I cannot believe this!

[Asykes]

I do expiry dates on mine for a year. However I have given away a free voucher as a facebook promotion and that one was for 3 months. This is due to the fact that it was a freeby.
I have gift vouchers for topshop that ive had in my purse for 6 months and still not used. I think that 3 months is ridiiculas you need to extend it in my opinion. If it was bought in July 2012 I would see your point

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[libbylou]

emma , just keep your voucher money to one side, i have a large wage bill,but i always view it as not my money untill the voucher is presented xxxxx

 

[JemimaFox]

emma , just keep your voucher money to one side, i have a large wage bill,but i always view it as not my money untill the voucher is presented xxxxx

I just don't think it is that easy to be honest. We sell like £5000 worth over Christmas alone, that's a lot of money to keep to one side when it could be used to kick start a quiet January! Great idea if you can be organised enough though! x

 

[libbylou]

i just do not view it as a sale untill a voucher is presented, your staff have not performed any services so this shouldnt be taken account for wages etc xxxx

 

[pinkthistle]

But what i mean is the offers we do are only valid for that month, as the products arent restocked until the next year, so what would you do? Carry it on to next year? Exchange the voucher?

Hope im making sense! xxx

Ah, I'm only talking about certain massages or facials that I can do anytime, sorry....I don't really have anything I don't stock all year, but I suppose if I did they would need to take it while it was in stock, so no I wouldn't let them use it a year later...I've used suppliers that have disappeared within the year so it might never be on offer again.

 

[pinkthistle]

i just do not view it as a sale untill a voucher is presented, your staff have not performed any services so this shouldnt be taken account for wages etc xxxx

Is that not a whole can of worms where the tax man would be concerned? You've taken x amount in vouchers in one tax year but by keeping it to one side might not be declaring it until next tax year potentially.... It would be interesting to know how the huge Spa and salon chains deal with vouchers and how they put it through their books etc in comparison to smaller one man salons.

I would think that technically it's a sale made on the day of purchase to be declared for that day...the same as a product or treatment sale that day...?

Also what if the voucher is never presented? How long do you keep it aside...and does it then go in a pocket or the till 😇

 

[exquisitebeauty]

i NEVER put an expiry date on a voucher , i think you should honour it as you did take the money. i had river island vouchers for christmas they have no expiry on them.

they do actually i've had river island voucher they give you 2 yrs.

3 months is a bit short i give a year some give 3, some 6, some 1 year where all different , ive had people take the mick out of me on it. saying they've lost the voucher etc when actually they never had the voucher so i cant see where your coming from. What i usually do is see when the voucher was bought and if shes only a month out of date then i usually honour it. if its 2 month or more say look i'm sorry but its out of date however i'm willing to give you half price treatment or discount off a treatment. Then it doesn't look bad on you. And don't give me grief on this next comment to all you people that have said shes had the money she should honour it what i do is put the money aside for 12months if the voucher hasn't been used then it goes in the charity event pot or if a really bad month it helps pay rent bills etc. you cant expect to hold onto that money for ever and a day.

 

[Angelaznailz]

Have read all comments with interest as I wasn't sure if my policy was common or unusual.
I'm a salon owner working mainly by myself and probably don't have the turnover of most of you.
I don't put a use-by date on gift vouchers as I feel that I am only 'holding' the money for a client.
I put voucher money in an envelope in the safe every night and then take it out when the treatment has been received.
I realize that this works because I am a small business and I can monitor it myself.
In answer to the OP .....I feel that 3 months is a bit short for a voucher use-by date.
I would honour it to avoid bad publicity, bad feeling and customer retention.
Good Luck. X

 

[virtues2011]

Is that not a whole can of worms where the tax man would be concerned? You've taken x amount in vouchers in one tax year but by keeping it to one side might not be declaring it until next tax year potentially.... It would be interesting to know how the huge Spa and salon chains deal with vouchers and how they put it through their books etc in comparison to smaller one man salons.

I would think that technically it's a sale made on the day of purchase to be declared for that day...the same as a product or treatment sale that day...?

Also what if the voucher is never presented? How long do you keep it aside...and does it then go in a pocket or the till 😇

Pinkthistle, you can say this about any business that deals with cash transactions. There is always a certain element of risk with staff/owners not declaring money, you could bring up the same subject about tips. I'm probably sure you don't refuse tips due to moral correctness. Ha ha.

