Firstly, I feel like this post needs to start with one basic sentence, I do not think that LUSH should host a Showcase next year.
I had taken today off of work so I would be able to write up a blog post, all about my time at the LUSH Showcase, so I could tell you all about what was going on during the day, what I got to make and show you all the exclusive and seasonal products that I had purchased. Unfortunately, due to my experience at the Showcase, this blog post will be very different from what I had planned. This blog post isn't just intended for my usual readers. I want everybody to see this. I want Mark, Jack, Simon and the rest of the LUSH family to see this, read it and understand what the day was like for us paying customers and loyal fans.
I had purchased a LUSH Labs ticket the day that they were released, which cost me £35. I was under the understanding that my ticket would get me fast track, a tote bag, patch and a product. We were informed that the venue would be open at 10am and that LUSH Labs ticket holders were to enter through a different entrance than general admission. When we got to the Convention Centre, I was confused as to where we were to queue as the sign which stated 'LUSH Labs Ticket Holders This Way' was facing the incorrect way. This wouldn't usually have been an issue for me, but I attended the Showcase with a friend who suffers from chronic pain and therefore can't walk long distances. There was no option for my friend to just wander around and try to work out where we needed to be. Once I located the correct queue, we found our friends and waited for the doors to open. As stated before, we were under the impression that the venue opened at 10am, so we got there with half an hour to spare the last ones in. 10am came and we were still waiting. We were let into the venue at around 10:15, to which I didn't think much of until I actually got inside. Once we were bag checked, which was a mere glimpse into our bags, tickets scanned to collect our wristbands and picked up our totes, we headed straight into the shop for the Swag. I knew as soon as we walked into the main room that there was no way LUSH Labs ticket holders entered the venue before general admission. There wasn't that many people in front of us in the queue and the place was already heaving.
We headed straight to the Swag section, to find that there was already a queue. I believe I queued for around half an hour to 45 minutes to get into the small cage that held the t-shirts, totes and patches. The Swag shop was so cramped, it was near impossible to move around. I could see things that I wanted to purchase but there was no way I could squeeze through the amount of people that were inside to grab what I wanted. I ended up asking a member of staff to grab me a t-shirt as I couldn't get to it and she very kindly went and got me a t-shirt from the excess stock as they didn't have one out in my size. Whilst in the Swag shop, we were informed that the card machines had gone down and payment via debit or credit card could not be processed. I started to worry as I had saved for the Showcase by putting money on to a gift card , so I asked the member of staff whether I could still pay via gift card. I was told that I wouldn't be able to, that the process of payment via a gift card required WiFi and that was the issue causing card payment to not be accepted. We were assured that the tills would be up and running in no time. I managed to get out of the Swag shop with a handful of the pieces I wanted, I just couldn't bare to be in such a cramped area anymore and I needed to know what was going on with the payment issue.
I left the Swag shop, which was tucked away in the corner of the exclusives area, to a crowd of people. The queue for the Swag was three times the length it was when I managed to get in and was growing. This was having a knock on effect within the products shop, as the Swag shop was inside of the main shop. I ran to grab myself a basket and started making my way around the shop to see what was available to purchase and what I wanted to buy. It was near impossible to look at products, never mind reach to pick one up. I am seeing photos of products today that I had no idea were even there yesterday. Everywhere was crowded resulting people were bashing each other with baskets, shoulders and elbows because there wasn't enough space to move around. I managed to grab a few items and then gave up. I didn't even enter the Christmas section as I was so frustrated by the whole situation, I'd lost my friends in the mess of it all and I didn't have it in me to fight through the crowds to find them. I found a seating area in the centre of the shop and sat down. I deal with anxiety and panic attacks, and how I made it through the shop without having a panic attack, I will never know. Unfortunately, other people weren't as lucky as me and I know for a fact some people literally couldn't deal with it and had no option but to leave this area. One by one, I met up with my friends again and we waited for a while for more news on the card issue. We got so sick of waiting around, seeing the queue growing longer, not being a part of it, and not being updated on the payment issues, that we left.
