Really interested in this, perhaps we should have a new topic as this is fairly off the topic of the OPs question
To me, NSS means non-standard salon i.e. a salon that doesn't meet/follow standards e.g. poor hygiene, lack of education, no insurance, poor care of the natural nail etc etc etc.
Just to clarify, there is a NSS in a high-end health spa near me. I paid £60 for the pleasure of cut eponychiums, monomer covered fingers and the metal tools looked a bit suspect. (This was before I wanted to be a nail professional so I didn't know anything, otherwise I would have known to leave ASAP).
Everybody was English. Doesn't mean it wasn't an NSS. The nail pro who does my Shellac is from Vietnam, she uses the full system properly, she gives me correct aftercare information, she really knows her stuff. I have no ethnical hang ups. Anybody of any ethnic background can give a good service, equally anybody can give a bad or even dangerous service!
In my eyes (and in the eyes of the public who I've talked to who know Creative/CND), CND is a very high quality, premium product and so deserves premium pricing.
What I think Lucy might be concerned about is if the salons that CND are educating (which in my opinion is fab, go CND!) start using CND products, but charge low prices, would this devalue the brand? We're always on about how to price Shellac. Under £20 is a massive no-no, and one of the primary reasons stated is that Shellac & the service is worth it and not to devalue the Shellac / CND brand.
I think that the SEA Education is amazing. It's so proactive and will do wonders for the industry. I am initially worried about public perceptions of the brand changing as a result, should I be?
For arguments sake, lets say a salon was a SEA NSS (let me just clarify that I do not feel these terms are mutually inclusive). A member of the public gets their nails done, they get trashed and then the MOP now has a negative view of that salon. The public may not know about the SEA Education and so may assume the salon is continuing as it always has. The MOP sees that the salon now uses CND. Would this not make them automatically think CND was a bad/cheap brand? This is assuming they don't know CND in the first place.
Would they think that if I'm using CND, I'm using a bad product? So the chance of them coming to me might decrease because of this? Am I reading too much into this? Do the public really care that much?
Really interested to hear more of your views Geeg & *flower*, it's amazing being able to get the informed, inside scoop. I love this forum, and I love you guys! You really are an inspiration (but you don't need me to tell you that!).