How much to charge? Mates Rates!!

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I also think it depends on how much of a mate they are.Some mates you know will not take advantage and really appreciate what you are doing and also let you practise anything new on them if needs be.
As Angie said you can always get them things at wholesale price like nail oil etc but not actually do your treatments any cheaper.
I have made a mistake of doing too many people on the cheap and especially with nails which take me a long time to do i dont end up seeing a lot of profit.
 
Copy & pasted this quote >>>Some mates you know will not take advantage and really appreciate what you are doing and also let you practise anything new on them if needs be.As Angie said you can always get them things at wholesale price like nail oil etc but not actually do your treatments any cheaper.

this sounds like a good idea:idea:
 
i used to have this problem too but you are not appreciated for it at the end
now i give dicount by offering a free nail art sometimes and there is only one person who gets her nails for free and that is my competition model.... she always gets very special nails from me between competitions but she always knows the price i would normaly charge in case someone asks :)
cheers sabrina
 
I used to do 'mates rates' but then it would get confusing when they would tell their friends how much they cost and then they'd book and try to pay that price too.

Now they are full price, but i have started a loyalty card, where they can have 10% off their infil for each client they recommend to me. The only conditions are that they can only have the discount once their refered client has had their treatment, and they can only use one referal discount at a time.
 
Only yesterday I spend 2 hours with a geek from here, did her nails, showed her a few tricks of the trade and hugely discounted her service ....... even though I didn't know her, she came all the way from the UK, hunted me down and I considered her a mate (I also considered her a guest in both my salon and my country).

It was also my most enjoyable appointment of the week, it was like a mutual respect and appreciation.
:hug: Aw shucks!


I am the said Geek / Stalker! ("hunted down" LOL)

It was a lovely meet, not to mention an education!

It is a privilege to be able to discount prices for people and I agree with what goes around comes around. That said, I know I have fabulous friends who always want to pay and wouldn't dream of taking the p***. I think we can judge who is worthy of a discount and who isn't, and learn from any mistakes we make along the way. It's never too far down the line to start asking for payment from your friends. True friends will understand.
 
Thank god she didn't ring!! BUT next time she asks i'll tell her how much it'll be beforehand, then the choice is hers :wink2:
Thanks for all the replies
 
I give 10% off to mates, thats it, no more no less, a few of you may remember my SIL saga, she only wanted to pay me £5 and that was for a full set + gel toes and nail art! Binned her sharpish, shes a pratt anyway!

All my good mates dont want me to do anything for free, as I am running a business here, but its always good to give a wee discount!
 
if you don't have a "rate", they are not really a "mate", then they are just another client.

I'd hate to be treated as a "client" by people I consider a "mate".

Sure, I want a professional service, but "mates", true "mates" are a bit different.

There are "mates", friends and there are "acquaintances".
 
if you don't have a "rate", they are not really a "mate", then they are just another client.

I'd hate to be treated as a "client" by people I consider a "mate".

Sure, I want a professional service, but "mates", true "mates" are a bit different.

There are "mates", friends and there are "acquaintances".

Beautifully put - IMO
 
Hi there I've seen other threads like this about mates/friend or family I did'nt say anything then but feel I have to now. So here goes I being from the Caribbean and working in a high tourist area have a slight insight into racial,cultural,gender and enviromental diffrences with this said there is no wrong or right to the subject, what is good for one may not be for another.I am the 7th child of 8 children my mother have. We are a very close family all the neices and nephews are seen as an extension of our own family. e.g. If (god for bids) some thing should happen to any sister or brother the rest will financialy surport that child or children. That being said if we have a business we don't pay for service we may pay cost of product we do not charge one another for our time. They are booked on slow days and if a paying client calls for that day and time they are bumped to the next avable time. I also have 3 friends that I do for free because one takes care of my daughter every Sunday because i have to work from the time she was 3 months old till now she's 5, the other gives money when ever she can and I don't mean a $5 here and there I mean a $50 or a $100.00 towards my daughters up bring. The other is my daughters god mother and she is a very popular person in the town so I get at least half my business off of her.

That being said I also give discounts 3 months out of the year beacuse I live in a seasonal area where for 3-6 months all pay cheaks are cut in half due to no business in the touristisum. Surpricenly it my most lucutive time most of the workers in the hotel and resturant are leaveing for vaction and with a discount they are encourage to do hand and feet to look nice and (dandy).:smack: discount is totaly up to you and what you business can handle.Being nice today may have such a reward in the furture.
 
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I once had a client that I used to charge for her rebalances, but never for repairs that weren't covered by the rebalance fee, or nail art or gems. She was one of my first clients and I felt I needed to thank her for her custom - but not charging her full prices didn't make her stay a customer for longer than she wanted - when she wanted a break from her nails, that was that - who lost out - me.

I have a friend (fairly close friend too) who cut all her nails off and wanted instantly longer nails, so she arrives at my door at about 9 pm one evening for me to do something with her nails. I had nothing better to do so did her a full set and didn't charge her. What happens - 5 or 6 days later, I asked how she was getting on with her nails and low and behold - she'd taken them all off. With no regard for my hard work - if I'd have charged her the 60 euros I should have, you can guarantee she'd have thought twice about biting them off.

My cousin is booked in for nails on Saturday and I will charge her for her nails - she wouldn't let me do them for free.

But with my cousin and other friends, I don't charge for nail art or gems but everything else you need to charge for, because experience has taught me that if it was the other way around - they'd sure charge you.

I live in a country where small gestures like giving little discounts etc is the done thing - but as many of my fellow Geeks have already mentioned, experience should also help you decipher, who's worthy of a discount and who isn't.

At the end of the day - we're trying to make a living.
 

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