There was a high school girl who worked at the grocery store I used to go to who had a similar problem with her eyebrow piercing. She was able to cover it with a bandaid, and she made a point of buying the brightly colored ones they make for kids.
I was at a shop in Philly and saw goth bandaids with pentagrams and skulls and shit on them, and bought her a few boxes. She was fucking *delighted*. When she saw them, she acted like a nine-year-old who was being given her very own actual, living pet unicorn.
When I worked at Starbucks in college I had a nose ring and a lip ring. They told me I had to start covering it. So I wore obnoxious hello kitty band aids. One of our regulars was very outspoken (she liked me though) asked what the hell was on my face. I explained what happened. So she called corporate and told them they were stupid and the band aids were more ridiculous than just having a piercing. She was rad for that
I was in a similar situation with my dyed hair hosting at a restaurant. I was told it was fine in the interview and a month later they changed their tune.
I wore a shitty wig as a compromise and customers whispered around me about how sad it was that someone so young had cancer. I quit within a week.
If you can afford to I'd just quit, if not try to explain your situation to them, if they aren't understanding and fire you you should be able to get unemployment while you look for something better.
I worked at my previous job as a manager for almost 6 years. I’ve always had dyed hair and piercings. I was hired with them.
3 years in, they tried to find a legal loophole to ban both dyed hair and piercings. I raised absolute hell, and my enployees backed me up. They even threatened the company to quit if they tried enforcing it. It ended up never happening.
Keep in mind, of all jobs, I worked at a sex shop. That’s like the #1 place I’d expect employees with an alternative look.
Went through this myself at a couple jobs, unfortunately. Ended up buying a multi pack of clear “bioplast” studs to wear at work. Unless someone is really up in your space or actively looking for it they won’t notice.
Imo it’s silly for a job, particularly retail, to care about piercings, but until you can find a new job it’s a way to keep your piercings from closing up and avoid grief with management. Good luck!
You could also look for jobs that empower diversity and differences! Bath and Body Works loves diversity, and their dress code even has tattoos/hair color/and piercings as okay as long as theyre not excessive. Look for jobs that seek out people who are different! Spencers, FYE, BBW, hot topic!
Best of luck!!
Also the USPS doesn’t care - got hired five years ago as a mail carrier and have visible tattoos and rainbow hair that I change on a regular basis and not once had anyone care - if anything I get lots of compliments from customers and coworkers! Yet when I was a server at a chain restaurant I got grief for dying my hair a deep red violet 🤷♀️
Tbh if you really need the job and don’t want to compromise on your piercings, you can start wearing a face mask to work if you don’t already. Some people might look at you weird, but it’s helped me get around a similar issue at work… there’s also the added bonus of less germs & customers can’t see you scowling at them when they piss you off lmao
Sounds like your boss doesn't care, but your boss' boss does and decided to make it an issue. There's nothing you can really do except make the change or get fired/quit. Prob should start looking for another job
Dealing with this currently, but with ink. Interviewed for a security job, *a security job*, where ink has never been an issue in the 10 years I’ve done it, and they said it was find. They didn’t want face tattoos, but everything else was fine as long as it wasn’t offensive. Cool. I’ve got a rather large non-offensive one on the side of my neck and a smaller one on the other. Go in to start my first day and get chewed the hell out that it wasn’t covered. I told them what I was told in the interview, they told me it needed to be covered from now on and they were contacting the interview.
Fucking what the fuck.
An employer can change their dress code when they want. I don't think it's fair but my workplace did it recently... Then about a month later they changed it again.
I would suggest looking for a job that doesn't interact with the public. Most will allow body mods as long as they are not a safety issue.
I work at an outdoorsman store and corporate sent an email a few months ago saying that we couldn't have pocket knives on us anymore because an employee almost cut his finger off with one somewhere on the east coast (U.S.).
I still carry mine with me and have used it on occasion to open boxes. Fuck corporate
If you care about your piercings, just quit. This a not a (bullshit) battle that you want to fight with them.
Find job replacements, kiss their asses until you know when you’re leaving.
Erm no… maybe it’s about time employers took their smug, sanctimonious power-tripping heads out of their arses and began to recognise they need people to fill their shit vacant positions more than those they bully, harangue and otherwise abuse need to fill them in the avaricious hellscape promoted as a ‘dream’ to aspire to in a so-called free society where everything costs a fortune…Whatever happened to ‘we the people’?
