Friends nails.. At home, at the salon or not at all??

[FrenchQueen]

Reading another thread today has made me curious.

Every time I tell someone I'm a nail tech first they say "don't look at my nails" then always " I bet your friends love you" lol
Sure they do.. and yes I do most of their nails.
I have a nail room at home where I play around and also do my friends nails too. At times I have been in there at 10 at night after a long day doing my friends nails for some function. But I do it because their my friends and I could never send them somewhere else where I don't know the quality of work. Also I know they would never go anywhere else anyway. They always wait untill I have the time and I always make the time. I don't do them free but I don't charge them full price either. It's always cost + wine.

So I wanna know
What does everyone else do?
Do you do them at work or home?
Do you charge?

 

[liza2009]

i always do my friends i like yourself could never let them go anywhere else i do charge but i knock £5 off my normal price they get a good deal i always do a good job and besides it fun

 

[deanosnana]

I do my friends' nails/pedicures at the salon BUT I'm willing to do them at MY home if necessary. Yes, I do charge friends but not as much as I charge a client. After all, they are my friends.

+, they did me a favor in the beginning by being my guinea pigs. LOL!

 

[Tipsbygm]

I do friends and family in the gaps at the salon and at home if i cant fit them in. They all pay half price as this is what i charged them when i was training and i needed the practice. I am a bit stuck really i would like to charge a little bit more as i have a large family and sometimes feel like i am working for nothing ,but i do have them all to thank for being so patient with me at the start. Its a bit of a dilemma i dont want to offend them as they helped me out.x

 

[single sparkle]

i do friends and family at a discount but when i opened my salon i decided i would not work at home anymore. For me to work the hours i do in the salon and then start doing more when i come home is just to much. If my friends and family book in advance they can have whatever time that suits them.

 

[FrenchQueen]

I do friends and family in the gaps at the salon and at home if i cant fit them in. They all pay half price as this is what i charged them when i was training and i needed the practice. I am a bit stuck really i would like to charge a little bit more as i have a large family and sometimes feel like i am working for nothing ,but i do have them all to thank for being so patient with me at the start. Its a bit of a dilemma i dont want to offend them as they helped me out.x

I have had that problem before. I ended up telling them that my supplier had increased their prices and that while I didn't want to, I had to also charge a little more to cover it.

Some of my friends pay more than others depending on what they are having done and some pay more by their own choice. I get a lot of referals from them so as long as my costs are covered I'm not really concerned about making money off them. This is also why I do them at home because it's not costing me to be there and they're not taking up time that could be filled by clients paying full price. Although I only work 4 days so I can see how this would be difficult if you're working long salon hours.

 

[Lucia Etch]

Everyone pays the same.

The cost goes up with attitude, especially when I feel that Im getting pushed around.

I was told that the only person that shouldn't pay is my Mom.

Recently, I gave my services for free to a "friend" client and it, for me just is not worth it.

When a client is given something for free, it is worth just that.

 

[Blush86]

For those of you who work in a salon, are you under a contract that tells you that you cannot perform services outside of your work?

I had to sign a contract to say that I would not do any private clients etc, and have tried to abide by that. I thought it was the norm. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm being taken for a fool.

 

[single sparkle]

Hi Blush

i would think that you signed the contract in case you took salon clients and gave them a treatment at home therefore taking business away from the salon. I wouldn't think that treating your friends and family at home is any concern of the salon you work for as long as they have never been to the salon, therefore the salon is not loosing business.

imagine that you have a client in your salon that becomes a regular client to you and after a year or so you decide to treat the client in their home or yours for a slighty cheaper price ??? that is what your salon is trying to avoid and i would imagine that this has happened therefore they asked you to sign the contract to prevent it happening again.

i have my own salon and so i prefer to do all the work in the salon ie friends and family because after working for 11 or 12 hours on my own i just don't have it in me to do more work at home.

 

[deanosnana]

For those of you who work in a salon, are you under a contract that tells you that you cannot perform services outside of your work?

I had to sign a contract to say that I would not do any private clients etc, and have tried to abide by that. I thought it was the norm. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm being taken for a fool.

I rent my space so I am free to work at home if I like, which sometimes, I DO! I guess all salons are different.

 

[Carmen]

I have a salon at home and I charge all of my friends full price. Although, I do have one friend I don't charge for any services as she's been so great with babysitting, helping me paint a few of my houses along the way, always being my guinea pig, etc....the list could go on forever!!

 

[Annie23]

There are certain people that I don't charge as they were there for me when I was learning and needed models. But these people are close family and close friends. Anyone else I would charge my normal rate.

Regarding the contract, when I read it in the earlier post I thought they are taking the proverbial, who are they to tell you what you can or cannot do outside work, its ridiculous. As long as you don't deliberately "poach" clients as already mentioned. I think maybe you need to clarify it, or simply don't broadcast the fact that you do friends and family at home, I mean who is gonna tell them. If it comes out say I needed the practice. hth's

anne xx

 

[remember_nomore]

Right now that I'm finished with nail school but I don't have my certif until I finish skincare I charge the people that come to me anywhere from $25-$30 a set - I'm usually doing colored acrylic as well as canes and nail art. I don't charge for the art because I'm still learning and growing with that.

