fragrance consultant

fragrance associate

counter manager

beauty consultant

beauty therapist

Artisan-People

Artisan People is a great company to work for, they provide you with flexibility, constant work and really keep you on your toes. I met some amazing people through my time at Artisan and had the opportunity to work for Clinique, Designer Fragrances, Lancome, Urban Decay, Charlotte Tilbury etc in stores ranging from Boots to Selfridges.

Mangement is pretty non existent and you really need to be pro active and actively seeking the work or you can be forgotten. I found though within a matter of months, I was being asked for by account managers by name and was pretty soon able to virtually book myself up. 

A typical shift is around 8 hours long, with an hour unpaid lunch break, you are paid weekly so there is always money coming in. Workplace culture is varied obviously, depending on what store you work in. I found many friends though the stores I worked in, both through the agency and through staff themselves. I think the key thing about this role is to not think that just because you are a temp agency that this is an excuse to doss about and to do nothing. If you want to be booked back and have constant work, you need to have your game face on, look presentable, sell etc. Even if you find it difficult to sell, if you look busy and keep yourself occupied, you're doing your job! 

There is very little training with Artisan, so if you, like me, are someone who is thrives with the prospect of a challenge and doesn't mind getting stuck in at the deep end, you'll love it! Every day is different, you get a chance to work in different stores, different customer bases, different brands - every day brings something new and exciting. 

With any agency you have to be pro active, and whilst the organisational side of things is poor and slightly weak, as long as you pull the hours in and book yourself up - who cares?! There has also been a swap of management recently so things are improving slowly but surely.

The company thrives off favouritism. If they don’t like you because you called in sick, people do get sick we are human beings, they will decide to not give you work. They have no compassion for people with real life issues, such as health conditions, house issues, mental health. They take ages to pay you once they miss a payment it’s hard to get in touch with them. They don’t pay you the deserved rates you should be getting as an agency worker. You can have years of experience and still get no recognition for the large sales you make but someone they do like can make a small sale and get recognition plus gifts and benefit from better shifts. They claim to give extra pay and travel pay to get you to come in for a shift but will not include that in your weekly payment. Management is proud and egotistic. Emotionally manipulated employees and has a bad reputation within Selfridges if you ask around any manager of any counter will complain about artisan management and their reputation is not worth the money and hassle. I’d stay away from it. The only time you’ll enjoy it is if you fit in their favouritism category and you’re like minded to them. If you work like a dog and expect no respect in return you’ll do great, so in that sense go for it. Also they ask for your availability but will never call you in on the days you’re available, but beg for you to come in on your days off and see you as unreliable if you don’t.  

I am currently working for Artisan, started in August 2019. I was given a shift immediately the day after my interview, and I was very happy about it. In the beginning, you have to prove yourself, take last-minute shifts, do not cancel, answer the texts promptly, just prove you are a reliable employee. I succeeded at this and since then I have been working 5 days a week with them, with a few brands that I request. I have a few locations that I work on, so I do not need to travel to new places every time. I usually do not cancel shifts, but the few times it has happened, they have always been understandable and polite, did not cancel my other bookings or anything. They give me shifts for the next month in advance so I can choose the days I want to work. Sometimes there are changes, but it is just the essence of the job, it's not the agency's fault the positions is dynamic and there are lots of last-minute changes. Never had problems with the payment either. 

Just like any other job, you have to be professional and disciplined. I work hard, I am never late, I reach my targets and I provide excellent customer service and this is not left unnoticed by Artisan, nor by the managers, I work with. I am treated with respect. I have also collected numerous written recommendations which can be used as a portfolio in further interviews. 
I am happy to be working with them.

This agency owes many employees Annual Leave and other monies since before the lockdown. 
The way they calculate Holiday Pay is odd and not government guidelines.
Got some support here and there and some nice people do work there (briefly) but their overall attitude and practices as an agency stink.
After doing a great deal to advance myself, e.g. earning more per hour by doing less lower paid assignments, I found them to be either just not that bothered or obtuse.
Didn't handle negative feedback or complaints very well. Always come down on the side of the companies. Staunch about illness whilst forgetting they can also fall ill suddenly, they CAN get someone else (that's their actual reason for being) and they don't provide any sick pay.
They exist to aid major companies in undercutting their own employment policies by paying these agencies twice what an employee earns per hour to then help the employer circumnavigate basic employment rights such as sick pay and company pension.
Good for the odd temp shift now and again maybe but buyer beware!

