Getting Local Techs Together

[tigi]

For a long time now I have been disheartened by the salons and mobile techs in my local (10 mile radius ) area charging less and less for nails.

I have been considering contacting them ALL and asking them if they would like to meet up to discuss pricing.

I personally feel that a price war benefits no-one in the long term and I would sincerely like to do something to offer a gentlemans agreement about costs. I was thinking of salons entering into an agreement that they charge no less than xxx amount and each service is looked into.

I am sure that some will refuse regardless but I am hoping to appeal to savvy business women who understand that if we ALL charge a similar fee the we will all benefit in the end.

I dont mean price fixing, I know that is not allowed, but maybe creating a forum where we can meet and discuss this and other issues.

So rambling over.... how would you feel if I approached you? WOuld you feel offended, insulted in any way? How could I grab your interest? What would I have to do to get you on board?

I hope you can help me put together something , or even talk me out of it if you think I have finally lost my marbles for good!

tigi

xxxx

 

[Karen Minx]

Im one of the most expensive in my small area (i think) for a set of enhancements at £35 a set and im not prepared to lower my prices.

There are some wifes who do nails from home for about £20-£25 so i feel your frustration.

A while ago there was a girl advertising on her facebook that she was doing them for £10 a set until she qaulified and anyone who stays with her her after she qaulifies, she will keep them at £10 a set. Not sure if she stuck by at what she promised or how well she is doing. These types of so called nail techs will only attract the clients I dont want so she is kind of doing me a favor!

 

[milliondollars]

I think it is a good idea in theory but don't know how it would vet work in practice. You would get a lot of people that wont stick to the deals!
The trouble here is that every other shop is a cheap Vietnamese/Asian nail bar where they use cheap products and charge £20 a set or acrylics. Until public are educated on the risks they won't see why they should pay £35-40 a set. Unfortunately I have had to drop my prices as people wouldn't pay £40 a set any more but I won't go lower than £35.
It is such a good idea, don't want to dishearten you!!!, but I cant see the cheap nail bars agreeing to it, and though a lot o people know the risks, many don't.
I would say this forum is as good as any to advertises, and maybe guild mag etc? Xx

 

[MissConfused]

i personally don't think it's anybody elses business what others are charging. it's not for us to dictate how others choose to run their business. that applies to both ends of the price scale. we have no right to ask others to justify their prices.

i would be offended if somebody felt they had the right to tell me how to run my business, yes. buuut i wouldn't be offended if i had a lovely invitation to a nice restaurant or the like for local therapists/nail techs to get together and talk about ways to increase business and to swap ideas... and if prices just so happened to come up then *shrug* that's just the direction of the conversation isn't it? i think how you word the initial contact will make all the difference x

 

[Liane]

Im one of the most expensive in my small area (i think) for a set of enhancements at £35 a set and im not prepared to lower my prices.

There are some wifes who do nails from home for about £20-£25 so i feel your frustration.

A while ago there was a girl advertising on her facebook that she was doing them for £10 a set until she qaulified and anyone who stays with her her after she qaulifies, she will keep them at £10 a set. Not sure if she stuck by at what she promised or how well she is doing. These types of so called nail techs will only attract the clients I dont want so she is kind of doing me a favor!

I am in the process of opening up a home salon and will be charging £25 for gel overlays as that is the going rate where I live. I object to being referred to as a "wife who does nails from home"!!!!!!!!! (and just for the record, I'm not married!!)

 

[Karen Minx]

I am in the process of opening up a home salon and will be charging £25 for gel overlays as that is the going rate where I live. I object to being referred to as a "wife who does nails from home"!!!!!!!!! (and just for the record, I'm not married!!)

Sorry i didn't mean offence. Im talking about my area. I live on an army camp so here we are all wifes! lol

 

[Liane]

Then your forgiven !!!!:biggrin: I can understand the frustration, around me there are NSS everywhere and people dont understand why some nail tech's charge more for what they consider to be the same product and outcome!!

 

[Karen Minx]

I am in the process of opening up a home salon and will be charging £25 for gel overlays as that is the going rate where I live. I object to being referred to as a "wife who does nails from home"!!!!!!!!! (and just for the record, I'm not married!!)

And just for the record, i wasn't saying anything bad about the wifes working from home for £25. Just the fact that it is fustrating!

