store manager

party entertainer

entertainer

e-commerce manager

Lush Cosmetics

The work itself is repetitive and fairly easy. The co-workers, more or less, are very pleasant. The management is horrendous. There is far too much FAVORITISM in this workplace. Granted, favoritism exists everywhere but LUSH takes favoritism to an extreme level. The manager in SOMA makes it VERY OBVIOUS who she likes and who she cares nothing for. One the one hand, she states speak English only so people at the table can understand what you are saying or participate in your conversation but then contradicts herself by saying: speak less and work more. Which is it? Nitpicks the strongest employees, looking for any moment of weakness, to pounce on a person without first KNOWING what is going on in a situation before chastising the person and then doubles down by stating: I was just following protocol. Personally, for me, there was too much tension between her and I. Often telling me what I am doing wrong, when I know EXACTLY what I am doing and why things are done the way they are. Often times, the "favorites" are seen talking to one another and barely doing any work. They often walk over to another worktable and start chit-chatting with their friend and are NOT moving their hands (not doing any work). I caught people looking at other people's phones and making fun of what they were watching on TikTok or some other social media app. I was constantly made to pour into molds more than any other responsibility because they could never "find" someone else to do it. Was told I am slow at packaging in the red room and yet was hardly ever given time to practice improving upon this skill. I was excellent at filling paperwork, shrink-wrapping, stacking boxes on skids, unmolding, pouring above the assigned lines, helping other co-workers, showing up on time and showing up for all shifts, was extremely clean making sure to keep all work areas pristine and covered other shifts in other departments and never praised for it. The second I stop to breathe or stretch, I am chastised or the while stacking molds on mold racks (which is messy initially until completion), I am told I am messy or blocking the passageway or don't know how to place racks back-to-back or feet-to-feet when that is the LAST step of arranging racks when setting up massage bars. I was told to make more boxes or cut more wax paper which causes more waste as opposed to my co-workers being told to move faster. In other departments, people only cut so much paper or make so many boxes to AVOID time-wasting or wasting products overall. I was told to pour slightly above the top for scrubee and when I DID as I was told, was then told I poured too much and told to "get away from here and go do something else." This manager lacks so much self-esteem and knows she can't do her job so she takes out that frustration on employees who are confident and KNOW what they are doing. Furthermore, it was my second season at LUSH, so I KNOW how things are done. I was also constantly harassed/bossed around by a trainer named Shari who always called my name as opposed to spreading responsibility to other workers. I was the one she nitpicked endlessly. Certain "favorites" spent more time talking, barely moving their hands, or were on their cell phones. Some people were eating candy. I was told to get a work shirt from a certain employee, only for this person to NEVER respond to me back after I asked her three times. I have seen certain people get away with certain behaviors. If you injure yourself at this company, and I have, you will have a hard time getting disability payments or modified duties or be an "exception" because LUSH wants to save money. They don't care if you hurt yourself. If you are desperate and need money to get out of a jam/situation, work there for as long as you can and then leave. You will not be given a permanent/core position if you are a great worker because you will be seen as a threat to management. I was also left with washing many utensils/dishes by myself without a co-worker because the SOMA department always pills up their dishes and doesn't clean as they go. I had 3 large pots, 4 small gift bins, 3 large gift bins, 4 sets of molds, 2 large racks of trays, etc. I was the person that had all the grunt work/unpleasant work dumped upon. The misuse of my kindness, strong work ethic caused me to have a knot in my back for a month, sustain a foot injury (in my right foot), a bruise on my second large toe of my left foot, caused my nail to snap backwards, and also injury my wrist and right arm (near my elbow). The repetitive tasks will cause injury, so please always STRETCH during breaks. I bothered not with seeking modified shoes with outward steel toe straps because requiring specialized shoes and asking for modified duties or disability pay is MUCH TOO HARD to go through as told to me by an employee (who only secured disability pay via speaking directly to upper management when they came onto the work site one day). Had that not happened, he never would have gotten his disability pay/work standards met. Since leaving LUSH, I strongly recommend you only work there if you are desperate and need a financial "pick up". Otherwise, stay away from this place. There is TOO MUCH GOSSIP, TOO MUCH FAVORITISM, TOO MUCH PLAY AND VERY LITTLE SERIOUS WORKERS.