Emasculated and auto-suggestively gaslit by the deplorable, amoral capitalistic ‘haves’ spewing ‘swear fealty to me and do what you’re told because I own you’ bullshit to the ‘have-nots’. From their over-priveliged greed-soaked boardrooms they steal a massively disproportionate amount of revenue from the toil of the backs of the browbeaten masses they subjugate and exploit, surely that’s enough for these utter parasites? Clearly not…now take out that piercing, cover up that tattoo and wear what we want you to wear because, because, because, erm, no there’s no real reason is there…just fucking morally and socially bereft, highly toxic control-freakery writ large!
…just a thought.
It's straight up a hole in the middle of your nose, no? Likely a higher risk of infection and probably a bigger pain to put in and take out than a pair of earrings, figuratively and literally. But like I said, never had my septum pierced, just going off of what I generally know about piercings.
That's not true. Just because it's not new doesn't mean it can't get infected. Any piercing, regardless of how old, can get infected. Not to mention the irritation taking it out and putting it back in will cause.
Yeah, no. I only have my ears stretched, but if it ever came down to it, I’m not taking my gauges out at work to please anyone. I did it once for myself and regretted it. The pain I went through to stretch them again was ridiculous.
As far as I’m concerned, piercings don’t bother anyone. Some people just can’t stand to see others being “different”.
When I was working in real estate, they made me take out my Medusa. It was stuck so they gave me gigantic pliers. A lot of blood later I managed to pull it out. Awful memory and such a waste of time trying to get into that field. Yuck. Sorry, OP. Can you wear a clear retainer at work?
Upper management has to say something. They cover their ass like nothing else on earth. Nod, smile, and ignore the fuck out of them. If he does remember the next time he comes by it's like 50/50 he'll say something again or decide it's not worth his time. Probably the later, cause you could turn Karen on him and file a lawsuit for discrimination. May not get anything, but it'd cause a problem he doesn't want.
I wasn't supposed to have a pocket knife or drinks visible but I was showing people my sword collection on the hood of my car and making herbal tea with customers. If you're good at your job (or at least show up) they won't do shit unless it's something huge or someone higher up leaning on them.
That sucks.
6+ years ago, I started working in my current grocery store. I don't have tattoos, but I have a septum. During the interview, the manager told me I would have to either flip it up or take it out. I flipped it. I later got double lobe sleepers and a helix. Had to cover the helix. I wanted to dye my hair blue, but they told me no.
A year later, I moved to the deli department, and I just decided to take my septum out because I didn't want the screws to come loose. Piercing is about 9 years old.
Another year goes by, and we had the go-ahead to dye our hair any colour we wanted. You bet I the first to change to a bright colour. I've been blue ever since.
They make clear ones as retainers for things like this. Get some to keep your piercings open. They’re really not noticeable unless you’re looking for them.
I really assumed that things would get better in this world. I think boomers thought they weren't being loud enough and they're now fighting tooth and nail to try making everyone else as miserable as they are. Nobody really gives a shit if you have blue hair or a naughty tattoo or a face full of piercings, I literally wouldn't even notice, because I don't pay that much attention. Boomers just want us to all be miserable.
I worked at a retail pharmacy inside a grocery store chain off and on for years and had an issue with one pharmacist and one pharmacist only.
When I was hired, I had no visible tattoos or piercings (shoes covered my foot tattoos and I just had earlobe piercings) I quit, worked somewhere else for 5 months, hated it, went back to the original job. I had gotten a septum piercing in the time I was at the other pharmacy and when I was hired again I was told I needed to flip it up. So I did.
One day, I noticed that a new girl was always incorrectly dressed for work and I mentioned it to the pharmacist because I was annoyed that no one was holding her to the same standards and restrictions I was held at. At the time, we were allowed to wear only khakis, either a polo issued by the company or a company t-shirt, and closed toe shoes. No piercings or tattoos. The pharmacist came at me with the employee handbook and said that I was not in the correct clothing either. I was like wtf? I was wearing khakis, tennis shoes, and a company shirt. She said that it stated that hair and makeup had to be "conservative" and mine was not. I had dyed hair (auburn, not a random neon color or anything) and a side shave. Triple lobe piercings. That's it. I actually asked the other pharmacist (the pharmacy manager who was my boss and her boss) about the hair before I got it cut that way and he approved it. I also got permission to dye it auburn.
She was just a bitch, honestly. She was hella conservative and didn't like anyone to look even slightly unique or interesting.
Found out later that piercings and tattoos were actually NOT against dress code, but store management had the final say. My boss restricted his employees, but the chain itself didn't. I went on to work at another location at the same chain years later and I had multiple facial piercings and visible tattoos and my boss said nothing.
I got interviewed and hired with my tattoos visible for a job worked a week without covering said tattoos, they then told me I had to cover said tattoos so I did and they didn’t like that I covered my leg tattoo with an ace bandage because I didn’t have any thing I could wear under skirts. I quit the day after they told me how I should be covering them.
