Complaints about a staff members treatments

[claire bear]

i really need some advice about a sensitive subject i need to broach in the salon. i have a member of staff who has worked for us for a year and this week alone i have 5 complaints about her waxing with clients askin not to be booked in with her again as she isnt very thourough with her treatments and that have had to go home and pluck the rest of the hairs out themselves!!!!!!!!! she has been in the industry for 8 years so it isnt a lack of experience! i have called a meetin in the morning but have never had to do anything like this before and want to know how to handle it!
any advice would be greatfully recieved
thanks x

 

[angel fingers]

tell her you are concerned about her.
ask her if she has any problems that you could help her with.
tell ehr that you are worried that something is wrong because you know how experienced she is and yet you are getting complaints about her work.
maybe she has something on her mind and shes distracted or maybe its something as simple as needing new glasses.

 

[claire bear]

i never thought of the glasses! i hope it is something as simple as that! i dont want to come across accusing and horrible but want her to know its serious as its my reputation at stake! how do you suggest i moniter treatments from now on as those clients dont want her anymore and i cant undermine her by askin every client if they are happy with their result x

 

[angel fingers]

i never thought of the glasses! i hope it is something as simple as that! i dont want to come across accusing and horrible but want her to know its serious as its my reputation at stake! how do you suggest i moniter treatments from now on as those clients dont want her anymore and i cant undermine her by askin every client if they are happy with their result x

yes its tricky isnt it.
have you had any problems before with her work?
i know when i am feeling under the weather or mega stressed my work is not as good as i want it to be.
could it be the lighting in the room even, maybe now autumn is coming its not so bright.

tell her you want to help her and see if she has any suggestions.
if you show concern rather than blame, i think the situation is more likely to be resolved to everyones satisfaction.

 

[hippy-chick]

perhaps she is bored, feels resentful about working for someone else. You will need to nip this in the bud, but it could be problems at home.

I hope you get to the root of the problem in a sympathetic way, but hope you don't get walked over by someone taking the "mick".

 

[duffield1]

I would suggest implementing some trade testing for all staff, where you, or a third party, checks levels of service. Most big spas do this anyway as a way of ensuring quality. See how she does, and then you can offer constructive criticism or refersher training.
Posted via Mobile Device

if you need a trade test assessment form, pm me!

 

[claire bear]

yes its tricky isnt it.
have you had any problems before with her work?
i know when i am feeling under the weather or mega stressed my work is not as good as i want it to be.
could it be the lighting in the room even, maybe now autumn is coming its not so bright.

tell her you want to help her and see if she has any suggestions.
if you show concern rather than blame, i think the situation is more likely to be resolved to everyones satisfaction.

i will admit the lighting in the beauty room isnt the best.. we have a track light with 4 bulbs but i do feel it could be brighter... does anyone suggest using a mobile lamp for waxing?
i must also say though that when this girl started i told her at the end of a leg wax she must go over and if there are any hairs left she must pluck them out with the tweezers but all clients are telling me she doesnt check over at the end at all!

 

[Kim Lawless]

I would tell her about the complaints, but don't mention the clients names. Say that you want to help her and start by getting her to wax full legs, under arms, brows and upper lip on a model/colleague, whilst you watch. Give her honest feedback and ask the model to do the same.

Once you determine what the problems are, then do your best to rectify them. As mentioned....glasses? Lighting in the room? Technique? Wax?

She may have some personal problems that are distracting her, but you have a business to run, so you must get the problem sorted.

Hope it goes well. xx

 

[claire bear]

I would tell her about the complaints, but don't mention the clients names. Say that you want to help her and start by getting her to wax full legs, under arms, brows and upper lip on a model/colleague, whilst you watch. Give her honest feedback and ask the model to do the same.

Once you determine what the problems are, then do your best to rectify them. As mentioned....glasses? Lighting in the room? Technique? Wax?

She may have some personal problems that are distracting her, but you have a business to run, so you must get the problem sorted.