*tried to keep this short so they're not full sentences *
I worked here for a couple years straight and the people are nice for the most part. There are a few who are unwilling to change and adapt to new things and there are those who just don't know what they're doing (in other words, they're just there for the money and not actually there being productive).
There are too many small teams and some of them are redundant. Without properly reviewing each team's purpose and what each individual does, they've decided on "restructuring" the company. Did I mention sacking people? That happens instantly for the company to achieve their goals. The company used to be people first. Now it's turned corporate (profit first) and mainly due to newcomers who haven't embraced the different work culture there. Be weary of what you're stepping into. The more important your position, the more politics you'll feel and that's normal except it'll feel like you're receiving jabs in this company while not being able to do anything about it. 

While a part of the company does seemingly retain "happy people making happy soap", that's not entirely true. There's a bit of fostered negative energy that runs within the company stemming from multiple sources. 

I wouldn't bother with bringing new ideas to the company. After all, all of mine were pretty innovative but rejected or left to be forgotten after I was told they'd be discussed upon. A couple years down the line, the ideas were then brought up with no credit due to where it belongs. 

There is no proper structure with job advancement. Some job titles are given heavy importance when it's really a job that nearly anyone with similar brains can do. There's no proper internal development either other than putting you on online learning; this proves nothing when you're being interviewed. Internal development is hosted by your superior who might not know the requirements to the next position (no transparency due to company) or the knowledge to help you succeed...hence I took my own steps. Subsidy for education is only for your position and doing your work better but what if you already know everything and want something different? That's out of your pocket. 

Pay is low. It's pretty much living in poverty in Vancouver. That's if you don't know how to invest or save your money and most people I know don't know how to properly do that and I know they can't save enough to make a difference out of it. Inflation rates rise and your pay is fairly stagnant in relation to it. Pay comparison to match other employers happens way too slowly; you're reviewed based on title. There is a lot of jargon in that and descriptions are not entirely up to date when reviewed. In fact, the company expects you to do more than your job description over time. You think about how that gets factored in. 

The company will make decisions without proper feedback from others. I don't mean survey feedback (they do this after the fact for major issues) but I mean day-to-day job changes that impact you as an individual in the department you're working in. 

I was given more opportunities so I learned quite a bit. I'm satisfied with things I've learnt and opportunities I've been provided with. I'm just glad I'm no longer there and I'm definitely not going back due to how the company has changed and how they treat workers. I just wanted to post this as a piece of info for newcomers.

It's difficult to get a permanent job in a LUSH store because they rarely hire new employees. You will always see the same faces when you pass by your nearest LUSH store, unless they hire people for a temporary/seasonal contract. I incessantly applied to three different LUSH stores in my city for approximately two years before I was called for a group interview. The group interview consisted of around fifteen-to-twenty candidates and only five would be hired as Sales Ambassadors. The interview was conducted by the store Manager along with three Team Leaders. We were asked to dance, play ice breakers, and sell products to the Team Leaders. They predominantly examine your personality and behaviour, they can care less about any past retail or cosmetic experience that you might have. During this group interview, you HAVE to stand-out. Be loud and smile often, ask questions, make your Team Leaders and other candidates laugh, be creative with your responses, show off your tattoos if you have any and show off your piercings if you have any. By the end of the day, if the Manager cannot associate your name with your face as he/she makes sure he/she has collected everyone's applications, you did not get the job.  