This agency owes many employees Annual Leave and other monies since before the lockdown. 
The way they calculate Holiday Pay is odd and not government guidelines.
Got some support here and there and some nice people do work there (briefly) but their overall attitude and practices as an agency stink.
After doing a great deal to advance myself (e.g. earning more per hour but doing less lower paid assignments, I found them to be either just not that bothered or obtuse.
Didn't handle negative feedback or complaints very well. Always come down on the side of the companies. Staunch about illness whilst forgetting they also fall ill suddenly, they CAN get someone else (that's their actual reason for being) and they don't provide any sick pay.
They exist to aid major companies in undercutting their own employment policies by paying these agencies twice what an employee earns per hour to then help the employer circumnavigate basic employment rights such as sick pay and company pension.
Good for the odd temp shift now and again maybe but buyer beware!

While the work is easy, I would never recommend this company to a friend. The management team is all talk to get their commission and once they get it you become nothing to them. I was begged to be on this one brand and project after saying no 3x due to accepting another job offer.  Since they were so persuasive and were willing to work with my schedule, I agreed to try it out. Initially, I was really happy to work for the company. Since they liked me so much, I was given 3 different proposals for a specialized position. I would accept. Then, they would make up an excuse saying that they needed to work some things out and would come up with another contract/description of the job. But, on 3 different and separate occasions the proposal would be rescinded and an excuse would be made. It was extremely strange and unprofessional. 

The management team went from accomodating and friendly to not answer me at all. Look, it´s all about being professional and straightforward. It was unprofessional and I was treated really badly in the end. These people just want their commission, but don´t expect them to be professional and treat you well.

DONT RECOMMEND!! 

Cant stress enough about favoritism
Unfortunately, my experience with this agency has been terrible. There is a clear culture of favoritism , shifts are often given based on who the managers personally prefer rather than on performance or reliability. The pay is generally low and only increases slightly on peak days like Boxing Day.

Support from the agency when issues arise is seriously lacking. Even when store managers back you, the agency tends to side against their own staff, which leaves you feeling unsupported and undervalued.

It’s also frustrating to see double standards when it comes to enforcing rules — small things like leaning on the counter are picked on, but serious breaches of dress code, inappropriate behavior, and even situations that impact safety go unchecked if the person involved is favored.

The overall culture has declined massively, and getting shifts has become nearly impossible. The experience has left me disappointed and concerned for others going through similar treatment.

I have just taken a few moments to read the previous reviews of Artisan, I currently work at Gatwick and I must say that these bad reviews are absolutely spot on! You are promised the world initially and then take one day off sick and they may as well fire you because you won't get any work after that. The workforce is full of snitches who are in the managers pockets to try get you in trouble for nothing! all to further their own agendas. Management is very poor, slow replies to important emails about missed pay (which they do a lot!). it takes ages to walk to the staff room for breaks, but this time comes out of your breaks so you're not really getting a break at all, just a long walk! 

i enjoyed working here to start with, the turnover of staff is crazy. ive never worked for a company that turnover staff so quick.

Please please research this company before giving your life to them for nothing in return.

During my time with artisan i was able to be flexible with my work and choose when to work, however was constantly called on days off to come in. My availability was always forgotton about and i was asked to come in on days id already said i couldnt work. I was spoken to on a couple of occasions very unprofessionally and nastily from management and it actually really upset me, for something that wasnt that deep and i was always on time for work, always knowledgable and a good worker however i felt like i was not valued at all. Very unorganised, they will mix shifts up all the time which affects the brands you’re working for. Pay can be mixed up sometimes. Even if you have specified what industry you want to work in you will be sent a shift for a brand completely out of your comfort zone, you also get sent shifts the day before therefore have no time to plan anything.

the work is good, you sell products, you make sales, you make customers happy but at the end of the week you don't get paid because of 'issues.' I did learn how to talk to people confidently and how to sell but no one can really help you to get paid on time. The workplace is nice and clean, colleagues are nice to you but there are some that don't like you and treat you like nothing. Hardest part of the job is probably standing for long hours but think you need to work hard to get in return the same amount. The most enjoyable part of the job, is making customers happy, making colleagues as new friends and showing how confident you can be to anyone. Plus, you only work 0-3 days in a week, most likely you will work 3 days and then they wont call you for a very very long time.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Fragrance consultant 155 salaries reported	£12.32 per hour
Fragrance associate 14 salaries reported	£12.32 per hour
Counter manager 13 salaries reported	£31,654 per year
Beauty consultant 16 salaries reported	£12.65 per hour
Beauty therapist 15 salaries reported	£12.99 per hour

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