 

[Karen Minx]

Then your forgiven !!!!:biggrin: I can understand the frustration, around me there are NSS everywhere and people dont understand why some nail tech's charge more for what they consider to be the same product and outcome!!

Thankyou! :biggrin: x

 

[tigi]

I am definately not trying to tell people what to do in thier own business. I am fustrated at the low pricing in my area, I feel that by joining foces together that this would benefit everyone in the longer term.

I really wouldnt be wanting to tell people what to do. So I definately take on board what you are saying miss confused.

I dont want to come across as the pricing police for people, I merely want to put across my ideas of banding together, forming a local alliance if you will. I feel pricing is so important and it truely guts me to see salons charging £11 for a set of nails........

I wouldnt want to force anyone into anything, if they didnt want to come, they wouldnt have to , simple as. But I feel I'd rather be upfront as to why I was asking them to come along.

hmmm I need to give this some more thought. Please do keep replying and letting me your thoughts

tigi
xxx

 

[Pinkbunny28]

i would be offended if somebody felt they had the right to tell me how to run my business, yes. buuut i wouldn't be offended if i had a lovely invitation to a nice restaurant or the like for local therapists/nail techs to get together and talk about ways to increase business and to swap ideas... and if prices just so happened to come up then *shrug* that's just the direction of the conversation isn't it? i think how you word the initial contact will make all the difference x

I think this is a great idea! I would come if you asked me like this also HOW can they afford £11 for a full set?! That surely barely pays wages + products?? x

 

[SJK]

I think a forum where all local techs could communicate would be terrific. If you started it off as a professional contact type thing, you could then introduce discussions like, "Why are you doing enhancements for £10?".

 

[shedunlop]

I think that the local forum thing is a good idea but I, personally, am not interested what anyone else charges for a treatment. I work out my own costings on every treatment and charge accordingly.

In my experience, the ones who charge too little don't last very long anyway so they have never effected my business. I live in Gloucester where you can't charge top dollar for treatments but I have found a middle of the road level where both clients and myself are happy. :biggrin:

 

[MissOwen]

i think its a lovely idea. BUT, i think thoses peope charging £11 for a set of whatever would still do so regardless.

I think the ladies interested in having a minimum charge for the area, would already be charging a respectable amount. Not sure anything would get through to the idiots that charge so little that they can barely afford to buy in replacement stock xx

 

[Gee]

I think it sounds like a great idea and if you lived in my area would love to meet up.

A salon a few doors away charges 7.50 for a full set of L&P, £35 for a full set of EE....I think a lot of these people think that charging so little will make them have more clients, which maybe they do initially, but they certainly need educating on cost of treatment, time, self value etc. I feel quite sorry for them actually, rather than angry or threatened, if i were a paying client i know where i'd prefer to spend my hard earned money. Maybe a little education is all they need.

I refuse to lower my prices, i do occasional special offers to attract new clients and i'm doing just fine as i am to be honest. I only started back at work (in a new salon) a few months ago after a break and have build up a nice clientelle that is growing fast.

 

[persianista]

Sorry to sound negative, but although it's a nice idea in theory, there will always be someone undercutting you. This fixation on price is really not as relevent to success as you think.

I know I bang on about the fact that people don't base all purchesing decisions on price, but I would like to repeat it again!
People base purchasing decisions on a whole range of factors. Price is not generally the only factor. If it was, EVERYONE would go to the £10 newbie and you would be sitting in an empty salon full of tumbleweed.

I know I will get shouted down, but have a think. Netto baked beans are supercheap. Do you buy them or heinz? Think about it.

 

[tigi]

you dont sound negative at all persinista. I do have clients who come to me and pay me £25-£30 for nails when across the road they can have them done for £15.

I know people wil continue to charge lower amounts, but when I worked in marketing, a lot of my clients would tell me that they felt compelled to charge less than their competitiors. I suppose am hoping to appeal to people who are viewing pricing as their biggest bullet.

I know it is isnt, its about so much more. I know there are techs who wont be interested and thats cool.

however, having said that I live in a tourist area, minimum wage rules and people are very price driven. I supppose the only thing I can do is give it a try, then if it fails horribly then I can bin the idea.

I was hoping as a group we could do more to raise the profile of our industry together, start with pricing and then explore other avenues that maybe the others would want to. It could be like a nail WI???? ha.

Its worth a stab in the dark , and I have VERY thick skin.

tigi
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