Hope it goes well. xx

we use lycon wax which i think is superior to other waxes on the market but when you say technique what should i be looking for in leg waxing??? surely you cant get leg waxing wrong can you? x

 

[number1kitty]

i will admit the lighting in the beauty room isnt the best.. we have a track light with 4 bulbs but i do feel it could be brighter... does anyone suggest using a mobile lamp for waxing?
i must also say though that when this girl started i told her at the end of a leg wax she must go over and if there are any hairs left she must pluck them out with the tweezers but all clients are telling me she doesnt check over at the end at all!

I sacked a member of staff over this. I sent in a mole as a pretend client and she did do an awful job. I was getting loads of complaints about the same thing as you.

It turned out she needed glasses but refused to wear them during the treatments.

Handed her her P45 as I told her what I would deduct from her wages for poor treatments she would end up owing me money.

Its your business and rep at the end of the day. You have to take her aside and tell her that clients are complaining. Ask her if she feels she needs a refresher course or if there are other problems. Put it all in writing too like minutes and both sign it.

Put down a plan of action i,e that she has to buck up her ideas or do a refresher course. If after 4 weeks this hasnt improved shes out. Unless of course you can remove her off waxing altogether.

I ended up doing all my waxing in the shop as I was after my experience with this girl the only person I trusted - especially with brazillians and male clients.

I learnt early on what the girls strengths and weaknesses were. If they had a passion for nails I kept them on that with bits of other things. I then spent personal time with them or sent them on additional courses to build up confidence in other areas.

Kate

 

[claire bear]

how am i going to moniter her treatments after our chat tomorrow???

 

[number1kitty]

how am i going to moniter her treatments after our chat tomorrow???

Do courtesy follow up calls on her clients. Don't make an issue as to why, just say you are doing staff reviews and want to check that the clients service from start to finish met their expectations etc etc. Bit of bull basically but it makes the clients think you care - rather than flag up warning signs and it allows them to give honest feedback. You could always do client feedback forms for all treatments over the next few weeks on all staff so you can perhaps highlight other areas of the business that need attention or praise staff that have good feedback.

Also send in a couple of clients you know really well and get their feedback after. My good clients were always happy to test a therapists performance for me.

None of this makes you look bad, it just shows to everyone you ask that you care about them and your business.

Kate x

 

[jonesey]

hi, it is getting increasingly difficult dealing with staff problems, i now use an employement law firm who can advise in every situation it makes things so much easier. although i am in hairdressing not beauty i have had a similar problem and their advice was to issue a letter of concern stating your worries and that you'll be looking for improvement over a set period of time and ask do they think they need further training or is there a problem you need to be aware of. if it is a carelessness issue this will generally make them pull their socks up! hope thishelps
you could also give clients a quick are you happy survey,give everyone that comes into the salon a happy form this could be as simple as a small slip with either a happy or sad face or ask for a little more feedback .

 

[miss_petite]

I had 2 complaints recently my manager approached me i was able to give a reason not a good enough one ( i was rushed , one of the ladys had broken hairs and i hadnt noted it down) but i am greatfull that she pointed it out becouse it grounded me again .
i wasnt bothered that she had approached me and told me it was unacceptable to have 2 complaints esp! in one day i just used it as constructive critisim.
oh by the way the ladys in question where sisters gone on holiday together rang up and demanded a free treatment with out us even seeing where i had missed, with out them telling me where i was able to tell my manager what area was under complaint ( the broken area) . i know this is a different sort of circumstance but im still glad my manager approached me .

 

[fena]

I work for myself around 6/7 months ago I had 2/3 clients phone me saying I had left small patches of hair on their Hollywoods, I invited the clients back and re-waxed.
I couldn't understand it as I have two very strong floresent (sp) lights in the room and I very thougher, so I thought.
On a routine eyetest I found out I needed stronger glasses. I noticed a difference straight away, lol. And happily i can see perfectly.