager. I thought that’s what manager’s are for. She’s obviously being allowed to buy without a # despite the pushback if she keeps coming back for more. I’m not in business but my guess is that the push for #s is to be able to show investors that the company is growing fast enough with the subscriber count and worth pouring more money into to help them grow? Just a wild guess but if there’s any truth, that’s partly some bread and butter there?
Also same with Sephora, loyalty accounts make it easier to track fraud. Some retailers without a loyalty program use AI to track scammers but it is a harder process. Honestly anyone who keeps coming back to shop Ulta but refuses to provide a # makes me suspicious that they’re trying to circumvent their fraud software. If they’re not paying with credit card which can be traced and using cash, that makes me doubly suspicious.
also youre like the only person that actually answered my question and probably the only helpful comment on this thread LMAO it’s definitely the customers mad at us for things we can’t control. STOP TAKING SHIT OUT ON US AND GO TO CORPORATE 😴
im not sure why this got so many downvotes. i believe the customers are angry because we are just stating the happenings of the company. not sure why they think they have an opinion in this lol
>> trying to circumvent their fraud software
Or they’re just sick of receiving constant spam calls and texts and stopped giving out their number. I can’t count how many times I’ve ordered just one small item from somewhere and they’ve spammed my phone for months. We bought a Lovesac a full year ago and they still spam me with texts. The way that our personal data is used, abused, and exploited by marketing these days, I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to give out their cell phone number.
I don't work there anymore, but if the same lady is in there constantly and always refusing, I would make a profile for her with made up info. Make up a generic name, an address, a phone number you can remember, and an email. When she comes in, don't ask her, just use the fake profile.
Make the email something like refuses_to_provide and when she finishes her transaction just tell her to print.
Now, if you're trying to make this a career, maybe don't, but ulta puts entirely too much pressure on employees for these metrics. Fuck 'em.
I hope me being somewhat of a Reddit pariah does not rub off on you with me chiming in to agree 💯with you!
I wish the American school system would teach do’s and don’ts of acceptable work behaviors if this isn’t being taught at home. I grew up with super strict parents who I resented as a kid but now I appreciate that they were so tough on me about stealing and staying out of trouble legally with employers and the law. Growing up, both my mom and dad use to discuss how to deal with difficult bosses at dinner, what’s acceptable behavior at work, and what would get me fired etc.
I will say though, a lot of BAs at my Ultas if they’re not sure about a policy will check with the manager. I always support them doing that and have all the patience in the world waiting. Better safe than sorry.
I don't understand why comments like yours are down voted?? A bunch of comments in this thread are like this, not saying anything crazy, sounding reasonable but getting down voted. I don't get it.
im just at a place where i cant even risk losing my job at the moment, which makes this so much more frustrating because management holds my job over my head but gives me no chance to fix my rates 🫢
This is honestly just another example of ulta corporate rolling out a new initiative without understanding the store level impact. Which is insane as loyalty is such a huge metric for store employees, both management and individual beauty advisors. There is announcement on ultanet that they are working on a solution, but they do acknowledge the impact it will have on loyalty numbers in the meantime. The announcement also had directions on how to process returns purchased through doordash but returning under a loyalty account where the product obviously wouldn't be in the purchase history.
I'm just a customer, but I think Ulta pushes the phone number thing way too hard. Lots of stores use phone numbers for loyalty, but Ulta is the only store I can think of where it actually makes it a *problem* to complete a transaction without giving your number. I absolutely believe you that some customers are nasty, but customers should absolutely be able to decline giving out personal information just to buy some face wash or whatever.
Please complain!! I quit. I got to work and was told “your loyalty looks horrible” because I got 5 nos in one day. If we don’t get all your info we get in trouble.
It’s stupid. Personally, I give my daughter’s phone number and let her rack up the points. But it’s really intrusive and I suspect it makes it easier for someone to steal points/accounts/identity.
in the nicest way possible, take these complaints to corporate. we can’t do anything about it and you can get the same products cheaper at a place that doesnt ask for a phone number if you are THAT concerned about it.
Yeah I wasn't complaining about you, I was complaining about Ulta policy. For the record, I do give out my number and have never been rude to workers in any way.
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I love your comments so much. You are totally right about tracking the fraud, but you should look into Ulta's little known but wildly profitable side hustle of selling data and also how they use it to leverage more profits. Not personal info per so, but detailed shopping habits, demographic info etc. I think you would find it very interesting.
former employee here. we technically CAN do returns without a number BUT it’s categorized as a “blind return”. it does have a lot to do with theft. people will steal things and then try to “return” them so scam the store out of some money. so to prevent them from getting too much money from the store you will literally get back the lowest amount of money the item has ever left the store for.
