Customers requesting discounts for multiple treatments

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Im all about supply and demand. But its how clever you are with it.

ie my client demands a discount for her £xxx amount of treatments etc Il supply it on my conditions. I have a fixed price and the only person whos willing to budge on its me.....im a perfectionist and if your lucky that IM not happy then you might get a discount, otherwise i expect payment in full. Im not a charity im running a buisness and if your eyes are too greedy for your wallet then dont spend above your means.

My weakness is my senior citizens, i have quite a few lovely ladies who i dont mind helping out, purley because i know of their circumstances.

I also have a exculsitvity thing in my salon, so because we dont offer packages or specials- its a selling point to say we have something new, try it. and when we do it, it always sells up. On my out of hours price list i will waiver a £5 fee if your rebook on your trail but thats if the spend is at least £45+ on hair nothing else.

If you know your allowing a discount to yourself you're cheapen your own service to say i was only gona charge you £7 for the tan anyways... So i think if you only set one exclusive offer/rather than discount you'll find better income. xoxo
 
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Recently I have had a few potential new clients enquire about discounts for multiple treatments. E.g. discount for having hands and feet done or for a package of treatments.

What are your geeks thoughts on this? Do you oblige, do you not oblige? If you do oblige, what is a reasonable discount? If you don't oblige, then why not?

I'm on the fence with this one.... I want to attract new custom, but then I don't want to set a precendence. I want to be known for my skills and booked for that reason, not because I do cheap deals. I have a decent client base at present, all of who pay full price. However I do need to attract new clients as I do have the odd quieter day. I should point out that I already do offers from time to time on my website and on a local voucher site

Thanks geeks! :) xx

New clients who ask for discount would get a no from me. I run offers occasionally and I also offer £5 off if they book via my Facebook page (that's new clients and first treatment only)

I have a refer a friend scheme and client loyalty scheme so I'm rewarding my clients that way. Regular clients also receive a discount to use the month of their birthday.

If clients book in for a mani and a pedi and request nail art, Rockstars etc then occasionally, and depending on the client I won't charge the extra bit for the nail art etc.

HTH xx

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D X515m using SalonGeek
 
no way - key word for me was 'new'.. they're just shopping for cheap and will move on when you go back to regular places

i once had a new woman in and she asked about waxing - i listed prices - i dont do cheap as chips packages and she added up and was like ooo thats expensive in town they do packages for x amount

i looked at her and was like i dont do packages i dont need to my waxing is to an excellent standard if you want a package why dont you go there?

i wasnt rude in my tone just as forthright as she had been with me

that was the end of that problem

value what you do and deliver on it and cutomers will value you
 
I am mobile so i give a dicount for multiple treatments or multiple clients - it saves me fuel money and set up time as someone else has mentioned.

I also do a pre-holiday waxing package - a spray tan party deal - a recomend a friend offer - etc. clients love to get a deal and if they get a few friends together i get more business and it grows my business.

from the clients point of view - if you dont ask you dont get so i dont think its cheeky at all!
 
Wowzers, what an amazing response! So grateful for you all taking the time to respond, have found your opinions all really helpful!

I replied to the new customer asking for a discount and very politely said no, but pointed out that one of the treatments she wanted was currently on a special offer which would save her £X amount. I don't want to devalue what I do and as I said before I don't want to set a precedent - e.g. she then asks for a discount every time and then her friends want one... and then when another clients asks... and so on! I have my monthly offers, loyalty scheme, refer a friend scheme and I also give my regulars free products like solar oil and nail files for special occasions etc... I think I'm drawing the line here.

Oh btw, sent the email the day before yesterday and have heard nothing back! Will let you know if she does follw it up.

Thanks again geeks! xx
 
Just thought I'd let you all know that I've just picked up a voicemail from discount lady in response to my e-mail, she wants to book in! Although only for one of the three treatments she originally enquired about (the one I informed her was currently on offer). Not bad going I thought :) xx
 
It's quite simple .... they have put the question to you .... NOW...
do you lose them, or do them? If you are so busy you have no space to do them, well good luck to you.
But it's no big deal to give them 5-10%.
The whole idea of running a business is to be 100% full.
Imagine if, after discount this persons service added up to $200, then imagine not offering her that discount and she went somewhere else ... that is saying you don't want of need that $200 .
Making $200 is better than reading a magazine waiting for that money to come through the door
 
It's quite simple .... they have put the question to you .... NOW...
do you lose them, or do them? If you are so busy you have no space to do them, well good luck to you.
But it's no big deal to give them 5-10%.
The whole idea of running a business is to be 100% full.
Imagine if, after discount this persons service added up to $200, then imagine not offering her that discount and she went somewhere else ... that is saying you don't want of need that $200 .
Making $200 is better than reading a magazine waiting for that money to come through the door

totally disagree!

the main purpose of running a business is to make a financial profit!
 
I've got an appoiuntment on thursday for a lady that's very local to me plus her friend at her house.

The friend whom I have visited in her home once has asked her friend to text me asking if they can get it a bit cheaper as I am treating two people locally rather than having to travel a 15 mile round trip to see her seperately (hope this makes sense) After a bit of thought I texted back saying that as my prices were already very reasonable and I offer a loyalty card offering 25% off the seventh treatment, then I would not offer any other discount.

Now I am feeling bad that perhaps I should have offered her a 5% discount or something as it does save me travelling money, but, if I offer her a 5% discount, her plus her friend, plus another friend who texted me will also expect a discount.

