Pros
I've been at ULTA for a little over a month now, and I must say, it's better than I expected! If you have any retail experience at all, you should know that there'll always be a tough customer here and there, you'll always be on your feet and you may not always like every manager, but I'm happy to report that all of that has been a non-issue in my case. I work register/floor/stock and love the variety even if I'm wiped out by the end of the day. My starting pay is $8.50 (No complaints here! The job is simple!) I suppose this varies by store/managers, but when it is slow, employees are expected to take it upon themselves to get things done (put returned items away, restock/face shelves). I love that my managers are down to earth and realistic with a sense of humor, albeit a tad unorganized at times. The ladies (and gentlemen!) I work with are not clique-y or catty as one might expect from working at a beauty retail store. Hours for part-timers are fair, and they're very open to working with my ever-changing availability due to school. Employees that have worked there longer than myself are always excited to teach me about new products or answer my questions. ULTA has a sense of community that I appreciate. When you're having problems with a customer, another employee is usually happy to step in and help. Also, HELLO 50% salon and 20% off retail items! It's a huge perk that everyone loves. (;
Cons
Managers tend to be unorganized half of the time. In my store they tend to lose important documents regularly. The girls (employees AND managers) tend to be a bit gossipy. Not mean, just talkative. I've seen it distract them from customers or putting things back on the shelves, and I tend to have to pick up the slack. It doesn't happen too* often, but often enough to be noticed. Employees don't promote upcoming Ulta events often enough! I find that I'm usually the only one doing so/handing out flyers. I've heard a lot of talk about gratis for employees, but I have yet to receive anything for free. I'd really like to since there are SEVERAL makeup brands we carry that I am absolutely unfamiliar with and would love to try so I can recommend it to customers when they come to me for advice (which happens very often). It's something managers tend to mention time and time again, but I have yet to see it.