Do Clients ask you?

[nail2heart]

Do clients ask you if they brought their own products if they could get their nails done at a discounted price?I was asked this when i first came out of nail school,i thought this would be a good thread,any opinions welcomed.



Florentina Alexander

 

[Envy]

Personally, this would be like taking your own food to a restaurant and asking them to cook it!

I have spent too long training how to be good at the system I use, why would I then risk having to use a product I may have no idea how to get the best result from? And even if they offered to bring in the same product I use, I'd be darn curious how a non professional was purchasing a professional product.

And the product cost is only a fraction of your service charge. It's your time you make your money from. Using another product would take longer (as your unfamiliar with it) This costs money, not saves it!!

For me - it would be a flat no. I would explain why I use the system I use, the benefits and advantages, the training and experience I have, tell them why the price and leave the decision up to them. No debate.

 

[geeg]

I already use the best products available in our industry. I know them. I trust them to work and they deliver.

A client might be brave enough to ask me :lol: , but the answer they would get would be an unequivocal, NO.

 

[beautynails]

I once had somebody who asked a client to ask. I said part of the reason my work was good was the products I use and I wouldn't work with anything else, also that all my other over heads would still need to be paid anyway.

 

[Lorrie]

I've had a few clients bring their own polish & I've had colours that almost match theirs so I just tell them that I'd prefer to use mine.

But get this one!
I had a friend who's sons girlfriend (who I don't know from Adam!) asked me if she could 'borrow' one of my colours because it matched her prom dress!!!
I said 'No sorry I don't lend my varnishes out but if she'd like an appointment I could fit her in & make her Nails look lovely'. She took the app then txt me later(after getting my no from my friend) to say her mum wouldn't pay for her to have it done. So my friend did them for her! When I went round to see my friend the next day she was very sarcastic with me saying 'it's not like I didn't know her & she would of only used 50pence worth'. Hence to say we havn't spoke for two weeks now & lastnight at the school fair she flew past me saying hello but that was it!
Some people just don't understand that I'm not a charity & I do have a living to earn. The frustrating thing is I did my friends Hair & Nails the week before for free for her birthday party. Some folks have a short memory!

What would you Geeks have done?

 

[Sparklepink]

gotta be a no with me too.... same reason as everyone one else .... i use a product i can use well (and i love what i use ) ....ive trained for a long time in how to use it ....why use some cheap crap just cos they want money off.... are they really a client you want to have?....iykwim
i sometime polish ppls nail with their own polish but its nt quite the same thing and i dont charge for polish applications during a servie so it means they dont save a penny....lol

Jess
xox

 

[mandy121060]

Can you imagine if a client took her own colour, peroxide or any product into a hair salon and asked if whe could use them, its just a definate no no.
I must admit I have never been asked this.

 

[ValencianNails]

I wouldn't accept it as the 'norm' although I did have a client who wanted a specific enamel colour and I couldn't match it with mine so I applied hers but at the same price it would have been for everyone else!

I would never use products outside of my normal brand/range for treatments, I'm not educated in other products, I don't know their ingredients, I don't know how they work or the benefits they have/haven't got...
and more importantly... would your insurance cover you if something went wrong and you didn't have a certificate to prove training in that particular product???

 

[River]

A definte NO with me too.

I once had a client who asked if I could use her OPI french manicure varnishes on her, which I did because I didn't have a french colour that matched the one she had, but boy did I struggle to get along with them !

I am so used to using Creative enamels that I really struggled as the brush was completely different to Creative as was the consistency of the varnish.

I explained to her that I would get a Creative enamel that matched her colour (which I did) and have never used another product again.

The client never expected me to do the work for less money, she only wanted to use the colours that she was used to.

I think clients who request this as being REALLY cheeky. As has been mentioned before, the products we use do cost money, but you pay me more for my time and experience than for my products.


River

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

one of my clients asked me to get her some acrylic powder and monomer...just so i wouldn't have to carry as much to her house :lol:
i then explained i would still have to carry as much,files brush,prep,cotton buds,pads,you name it (well girlies u know what its like),so it wouldn't actually make a difference to me,
but she was getting a little insistent until i said well for powder and monomer its about £30 ...she soon backed off lol ,( i knew if all else failed that would work) then told her the products would go off too,as we wouldn't use them up quick enough
well i wasn't lying !!!!!!!

 

[Zingara]

A big no for me too - with only one exception. I had a bride, who specifically wanted a particular blue on her toes to match the flowers. She brought the colour in beforehand and we couldn't match it at all, with any of my suppliers so we used hers. No discount though!

 

[nail2heart]

Some clients would bring polishes,they found to match with their clothes,but i don't mind because i do still charge the same thing.I know it's just a cheeky way of getting discounts off especially if they think they can bring thier own products.I don't allow clients to bring any thing else.


Florentina Alexander

 

[Pirate Sarah]

I had a client last night who insisted on using her own polish.

So I put it on, such a difference in quality, but I didn't give her a discount!

xxx

 

[VHunter]

I dont mind that they bring their own polishes on occasion. However, I still charge the same.
For those that have wanted to buy professional product (uv gel or gel-resin), it's been a flat out NO for obvious reasons that I don't need to explain to you ladies.

Nope... wouldn't do it. Not even for a best friend.

 

[melissaq]

I let them bring their own polishes....but charge my price ...even if it's just for a polish change ......but other stuff .....nope

 

[1999judy]

No I definately wouldn't let a client bring their own products, in fact, I'd find that my appointment book was full if someone dared to ask.:wink2:
If my products are not what the client wants then I would suggest she go to another salon that uses the product she desires.

 

[Donna967]

What i have found that works for me is for clients who have a specific colour is i sell them the entire bottle put their name on it and keep it only for them.
I have found they come to me more often for polishes in between refills.
This is as close as i get to using the clients products.

 

[IllumeGirl]

definitley no way..years ago i had a regular client who had twin girls(teenagers) who had thier school ball coming up. she asked if i would do them for half price as i was getting two clients from her i nicely said no,as i would still be using twice as much product and time,lol. then she asked if she bought stickons would i apply them for free! i flatly told her i would NEVER touch stickons, i am a proffesional and only use proffesional products.

she wasnt offended at all and continued to have nails for a few years after.

i find some clients will try it on IF they sense they can..

 

[fluffy26]

OMG!! Thats all I have to say whatever will they ask next!! I have never been asked if they buy their own products will I use them, but polishes, yes that's fine by me. I use all sorts of different polishes so if they client brings their own and it's a different shaped bottle or brush it normally doesn't cause a problem. but normally if one of my client says can I use my own polish it's normally just because they prefer that colour not because they want a discount (They would'nt get one anyway - for their cheek!!):lol:

But one of my new clients did book in for a few different things, pedicure, nails, waxing etc and asked me if I do a special rate because she's having a lot done, but I said no because my prices were reasonable anyway and she seemed happy with that. Honestly people seem to want something for nothing nowadays. Discount HUH definately not, especially when I just got my accounts back from my accountant and last tax year I spent £2,500 JUST ON FUEL!!!! (I am mobile by the way!)

 

[Katmoz33]

i havent had this but i did have one lady i did her nails once then she said next time i went to the OSNS could she come with me and buy her own as she wanted to do them herself cheaper?!
so i said erm ...NO...i havent done her nails since and dont particularly want to....some people are so cheeky they dont even notice when they are doing it?!