However, all transactions really should go through the till on the day of purchase but this doesn't always happen. If no record of a voucher sold or money taken has passed through the till there would be no issue with what tax year it went into as the voucher and cash would go through on the day of service.

The big chains will have external auditors if their turnover is high enough, (over 5 million) so they will have to keep a tight ship of records but even in the smaller chains internal auditors/accountants have often been present somewhere nearby, the more staff the harder cash is to control.

As for what happens to the funds if the voucher is not redeemed.......your guess is as good as mine.

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[Kate1982]

At the end of the day if your salon policy is 3 months and you chose to be firm in this then hell yeah of course you were right.
You haven't tricked anyone, or been dis-honest. So guess what tough luck to her. It is YOUR business to run however you see fit.regardless of what others may think.
Is it the best and most popular course of action to take? No
But it's your choice and your business, end of.......

 

[Mobile Manicure]

I think we've all been wasting our time. The OP has taken offence as we don't agree with her and has left. She really can't see it.

You really shouldn't join forums if you can't bear to her other people's opinions or listen to their advice.

 

[JemimaFox]

I think I would struggle to put all of the money aside and then take it out when it is used. But I agree that if you are a smaller business it would probably work great and in a perfect world everyone should be doing it.
I agree with one of the comments above, a sale is a sale on that day, same as treatment or product.
If your client buys a product and it goes out of date before they use it, are you going to give them another one?!
I see both sides to this really and I guess it's just each to their own.

 

[squidgernetball]

As I said on another thread, I sold tons of vouchers over the Christmas period, and two were for £150 each. They certainly would not have bought them with a three month expiry!

I put the money through on the day - no way could I put that to one side until it got used. I could not do my books that way. I find that without the pressure of having to use it up, clients will spread it out a bit more.

Vicki x

 

[Verve Designs]

As I said on another thread, I sold tons of vouchers over the Christmas period, and two were for £150 each. They certainly would not have bought them with a three month expiry!

I put the money through on the day - no way could I put that to one side until it got used. I could not do my books that way. I find that without the pressure of having to use it up, clients will spread it out a bit more.

Vicki x

Well, we're probably just chatting amongst ourselves now (!) but then it is a forum and not a blog. But, I find it interesting because, oddly, having read this thread vouchers seem to encompass a lot of things, sales, marketing, accounting, promotions etc...and it seems to be a subject in which there there are lots of different ways to approach it.

Vicki has made a very good point, wouldn't you find you'd actually sell lots more of them if you had a longer expiry date? Isn't that the point of selling vouchers in the first place? to sell lots?

If you're seeing vouchers as an impertinence whereby you have to have a really short expiry date as a barrier to being "messed about"...why bother having them at all?

 

[BeautyLoungeSW]

Guys.

I have NOT left the discussion because i don't like your answers. I always appreciate other people's views, but i also feel like i have the right to put my point across too to defend myself against those who are accusing me of being a 'thief'. That is the only reason i left the discussion as i feel it is totally unfair to accuse some one of doing that because you don't like their policies.

I know i asked if you thought that i handled it correctly, but i feel like the response was very hostile and unfair. Business is business, it is not personal however some of the posts from certain people on here cannot be seen as impersonal however you look at it.

I understand if the majority of people see the 3 months expiry as too short but it HAS NEVER been a problem for me. Just because one client is not happy doesn't mean i should change the way i run my business.

Bar one or two people, has anybody tried to see it from my point of view as a dedicated salon owner trying to stick by her own rules?? Surely if i didn't stick by my own rules i would be setting a bad example to staff. That could lead to all sorts of problems.

It seemed to end up as a bit of a witch hunt and it should not have ended that way. My responses may have been slightly more harsh than i usually would have been but surely you guys can see it was quite upsetting giving the nature of some of the replies. I'm only human.

To post on a professional site should be kept that way - no ganging up and demonising someone because they have different views and different ways of doing things to you regardless of if they have asked for advice or not.

mobile manicure - you certainly seem to have a problem with me even more than other people on here. Your posts have been particularly offensive and i would like to know why.

Any way, that's the end of it and i will now be putting this behind me as a lesson learnt to not put myself in a position where i could be accused of despicable things.

