Client claiming flyer as a voucher

[VelvetRose80]

Hi

I started renting a nail desk within a hair salon in January of this year. I've just started out and very pleased and excited about my business. I'm very passionate about my work and the service that I provide to my clients as we all are. I would like your opinions or if you've been trhough a similar situation.

Cutting a long story short, back in February I had some flyers printed up in which I'd designed myself, and placed them in the hair salon for clients to see, advertising a Valentines Luxury Manicure of Chocolate Scrub with Chocolate paraffin wax or a luxury Sweet Rose Manicure with Rose paraffin wax for £25. There was no money off with this flyer nor was it a voucher.

A lady came to me and booked a manicure appointment in which I was more than happy to do so (valentines manicure was not booked). The lady claimed that she had a voucher in which her husband had got when he came into the salon previously. I asked her politely what kind of voucher it was as I knew that I had not produced any vouchers and that it'll be the valentine's flyer that she was referring to which I had explained to her, but she said she was going to ask the salon owner about it.

The lady came in for her appointment in which she had a manicure, she signed the client record card at the end of the treatment in which 20% discount was given as my introductory offer. Again she mentioned the voucher in which she said that she'd left at home. Again I kindly explained to her that what she was reffering to as a voucher was a flyer. Client paid for her treatment.

Then on Friday evening the owner of the salon said to me that the dients husband had emailed her with regards to the voucher which he has now lost. I again explained to the owner that the I did not do any vouchers and what was out on the salon floor was Valentine's Manicure flyers. He apparently had purchased the voucher from myself. I just can't understand the claim of a voucher been sold when there clearly was no voucher to sell and especially when the I'm been told that the voucher was purchased from me, I asked for the email to be forward to me to see what was said.

The owner said that she'll take out from her own till. But she shouldn't have to do that cause there is noting to give back as nothing was purchased. I feel like someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. We all work to give our clients honest treatments and special offers and its just so unfair when things like this come upon you. Where do you stand. I'm just so annoyed.

 

[SJK]

This is a difficult one.

If you're sure you haven't sold a voucher, your salon owner should take your word on this. I think the husband is trying it on. Unfortunately, there are people like this in the world and you'll have to get used to dealing with them. I'm surprised that your salon owner isn't taking a tougher line.

 

[notsonewgeek]

If the husband had lost £20 would you replace it? Vouchers are the same. If they lose them it's their fault - unless you can specifically remember selling it and want to help. The hairdresser should be backing you up.
X

 

[kimi1101]

I had a client come to me once saying "Oh my friend bought me a voucher and I've lost it..." Trying to lead me into saying that I would give her the money off. But as has been said, if he lost money would he want you to give him that, no.

Love it though, pick up a free flyer and tell your wife you've bought her a voucher - bet loads of guys wish they had come up with that one!

 

[EMMA AT ELITE]

What a horrible situation. :hug:

If you dont sell any type of vouchers then there is no way possible that have one bought from you.

The salon owner should not take the money out of her til or even be getting involved in my opinion, by doing this it makes you look in the wrong.

Speak to this husband/couple & say if they bring in the voucher you will gladly give them the treatment, you cant give/do any treatment without the voucher as this is prove that the treatment has been paid for.
That will call their bluff - as you know you have not sold them any voucher!

Kindly ask the salon owner to let you deal with this situation & for her not to hand over any money as it underminds you.
If you rent a nail desk, you work for yourself, not for her, so dont answer to anyone how you run your business.

Good luck, take control of the situation, say strong, be positive & professional! xx:hug:xx

 

[jacquelineanna]

I record all gift tokens sold in a little book, name of buyer/client, date sold, amount/treatment, name of therapist who sold it. When they redeem the token I tick it off in the book.

If the client loses the token and I have a record of it I am happy to honour it.

But no token and no record = no treatment.

If on the other hand a client came in with a gift token that was a year out of date I would absolutely honour it.

Clearly you know if you sell gift tokens or not and you also know what your own flyer said so your gut instinct should be kicking in with regard to this husband and wife and based on your story mine is telling me they are trying it on.

You can't go into Argos and purchase something on the premise that you have lost or forgotten to bring in your gift token.

I am amazed that the salon owner is prepared to give them the money!! Why!!! This client will walk out with the money laughing to herself and neither you or the salon owner will probably ever see her again.

 

[gemsie1983]

I'm sorry but no no no.

Salon owner needs to butt out and you need to stand your ground.