I charge £25 for shellac including removal whereas a lot of places in my area charge £30 for shellac plus £10 removal so I know I am good value. I also don't charge for Rockstar or Pigments as i like to offer something different for clients.

It makes me really angry that clients always push, push, push for discounts. Bet they don't ask for a discount in ASDA.

I also think its cheeky to get her friend to ask for the discount , rather than call me up face to face, some people just like to try it on.
 
I think its good to offer discounts, but it has to be on your terms and it has to benefit you aswell as the client. What you dont want to end up with is a situation where the client dictates your prices to you and you end up discounting every treatment just because the customer knows that if they push you, you will drop your prices. Do it right though and it will benefit your business, it could mean a fuller appointment book, future repeat business, and positive word of mouth for you.

I have two special offers running at the moment on acrylic full sets and shellac, so I'm not prepared to discount those treatments any further, however once those offers are done with I will be offering a discount on those treatments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as these are my quieter days. If a client then asked about discounts on those treatments I would tell them about the Tues/Weds offers but wouldnt discount them from Thurs-Sat because I'm busy enough on those days without reducing my prices. Similarly, I offer a discount for packages, which are detailed on my price list. If a client wants a discount for multiple treatments I would direct them to the "packages" part of my price list and they could choose the package that suits them best, although if there isnt a package that fits their needs I'd be glad to put something together for them.

We work in a very saturated market and if a client is looking to spend hundreds of pounds with a salon, I'd rather it was my salon albeit with a bit of a discount, than have them take their hundreds of pounds to another salon and let that other salon impress them and get their repeat business and their word of mouth.

I would say that the only exception to this would be if you are constantly fully booked with a waiting list, in which case there is no need for you to try and increase your client base, but how many of us are in that position really?
 
if you go into tesco and buy 5 loafs of bread u dont get discount so id keep my prices the same for multiple treatments undless it fell in a special offer or promo
 
I had a lady just before Christmas ask me for a discount on an already discounted treatment. I had an offer on for a foot soak and scrub, corn and callus removal (I'm a FHP) and a reflexology treatment. If she was to go to a chiropodist and then onto a beauty salon, it would cost her nearly double what I charge, but I put this package together and she still wasn't happy with it. I told her no and gave my reasons for it which she accepted and booked anyway.
 
I havn't been asked for discounted services yet.

Those of you who refuse discount, what percentage of these clients walk away, and what percentage book in for the full price?
 
I've got an appoiuntment on thursday for a lady that's very local to me plus her friend at her house.

The friend whom I have visited in her home once has asked her friend to text me asking if they can get it a bit cheaper as I am treating two people locally rather than having to travel a 15 mile round trip to see her seperately (hope this makes sense) After a bit of thought I texted back saying that as my prices were already very reasonable and I offer a loyalty card offering 25% off the seventh treatment, then I would not offer any other discount.

Now I am feeling bad that perhaps I should have offered her a 5% discount or something as it does save me travelling money, but, if I offer her a 5% discount, her plus her friend, plus another friend who texted me will also expect a discount.

I charge £25 for shellac including removal whereas a lot of places in my area charge £30 for shellac plus £10 removal so I know I am good value. I also don't charge for Rockstar or Pigments as i like to offer something different for clients.

It makes me really angry that clients always push, push, push for discounts. Bet they don't ask for a discount in ASDA.

I also think its cheeky to get her friend to ask for the discount , rather than call me up face to face, some people just like to try it on.

no discount - dont feel bad - sir alan sugar wouldnt lol
 
I have regular clients and they're both sisters, as I'm mobile I do the treatments in the one house and they often bring a friend.

I do give them a discount of 10% as they're having multiple treatments on a regular basis and spending £60 each per session or if they aren't having multiple treatments then I won't charge for de-Shellac or if they want Rockstars I won't charge extra for it.
 
It's quite simple .... they have put the question to you .... NOW...
do you lose them, or do them? If you are so busy you have no space to do them, well good luck to you.
But it's no big deal to give them 5-10%.
The whole idea of running a business is to be 100% full.
Imagine if, after discount this persons service added up to $200, then imagine not offering her that discount and she went somewhere else ... that is saying you don't want of need that $200 .
Making $200 is better than reading a magazine waiting for that money to come through the door
I disagree.
If you are 100% full, you are charging too little. 90% full usually means you are pricing correctly.

Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.
nail services is not a "product" to sell in bulk at a low margin. It is a service dependant on the skill and time of an operator. NEVER devalue a service.

We do an offer per season, often a treatment we wish to promote, and which I will still make a profit on.
As the busiest stylist in my salons, I never ever do discounts. People will not value you if you work cheaper. Fix your price, publish it, and stick to it.
There are plenty of people who cannot afford my services. I stick to the ones who can, and the ones who cant can go to cheaper stylists. I refuse to be all things to all people.
 
Maybe I'm too soft, but the way I see it is that there's a recession on, people are having wage freezes/cuts, being made redundant, having their hours cut etc etc, so I like to think I can help out by being price friendly because people still deserve their regular pampering session even though money is short for us all at the moment. I think its difficult to say to a customer whose wages may well have gone down that you still expect a premium price for your services. Its certainly not cheeky for a client to ask if you will offer a discount, if you dont want to offer one thats fine just politely explain that you dont do discounts, but I dont think its something to get angry or offended by, the customer is simply trying to make their finances stretch as far as they can.
 

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