DD
Daniela Duarte
Jun 2, 2026
Terrible customer service at this location. Employee: Natalia.
I am a frequent VIB member, and I have never been treated in such a derogatory and incompetent manner at this store. During my last two visits, this employee named Natalia has assisted me with an incredibly rude and arrogant attitude.
On this latest occasion, I went to make a legitimate return on a product that caused an allergic skin reaction (the L'Occitane 500 mL shower oil, as shown in the image from my app). Natalia completely fabricated an arbitrary "10% usage policy" that does not exist in writing anywhere. To make matters worse, she tried to justify her argument by visually comparing the large 500 mL bottle to a mini size, completely ignoring the fact that larger bottles inherently come with empty headspace from the factory by design. She even interrogated me about when I ordered it. I honestly explained that I placed the order on May 10th right before traveling to Quebec, my landlord received it while I was away, and I just got back a week ago and only used it twice. Despite being well within the 30-day return window and completely transparent, she treated me with total distrust and acted as if she were doing me a favor, despite seeing my loyal purchase history on my VIB account.
As if that wasn't enough, during my previous visit, my husband wanted to claim his free birthday gift, and she flatly told him no because his birthday month had already passed. When I questioned when that policy had changed, she falsely claimed it was over a year ago—which is a lie, because my birthday was in July, I went after my birthday month, and I received it without any issues. Her response, delivered in an incredibly condescending tone, was: "We are giving this to you for free, and the only thing we ask is that you come during the month you are supposed to. You should be aware of this and you should have received an email." I never received any such email. Her attitude made me feel like I was begging for a benefit that Sephora officially offers to its members, so I chose to just swallow my anger and walk away.
It is a shame that Sephora's excellent brand concept is ruined by staff who completely lack manners, tact, empathy, and actual knowledge of company policies.
I want to explicitly clarify that I have absolutely no issue with this store enforcing its policies. What I deeply mind is the condescending, suspicious, and downright rude attitude with which I was treated. On my last visit, a second employee even joined Natalia to gang up on me and speak to me incredibly poorly. I am a loyal VIB customer who regularly spends high amounts of money at Sephora; I do not come here to beg, lie, or steal.
It is incredibly disappointing to see how drastically the customer service at the Fairview Mall location has plummeted over the last few months. It seems like management changed the entire staff, and the new team completely lacks basic manners and training. This hostile environment is a massive contrast to the professional, warm, and genuinely kind service I always used to receive from Trang and the wonderful girl from Nigeria. Sephora needs to look into its new hires immediately because nobody should be made to feel small or mistreated for making a legitimate return or claiming an official loyalty benefit.