Help with my salon trainee

[Amanda]

Hi everyone
Hope someone can help me here.....(sorry sooo long)
I have a lady that is training with me at my salon, she did her Creative foundation course in August of last year (L&P) Previous to this someone ?? had 'shown' her how to do nails.
She wanted a chance to work in a salon and I told her that I would only accept her if she did the Creative foundation course.
I have tried to attract clients by offering them a full set of Creative acrylics at £ 15.00 and infills at £8.00. During the Christmas period she had quite a few clients but now they are non existant??? She is still having real problems with smile lines, getting product on the soft tissue, filing into shape and infills. Her clients are not returning or if they do they say they want their nails done with me. I try to help her all I can but with running the salon and having a full diary I am really struggling!
I am really busy all the time and am turning potential new clients away because I really dont want her to give the salon a bad name (that sounds awful )
I just feel like I have come to a standstill, Does anyone think that she may not just 'have' it??
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for listening, lol:cry:
Amanda

 

[LBR]

What about getting her to have a 1 to 1 with a creative ambassador?

It might just do the trick as alot of people on here have said how much they have learnt with a couple of hours extra training.

 

[scattyfox]

it takes a long time to amster the technique of nails unless your a natural after 8months i still struggle with them but am determined to overcome the problems i have.

is this girl enthusiastic about nails?

Does she practice when she hasnt got clients?
Does she read lots and lots anythign to do with anils?

if so then keep with her she will come through in the end, if you feel she isnt pulling her weight then give her a trial period to improve and maybe a 121 to iron out any problems, Sadly Rome wasnt built in a day adn nor are nails.

 

[BABSann]

Hi everyone
Hope someone can help me here.....(sorry sooo long)
I have a lady that is training with me at my salon, she did her Creative foundation course in August of last year (L&P) Previous to this someone ?? had 'shown' her how to do nails.
She wanted a chance to work in a salon and I told her that I would only accept her if she did the Creative foundation course.
I have tried to attract clients by offering them a full set of Creative acrylics at £ 15.00 and infills at £8.00. During the Christmas period she had quite a few clients but now they are non existant??? She is still having real problems with smile lines, getting product on the soft tissue, filing into shape and infills. Her clients are not returning or if they do they say they want their nails done with me. I try to help her all I can but with running the salon and having a full diary I am really struggling!
I am really busy all the time and am turning potential new clients away because I really dont want her to give the salon a bad name (that sounds awful )
I just feel like I have come to a standstill, Does anyone think that she may not just 'have' it??
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for listening, lol:cry:
Amanda

I think at the moment alot of salons are quite quiet with xmas not being that far away. I would suggest that you let your trainee practice on a hand trainer when shes not busy. That way she can focus on her problem areas. She probably feels dreadful knowing that her clients aren't returning. If she has no clients then she wont be getting the practice to perfect her smile lines etc. It must be hard for you trying to run a business but spring is not far away and everywhere gets busier once the sun starts to shine. I'm sure she will improve in time. Maybe just advertise for models for her so that way clients will be aware she's still a learner, they will get a cheap set of nails and hopefully she will in time get better. Good luck.

 

[Cathie!]

I think that you need to take time out to train with her, you have taken her on as a trainee, so this means you have some sort of obligation to train her, whether this is with clients or the trainer hand.

You are obviously successful and have a lot to give, so take some time out and give to your trainee, she wants to do it, you want her to do it, so give her some 1 2 1 training with you and see if it makes a difference.

Maybe give her some goals and objectives to acheive, show her how you do you smiles and get her to complete 50 tips on the nail trainer...if you're paying her and she's not making any money doing clients, at least she could be practicing?

A good friend of mine who has trained people in her successful salons told me a great way of training a junior is to share a client, one hand each, prep, apply tips, blend tips, you cut and shape the tips and apply product to all ten nails, then back to one hand each, finish....she will learn loads this way and want her hand to look as good as yours.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

When I first started as a rookie tech, the salon advertised for models at £10 a set. It was made clear that there were no comebacks or guarantees of workmanship. EVERY client that I did was assessed before they left, therefore I could see where I was going wrong and improve on it. Cheap sets attract cheap clients though, they are the type that often don't want infills and they don't tend to look after the nails as someone who pays £40 a set.

What I do in instances like this is think back to what my work was like after 6 months .. it was pretty much as you describe. I think LBR is right, she needs some hands on training. If after that you cannot see an improvement then maybe she just isn't cut out to be a nail tech.

 

[claireamy]

There's some really great advise here. Extra training in the salon on the nail trainer and with you ( the one hand each thing sounds great!).

I think also she should probably have a 1-2-1 day at Creative just because you can really learn soo much in a days training. She could take so much away with her that you simply don't have the time to go thro with her and really learn from it.

IF she's enthusiastic about nails I would keep her a bit longer. IF she's willing to take on board new training, give her a chance! You're obviously a busy salon so keep advertising her as a trainee at trainee prices and I'm sure she'll improve in no time.

Oh and the last thing... When you notice even the slightest improvement, heap loads of praise on her. I always find that if I'm complimented about my work my confidence levels go up and I perform even better!

Good luck xx