At this point, we were pretty annoyed but I thought our day could be salvaged by making products. We left the shop at around 12, so we headed straight to the Handmade By You section as Atmospheres were scheduled for around half past. When myself and my friends got there, we were some of the first. This would have been the first product I was making and as I haven't tried the atmospheres yet, I was excited to smell the gels that the product contains. We stood and waited, to be told just before it started that this was not a making session. We were informed that this session was Gary Shears talking about the atmospheres and telling us how he invented them. I was already annoyed at everything that had happened prior, but this just irritated me further. We were in the Handmade By You section, it's in the name. We left the area to find another stall to make a product, but while we were queuing for so long to make Atmospheres, other people were queuing to make the other products, meaning that we just couldn't get there in time for there to be enough moulds and product left.
We located the exclusive bath bombs that I had been looking for and I was confused. There were stands with a tower of each bath bomb and an iPad placed next to them, on a timer. We were told that these were exclusive bath bombs that would be available to purchase in the new naked shop that will be opening in Japan. They looked incredible and smelt even better. We asked where we could buy them and we were informed that the iPad timer, was counting down to the time when we could purchase them from a truck that was just over from where we were. The concept confused me a little, but I took note of the timers and realised that some of them had ridiculous times, stating that the bath bomb wouldn't be available for another 22 hours. When we asked staff, they confirmed that this meant we could not purchase the bath bomb today and that we should come back tomorrow. I explained that I didn't purchase a ticket for the next day, I had to travel back home that night. This really annoyed me and my friends, it was dangling products in front of us and saying, 'you can't have this.' I was able to pick up two of the exclusive bombs, but the collector, blogger and hoarder inside of me would have loved the full set.
We headed back to the shop to check the queues which didn't appear to have moved much and were still growing. I double checked with staff who told me that they still couldn't accept card or gift card payments, so the shop was still out of the question for me and I was starting to feel like I'd never be able to purchase what I wanted. Some of my friends had went to join a making queue to make Cheery Christmas bath bomb, so myself and a couple of others went to join the queue. We were told that we wouldn't be able to make this product as they had ran out of ingredients. I asked when the next product would be made and we were informed that it would be five o'clock, which was in four hours time. I asked what the product would be and she told me she didn't know. Again, I left a station disappointed.
We wandered around aimlessly for a little while, before heading for some food as we were all hungry and hadn't ate much, due to not being allowed to bring food into the Showcase. We bought a mix of food between us, I purchased the Mac and Cheese option. I would have liked pizza, but every queue was extremely long and this one looked shorter. As I was queuing with my friend who had a crutch, it wasn't fair on her to make her stand in a longer queue for my food preference, I couldn't be bothered to queue that long and I was more than happy with Mac and Cheese anyway. I was quite annoyed that my friend was clearly in pain and leaning on her crutch more than she should have done, yet she was not called to the front of the queue and the staff did nothing to help her carry the food over to the table to collect cutlery, we both had our hands full with two portions of food and I could just about manage with the hot food in a cardboard box, trying to grab forks to eat. They did double box the food for her so it wasn't as hot, but I don't think this would have made much of a difference. The food was okay, the portion sizes were on the smaller side considering that this would be the only meal we had that day and it also cost £6.95 for what we got. I am very well aware that later on in the day, the stalls ran out of food. I don't understand how this can happen, LUSH know how many tickets they sold, therefore they should have prepared food for more people than purchased tickets.
After eating, I wandered around with my friend, took some photographs as I had barely taken my camera out of my bag all day and we discussed how miserable we felt and how we really just wanted to go home. At that point of the day, we'd had enough. I was annoyed because I was so excited to get my hands on all these products, I had saved money on a gift card specifically for this event and I was looking forward to writing a blog post about them all, for all the people who couldn't be there. It was looking like I wouldn't be able to purchase anything and I was worried that things I would want would have sold out and they wouldn't be replenishing the stock until after the centre closed, for the next day.
I finally got to make something at 5 o'clock when myself and my friends went to the Handmade By You station and we made the Snowflake bubble spinner. I started chatting to some girls and then we realised that we actually followed each other on social media. Through chatting with other people, we realised that it wasn't just us that was fed up, it seemed the morale of everybody was pretty dim and everybody I spoke to wasn't happy with what the day had become. There were a lot of disappointed people and as awful as it was that all these people felt the same way, it made me feel like I wasn't over exaggerating my feelings.