As much as LUSH likes to exude a positive atmosphere, it is very sales-driven. In order to surpass last year's sales, all the employees are given individual sales goal and an overall sales goal as a team. At the beginning, it is not a big deal if you did not exceed the goal, because the Manager and Team Leaders will only observe how you approach a customer, how well you know the products/ingredients and their effects, if you are using emotive language and if you are demonstrating at least three different products from three different departments (i.e. hair, skin or body) to a customer. That's the fun part! However, there are A LOT of readings to do during your shifts and there are also quizzes you have to take. The Manager and Team Leaders will ask you questions regarding what you read. After EACH shift, the Manager or Team Leader will take you in the employee room for a ten-minute performance review and will ask you what you plan to do differently on your next shift. They will also ask what you like about the other employees and what they can improve upon, professionally speaking. Thankfully, you will not have to worry about sales for about a week. After a week of training, the Manager and Team Leaders will hold expectations. Even if you exceed your sales, but you remain constant for about a month and you're just slightly improving, that's not a good enough effort, regardless how hard you have tried. Apparently, this issue terminated my job with LUSH. All this pressure for minimum pay. The Manager and Team Leaders are no longer patient with you. They would patronize me and degrade me if I asked a question. There is also a lot of immature gossip within the store. Employees gossiping about other employees and customers. I respect the company, because they do a lot to end animal cruelty, help the environment and they touch a lot on current events, but I lost the passion when I realized that I was a victim of "trash talk" by my Manager and Team Leaders. This, of course, depends on which store you work at.

I was a seasonal PA in the Gifts and Distro departments. My experience was very disappointing. The workplace culture had serious issues with favouritism, lack of accountability, uneven treatment, and poor handling of employee concerns.

Seasonal and temporary workers were often pushed extremely hard and criticized for not moving fast enough, even while some permanent staff stood around, disappeared for long periods, or avoided work while tasks backed up. The people working the hardest were often the ones blamed, while certain protected staff seemed to face little to no accountability.

I reported a serious workplace conduct concern during my time there. Afterward, I felt that I was the one who lost opportunities instead of the situation being properly addressed. The following season, I was not placed back in an area where I had previously worked and performed well because I was told I would not want to work around someone who had made me uncomfortable. Meanwhile, that person remained valued and later moved into a higher role. That made it feel like speaking up hurt my position more than the conduct itself affected the person responsible.

The Gifts department became especially frustrating after a manager who was actually trying to keep the work moving was let go without a clear replacement ready. The room was then left to people who did not seem fully familiar with the department or the work being done, yet they had influence over who stayed and who was moved out. Actual performance, accuracy, work ethic, and department knowledge did not seem to matter as much as favouritism, which made the environment feel even more unfair and disorganized.

I also experienced and witnessed unprofessional behaviour, exclusion, dismissive treatment, uncomfortable comments, and a work culture where some employees could behave poorly or avoid work without consequence, while others were criticized or let go over much smaller issues.

I worked hard, took the role seriously, and had strong performance, including accurate and fast order picking. Unfortunately, hard work did not feel like it mattered as much as favouritism and who management chose to protect. Management needs to do better at taking employee concerns seriously, preventing unfair treatment after employees speak up, holding all staff equally accountable, and protecting workers who report unsafe or uncomfortable situations.

My time at Lush started out as the most magical experience ever, I was a favourite out of the seasonal staff and quickly became a core staff and took on lots of roles and promotions. I learned so much about sales, my own personal values, ingredients and effects, skincare and haircare and the discount was incredible. The staff I worked with were some of the coolest people Ive ever met and I'm still friends with a handful of current and previous employees. 
HOWEVER, in my two and a half years with the company I watched 13 core staff (not seasonal) be either terminated or "talked into" resigning for poor reasons. Once you are no longer a favourite, nothing you can ever do is good enough, you constantly receive "feedback" which is basically telling you all of the things you should have sold instead of the things you did sell, are forced to provide feedback and coaching to staff on things that are irrelevant and stupid. The higher staff are extremely catty and unprofessional, I met my regional manager one time and she "didnt think I had what it took" so she had me demoted from a floor leader back down to a sales staff, (one of the three least paid staff on my team) and i was still scheduled to open, close, train other staff, and was held to the same expectations without the pay. The staff who were promoted to my previous position would call me at close because they didnt know what to do, but were scares to call the MIT or Manager and tell them they didnt know because they knew they would get in trouble so I was forced to tell people who didnt knowwhat they were doing how to do my job as they got paid more than me and I was unappreciated by the upper management.  This was their way of trying to get me to quit, and when I applied myself even more to try and get myself into my previous position, I was talked into resigning instead of being terminated for failing to meet expectations which constantly change depending on who you ask, what day it is and what mood everybody is in. It's impossible to balance your schedule because in order to work 5-10 hours a week you need to be available one full week day and one full weekend day, and full time like myself (which was only 30 hours, still working 5-10 closing shifts) you needed to be fully available with no other commitments. It was expected of you to constantly train on the floor when there were no customers, but somehow it was expected of you to learn ALL of your product knowledge on new products at home "on your own time"