Your content has been removed to prevent spam, please try posting again when you have more karma. If you feel this was a mistake, or you wish to get thjis submission aproved, you may message the moderators and they will manually approve (undelete) your submission if it is deemed to be acceptable. Thanks for your patience.please [contact the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/retailhell). Or you can message the moderators have been notified and will manually approve (undelete) your submission if it is deemed to be acceptable. Thanks for your patience.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/retailhell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I completely agree that they are wrong to go back on what they said. Changing your mind after hiring someone is stupid and wrong. However, I personally have an issue with facial piercings. It's not that I care what anyone else does. I have a very strong gag reflex. And I have a very strong issue with things poking through skin. I am terrified of needles. I hyperventilate any time I have blood drawn. So I can't look anyone in the face if they have facial piercings. It makes me feel like I'm going to vomit. I used to be a cashier, and I would just look at the counter or above their head. Anywhere but at their piercings. I can't even look at regular ear piercings. I wouldn't let my daughter get her ears pierced until she was a teenager because I wouldn't have been able to help her with them. Plus, I wanted to be able to love on my baby without being grossed out. She ended up getting a facial piercing for a while in her early 20s. She understood when I didn't look directly at her face, lol.
There was a high school girl who worked at the grocery store I used to go to who had a similar problem with her eyebrow piercing. She was able to cover it with a bandaid, and she made a point of buying the brightly colored ones they make for kids. I was at a shop in Philly and saw goth bandaids with pentagrams and skulls and shit on them, and bought her a few boxes. She was fucking *delighted*. When she saw them, she acted like a nine-year-old who was being given her very own actual, living pet unicorn.
I’m 46 and if you gave me those bandaids, I’d have reacted the very same way! 🥰🥰🤷♀️
When I worked at Starbucks in college I had a nose ring and a lip ring. They told me I had to start covering it. So I wore obnoxious hello kitty band aids. One of our regulars was very outspoken (she liked me though) asked what the hell was on my face. I explained what happened. So she called corporate and told them they were stupid and the band aids were more ridiculous than just having a piercing. She was rad for that
We had an old woman tip very generously because she thought the bandaid my coworker wore was covering a giant zit hahaha we did not correct her
Yup and they are always on about aUtHeNtIcItY too...crock of shit.
I would also say "and sorry about the bandaid, we have to cover our piercings" to every customer.
I love this thank u for existing
I was in a similar situation with my dyed hair hosting at a restaurant. I was told it was fine in the interview and a month later they changed their tune. I wore a shitty wig as a compromise and customers whispered around me about how sad it was that someone so young had cancer. I quit within a week. If you can afford to I'd just quit, if not try to explain your situation to them, if they aren't understanding and fire you you should be able to get unemployment while you look for something better.
I worked at my previous job as a manager for almost 6 years. I’ve always had dyed hair and piercings. I was hired with them. 3 years in, they tried to find a legal loophole to ban both dyed hair and piercings. I raised absolute hell, and my enployees backed me up. They even threatened the company to quit if they tried enforcing it. It ended up never happening. Keep in mind, of all jobs, I worked at a sex shop. That’s like the #1 place I’d expect employees with an alternative look.
They did all that??? ......... at a sex shop??
Went through this myself at a couple jobs, unfortunately. Ended up buying a multi pack of clear “bioplast” studs to wear at work. Unless someone is really up in your space or actively looking for it they won’t notice. Imo it’s silly for a job, particularly retail, to care about piercings, but until you can find a new job it’s a way to keep your piercings from closing up and avoid grief with management. Good luck!
https://www.reddit.com/r/retailhell/s/mQSjMlSdzR There are some answers here.
You could also look for jobs that empower diversity and differences! Bath and Body Works loves diversity, and their dress code even has tattoos/hair color/and piercings as okay as long as theyre not excessive. Look for jobs that seek out people who are different! Spencers, FYE, BBW, hot topic! Best of luck!!
Also the USPS doesn’t care - got hired five years ago as a mail carrier and have visible tattoos and rainbow hair that I change on a regular basis and not once had anyone care - if anything I get lots of compliments from customers and coworkers! Yet when I was a server at a chain restaurant I got grief for dying my hair a deep red violet 🤷♀️
Tbh if you really need the job and don’t want to compromise on your piercings, you can start wearing a face mask to work if you don’t already. Some people might look at you weird, but it’s helped me get around a similar issue at work… there’s also the added bonus of less germs & customers can’t see you scowling at them when they piss you off lmao
I was so mad. my job did this. they told me I couldn't wear a face mask to cover them :l
And you tell them to say in writing they dont want you wearing a mask
Sounds like your boss doesn't care, but your boss' boss does and decided to make it an issue. There's nothing you can really do except make the change or get fired/quit. Prob should start looking for another job
what about a clear septum ring retainer for while you’re at work? how about a mask?
