Hey everyone, has anyone else had the problem of other salons being pathetic and doing sneaky things to try and jepordise things for you. Today i had another salon ring me (I knew coz i used to know them well and recognised the voice and the details and questions were very suspicious) Anyway she rang to book in nail extensions on a saturday and i told her i only had a space at 9 left so she booked in for Monday instead. I know it's them but i dont know why they are doing it.
They had a girl go into a salon local to me and get her eyelashes tinted and then say they were going to sue because she had an allergic reaction. The insurance company insisted on a test being done to prove she had been allegic and the test came back negative (so was proved to be a lie)
What would you geeks do?

yes ive had it from when i opened and still have it now only now its not just from salons from mobile stylists too..

ive never responded its best not to down that route.
are you newly opened?

i would go ahead with the booking just keep a close eye...

I've never had a problem myself with this, although someone did tell me once that I needed to watch out as a local rival was "out to discredit me"! Never did find out what they had intended to do as nothing has ever happened. Personally I try not to worry about this kind of thing, and instead concentrate on my own business & my clients. Oftentimes these types of businesses spend so much time concentrating on their competition that they forget about their clients, who in the meantime start slipping between their fingers.

I agree, thing is i've been so busy recently that i haven't had time to think to even do anything like that, not that i would cause it's just stupid. Just goes to show that they must think of me as competition and they must not be busy at all to have time to think up such a stunt

LOL Take a deposit over the phone ...... or get them to drop it in, tell them it's salon policy as you have had a few no shows and this will secure her booking.... no deposit no slot
As for any other strange stuff, take it as a compliment, they cant be that busy if they have time to play silly beggars xxxx

Just rise above it huni and keep doing a great job xxxx

There will always be other salons trying to discredit you. I have had many occasions of this happening but you have to rise above it at treat each client as a paying customer and be proffessional at all times. They will soon get the message that you are a true proffessional

When i started i had two problems, both from my previous salon IMO.

My boss went crazy when i said i was handing in my notice. I came in the next day and she said i was fired for stealing her Ellisons catalogue, nothing came of it obviously and i hadn't, took ages to get the money she owed me.

About three months after i started at my own place i got a letter addressed to the owner, which the hairdressing manager opened. It said they had a facial last week and thought that it was a disgrace, everything was dirty and i was very pushy with my retail, with no name just a scrawled signature.

Lucky for me, the girls thought it was utter nonsense as it sounded nothing like me. I hadn't had any facials that weren't regulars and the stamp on the postmark was her postcode, not near me.

I also had a man phone and book for a massage, which i thought sounded strange, so i asked for a phone number. Once we hung up i did 1471 and the number was withheld, so i called the number he gave and it was wrong. I cancelled the booking and took the risk but nobody came in.

I suggest taking contact numbers for all your bookings and if you think its a bit odd, call them back on a pretense of checking timing or treatment.

well thats how i think of it as well. I haven't had the time to even think of doing stupid tricks like that and your right it does go to show they are quiet and obviously see me as competition. Quite sad really

yes, take a contact telephone number from them.
Wait 5 mins, do a 1471 and ring them back on the number they rang from, if its with held, try the number they gave you and if they do answer just say something like:

"oh, just checking that you know how to find me" or something along those lines.

I have had this happen several times. To be honest , its a tricky one, I actually do four nail techs nails on a fortnightly basis. they come to me for their other treatments too, and they are good customers. SO, sometimes, just sometimes, they are just coming because they want their treatments doing.

But, like you say, sometimes its so that they can suss you out. You can do one of three things.

1. call back and explain that you are not happy to perform the treatment due to what you have heard about them.

2. do the treatments, be 100% professional, do the patch test, consult card etc etc and politely drop into the conversation ( where you ask for her occupation details) that you know where she is from and in a friendly way ask why she is coming to you.

3. do the treatments as above and say nothing,


I do the second one, I have nothing to hide and I like to be honest and not play games. I think its a compliment that they see you as competition and i think you should take some time to decide what to do. You dont have to treat them.

I used to have a local salon owner who thought it was funny to get their friends to call me through the week to book appointments and not show up and give false tel numbers. some people are a bit sad and frankly they did me a favour i now always 1471 new customer appointments and if the number is wrong I cancel the appointment, or if they give me a mobile no i ring it to leave a courtesy message reminding them of their appointment.

tigi
xxxxx

If they gotta resort to messing about with fake appointments, then they are clearly quiet and very bothered by you!

I've had a fellow nail technician that used to own a salon downtown, she came to my nails quiosq on the 2nd day I was opened, she wanted extension that i did, she came back a week later complaining about some lifting. Lifting was not very bad, but unusual, if I had to guess i would say she had been EXTRA hard on her nails that week just to try and get some kind of flaw to pick on. Anyhow I fixed the lifting, free of charge, being extra sweet about it and she never came back. Kill them with kindness...

When I had my shop, I had people come in and call all the time-- it would absolutely infuriate me.

I had one come in for a highlight, and she kept asking me, "so what color line do you use?" This is after we discussed what she wanted for color. I would say, " it doesn't matter what line I use, what matters is me knowing how to use the line." That shut her up after I told her a couple of times.

Another time, I had one in for blonde highlights. After we agreed that the lighter blonde was going to be butter in color, and the variant color was going to be champagne in color, she asks me, "So what is your formula?" I said, "It doesn't matter what my formula is, what matters is me doing your highlights the way we discussed.... butter and champagne." She comes back, "Yeah, but how are you going to mix it?" So as I start the process she is watching every move I make. So, I offer her a magazine and turn her away from the mirrors. Then, the next day, after she loved her highlights, the crazy phone calls start, my boss took my clients out of my book the next week, and I left.

I don't understand why other salons do that stuff, yes, they are not busy and very jealous.

If you focus on your own business and do outside volunteer work for your community, there is nothing but good that can come out of it.

I'm totally shocked that people do this! being mobile for the last few years I have not been that busy, (now I've started renting space at a leisure centre I am ) but I would never dream of doing this to a fellow therapist!
Even when I have clients and they have had a treatment esle where that was not carried out properly I never slag them off !

Yeah, it's messed up.

What I don't get is what these people gain from terrorising other therapists?

If it's market research they are after, why does it have to be cruel and nasty? Talking bad about the shop next door doesn't impress, it reflects true character.

What's the old saying...? You do something good it comes back 3 fold........ you do something bad it comes back 10 fold....?