A typical day at work would include coming in, getting 'chatted in' about what the goals are for the day and the focuses. Then throughout your shift you're constantly checked in with to ensure you're 'doing the right thing'. If you Floor Leader (person in charge ATM) isn't seeing you do things the way they wan't they give you 'constructive feedback' and if you're doing okay, they still give you 'feedback' on how you can do better. The only way you achieve positive feedback is if you have a good relationship with the person in charge. Managers and Floor Leaders are constantly pressured to pressure their staff into better performance. You are never doing good enough. 

I learned a lot from the company, mostly about their ethical sourcing and brand values. I can honestly say that it's the values that make the company great! A lot of their materials and products are ethically sourced, and they're always looking for better ways to support the earth. I also learned that the company isn't willing to make choices that sacrifice their budget-- they won't let stores hire more people, instead they expect the people already working there to take on more responsibilities. They'll willfully gaslight you into think YOU'RE the problem when they haven't provided support.

The workplace culture is definitely picking favourites. In my experience, upper management picks their favourite shops/managers and treats them perfectly, and the rest of them don't get the time of day. It's always about 'doing better' and 'not doing enough' if you're not a favourite. Within the shop, the teams are amazing. They're supportive, and lovely. Always checking in with each other. But within shop there is definitely the experience of Shop vs. Company-- because nothing seems to align.

The hardest part of the job is seeing co-workers struggle because they're not making enough for the jobs they're being asked to do. It's also hard to see a company that preaches understanding and worth ignore its workers asking for a living wage, assistance, and guidance. The amount of work required is not worth the pay. You're often asked to take on things outside of your job description. 

Most enjoyable part of the job is definitely the discount (50%-- however Lush is leaning into the 'this is excluded from the discount' in favour of making more money). The team members that are there to have fun, and spread joy, and Do it with Heart. Always. 

I certainly had to step outside of my comfort zone to get the job at lush but it didn't end there, I was constantly challenged from start to finish.

A typical day for me and our team was... Well anything but typical!  Everyday was a new day with, as we like to say at Lush, a "fresh" start.  The music was always pumping, most of the team had tons of energy, and creativity was always surrounding us.  Customers were my favorite part of the day as we actually got to become friends with most of them and build kinship and as for the store I worked in, my fellow team became family as we would joke, demo products on each other, help each other to learn new areas on down time, and even find new adventures outside of work.  Oh yeah I forgot to mention SING & DANCE, always someone singing and dancing!!

By far I had the time of my life as far as work has ever gone, therefore learning that you can always find a job to be passionate about and successful in if you find joy in it.  

Now don't get me wrong, it was also very challenging as any job can be when working with so many different personalities as well as striving to blast monthly sales goals out of the water, but it was challenging, in my experience, in all the right ways, encouraging boundaries to be pushed and growth to naturally occur.  Management at times could be a tad inconsistent in training as well as advancement and hours were rarely consistent however they did have a strong initiative to seek out and develop on each team members individual strengths and advance them as quickly to their desired role in the company and hours seemed to be given to those who worked hard, stayed flexible in their schedule and proved themselves to be the best at sales.

