Sephora Celebrates $10 Billion in Sales. Their Frontline Teams Got a Box of Cookies.

Sad, but true. Why is this still the case?

Feb 15, 2024

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Generating $10 billion in revenue is a significant success. Any company that reaches this milestone should celebrate, throw a party, and shout it from the rooftops - absolutely. However, if your idea of a reward or bonus includes baked goods, think again.

Business Insider recently reported on beauty retailer Sephora celebrating $10 billion in sales for 2023. Part of the celebration was sending their store teams a box of sugar cookies with brightly colored sprinkles on top.

Sephora asked their employees to keep the "gift" confidential, but social media lit up with employee reactions. Some called the cookies stale, and others could not hide their disappointment.

"Wait, what?" Was one of the responses to the box of cookies.

Another employee stated,

"It's obvious they're not listening to us," he said. "These are people who don't know how this actually works and how important we are to the operation."

I can relate.

In November 2021, I was working as a store manager. We were approaching the second anniversary of managing COVID. We were still wearing masks in stores. Our business had been stellar, better than expected.

I sat in on countless conference calls about how great our business was. The company was ecstatic. They were so thankful to the store teams who worked through the entire pandemic processing online orders, helping customers in stores, and keeping teams safe. (Me).

"Cool", I thought. “Maybe we'll get a sweet bonus”. We didn't get raises in 2020; they may make up for it. Perhaps they now understand how vital the frontline teams were.

I was wrong.

I got a bag of chips.

So many emotions welled up inside me; I didn't know how to feel. I was furious, disappointed, and disgusted. I was shocked, but I felt stupid for being shocked. I should've known.

I wrote about that experience. It's behind a paywall, but you can read it for free with this link.

I Helped My Company Survive a Global Pandemic. I Got a Bag of Chips.

So, I really know how these Sephora employees feel. I get it. I wish I didn't, but I get it like many other frontline workers get it.

What will it take for corporations to get it?

I wish I knew.

There were no reports of employees receiving monetary compensation in addition to the cookies. Maybe they did. After COVID, I did not. I got no raise in 2020; my raise in 2021 was about 3%. Inflation was skyrocketing to 9%. I quit in 2022.

I knew how valuable I was, so I became a solo entrepreneur. Many other people may do this, too. It's difficult, and I'm very hard on myself, but at least I call the shots and control my time.

Solo entrepreneurship gets easier to access every year. Companies will need to consider how they will retain employees because it's not looking good for them right now. When you work your guts out in customer service, smash your sales goals, and receive cookies as a thank you - well, that sucks.

How to reward frontline employees

Option one - Money. Bonus money. Companies could base this on tenure. The company hits X dollar amount, and all employees receive a certain amount based on how long they've been there. This bonus would be on top of any monthly or quarterly bonus - like a super duper stretch goal bonus.

Option two - Paid time off. Suppose Sephora had saved the cookie money and given everyone on the frontline a paid day off; that could have gone well. Frontline associates often feel overworked and underappreciated. A paid day off would be a well-deserved break.

Option three - A district party. Close the stores for one day and invite all employees to get together, meet each other, and share some food. Set up a dance floor, rent a bowling alley, whatever. Meeting the other store teams and celebrating the company's success would be cool.

Option four - Let the frontline decide. Ask for ideas from the frontline. Narrow down the best ideas. Give everyone two or three options. The winning idea gets rolled out. That's appreciation based on teamwork.

Do you want a day off or a box of cookies? The teams will let you know.

Baked goods and snacks should not be handed out as a prize when companies announce billions in revenue.

It's great that Sephora has had so much success. They've done a lot right. However, this cookie situation reeks of 2002 retail. It reeks of old retail. It reeks of "We've always done it this way" retail.

Someone at corporate said, "We need to send the store teams something. I know, cookies!" And that person has never worked in frontline customer service. Maybe they have, but they forgot what it was like. Either way, the frontline teams did not appreciate the gesture, and that's what really matters.

Working in frontline customer service is challenging. You are the face of the company. Any problem or complaint comes directly to you even though you have nothing to do with it. You have to listen, problem-solve, console, and relate to this person like a friend. No matter how mean they are to you. That takes an extensive skill set.

It should be rewarded with something other than cookies.

The retail industry is overdue for innovation. Let’s start here.

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Based in Southern California, Kit Campoy is a former retail leader turned freelance writer. She covers Retail, Leadership, and Business. Contact her here to work with her.

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