I ’m still in a state of disbelief over what transpired at an Ulta store earlier this week. Needing to purchase some products and gather information on a line, I came into Ulta with a few product print-outs from their Web site. Generally, I use these to take notes on shades and finishes, so that I can put check marks next to noteworthy colors and jot down information about the product’s texture, finish and packaging. Most of these notes are in shorthand, so it’s not as though I’m hunched over, writing novel-like in the store. Given that the store’s motto is “Play, touch, test, learn and explore,” and given that my print-outs all came from Ulta.com, there was no conceivable reason for me to think that the following was about to unfold. But unfold it did, and it left me more enraged and embarrassed than I can describe. But I’ll try nevertheless!

After being in the store for less than an hour, discretely taking notes, a floor manager approached me.

“Can I help you with anything?” she asked.

“I’m good,” I replied and smiled.

She then came at me, quite close, and said, “You are not allowed to write anything down in our store. I have to ask you to leave.”

I let out a small laugh; I was surprised, thinking that surely she misunderstood what I was doing. She pointed her finger at me and said, “Don’t act surprised. You’ve been told this before.” Her eyes narrowed at me.

I had, in fact, never been told that before, so I said “No I haven’t, and I don’t appreciate your tone or your accusation.” What ensued from there was nothing less than a full-blown verbal blow-out in the middle of the store, with customers and sales associates watching us argue whether or not I was allowed to take notes.

And it got heated. The more that I tried to reason with her, allowing her to look at my notes and see that they were completely innocent (and printed out from Ulta’s website no less!), the more she dug in her heels. She told me that if I wanted information about products, I could ask a salesperson.

“Can I write down what the salesperson says?”

“No.”

I told her this was all very ironic considering Ulta’s slogan encourages learning and exploring, “Doesn’t ‘learning’ include writing things down?”

She said, “It’s against store policy.” (I would later learn this is 100% false.)

“It’s against store policy to write things down?”

“Yes.”

But there’s more: she went on to say that testers are for personal use, (though I was “personally” using them, wasn’t I?) and that only paying customers are allowed to use testers.

“So,” I asked, “I have to buy the product before I use the tester?”

“Now you’re just being condescending to me,” she snapped.

“Well, you’re making it very easy for me.”

This went on and on, because she kept making ridiculous and illogical statements that were just too outrageous not to question. Even though I was mortified (and visibly shaking from all the adrenalin), I knew that I’d done nothing wrong and didn’t back down for a second. Seeing that logic was having no effect, I attempted reason, explaining that I had indeed planned on buying something, and that this was part of my shopping process. I even told her she could scan my Ulta card to see for herself the considerable amount of money I’ve spent at Ulta stores. But whatever I said to her, she just continued to demand that I leave the store—almost, it seemed at that point, on principle. When I asked if I was banned permanently, she said—and get this—as long as I put my print-outs and pen in my car, I was allowed back inside to make my purchase. So, like a scolded child, she watched me walk my papers to my car, and then come back in to be rung up. Had I not absolutely needed to make the purchases, I would have surely walked away and never returned. As a paying customer, I have never been so belittled, harassed and infuriated. Ever.

While I was rung up, I thanked her. “You’re welcome,” she said, with a smug smile, as if she’d somehow proved a point to me.

“I wasn’t finished,” I said. As I took my bag from her hand and looked her in the eye, I continued, “Thank you… for giving me the opportunity to write the most vitriolic letter ever composed when I explain to your District Manager that I was asked to leave your store for note-taking while I shopped.”

“I told you, if you need help selecting shades, then you must ask a salesperson for help.”

“So Ulta won’t allow their customers to think for themselves? I’ll be sure to add that to my letter.” And I left.

The story doesn’t end here, but I’ll save what happened next for a future blog!