Thanks all.

 

[virtues2011]

Guys.

I have NOT left the discussion because i don't like your answers. I always appreciate other people's views, but i also feel like i have the right to put my point across too to defend myself against those who are accusing me of being a 'thief'. That is the only reason i left the discussion as i feel it is totally unfair to accuse some one of doing that because you don't like their policies.

I know i asked if you thought that i handled it correctly, but i feel like the response was very hostile and unfair. Business is business, it is not personal however some of the posts from certain people on here cannot be seen as impersonal however you look at it.

I understand if the majority of people see the 3 months expiry as too short but it HAS NEVER been a problem for me. Just because one client is not happy doesn't mean i should change the way i run my business.

Bar one or two people, has anybody tried to see it from my point of view as a dedicated salon owner trying to stick by her own rules?? Surely if i didn't stick by my own rules i would be setting a bad example to staff. That could lead to all sorts of problems.

It seemed to end up as a bit of a witch hunt and it should not have ended that way. My responses may have been slightly more harsh than i usually would have been but surely you guys can see it was quite upsetting giving the nature of some of the replies. I'm only human.

To post on a professional site should be kept that way - no ganging up and demonising someone because they have different views and different ways of doing things to you regardless of if they have asked for advice or not.

mobile manicure - you certainly seem to have a problem with me even more than other people on here. Your posts have been particularly offensive and i would like to know why.

Any way, that's the end of it and i will now be putting this behind me as a lesson learnt to not put myself in a position where i could be accused of despicable things.

Thanks all.

I for one am sorry that you feel that way. There is no harm meant here, there are many of us on this forum that have very strong opinions and say things how we see them, this can be quite harsh and uninviting to the receiver and often classed as rude, I for one am very blunt with my replies so apologies here. The majority of us that have replied to you are all with the same thought process, but ultimately it is your business and you are entitled to run it as you see fit, you can have a weeks validity on your vouchers if that's what you wish. There is an element of debate behind taking money and not providing a service, I don't believe anyone personally called you a thief it was an observation of a poster, because the majority do not agree with you it is not 'ganging' up, personal or anything else that is deemed nasty, unhelpful or just a plain attack. Stick to your three month validity if it works for you.

 

[KHS]

Beauty lounge, I have read every post in here and you were not called a thief
The sentence went something like ... Taking money with no service or product in return, isn't that classed as theft? ...

Please don't take offence to that but in the eyes of the law it is theft, HOWEVER it was a generalised question on the situation that the poster asked, not an accusation directed at you

Take a deep Deep breath. There are lots of people in here, and when a question is asked people will answer giving their opinion x

As Virtues often says offence is taken, not given

 

[Mobile Manicure]

I don't have a problem with you at all. I have a problem with your salon rules. I would not visit or recommend your salon because of the rules you enforce, not because of you personally. I don't even know you. I have not slated you personally. The whole situation just sticks in my throat. "Your rules" need a bit of an amendment. This is the beauty industry, not the army.

Rules are made to be broken, or bent on occasion. .



And sorry, but in my eyes, keeping the money for no service is dishonest and morally wrong. My opinion. I'm entitled to one like everyone else.

 

[Rockinthe80s]

Even suggesting this is theft/stealing is ridiculous. You may not all agree with the OP's salon policy but it certainly is not theft or dishonest!

There's no dishonesty here whatsoever.... The voucher was sold with a 3 month expiry date and the client tried to use it 6 months later. If terms and conditions have been clearly stated and expiry date clearly printed on the voucher... Where does the dishonesty come from???

Yes it may be good business sense to have honoured the voucher (i myself would have honoured it), but at the end of the day the OP has salon policies which she stands by. Her business, her policies.. Respect that..

Even though not a personal attack, but even suggesting that the OP is running her business dishonestly or stealing for not honouring an expired voucher??? Come on....

 

[Mobile Manicure]

Sorry. Disagree. Where is the money now? What was it spent on? Not the treatment, that's for sure. The salon has taken the money and has not provided the service.

If I paid a plumber upfront to fix my leaking toilet and he never showed up....to me it's the same thing, voucher, expired voucher, doesn't matter. Money has been taken. Service has not been provided. Theft. Full stop.