Bit of advice over a botox client/discount/top up?

[BotoxBoy]

Ok,

I probably did a bit of a daft thing and gave a really big discount to two clients who approached me saying we normally pay 'x' price for one area of botox.

At first I said I was unable to match this but on further thought I felt that because there were two of them together I would do the discount thinking they could become repeat customers.

However, one of them couldn't make the appointment but I still gave the heavily discounted price to one of them.

He came back two weeks later for review and the results were excellent! He had a really wrinkled forehead and the results was better than I expected. There was a few small movements so I topped him up with a bit more botox and was pleased with how it all went.

The client seems a really nice guy and we got on well and he'd text asking about getting treatments done for friends etc.

However...

I got a text today saying 'is it normal for the treatment to wear off so fast?' - He had his treatment completed almost exactly a month ago now and he feels some of the movement has returned.

I've treated over a hundred clients this year and this hasn't happened to anyone before. Results with botox vary from person to person and particularly men with greater muscle density tend to need more product and get a shorter lasting result.

The issue is that botox permanently blocks the nerve in the muscle it is injected into and it is only the regrowth of new nerve fibres which return the muscle function which makes it 'wear off' so if he had such a good result initially then I'm not totally sure why movement has returned so soon.

Anyway... I've said I will review him in the clinic next week to see how much movement he really has got.

My issues are that because the treatment was initially discounted and its been a while since then if I did a free top up then it would be like a new treatment and I would obviously make a loss.

If I charge him I suspect he would refuse to pay as he is a 'deal chaser' which I'm learning that these aren't the best customers anyway and that's why we haven't done many of this sort of thing.

So........What to do?!

Top up for free, hope for repeat business and referrals?

Charge for a top up and probably lose the client?

 

[Pinkprincess73]

Hi I'm not a skin geek but I think you should charge as you gave a good discount then a free top up, you haven't done a bad job it's just worn off quicker, your product is REALLY expensive why should you be out of pocket again? nail techs charge for breakages, I know this isnt the same but he will be after that big discount forever & you may start to resent giving it to him, he may leave but it's costing you money just now

 

[BotoxBoy]

Thank you...

Ok, I've been having a think and I am going to review him on Thursday and top him up without charging him.

I've managed to negotiate some better prices with my pharmacy for smaller unit vials of botox so even if I make a small loss this time it will be worth it to get the repeat business and referrals I think!

 

[angelina221]

I would charge as it's your time and you still have to pay for more product.
Obviously botox lasts longer the more often you have it so I'm wondering if he really has had it before. Maybe that's the cynic in me!

 

[daisyl]

I mean this advice most sincerely so please don't take offence. I have been in this industry for many, many years and have built an extremely successful busy MediSpa. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER offer discounts or incentives. These are medical specialities and apart from the ethical debate, you are devaluing yourself. Cheap is definitely not best, and at the end of the day do you really want those type of patients? Build your business on professionalism and expertise - you are worth it. Never do free top ups later than at 2 week review.

We have worked hard to gain our qualifications, put in a lot of graft. Prescription botox is not cheap and knowledge and skill is required, that is what they are paying for. If you overtreat and top up unecessarily your patient could become resistant. A little movement IMO is the sign of a good balanced treatment. We should not be aiming for "no movement". Completely unnatural and at times unrealistic.

If you are good at what you do - you don't need to discount, patients will come to you because of your reputation, not because of the deals you are offering, and trust me, in this industry reputation means so much more.

 

[BotoxBoy]

I mean this advice most sincerely so please don't take offence. I have been in this industry for many, many years and have built an extremely successful busy MediSpa. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER offer discounts or incentives. These are medical specialities and apart from the ethical debate, you are devaluing yourself. Cheap is definitely not best, and at the end of the day do you really want those type of patients? Build your business on professionalism and expertise - you are worth it. Never do free top ups later than at 2 week review.

We have worked hard to gain our qualifications, put in a lot of graft. Prescription botox is not cheap and knowledge and skill is required, that is what they are paying for. If you overtreat and top up unecessarily your patient could become resistant. A little movement IMO is the sign of a good balanced treatment. We should not be aiming for "no movement". Completely unnatural and at times unrealistic.

If you are good at what you do - you don't need to discount, patients will come to you because of your reputation, not because of the deals you are offering, and trust me, in this industry reputation means so much more.

I absolutely agree!

It was someone from the early days and I don't discount now so lesson is learned! And yes it's expensive to buy and I'm not running a charity!!!

Thanks for your replies people!

 

[Zo Zo]

Keep an open mind. The client has said, 'is it normal for the treatment to wear off so fast?'

He hasn't asked for a top-up, free or otherwise.

I don't know anything about botox but I assume it wears off gradually, not overnight after say 3 months?

So do people get some movement after a month?

When you see him, the movement may be minimal / normal and if so, I guess you need to manage his expectations.

Be careful with this one. You have said he's a deal chaser so he may not be the best client to get repeat business and / or referrals from. If you are too generous he will always expect it and over time you will resent him.

I understand you may wish to woo him as a client but don't be too generous or he will see you as a soft touch. You also do not want him to tell everyone you did it for £x then a free top up...

 

[ashalina23]

Adam,
I had a client years ago who had already built up the anti bodies to Botox despite having only had 2 previous treatments. Her's wore off after 2 weeks as did her top up. It's clearly written in my consent form re developing tolerance.

I never discount my stated prices nor price match, I always offer a free top up if needed however they must contact within the first 2 weeks to arrange.

Also I always always always take before and after photos then the client can see for themselves that it's not worn off they just forgot how deep their lines were! Or they had an odd lump before a filler treatment.

 

[soriminah]

I think you've got yourself in a very awkward situation. The other thing to think about is that if you did this as a freebie, then me as the client would think you are doing it because you didn't do the job properly the first time. That you are taking responsibility for the treatment wearing off quicker and are giving me a freebie as a kind of compensation.

Of course you need to check him first because his version of movement and yours could be completely different. It could still be perfectly fine but his expectations could be completely off.

You are taking a big gamble that he may refer people to you. Already the 2nd person didn't show for their initial appointment. You've already now set his expectation for heavy discounts so are you going to discount him every time. If he refers people are they going to expect the same heavy discounts.

It's usually easier in the long run just to always charge your usual prices because you end up making a rod for your own back. Discount clients usually end up being total nightmares in the long run and will go elsewhere chasing a better deal (which is how you got him in the first place).

I also agree with the before and after photos idea.

 

[kazza1]

Hi,

I manage my own clinic and have a lot of regular botox patients, i never given discount to them initially, if they bring serveral referrals to me i will only give them a reduced price if and when the referrals have paid for several areas and become regulars themselves just as a way of saying thank you as word of mouth is one of your best sellers.

i offer a two week referral if they don't turn up without prior notification i charge them for any top up after that. I will not top up after 3 weeks, the client has to wait until their next appointment.

If you've only treated the glabellar you often find that the client is trying to pull their eye brows up.

When ever i have a new client i always mark up where i am going to inject with a white eye pencil and take a photo of the injection points, if they come back saying it hasn't worked it's usually becuase you never injected there in the first place and you can the prove this.

I get clients who will clinic hop and as for sites such as Groupon they are a nightmare because it lowers peoples expectations and they expect you to price match.

Stand your ground and make them wait !

 

[smooth]

I think you need to review MOA of xeomin as I think that is what you use at the moment (?), look at parent terminal, resprouting etc. Maybe the dose just wasn't high enough to begin with, or maybe he has been re-injected a few times within 12 weeks in the past and is therefore developing antibodies. You never know. As Daisyl said, don't discount, not worth your time, experience etc. x