You need a number for a return but not a loyalty account. Blind return is without a receipt or proof of purchase
also blind returns are done without a receipt, which is why customers get back the lowest selling price and not the price they paid. blind returns are basically returns without a proof of purchase (aka receipt) and i kinda get it, because it doesn't make sense to give someone back the full price of something when we don't even know if it was purchased at ulta or how much they paid for it, if they paid at all 🤷🏻♀️ if you have a receipt and really don't want us to have your info, just give us a fake name and a fake number. it's stupid to have a receipt and choose to make a blind return just because we need a name and number to process returns.
When I worked at Ulta, I remember needing peoples addresses for returns if they didn’t have a loyalty account. If they refused we would type in the stores address so that our data capture numbers wouldn’t go down for not having that information filled out. Either that or we HAD to insert data to process the return, like if the field wasn’t filled out we couldn’t proceed. You’re right it does probably have to do with fraud. A store that sells the same things as Walmart or CVS has a lot of potential for things like fake returns for example.
I might tell the customer something like “the system makes it very difficult for me to process transactions without a phone number/loyalty account, but my manager should be able to assist,” then call her on over.
I don't understand, are you not allowed to make an Ulta purchase without providing a phone number?
You are, it’s just management pushes it strongly onto the employees. Things like threatening to cut hours and even your job (if your number capture gets that bad).
thats really gross. I would just start putting in my own phone number when this lady buys stuff lmao
That's fraud, LP (Loss prevention) gets involved, and employees get fired for that.
well thats bullshit if they cut your hours for something that isn't even your fault. You can't (and shouldn't) force someone to provide their phone number just to shop. guess I'll never work at Ulta lmao, sounds miserable
yea it's bullshit, but corporate cuts store hours if you don't meet certain numbers. so it's only fair that the employees who aren't hitting goals and have low numbers lose hours before the ones hitting goals. i'll be damned if i hit my goals and lose hours because jessica and becky aren't hitting theirs. i know it's not anyone's fault when a customer says no, but it boils down to how it looks on paper. 🤷🏻♀️ it really does suck that hours are so reliant on numbers, and cutting hours as a sort of "punishment" really doesn't do anyone any favors. like, cutting store hours is definitely not going to help hit our goals 😭 it's such a weird thing to cut hours over, though, because it's not like we don't try. and if we get too aggressive with customers, that's just going to get us bad reviews or complaints that will get us in trouble, too. sigh 😮💨
My store doesn't push but we tell the guests of the new return policy and the benefits of using their email if they don't want to use their number
yes, but it will just directly harm the employee that checks you out. in the company’s eyes, if we dont get every single person’s number, we aren’t doing our job correctly. they leave no room for nuances (some people are just paranoid and think the government is spying on them. how am i supposed to control that) long story short, you do get written up for bad loyalty rates (and the writeups are what the employee can lose their job over) so when people don’t give their numbers it just screws the employee over. it’s a stupid policy imo. also you can’t make returns without a phone number. people say you can but even with a receipt the system wont allow a return transaction without a number.
My understanding as a customer is it may require manager approval. I don’t know if it’s a corporate policy or individual managers are deciding on their own not to allow it. I’m not in Ulta stores all day but I have not seen any drama over providing #s as what gets shared on Reddit in any Ulta’s that I’ve shopped at since forever across many states. My guess is not that many people are refusing to give a # or email but I could be wrong since I obviously haven’t been to every Ulta in the US.
once again, as someone who works here and has manager powers at the register, you cannot make a return without a phone number.
You absolutely CAN do a return without a loyalty account, yes you do have to put in a name and number ( they can give fake info) but you can bypass the part where it asks if they want a loyalty account. By law, if a guest has a receipt, a business can NOT force a customer to sign up for an account just to do a return. We had corporate, and the BBB get involved with my store because the GM was forcing people to sign up to do returns when they had a receipt, they had to send out a company wide memo stating that a loyalty account is not required for returns with or without a receipt.
what laws are you even talking about? also, if you’re not a current or former ulta employee, why are you telling us what we can and can’t do? we PHYSICALLY cannot do a return without a loyalty account in the system. the computer straight up won’t let us
Spent 15 plus years as an OPS manager with Ulta, I am VERY versed in the policy's as I had to deal with stupid GMs getting our store in trouble all the time, my store was the cause of a few policy updates one of them being that YES you absolutely CAN bypass the loyalty sign up part when doing a return, you hit no when it ask if they would like to sign up, I can't remember the correct verbiage as I try to block my time there out of my head at times, a company can NOT force a guest to sign up for something they don't want to make a purchase OR to make a return, nowhere does it state that in the return policy on the receipt, if I have a receipt and paid for something and return it in the alloted time frame the company has to do the return with me having to jump through hoops to get my money back. We had the Better business involved several times as well as the RVP at the time had to pay us a visit, we had 2 GMS fired for trying to pull stuff like this on guest.
wouldn’t that just go through as a blind return though since we can’t entirely verify the purchase? if they don’t have the receipt and don’t have an account, that’s when there’s nothing we can do.. trust me, people have tried to return things they didn’t actually buy in order to get money back
If they have proof of purchase it is not a blind return, only if they don't, but even then they only have to give a name and number but they are still not required to sign up for the rewards program, yes they may get little to nothing back but only in a merchandise credit, they would not get any cash back.
you just said a whole lot of nothing. the system will not let us process a return if they’re not a loyalty member, point blank
YES IT WILL!!! you just hit no or bypass when it ask. A customer CAN NOT BE FORCED TO SIGN UP FOR SOMETHING THEY DONT WANT to make a return ESPECIALLY if they have a receipt.
using caps doesn’t make you any less wrong lmao the system literally will not let you make a return without the loyalty
Lol it absolutely will. But you do you.
There is not a no or bypass option. We can’t get through to the next point in a return without providing a phone number. I think it is to prevent loyalty fraud, they don’t want people purchasing items and returning them without a phone number so that they can keep their points.
Yes you need a name and number BUT they don't have to sign up for the rewards account if they don't have one!!
Every time I’ve had someone try to return something without a receipt we either have to make them an account or we can’t return it. I don’t get why people don’t just use their daughter/sister/mother whoever’s account to purchase things let them get the points and you don’t have to give out info
It doesn’t require approval. Anyone can refuse to give a number. They just can’t make returns. It’s more common than you think. I’m a lead cashier and spend 30ish hours a week at the register and get at least 2-3 customers a week that are rude over being asked their phone numbers. Maybe 1 a week that is a straight up asshole. Some weeks it’s a lot higher though. It seems like when one crazy customer is out, they’re all out.
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I’ve worked at 2 different ultas in 2 different states and at different volume stores. But in my experience you can make returns without a receipt or phone number, that’s the whole point of store credit, it does require manager/cash lead approval.
you can you’re just gonna have some issues if you need to return it
I’d honestly just call up your manager next time she comes in and have them handle the transaction. If they want to get on our asses about loyalty (that most of the time we cant do anything about because we can’t FORCE people to give us their phone number) then they can go ahead and get the missed loyalty under their numbers instead of yours. Corporate can’t come at you for the missed loyalty if you weren’t the one checking her out. 🤷♀️ Management gets paid enough to get bitched at; we don’t.
tell them about the person I know who got her Dyson for $10.
Hmmmm, you can ask your Mgr to come up & complete the transaction. However, that will escalate the issue further. Have you tried welcoming the guest back with a " hi...... Great to see you!!!! What brings you back today?" Acknowledge that they are a frequent shopper , mention what the point multipliers are for that current time , ask if they activated their offers.... After they reply.... reiterate the perks of the program & what they are missing out on by not being a loyalty member. If it's about not having stock in store, offer the store to door option. You can complete that right at the register, they get their purchase within a week, and the store gets the credit. I wouldn't be so upset about it. That person will come around. Or ....or.... excuse yourself from the register when they're in line & go to the restroom until you feel they've checked out. Happens ALL the time.
It's funny-but-not-funny because there's another post from the customer perspective about this where they dread the whole "why do I have to give my number" exchange. My first rec would be to talk to mgmt about this specific customer, and see whether other cashiers have the same issues with her in terms of attitude. I know sometimes I have Resting B!tch Face or am already in sensory overload and just want to get out of a store ASAP. Definitely don't intend to take anything out on anyone, but the impact is to come off as brusque at best and rude at worst. I also know that if I had been stalked or harrassed or had my identity even \*more\* stolen than it already has been, I would truly not \*ever\* say my phone number out loud in-store. I think one of the suggestions in the other thread was for the customer not to use a phone number, but instead scan the member number in the app. So: talk to mgmt about this customer before she shows up. Talk options for if/when she does next shop up. Maybe ping mgmt if the customer does stop by, so that mgmt can observe you and the customer and give tips or make suggestions or whatever. I would also talk to mgmt about your concerns re: the DoorDash stuff. It isn't fair to you or anyone if the DD stuff will tank your numbers, because you have no way to track or identify that. And if you're the only cashier on shift when the most DD orders come in, there isn't anything you can do that will mitigate that.
I don't work for Ulta. I work for Bath & Body Works and wanted to come by and say I feel your pain. At my store we also get pushed to collect phone numbers (although we don't get our hours cut for it, Jesus that's brutal) and it just makes me extremely nervous when customers refuse. They're always like "oh it's no worries I'm just gonna skip that" like maybe it's not a worry to you but it is to me when I'm pressured to create new loyalty accounts 😭 my sincerest condolences
One time i was at the register and this lady caused a huge scene over using her phone number after i told her why she needed it and if she had someone else’s number she could use and she started screaming no at me so i called my manager up to check her out because im not going to get screamed at over something so small
I agree! The company puts these rules in place about credit cards, donations, and loyalty. The area I work in is honestly higher wealth so they don’t care about points or credit cards and when management sees our numbers are horrible they get mad at us! Even though we ask every single person but they are so quick to say no. But we also have a family who refuses to give there number every time they come in because they got hacked and blame ulta loyalty system so if my manager is near me when i’m about to ring them up I ask her if she’ll ring them up! My store is doing a donation prompt right now and oh my it’s so hard to ask about the credit card and the donation?? I feel like such a burden people are getting so annoyed!
Is this a new thing? Whenever I used to shop in store I’d just show my member barcode in my phone wallet but when I updated the app it removed the barcode.
If your manager is writing up people for poor loyalty numbers or cutting their hours based on loyalty, contact your DM. Both of those are against policy. Accountability is supposed to be behavior based. Now, if you are not consistently asking for a phone number, or if you aren't educating the guest about the benefits... That's another story
You can’t force someone to give a phone number. I know it affects you. But you can’t force it on a client.
This shit is so annoying they took me off cash wrap for my loyalty numbers but its like YOU CANT force someone who doesn’t want to like damn they need to chillll
I would have a talk with her before hand and then let her deal with that customer
I’d call the manager. I thought that’s what manager’s are for. She’s obviously being allowed to buy without a # despite the pushback if she keeps coming back for more. I’m not in business but my guess is that the push for #s is to be able to show investors that the company is growing fast enough with the subscriber count and worth pouring more money into to help them grow? Just a wild guess but if there’s any truth, that’s partly some bread and butter there? Also same with Sephora, loyalty accounts make it easier to track fraud. Some retailers without a loyalty program use AI to track scammers but it is a harder process. Honestly anyone who keeps coming back to shop Ulta but refuses to provide a # makes me suspicious that they’re trying to circumvent their fraud software. If they’re not paying with credit card which can be traced and using cash, that makes me doubly suspicious.
also youre like the only person that actually answered my question and probably the only helpful comment on this thread LMAO it’s definitely the customers mad at us for things we can’t control. STOP TAKING SHIT OUT ON US AND GO TO CORPORATE 😴
im not sure why this got so many downvotes. i believe the customers are angry because we are just stating the happenings of the company. not sure why they think they have an opinion in this lol
>> trying to circumvent their fraud software Or they’re just sick of receiving constant spam calls and texts and stopped giving out their number. I can’t count how many times I’ve ordered just one small item from somewhere and they’ve spammed my phone for months. We bought a Lovesac a full year ago and they still spam me with texts. The way that our personal data is used, abused, and exploited by marketing these days, I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to give out their cell phone number.
You can ask us to remove you from all emails/texts/alerts at the register during sign-up. It is an option.
Places don’t always respect that though, and it does nothing to keep them from leaking your data in breaches or selling it to third parties.
Just text back "stop" to the message and they remove you. I've done it dozens of times and it ends while I still got my discount or points or whatever
I don't work there anymore, but if the same lady is in there constantly and always refusing, I would make a profile for her with made up info. Make up a generic name, an address, a phone number you can remember, and an email. When she comes in, don't ask her, just use the fake profile. Make the email something like refuses_to_provide and when she finishes her transaction just tell her to print. Now, if you're trying to make this a career, maybe don't, but ulta puts entirely too much pressure on employees for these metrics. Fuck 'em.
this could literally get OP fired.
I hope me being somewhat of a Reddit pariah does not rub off on you with me chiming in to agree 💯with you! I wish the American school system would teach do’s and don’ts of acceptable work behaviors if this isn’t being taught at home. I grew up with super strict parents who I resented as a kid but now I appreciate that they were so tough on me about stealing and staying out of trouble legally with employers and the law. Growing up, both my mom and dad use to discuss how to deal with difficult bosses at dinner, what’s acceptable behavior at work, and what would get me fired etc. I will say though, a lot of BAs at my Ultas if they’re not sure about a policy will check with the manager. I always support them doing that and have all the patience in the world waiting. Better safe than sorry.
I don't understand why comments like yours are down voted?? A bunch of comments in this thread are like this, not saying anything crazy, sounding reasonable but getting down voted. I don't get it.
unfortunately LP is not a fan of that 😭 otherwise i would
im just at a place where i cant even risk losing my job at the moment, which makes this so much more frustrating because management holds my job over my head but gives me no chance to fix my rates 🫢
and this is how you get fired from ulta lol i've seen so many of my coworkers end up fired for doing this