As for the people I don't charge, I have my mother in law, my aunt who's forever my guini-pig when I see something shiny I want to try and my nieces [early teens] who I never charge. Those are always the ones that are most fun to do, and I can always try something new without getting scrutinized.

 

[jonailtech]

i charge my friends, except my best friend as like so many of you said she was my guinea pig and i could not justify charging her as she is so good to me, and i dont charge my hairdresser friend as she does my hair free too, so its great for both of us.. i think signing a contract like that is not fair at all i personally would not sign something like that out of principal but i certrainly would not steal clients either xx

 

[sknight]

Every time I tell someone I'm a nail tech first they say "don't look at my nails" then always " I bet your friends love you" lol

God I get that all the time!!

I always charge my friends & family full price, I know some of you may think it's weird but I have tried & tested the "mate rate" and people just took the p!ss.

One person gets nail treatments free and that is my lovely mum for whom I owe a lot for all the practice during the early days.

 

[adelekeegan1]

I dont do friends enhancements, it is too difficult to argue the toss when they claim the 'fell off' etc etc - it is easier not to mix business with pleasure IMO

Family pay just the product costs because they are my family

 

[Teebster]

I have only just qualified in November as a nail tech so I certainly would not class myself as a pro by any means and I think this is really difficult. Due to family circumstances I work from home. I have taken out quite a big loan to set up a home salon with the best equipment I could afford and I am also in the last year of my ITEC beauty course, but unfortunately I had to beg friends and aquaintances to practice on them in the begining and of course I still need the practice now. I never charged from the start which I think was a mistake. People did not look after or appreciate the treatment that I had given them, most of the time not even a thank you but they would comment on how long I had taken or as someone else said it - if they were not happy.

A couple of nail experienced nails techs gave me the advice that if people don't pay they don't appreciate and I really think that is true with the exception of my mum who I would walk over burning coals for and never ever dream of charging for anything.

The problem I have no is that I have a couple of new clients only that I have made since I qualified who happily pay full price, but I am held to ransom for reasons that I can't go into by the aquantances who nails I did for free to continue doing them all the time. I try to stand my ground but unsuccesfully and it always has to be done on their terms regardless of my schedule and I too find my up late when the house has gone to bed doing their nails, but it is really difficult and they are not appreciative at all and frustratingly demanding.

So from now on if I train in something else I will not offer it to these people at all and it will be half price just while I am training, then full when I am qualified or not at all because these people will never become good regular clients which it is really upsetting and I would rather make new clients afterwards. xx

 

[adelekeegan1]

I have only just qualified in November as a nail tech so I certainly would not class myself as a pro by any means and I think this is really difficult. Due to family circumstances I work from home. I have taken out quite a big loan to set up a home salon with the best equipment I could afford and I am also in the last year of my ITEC beauty course, but unfortunately I had to beg friends and aquaintances to practice on them in the begining and of course I still need the practice now. I never charged from the start which I think was a mistake. People did not look after or appreciate the treatment that I had given them, most of the time not even a thank you but they would comment on how long I had taken or as someone else said it - if they were not happy.

A couple of nail experienced nails techs gave me the advice that if people don't pay they don't appreciate and I really think that is true with the exception of my mum who I would walk over burning coals for and never ever dream of charging for anything.

The problem I have no is that I have a couple of new clients only that I have made since I qualified who happily pay full price,but I am held to ransom for reasons that I can't go into by the aquantances who nails I did for free to continue doing them all the time. I try to stand my ground but unsuccesfully and it always has to be done on their terms regardless of my schedule and I too find my up late when the house has gone to bed doing their nails, but it is really difficult and they are not appreciative at all and frustratingly demanding.

So from now on if I train in something else I will not offer it to these people at all and it will be half price just while I am training, then full when I am qualified or not at all because these people will never become good regular clients which it is really upsetting and I would rather make new clients afterwards. xx

I know you say that you can't go into it but there is nothing that would induce me to carrying on with these people. If they are blackmailing you in some way then you should seek some advice.

 

[blossom]

I know you say that you can't go into it but there is nothing that would induce me to carrying on with these people. If they are blackmailing you in some way then you should seek some advice.

Absolutely, Adele is so right here . . . you need to tell them to sod off.

 

[Teebster]

I know you are both right but it is so complicated and I they come to my house to provide a service for my chronically ill son so it is not blackmail as much as my inability to stand up for my self and my emotional weekness. It is just really complicated and I my fear of upsetting them set against trying to tread a constant tightrope to provide the best care I can for my son is what stops me. But I do know you are right and I am going to be diplomatic and try being illusive to their demands so as not to create and atmosphere that I just can't cope with. You are both right and I know you are, thanks xx