I can't speak for the Body store, since I worked in the Home Fragrance (Candles, wallflowers, etc.).
Pay for regular sales staff is .10 over min. wage.
When I applyed for the job, I was told I would probably get 15-25hrs/week. 2 months in, the most I've ever had is 15 hrs, with most weeks only 6 hrs, and an additional 3 hrs "on call" which you are EXPECTED to be available for. They only put us on for 3 hr shifts at a time too!
Our home fragrance store just opened and is not doing nearly as good in sales as they had hoped, so they have been giving mngt most hours and the rest of the sales staff just 3-9hrs/week! They are so concerned about conversion (trying to get 40% of the customers that walk in to buy) and units per transaction (adding on various crap at the till) that you are EXPECTED to hound every single customer that walks in the door! If you don't, expect your manager to reprimand/make suggestions/feed lines to you through your headset to MAKE you hound that customer to buy SOMETHING.
Then you have to "demo" products, pretty much shoving a candle in a customers face. If you don't, and your manager sees you, they start barking at you through the headset saying "Did you give that customer a demo? Why not?" You are expected to fill in a "goal" sheet at the start of every shift and "chat-in" with a manager to let them know how you plan to puch their crap on customers that day. Then you have to "chat-out" at the end of your shift to discuss if you met your sales/demo goals, etc.
This is most definatly a SALES job, not a CUSTOMER SERVICE one. I can't continue to work at a place where I:
a) don't believe in the products I'm selling (way too expensive, and Wallflowers only work when you first plug them in, then they don't smell like anything at all and quite honestly, their candles aren't that great for the price).
b)Can't stand their sales tactics.
Seriously, I'd rather be flipping burgers for min. wage.