After we were finished making the bubble spinner, we stopped off for a toilet break. I was waiting outside with one of my friends who suffers from chronic pain. I could tell that she was in agony and offered her some ibuprofen. She accepted the tablets and asked if I had any water. I checked my bottle and I didn't, so I said I would get some for her. I looked around and couldn't see water anywhere. I read before we attended, that water stations would be everywhere, we would be able to get water wherever we were. I asked in the Handmade By You section whether they could provide me with some water to fill my bottle and they told me that the water at their station wasn't drinking water so they couldn't. I asked if the tap water in the toilets was drinking safe and she confirmed that it was not. I looked around and realised that the only water dispensers that I was aware of, were in the food market, which was too far away for her to walk and I didn't want to leave my friend by herself while she was in pain. Luckily another one of our friends appeared with water in hand, so my friend was able to take some pain medication.
I had to head outside to take a phone call as my friends were going to join the queue for the shop as word had gotten around that card payments were now being accepted and the queue was going down slightly at the till side. I joined the end of the queue once I was back in the centre, after walking right through with no bag check nor nobody looking for my wrist band. I'd been in the queue mere minutes before a group of staff who had been talking broke off, and one of them started talking to the people in front of me. I overheard what sounded like 'closed as of here' and the disappointment set in again. I started listening in to the conversation, as did the people next to me and we heard that as of that point in the queue, the store was closed and admittance to the shop was a no go. The people in front of me walked away, clearly very upset and annoyed. I spoke to the staff member and explained that all my friends were inside the store, that I had had to step outside of the centre due to the noise, to take a phone call and that I would have been with them had I not had to take that call. The staff member told me I could come back tomorrow and I would be able to access the shop. I explained that I wasn't local and I wasn't attending the Showcase for a second day. I could see that the person speaking with me was uncomfortable with this situation so I told him that I understood it wasn't his fault. He told me that he would speak with another colleague and try to sort something out. I waited whilst I heard other staff members turn people away, explaining that the store was closed. Another member of staff who had heard me talking to the previous staff member asked me if I was okay. I was honest with her. I explained how I had saved money on a gift card for this event, how I had travelled from Carlisle and I was only here this day, that all my friends were inside the shop and that I was a blogger, wanting to purchase products so I could provide first impressions and reviews on my blog. The girl I was speaking to was very understanding and said she would do what she could. She spoke with another colleague who both agreed that I could join the queue.
I must admit, I was surprised with how much product was still left. I was able to pick up the Swag that I wanted, which I was very shocked at and I was able to have a more in depth browse at everything and take photos of the exclusives. There were still people browsing, but nowhere near as many people as before. My only issue at this point was I was tired, my knees were killing me from standing all day and I had just lost all enthusiasm that I had. I wanted to talk to staff and learn more about the products, especially the pieces I wasn't going to purchase. I just didn't have it in me. I picked up the exclusives that I wanted, grabbed some pieces of the Christmas collection and headed to the tills. I think it took around an hour to get served and then a further 30 minutes at the till, which even though it is a long time, I really feel for the people who stood in the queue for hours upon hours and missed out on so many other things that were going on. I felt so sorry for the staff as they kept apologising for the time issue and I kept reassuring them that it was fine. When I reached the till the lady who was serving me was missing the PLU for some of the products I was purchasing and she seemed so anxious, it made me wonder if she had had a bad experience today with another customer. I reassured her that she could take her time and to not bother labelling the items unless it would help her. I finally left the shop and wanted to fill my cup with water but was asked to make my way to the exit.
I spent a total of nine hours at the Showcase, I was in as soon as I could and I was one of the last few to leave. On a whole, the day was deflating, frustrating and disappointing. I paid money to be there, to travel down and to stay the night before to ensure I was at the Showcase early enough to be there all day. Based on my experience of the day, there are a few questions that I have that I would like answered and I think a lot of people would like answered also..
Why were LUSH Labs tickets advertised as 'fast track'?
I really don't see how there was any difference between LUSH Labs and general admission, apart from the tote, patch and product. General admission clearly entered the building before we did, therefore we were not 'fast track' at all.
Why were the bag searches not thorough? Why was security so lax?
It's upsetting that at this day in age, bag searches have to be a thing, but my bag was glimpsed into the first time I came in. I had to ask the security guy if he wanted to see into my bag the second time I came in and the third time, he looked in my LUSH Labs tote but not my backpack. I was never asked by any member of staff or security to see my wristband, and it was covered when I walked in the third time as I had my hoodie on, therefore they wouldn't have been able to see it.