When asked would I recommend working for this company, I say absolutely!!  If you desire a challenge, a creative atmosphere, seek a unique company to be a part of, LOVE ANIMALS, want to grow and develop new and unique career skills, like constructive criticism, love people and are all about the lush life then absolutely.   Regardless I always encourage others to go an visit your desired location and get to know the team, ask them questions and build a relationship with them as they will really have a huge impact on your lush life.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Of you're a person who can learn about products and are good at sales (basically talking to clients and making them feel at ease and welcome, encouraging them to find the right product, being friendly, helping them test protucts..), this job is for you. I really enjoyed working here, Eaton Center Montreal. However, the pay is slow (you have to wait 3 weeks instead of 2) and this job is more suitable for someone who doesn't mind not making a lot of money. It was a great experience, just don't expect to be rich here. You do get perks as an employee at lush. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Always being on the go no matter what, but it's not a stressful job if you like their products, which I do :)

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Employees, in my experience, are friendly with each other and the goal is to work as a team. There are good communication skills where I was working. I like the people I worked with. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
1 start the day by preparing the store, making sure all the sections are ready and beautiful 
2 open the store with the manager or assistant manager
3 greet clients
4 throughout the day make sure the facing and placement of the products are correct
5 lush has goals everyday and every month, try your best to reach above an beyond those goals, it's fun and possible depending on the store and team
6 throughout the day make sure to always be communicating with clients and be encouraging towards finding the right product for them (the clients are important, and how they feel matter). You can close the sales at the cash or with a device, with the clients. Make sure to always be friendly unless a client is disrespectful but don't show any sense of frustration if that happens, be chill be focused. 
7 when it's time (30 mins or so before closing hours), prepare to close the store with the assistant manager or manager. 
8 go home

Working the evening shift, there was always a team meeting before production started. Reviewing what products and what machines we were using for that day and separating us into teams. It is a very physical job and I STRONGLY recommend that you wear casual clothes that you don't mind being ruined or dirty. We would fill out orders arranged by region, being Canadian, American or French, because certain regions got different labels. We would work at a fast pace and they are very particular about being clean. They prefer quality over quantity and we had to wear gloves and make sure the area was clean. Especially the floors since it was soap and we don't want people to slip and fall. We got to break how we wanted as a group and we decided to have two 30 minute breaks. About 45 minutes to an hour left of the shift we would stop production, disassemble and clean the machines and reassemble them. Then we cleaned the entire department which included cleaning the tables, anything underneath the tables, cleaning the mats we stood on and mopping the floors. 

I learned the importance of having a high quality product and that the standard set by the company must be practiced and voiced with the employees. There were times when the product that was made was not up to standard and we had to let management know of the problem and they had to decide whether or not to go ahead with production or to scrap it. They need people who have an eye for detail and to speak up when there is a problem. If you're not sure, there's no harm in asking questions. 

My team was wonderful! We all got along personally and encouraged each other to be better. Although management was disorganized with information, we did our best to work with it. The best part was store discounts and the fancy Christmas party at a club! The hardest part was being physically exhausted and covered in skin cream.

Coworkers and training staff were always friendly and supportive and pay was competitive for other similar retail jobs and the discount is great. Management, on the other hand, was very much based on favoritism. Dress code didn't count for preferred employees but was harshly critiqued on those who had less availability such as students. Not very nice about time off either, there are sick days given as benefits, however, management is extremely vocal about discouraging employees using their own benefits, especially for mental health-related issues. Work/life balance is nonexistent if you cant provide an "open" availability of 40 hours a week, even for casual staff. You have to book life 3 weeks in advance (17 days before the week start, which could be a full month in February) which is impossible for students who have co-op or other involved learning opportunities. For a workplace that prides itself on HS/YA aged employees and a youthful/fun demographic, they really should be more forgiving of life as it happens. Also, it's retail, it shouldn't be a career as more of a first job or stepping stone, and yet you have to prove you plan on being with the company for years before promotion and a 2$ pay raise. At Christmas and other peak holidays, availability is thrown out the window and you are scheduled 'as the business needs' which means limited holiday time with loved ones. Finally, one should know that my store cycled through 5 managers in a 3-year span, which translates to no consistency in workplace guidelines and retraining every few months so that we could bring external high management employees up to speed, but the sales associates suffer each round as we never knew if a policy was one from corporate or a preference by someone who could quit the next day and never be heard from again.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Store manager 2 salaries reported	$56,000 per year
Party entertainer 2 salaries reported	$425 per day
Entertainer 1 salary reported	$425 per day
E-commerce manager 1 salary reported	$59,796 per year

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