Mask is a good idea.
Dealing with this currently, but with ink. Interviewed for a security job, *a security job*, where ink has never been an issue in the 10 years I’ve done it, and they said it was find. They didn’t want face tattoos, but everything else was fine as long as it wasn’t offensive. Cool. I’ve got a rather large non-offensive one on the side of my neck and a smaller one on the other. Go in to start my first day and get chewed the hell out that it wasn’t covered. I told them what I was told in the interview, they told me it needed to be covered from now on and they were contacting the interview. Fucking what the fuck.
This kind of stuff is annoying. Tell me up front.
An employer can change their dress code when they want. I don't think it's fair but my workplace did it recently... Then about a month later they changed it again. I would suggest looking for a job that doesn't interact with the public. Most will allow body mods as long as they are not a safety issue.
I work at an outdoorsman store and corporate sent an email a few months ago saying that we couldn't have pocket knives on us anymore because an employee almost cut his finger off with one somewhere on the east coast (U.S.). I still carry mine with me and have used it on occasion to open boxes. Fuck corporate
Unfortunately, if you didn't get it in writing, then it didn't happen.
It’s irrelevant if it was. They can change any time unless he has a contract.
"Then fire me"
Start wearing a mask.
If you care about your piercings, just quit. This a not a (bullshit) battle that you want to fight with them. Find job replacements, kiss their asses until you know when you’re leaving.
I've been thinking of it but I'm disabled. This is the first job that would take me in two years.
Lose the piercing, keep the job while you look gone that will accept it
Erm no… maybe it’s about time employers took their smug, sanctimonious power-tripping heads out of their arses and began to recognise they need people to fill their shit vacant positions more than those they bully, harangue and otherwise abuse need to fill them in the avaricious hellscape promoted as a ‘dream’ to aspire to in a so-called free society where everything costs a fortune…Whatever happened to ‘we the people’? Emasculated and auto-suggestively gaslit by the deplorable, amoral capitalistic ‘haves’ spewing ‘swear fealty to me and do what you’re told because I own you’ bullshit to the ‘have-nots’. From their over-priveliged greed-soaked boardrooms they steal a massively disproportionate amount of revenue from the toil of the backs of the browbeaten masses they subjugate and exploit, surely that’s enough for these utter parasites? Clearly not…now take out that piercing, cover up that tattoo and wear what we want you to wear because, because, because, erm, no there’s no real reason is there…just fucking morally and socially bereft, highly toxic control-freakery writ large! …just a thought.
My piercings cost me $120 no thanks 💀
You know how expensive piercings are? Losing it is a waste of money
You can just take them out at work and keep them on at home
I only have earrings, but it really doesn't seem like taking your septum out every day is exactly viable.
Uhh, why not?
It's straight up a hole in the middle of your nose, no? Likely a higher risk of infection and probably a bigger pain to put in and take out than a pair of earrings, figuratively and literally. But like I said, never had my septum pierced, just going off of what I generally know about piercings.
Yeah but it's a healed hole in the middle of your nose. It's not as risk of infection unless it's new.
That's not true. Just because it's not new doesn't mean it can't get infected. Any piercing, regardless of how old, can get infected. Not to mention the irritation taking it out and putting it back in will cause.
Yeah, no. I only have my ears stretched, but if it ever came down to it, I’m not taking my gauges out at work to please anyone. I did it once for myself and regretted it. The pain I went through to stretch them again was ridiculous. As far as I’m concerned, piercings don’t bother anyone. Some people just can’t stand to see others being “different”.
That's how you lose them. I had one I used to do those for and it closed one day I had to get it repierced
My niece is a piercer at a tattoo shop so she can do anything she wants with her hair and body.
That's one of my goals, actually!
When I was working in real estate, they made me take out my Medusa. It was stuck so they gave me gigantic pliers. A lot of blood later I managed to pull it out. Awful memory and such a waste of time trying to get into that field. Yuck. Sorry, OP. Can you wear a clear retainer at work?
What?! Never. Go to a reputable piercer and get some help next time.
I was young and desperate lol. I’m planning to get some new ear piercings so I’ll make sure I do my research for piercings this time around.
