Behind those softly lit, fragrant skincare and perfume counters, how many grievances and tears of working people are hidden? Recently, a beauty advisor who had worked at Shoppers Drug Mart, a Canadian drugstore giant, for five years posted on Reddit announcing her departure. Unexpectedly, this post resonated with countless retail workers.
The original poster mentioned that she brought her experience to the new store but instead encountered textbook-level workplace bullying:
“Today, I’ve finally had enough.” I was initially hired part-time because of my extensive experience at another branch.
Later, due to a relocation, I moved to this new Shoppers location. At first, I was swayed by its elegant decor and thought it was a better opportunity… until a few months later I realized it was a complete mess. After the original beauty manager resigned, the assistant manager took over. From then on, everything started to go awry… I was forced to take on the work that should have belonged to the manager, without receiving any training. I would even receive work text messages in the middle of the night, which put me under tremendous pressure. I often broke down and cried after getting off work.
Furthermore, the front desk manager began overstepping his bounds, even sending a front desk supervisor to monitor us. We were required to do all sorts of miscellaneous tasks unrelated to our job duties. Because the manager didn’t want to hire more people, he directly exploited the existing staff.
The most outrageous time was when the assistant manager demanded a $15 donation from me to receive a gratis, I’d earned through hard work. Don’t forget, I was only earning minimum wage. I felt exploited, even psychologically abused. When I tried to communicate with management, I didn’t get solutions, but rather the familiar routine: denying the problem, making me doubt myself (gaslighting), promising change but nothing happening.
During this time, three more employees resigned. So, one day, I simply walked in and handed in my resignation letter after two weeks. This experience left me with psychological trauma and even made me disheartened to continue working in the beauty industry. I am now a full-time university student.”