SEPHORA — Attraction in Scottsdale

I am writing to share an experience my 14-year-old daughter and I had at the Kierland Sephora on October 3, 2024, which left us both deeply disappointed and concerned with the store’s customer service practices.

My daughter went to Sephora specifically to find a meaningful birthday present for her 16-year-old brother, who has a strong appreciation for cologne. She carefully chose the Sephora Favorites Cologne Sampler Set, expecting mini bottles of the featured colognes as shown on the packaging – similar to the set my wife had purchased last year. Unfortunately, she missed the fine print on the bottom of the box, which stated that only sample-size vials, not mini bottles, were included. This discrepancy in packaging was confusing and felt misleading, especially since the prominent images did not match the actual contents. Additionally, the advertised "full-size bottle" turned out to be only 1.2 ounces, which was another detail buried in the fine print.

After getting home and realizing that the product was not as advertised, my daughter was visibly upset. She asked me to take her back to Sephora to request a refund so she could purchase a true full-size bottle of cologne for her brother. She politely approached the sales associate, Stasia, to explain the situation and request a refund. Stasia, however, informed her that all sales were final, which my daughter found surprising, especially given the misleading nature of the packaging.

Wanting to support my daughter in standing up for what she felt was an unfair situation, I intervened and again asked for a refund, citing the misleading advertising as the reason. Stasia maintained that all sales were final, even when I asked to speak to a manager. After initially claiming she was the manager, she went to the back and returned with another associate – a woman with yellow hair – who immediately took an argumentative stance. When I asked her name, she refused to provide it, which further escalated the tension of the interaction.

At this point, my daughter became visibly distressed and began crying, feeling overwhelmed by the lack of support and the perceived hostility. She simply wanted to exchange the item for something that would be significant to her brother, and I even suggested accepting store credit as a compromise. Instead of offering assistance or understanding, the associate with yellow hair insisted on calling security, even though we had only been requesting a reasonable resolution.

As the situation escalated, I asked for our receipt back so we could take further steps if needed, but the associate refused to return it and ordered us to leave before security arrived. Not only did this deny us the ability to pursue a potential exchange, but it also left my daughter feeling threatened, surrounded by five associates who, from her perspective, appeared intimidating.

I am sharing this experience not only as a concerned parent but as a loyal customer who feels Sephora’s values of inclusivity and support were not upheld in this situation. My wife and daughter regularly shop at Sephora, and we had every expectation of a straightforward resolution for an unopened product that failed to meet our expectations due to unclear advertising.

I hope Sephora can review this case and consider how future policies could better serve customers, especially young ones, who are learning the importance of fair practices and honest representation. I look forward to hearing how Sephora plans to address this issue and create a more welcoming and supportive experience for...

The last time I was there (July 31, 2017) two separate employees managed to screw up two separate things about my ONE purchase.

The first employee couldn't manage to find the correct perfumes that I had vouchers for (which I already paid for from a previous online purchase) and those vouchers clearly stated EXACTLY what perfume I chose, she just had to find them in the store and give them to me. Not only did she take 20 minutes to locate just 3 perfumes in the small perfume section of the store, she gave me two wrong perfumes, which she put in my basket. I didn't think to check them to see if they were the correct perfumes, because I assumed she was capable of doing her simple job, but I definitely won't make that mistake again.

Then...

When I give my basket to the second employee who checked me out, he charged me for the 2 perfumes that I had the vouchers for (which again, the vouchers clearly stated the exact perfume I chose), because of the previous employees mistake. But, he obviously didn't notice that I had 3 vouchers but only one voucher was actually accepted by the register, which I couldn't see on my end. Again, I mistakenly thought that the employees were capable of doing thier simple job correctly.

But after I left the store, I thought that the total was a little high so I checked the receipt and I was charged for the perfumes that I had the previously paid vouchers for. Luckily, I didn't leave the parking spot yet and I go back in and they reimburse me and I thought everything was good now... WRONG.

When I got home and checked out my new stuff I realized that the first employee gave me a roller ball size of the perfume when I gave them a full sized perfume voucher for. Which again the voucher clearly states. There's a $40 difference between the voucher price and the roller ball price. So now I have to go back to the store to get the full size perfume and not lose the $40 THAT I ALREADY PAID SEPHORA.

Apparently reading comprehension isn't a strong suit with the sephora employees at this store. The only reason I will go back to that store is to get the correct perfume that I already paid for, because of their mistakes (plural), but I'm NEVER going there again after they correct the...

Ordered a product online to pick up in person. I arrived at the pick up Counter and presented a screenshot with a picture of the order number. Said that will not work because there are too many orders in the back and she doesn’t want to look it up by the order number she needs the name that it was placed under. Told her that’ll take me a minute I have to check the email and pull it up because I don’t remember what name I put down because I Hit the keys and this type so I wanna make sure. I then found the name and showed it to her and another woman came back up to check the email because they could not find it in the back. On the email it said our order not ready for pick up yet I pointed that out and said that might be an issue I’m assuming, she said yes . She said to cancel it online and then check out in person. I said no problem. She asked me what phone number I placed the order under. I said honestly I don’t know I typed in some random number because I just wanted to order a product online and didn’t want to have to enter my name, date of birth, email address , and phone number so I just typed in random stuff so I could come pick up the product. She said with extreme attitude well I was just trying to give you points, turned around through her hands in the air and walked away. When I approached her again I asked her if I raised my voice at all or used any profanity to warrant her walking away and giving me an attitude. She said I gave her an attitude which I did not . Another girl who said she was a manager came up and told me I was being rude and I asked if she was there for that conversation or had any knowledge of what happened. She said no I could just tell you were being rude and condescending. I definitely was not Canceled the product and will never go in that store again. They seem like the type of people are OVER...