I’ve witnessed the attacks from both sides of the counter. As a fragrance customer, I’ve had to stand and wait while two fragrance salespeople bicker over who was helping whom, who got so-and-so to make a purchase, and whose “turn” it is to ring in a sale. As a cosmetics employee at department stores, I’ve had to struggle with getting past the fragrance associates for a bottle of something a customer I’ve been working with wants to buy. Either way, entering this sea of sharks without knowing how to swim isn’t fun, and either way, it’s embarrassing for the associates and makes the customer uncomfortable. I don’t know what it is about fragrance salespeople that make them so competitive and, well, shark-like (ask anyone who works around these people what a “shark” is and they’ll know what to say).

In many ways, fragrance is an easy sell. After all, everyone wants to smell good, especially younger customers with money to burn (and significant others to find). I’ve rarely seen a fragrance salesperson have to work too hard to get a sale. In fact, I think the average car salesperson would find a day at the fragrance counters to be as stressful as a nap! There isn’t even a lot to learn in order to convincingly sell fragrances. Sure, knowing the brand history and individual notes (accords) is impressive, but what ultimately gets the consumer to buy is their personal impression of the scent itself, which is much more subjective than purchasing foundation or a moisturizer. It boils down to money, and how quickly it adds up for those who are aggressive in their tactics to sell fragrance.

Of course, that leads to all manner of drama (the thin-skinned rarely survive) that often plays out in front of customers.  That’s why when I shop for fragrance, I let the salesperson know I am testing scents on my own, and am not intending to make a purchase. If you say this firmly (but nicely) enough, they’ll leave you alone and move on to the next victim, er, customer. Of course, not all fragrance salespeople are shark-like but it seems such gentle fish are few and far between (maybe because they get stuck with the off-hours shifts?).

My advice to fragrance salespeople with shark-like tendencies: learn to share the waters and play fairly. There are more than enough customers to go around, and they don’t want to endure a behind-the-scenes drama as they shop and sniff.