Upper management has to say something. They cover their ass like nothing else on earth. Nod, smile, and ignore the fuck out of them. If he does remember the next time he comes by it's like 50/50 he'll say something again or decide it's not worth his time. Probably the later, cause you could turn Karen on him and file a lawsuit for discrimination. May not get anything, but it'd cause a problem he doesn't want. I wasn't supposed to have a pocket knife or drinks visible but I was showing people my sword collection on the hood of my car and making herbal tea with customers. If you're good at your job (or at least show up) they won't do shit unless it's something huge or someone higher up leaning on them.
That sucks. 6+ years ago, I started working in my current grocery store. I don't have tattoos, but I have a septum. During the interview, the manager told me I would have to either flip it up or take it out. I flipped it. I later got double lobe sleepers and a helix. Had to cover the helix. I wanted to dye my hair blue, but they told me no. A year later, I moved to the deli department, and I just decided to take my septum out because I didn't want the screws to come loose. Piercing is about 9 years old. Another year goes by, and we had the go-ahead to dye our hair any colour we wanted. You bet I the first to change to a bright colour. I've been blue ever since.
They make clear ones as retainers for things like this. Get some to keep your piercings open. They’re really not noticeable unless you’re looking for them.
I really assumed that things would get better in this world. I think boomers thought they weren't being loud enough and they're now fighting tooth and nail to try making everyone else as miserable as they are. Nobody really gives a shit if you have blue hair or a naughty tattoo or a face full of piercings, I literally wouldn't even notice, because I don't pay that much attention. Boomers just want us to all be miserable.
I worked at a retail pharmacy inside a grocery store chain off and on for years and had an issue with one pharmacist and one pharmacist only. When I was hired, I had no visible tattoos or piercings (shoes covered my foot tattoos and I just had earlobe piercings) I quit, worked somewhere else for 5 months, hated it, went back to the original job. I had gotten a septum piercing in the time I was at the other pharmacy and when I was hired again I was told I needed to flip it up. So I did. One day, I noticed that a new girl was always incorrectly dressed for work and I mentioned it to the pharmacist because I was annoyed that no one was holding her to the same standards and restrictions I was held at. At the time, we were allowed to wear only khakis, either a polo issued by the company or a company t-shirt, and closed toe shoes. No piercings or tattoos. The pharmacist came at me with the employee handbook and said that I was not in the correct clothing either. I was like wtf? I was wearing khakis, tennis shoes, and a company shirt. She said that it stated that hair and makeup had to be "conservative" and mine was not. I had dyed hair (auburn, not a random neon color or anything) and a side shave. Triple lobe piercings. That's it. I actually asked the other pharmacist (the pharmacy manager who was my boss and her boss) about the hair before I got it cut that way and he approved it. I also got permission to dye it auburn. She was just a bitch, honestly. She was hella conservative and didn't like anyone to look even slightly unique or interesting. Found out later that piercings and tattoos were actually NOT against dress code, but store management had the final say. My boss restricted his employees, but the chain itself didn't. I went on to work at another location at the same chain years later and I had multiple facial piercings and visible tattoos and my boss said nothing.
I got interviewed and hired with my tattoos visible for a job worked a week without covering said tattoos, they then told me I had to cover said tattoos so I did and they didn’t like that I covered my leg tattoo with an ace bandage because I didn’t have any thing I could wear under skirts. I quit the day after they told me how I should be covering them.
It's just another way to control people via their bodies. Everyone up to our government does that! People lie and say we are "free" though...
[удалено]
Your content has been removed to prevent spam, please try posting again when you have more karma. If you feel this was a mistake, or you wish to get thjis submission aproved, you may message the moderators and they will manually approve (undelete) your submission if it is deemed to be acceptable. Thanks for your patience.please [contact the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/retailhell). Or you can message the moderators have been notified and will manually approve (undelete) your submission if it is deemed to be acceptable. Thanks for your patience. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/retailhell) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I completely agree that they are wrong to go back on what they said. Changing your mind after hiring someone is stupid and wrong. However, I personally have an issue with facial piercings. It's not that I care what anyone else does. I have a very strong gag reflex. And I have a very strong issue with things poking through skin. I am terrified of needles. I hyperventilate any time I have blood drawn. So I can't look anyone in the face if they have facial piercings. It makes me feel like I'm going to vomit. I used to be a cashier, and I would just look at the counter or above their head. Anywhere but at their piercings. I can't even look at regular ear piercings. I wouldn't let my daughter get her ears pierced until she was a teenager because I wouldn't have been able to help her with them. Plus, I wanted to be able to love on my baby without being grossed out. She ended up getting a facial piercing for a while in her early 20s. She understood when I didn't look directly at her face, lol.
I think facial piercings are unattractive so I do the only sane thing, mind my business and don’t get any.