Why did the WiFi not work? Was the WiFi tested prior to the venue being booked or even the day of the Showcase?Probably a touchy subject, but this is the key to the disappointment, disruption and anger that fuelled. When booking a venue for thousands of people to attend and making the decision to run the tills off the WiFi, surely LUSH would have checked that the strength of the signal was sufficient.
Why was the layout of the shop changed from last year?
I had no issues at all with purchasing products last year, the shops was set out with a clear walk way down the middle with the products on either side. This worked. Why do LUSH have a habit of changing things that work! The crowd (if any) flowed better last year, people were walking in the same direction and there was one way in and one way out. This layout should have been adopted this year also.
Why were there so few water dispensers?
We were informed that water dispensers would be everywhere, yet I recall only seeing water in the food market. I was in a need of water, in a large open space and I couldn't see any water dispensers in the near area.
We were informed that water dispensers would be everywhere, yet I recall only seeing water in the food market. I was in a need of water, in a large open space and I couldn't see any water dispensers in the near area.
Why did the food run out?
Although this didn't affect me, people deserve an explanation as to why food ran out. My mother is from a catering background and I have helped her in the past. You always provide food for at least 5% more than you have booked or expected, that way nobody is left disappointed. This was a full day convention, there were next to no snacks, therefore a meal is all that most people could get. If any 'wasted money' should have been spent on anything, it should have been food, not a giant ball of bicarbonate.
Why were there no exceptions or lines for people with disabilities?
After spending the day with two people who suffer from chronic pain, I am disgusted that there was no help or any form of service for those with disabilities. Isn't this something that LUSH pride themselves on? People with chronic pain shouldn't be left to stand in queues for hours on end. They should be prioritised, and I didn't see this happening at all.
Why weren't managers turning people away at the shop?
I don't think it was fair that floor staff were the ones who had to turn people away in the queue. Not every person who spoke to those staff were as nice and polite as me, a lot of people were very frustrated and this heightened their feelings even more.
Why were the exclusive bath bombs not available on both days?
I understand the one per customer rule and them only being available at certain times, but I don't understand some bath bombs were sold on one day and some sold on the second day. LUSH should know their customers by now, the people who attend the Showcase aren't random people off the street. These are die hard, loyal fans who want to spend their money on your products and use them. Splitting the bath bombs between days made no sense to anybody and disappointed a lot of people. I have also heard that all the bath bombs were available to purchase on the second day, how is this fair and equal?
I want to express that every member of staff I came into contact with, was exceptionally lovely and understanding. If anything, I think the floor staff had it the hardest yesterday, probably not made much easier by some of the customers. I didn't have a single questionable experience with the staff, even when they didn't know the answer to what I was asking, they were still as helpful as they could be. The issues that occurred yesterday definitely came from higher up and I feel like they simply didn't care.
So Mark, Jack, Simon and to anybody else who was responsible for the car crash of day one - it's pretty apparent that getting on a stage and talking to a handful of people was more important than sorting out the issues that were affecting hundreds of your paying customers. I'm pretty sure people would have understood you being late to a talk if you were sorting out the mess that was happening. As far as I am aware, LUSH as a company has always strived for equality and maintained that this is a key issue to you, but I think that this Showcase was another perfect example of inequality within LUSH. Maybe if higher management took their focus off making a handful of people happy, you'd be able to focus a little more on the masses of disappointed people. It's became pretty apparent that a large following on social media not only gets you things for free, but also gets you priority over disabled people in pain, people crying and having panic attacks because they're that stressed out and paying customers who have shelled out of their own pocket to be there, every single one of which who are so damn loyal to your company and products. I don't think it's ridiculous of me to request, at the very least, a formal apology to each and every person who attended the first day, for all the time spent standing in queues, lack of food available, misleading information provided, shortage of ingredients and for the overall miserable experience that was felt throughout the entire convention as a result of this.
To all my usual readers, followers and friends, I hope if you attended the Showcase on day one, that you made the best of a bad situation. I've heard a lot of people say that meeting the people that they met was the best part of their day and made it better, and this is definitely the case for me. To anybody who didn't attend the Showcase, I hope this post provides you a bit more insight as to why some people are 'moaning' about the day, as my experience definitely wasn't one of the worst. And finally, to LUSH, I expect a reply to my questions in an email.
If you attended the Showcase please leave your comments down below on your experience of your time there!
** Disclaimer: All views and opinions are my own. A link to this blog post is being sent to LUSH WeCare, therefore your comments may be viewed by LUSH **