You could request that the client provides proof of purchase eg a bank statement or receipt, but no proof no treatments.

You know what you produced honestly sometimes i despair at some people.

 

[Mrs RSM]

If the husband had lost £20 would you replace it? Vouchers are the same. If they lose them it's their fault - unless you can specifically remember selling it and want to help. The hairdresser should be backing you up.

X

I agree totally. They are obviously trying it on.

I record all gift tokens sold in a little book, name of buyer/client, date sold, amount/treatment, name of therapist who sold it. When they redeem the token I tick it off in the book.

If the client loses the token and I have a record of it I am happy to honour it.

But no token and no record = no treatment.

If on the other hand a client came in with a gift token that was a year out of date I would absolutely honour it.

Clearly you know if you sell gift tokens or not and you also know what your own flyer said so your gut instinct should be kicking in with regard to this husband and wife and based on your story mine is telling me they are trying it on.

You can't go into Argos and purchase something on the premise that you have lost or forgotten to bring in your gift token.

I am amazed that the salon owner is prepared to give them the money!! Why!!! This client will walk out with the money laughing to herself and neither you or the salon owner will probably ever see her again.

I also agree with this!


I would say to them that it is impossible that theybought a voucher because you do not even sell them! If I recalled selling a voucher and they had genuinely lost it, I would honour it but if some random turned up claiming they had a voucher but had lost it and I knew I had never sold vouchers I would tell them where to go...if they get away with this,they will do it again to other salons/techs. If this happened to my nail tech I would be furious on her behalf.

 

[EMMA AT ELITE]

100% agree with everything everyone has said.

Do you have one of these old flyers left? If yes ask them to come in to see you, ask them to discribe what the voucher looked like, & how they paid for it & when? Then pull out your flyer & say was it like this/sounds like you are discribing this & as you can see this is not a voucher it is advertising an offer.

What horrible, nasty people to do this to someone who is just trying to make an honest living.

Most importantly the salon owner needs to back you up & not get involve.

Why dont you show/print off this thread to show her, what we are all saying!! x

 

[redsadie]

Hmmm. I'm wondering if someone in the salon sold him the flyer as a voucher then pocketed the money. The salon owner seems a bit keen to refund out of her own till when it has nothing to do with her.

Call me cynical, but unless you are in the salon at all times it is open, how would you know?

Just my two cents and I agree with everyone else.

Good luck with it. xx

 

[Rapunzelxx]

Omg! I would so stick to my guns and not refund!! Strictly speaking it has nothing to do with the Salon Owner as you are self employed, but I can kind of see why she is trying to keep the client happy so as to avoid her badmouthing the salon but she should have supported you! It now looks like she thinks you DID sell a voucher.. I would have a quiet word with her and say you are very uncomfortable with her going over your head and refunding one of YOUR clients!! Hope you get it sorted xxx

 

[dandelionpoppy]

This may sound totally daft but you don't think he bought one from another salon nearby and he's muddled over which one? Yeah, I know it's a long shot; I just hate to think that people can be so dishonest. I still can't explain the salon owner's stance though.

 

[wonderwoman]

i had this happen once, i only honoured it by asking which day they had brought it as i have a complete record on appointments/prices. They ended up saying it must have been wrong salon!!! cheeky! But it made me think of these ppl who go out their way for loopholes! Now i have sequential numbering and note down who buys it and whom its for. I also note the date of use and when they have used it by the expiry date. xoxo

 

[muddi]

I was just about to reply exactly the same as dandylionpoppy. He may of got the wrong salon!?

I would be asking what date the voucher was bought and if he can remember what the person looked liked who sold him the voucher and what it looked like - colour, wording, any patterns etc and what method he used to pay (Im guessing it was cash)

But if it was cash, cant the salon owner check her till for that day/week and see if she was up by X amount? Or even check the till rolls if you have them. Prob not as easy if you dont use a till though.

But the owner should not be giving the client any money back or paying you for the treatment out of her own till/pocket.

 

[izzidoll]

I record all gift tokens sold in a little book, name of buyer/client, date sold, amount/treatment, name of therapist who sold it. When they redeem the token I tick it off in the book.

If the client loses the token and I have a record of it I am happy to honour it.

But no token and no record = no treatment.

.

Surely everyone does this, it is just common sense to keep a record of every Voucher sold.
If you have no record of selling a voucher, and in fact HAVE NO VOUCHERS then you and the Salon Owner cannot refund what you have not sold!!!

