Losing the will with a self employed staff member, Advice please!

[AmyLee]

Afternoon everyone. I'm looking for a little advice on a few issues with a staff member. I have a couple of girls who rent chairs. I am extremely lenient of things that generally you don't tend to get with being self employed, eg : rent free weeks, % splits if they have a quiet week, full use of my card machine free of charge, very relaxed with hours and I do let them use my advertising materials and use of paid ovatu app for bookings etc. They only pay for tint! I provide all of the shampoo and styling products. I try so hard to check they are happy and that bookings are shared out equally.

However. One of my girls on a % split has been with me a year in April and still hasn't got the client retention I think she should have. She is quiet and miserable with clients and customer service just seems to be lacking. I have recently moved premises and spent an absolute fortune doing the new place up, in prime position in a city centre and I come in and things have colour all over them, hair not swept up properly, bins full etc and just feel my things are being really disrespected and not looked after. The 2 chair renters don't really have 2 words to say to each other either which creates a strange dynamic.

Said chair renter often complains of being skint and having no money yet sits on phone all day, didn't come in thurs and didn't tell anyone she wasn't coming in. If she's not in doing clients then I'm not earning. I just don't know how to broach this subject. Today 2 clients came in off the street for off the scalp colour and she said she couldn't do them as she was going away for the weekend. She could have at least done 1, got the other one booked in for another day and been £130 better off. She hasn't had any clients in today, yet turned these down.

Part of me thinks get off your arse, get some flyers printed, hand them out, promote yourself and make people want to come back to you!

I am feeling at a loss and don't know if I need to just toughen up and start charging set rent to get them to buck their ideas up or if I just expect too much off people.

Help :-(

 

[Baggybear]

If you want rent to help pay your bills then yes you are going to need to tell this renter (or both renters) that the percent split is over and if they can't pay the set rent then you will have to look for other renters to take their place. This is business and business has to earn money.

She is supposed to be in charge of her business and should be pushing to get clients, it seems she isn't actually interested in having a sucessfull business and therefore as her landlady you can't really afford to continue to allow her to coast through life on a percent basis. Set a rent and stick to it, if she can't pay she will need to buck up or get out.

As for cleaning and respecting your stuff, maybe you should tell them that if they can't respect the stuff you allow them to use they will need to use their own from now on (and remove the stuff from them) that should kick them up the butt as it will cost them to go and buy in all those extra things you allow them access to.

As for not coming in on Thursday, that is her choice & she technically doesn't need to tell anyone (although it is obviously helpfull for the salon to know if she is planning to take time off) as she is her own boss and can chose to work as and when she likes without there being anyone to ask - addmitedly while on a percent split this is hard for the landlord/lady but it is within her rights to do so.

Yes she should have taken at least one of the walk in's today & she should have tried to book the other walk in for another day but this is one thing that tells me this girl is not serious about wanting her own business.
I would say your other other stylist should have taken over when the first said she couldn't do it - she could have booked them both in for another day if she was busy at the time - that way you would have had both clients booked in no matter which person did it you'd be better off as you'd be getting money from them.
Allowing those clients to leave with no appointment was bad for your salon so maybe you need to have a meeting where you explain that it is not acceptable to just let clients leave without trying to make them an appointment as it is money walking out the door. A walk in is there for anyone who can fit them in, if nobody is available then they should try to get them booked in for as soon as they can or the whole salon loses out.

Get tough and stop treating these girls so well as they are obviously walking all over you at the minute. :Love:

 

[Nearlyme]

Afternoon everyone. I'm looking for a little advice on a few issues with a staff member. I have a couple of girls who rent chairs. I am extremely lenient of things that generally you don't tend to get with being self employed, eg : rent free weeks, % splits if they have a quiet week, full use of my card machine free of charge, very relaxed with hours and I do let them use my advertising materials and use of paid ovatu app for bookings etc. They only pay for tint! I provide all of the shampoo and styling products. I try so hard to check they are happy and that bookings are shared out equally.

However. One of my girls on a % split has been with me a year in April and still hasn't got the client retention I think she should have. She is quiet and miserable with clients and customer service just seems to be lacking. I have recently moved premises and spent an absolute fortune doing the new place up, in prime position in a city centre and I come in and things have colour all over them, hair not swept up properly, bins full etc and just feel my things are being really disrespected and not looked after. The 2 chair renters don't really have 2 words to say to each other either which creates a strange dynamic.

Said chair renter often complains of being skint and having no money yet sits on phone all day, didn't come in thurs and didn't tell anyone she wasn't coming in. If she's not in doing clients then I'm not earning. I just don't know how to broach this subject. Today 2 clients came in off the street for off the scalp colour and she said she couldn't do them as she was going away for the weekend. She could have at least done 1, got the other one booked in for another day and been £130 better off. She hasn't had any clients in today, yet turned these down.

Part of me thinks get off your arse, get some flyers printed, hand them out, promote yourself and make people want to come back to you!

I am feeling at a loss and don't know if I need to just toughen up and start charging set rent to get them to buck their ideas up or if I just expect too much off people.

Help :-(

On the issues if walk in colours. It doesn't matter if it is on the scalp or off the scalp you should always skin test so I would actually have turned them away too, after a full complimentary consultation where I would blow their minds with my knowledge and sparkling witt so they would know I was worth waiting for.

On the other subjects you need to man up. As a landlady you are not obliged to let her freeload. You don't want her working on your premises? Tell her! She is wasting her time and your space and money, there could be a devoted, hardworking stylist desperate for a bite of the cherry in your fresh salon but you don't have space for her.

Stop being so nice. You do not owe these girls anything, they owe you.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[KHS]

Oh dear! You need to get tough, and fast! Before you don't have a business to run.

They are walking all over you, rent is rent, no matter if they have clients or not, for as long as you are carrying those girls they will continue to run riot and take the P*$$ out of you.

For your own sake, sit them down, tell them from now on they need to find their own clients and pay the set amount per day/week chair rental or they walk and you find others who want to work.

I wish you all the best, talk to them Monday and get this sorted out and if they don't like it - tough! xx

 

[AmyLee]

Thankyou everyone for your replys. I have just drafted an email to send to the girls.

The 2 clients have been booked in with the other stylist for Monday, I wouldn't have let them leave with no appointment, the 2 others were horrified that the stylist didn't even come downstairs to try and get them booked in another day. If they had the time today they would have taken 1 each.

Agreed with all you have said people that have replied.

Thanks again

 

[BannerPenguin]

Thankyou everyone for your replys. I have just drafted an email to send to the girls.

The 2 clients have been booked in with the other stylist for Monday, I wouldn't have let them leave with no appointment, the 2 others were horrified that the stylist didn't even come downstairs to try and get them booked in another day. If they had the time today they would have taken 1 each.

Agreed with all you have said people that have replied.

Thanks again


Dillon and Lee | