A former Ulta manager’s experience working for the beauty retailer has drawn many viewers and sparked discussion among commenters on TikTok.
Posted by user Kenya Broadnax (@kbmakeupme24), the two-part retelling of her three years of experience with the company has drawn over half a million views as of Sunday. She has previously shared experiences working for other companies, such as Forever 21.
In her first video, she says she worked for the beauty retailer from 2012 to 2015, starting as a cashier and working her way from a cashiering position up to a prestige manager position.
@kbmakeupme24 Surviving Retail: Your beauty destination 💁🏾♀️ #greenscreen #foryourpage #foryoupage #fyp #viral #retail #retailproblems #retailworker #retailworkerproblems #ulta #yourbeautydestination #survivingretailjobs ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
When she first took her position as a prestige manager within the store, she says she was offered $10 per hour because she did not have a college degree, even though the store’s standard for management was $17 hourly. They eventually agreed to $14 an hour, which she says their payroll specialist called “pushing it.”
“The communication was terrible, payroll was terrible, the lack of schedule was terrible,” she says in the video. “We would open the store with two people—a manager and a cashier—and the manager would be in the office the entire time. As the cashier, you’re up at the front by yourself doing returns, doing exchanges, checking customers out, you’re color matching in prestige, you’re helping people, you’re trying to deter theft, all one person doing that entire job for at least two to three hours before someone shows up to cover you.”
During her time at Ulta, she says she did not have the opportunity to take lunch breaks and worked under unprofessional management who were transphobic. In a second video, she says she essentially had too much responsibility for not enough pay and was expected to oversee more than she realistically felt able to with an understaffed team.
@kbmakeupme24 Replying to @Gracie Kelley Part 2 💁🏾♀️ Buckle up bc it only gets worse 🤭 #greenscreen #foryourpage #foryoupage #fyp #viral #retail #retailproblems #retailworker #retailworkerproblems #ulta #yourbeautydestination #survivingretailjobs ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
The Daily Dot has reached out to Broadnax via Instagram direct message, as well as to Ulta directly via email regarding the video.
Several viewers expressed frustration on behalf of the poster and shared that they had similar stories about working for Ulta.
“Sometimes I don’t know who Ulta hates more: clients or employees,” one commenter wrote.
“That was definitely the company wide culture at that time,” another user said. “I got so fed up I walked out during my shift in 2015.”
“Working at Ulta was the worst decision I have ever made in my life,” one user echoed.