This may sound totally daft but you don't think he bought one from another salon nearby and he's muddled over which one? Yeah, I know it's a long shot; I just hate to think that people can be so dishonest. I still can't explain the salon owner's stance though.

This was also my first thought!! Men are not the brightest when it comes to Beauty Salons and he may well be talking about a completely different Salon and Voucher.

 

[Rapunzelxx]

Surely everyone does this, it is just common sense to keep a record of every Voucher sold.
If you have no record of selling a voucher, and in fact HAVE NO VOUCHERS then you and the Salon Owner cannot refund what you have not sold!!!


This was also my first thought!! Men are not the brightest when it comes to Beauty Salons and he may well be talking about a completely different Salon and Voucher.

Haha! He will be in soo much trouble if that's the case and they find the REAL voucher lol!

 

[muddi]

I agree its a good idea to write down when vouchers are sold and value/treatment and who to etc etc, but the OP didn't even sell vouchers to begin with so obviously no record of selling any...

The owner is still in the wrong for offering refund/money etc out of the till. She should be backing you up 100% and telling this client that the husband couldn't of bought a voucher as no vouchers are sold for this therapist - end of!

 

[VelvetRose80]

Thank you all for your replies. This is definitely a dodgy situation. I for one am very hot on record keeping and if a customer came to me to purchase a voucher I would definitely have record of the purchase/transaction. From day one of being at the salon everything that comes through I instantly record down both in my diary, my log sheet and even my PC. I would definitely like to know what date this so called voucher was purchased, for what amount along with a description of this voucher, is there a serial number? did you sign for the voucher? Does it have an authorised signature of the nail technician (me)selling you the voucher? And what method of payment was used. not only do you have prove of purchase. At first I thought that he had purchased a gift voucher from the hair salon and they where trying to pull a fast one by hoping to use it on my services/treatments that's why I had explained to the client thoroughly that the flyer was not a voucher as that transaction would definitely not work going through me.
The owner asked me “do you log your vouchers in a book?” in which I replied that I did not do/sell any vouchers so therefore I have no need to have log it. Owner stated that the customer is an long time customer, which I can appreciate, but she was very quick to say she'll take from her till, that to me instantly did not did not sound right especially when nothing was sold. I am still awaiting for the email to be sent to me that the Husband had sent to the owner. The owner said that she'll speak to the client, but it does annoy me as it now looks like I can't deal with situations myself and not only that I do not know what will be said. Its funny that the Husband did not come into the salon to say something to me or even to phone the salon to speak to me. I will ask if he'd purchased a voucher from another salon, but you can not mistake my business flyer for a voucher the design is to clear enough to be seen as a flyer and not a voucher.
I will be on this case in a professional manner because at the end of the day I don't want to be tarnished or made to look bad. I'm trying to build up my clients and with this over me it really does frustrate me cause it just shows what some people are capable off doing/saying to mess up your reputation and especially when your doing everything by the books and in honesty offering a service its hurtful. I will stay strong and be positive and professional. Your replies have been appreciated very much. I will let you all no the outcome.
Many thanks! x

 

[dandelionpoppy]

You are clearly honest, professional and articulate. I really hope all goes well with you in a situation where someone is none of those.

 

[Kate1982]

What kind of client is this lady to the salon. Ie. very regular etc?
Just asking as to give another POV. While I absolutely agree with everything said I mite also just add from a salon owners view I have been in a similar situations.
I think it would be worth having a chat with the owner to see why she is so quick to give over the money. For instance I have an elderly lady that comes into the salon very regularly. She is a very well to do lady and for no reason one day just decided she didn't like the way one of my self employed therapists had done her treatment.
There really was nothing wrong with the treatment she has been coming to us for years and never made a fuss before.
What were we to do? Risk upsetting her and losing a very loyal customer or just cover the loss and keep her happy. I chose to keep her happy but made it very clear that while I believe that the therapist didn't do anything wrong I'm sorry she was upset by it.
I know a voucher is a different situation but the ultimatum is the same. It is the salon owners final decision but she shouldn't be making you feel like it's your fault. I covered the cost put of my own pocket and explained why to my girl. The lady is still a very valued client and has never caused any fuss since.
Obviously I don't know if this might be the case with the salon owner and client. It may just be a genuine mistake by the client and I agree the owner shouldn't resolve the situation it in a way that makes you look bad. But sometimes with clients you can either be right, or you can be happy. You don't always get to be both.