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I Was a PINK Girl at Victoria's Secret. Here's How That Went Down

Expect high stress, rude people, and fat shaming. There is a little bit of love though.

By Sierra LynnPublished 5 years ago 5 min read
Top Story - November 2018
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In 2018, I got hired on the spot to work in a huge mall at one of my favorite stores, Victoria's Secret. It seemed like it was my dream job at the time, but now I would never go back.

I ended up quitting after about three months because I was personally going though some things, plus the job was just too high stress for me.

So after a month of medical leave, I never went back. I definitely do not regret it either.

If you're looking to maybe put your focus into one of the biggest brands in the world, here's a few things you may want to know first.

Sell, sell, sell, and SELL.

You are expected to have four sales per hour, while also trying to meet a quota of $300 in sales per hour.

So when you walk into a Victoria's Secret and are bombarded with questions, slammed with suggestive selling techniques, and told several different names of employees. This is why.

When on a shift, you have two things that are super important: Your SPAH and your TPH.

SPAH: Sales Per Hour (this is supposed to be $300)

TPH: Transactions Per Hour (this is supposed to be 4 per hour)

When working this is why every person who walks into the door gets greeted, and told your name. Names are important, because unfortunately sales are tracked by word of mouth. Meaning if there is a $300 to $400 sale that you put together, and this person doesn't say your name, then the sale goes completely lost. Now you may not reach your quota for the day.

This happens all the time too.

(Be nice to retail associates and remember their names next time because their jobs may be on the line.)

Angel Credit Cards

If you thought selling just clothing and panties was difficult, try selling a credit card to an angry mom or a college student.

During an average six hour shift, you are expected to open four credit cards per hour.

Yes, I'm being serious.

I did the calculations once with a coworker to show just how difficult this really is.

On the PINK side (it is a little easier on the Victoria's Secret side itself), expect an average of 50 percent of the people walking in to already have a card. Now, out of the people left expect another half of those people to be under the age of 18. Now, out of those people expect another half to not even acknowledge the card and already have their minds set on no. So, out of 100 percent of people that walk in the front door, only expect to have a conversation about the card with 12 percent. Now, only half of that will say yes. So, if you speak to EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. that walks in that door, you have a 6 percent chance of opening a card.

Now, try to get four per hour, or risk losing hours, or your job entirely.

Expect to drop a lot of your paycheck on new clothes.

If you're a PINK girl, this sucks.

You are required to be a walking mannequin for the brand itself. So wearing the merchandise is basically your uniform.

In the three to four months I worked there, I spent upwards of $1,000 on clothing. Yeah, you do get to claim it on your taxes, but it still sucks.

Yes, there is a discount. I don't know if it is the same for every store or not, but for my store it was 30 percent off if you were part-time and 40 percent off if you were full-time.

If you were a PINK girl, you did get some specials to build up your wardrobe, like 50 percent off 10 items quarterly. You also got a free outfit quarterly, but three pieces of clothing will not last you working every day for a month. It just isn't possible.

So expect to drop some serious cash when working for PINK.

I didn't expect it, but oh boy, did I get some fat shaming.

First of all, I should have expected this from working at Victoria's Secret. I'm a curvy girl, but I figured I shouldn't let that stop me from working at a brand I enjoy.

Now, I'm being serious when I tell you I once had a woman tell me I was too fat to wear the leggings that they were selling. I also had someone tell me I shouldn't buy something because I was too fat in the stomach region to pull it off.

This all actually happened, in MY place of work.

So, with all the high stress the job already came with, plus the extra stress to from rude customers, I had enough and quit.

After all the shit, there are a few highlights though.

There are a few things I do miss though.

Those things mainly being my discount, (that also works at Bath and Body Works by the way because they are owned by the same company), the fact that all employees got monthly gratis, which is insanely discounted and/or free things.

Although, one of the most important things I miss was being able to help a young girl's confidence. I would have several occasions where girls would come in and be too self-conscious to try on a bra or buy a top.

But being one of the employees, and just a good person, making their days better with confidence boosters was the best part of my job. Making people feel good about themselves through cheaply made clothing (yes, you realize working there how cheap the stuff actually is) was probably the biggest highlight of the job that people don't tell you about.

Anyways, there is some of the stuff that you should expect if you are looking to work for Victoria's Secret/PINK.

Now, this is just MY personal experience, yours may or may not be the same. So, don't be afraid of going after it my friend, you do you boo.

But as a reminder, spread love, even if an old woman tells you you're too fat to fit in a pair of leggings.

(I'm still in shock it happened several months later to be honest.)

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About the Creator

Sierra Lynn

Aspiring historian. Fiction enthusiast. Lover of mystery.

Writer of macabre, fantasy realms, and historical ideals.

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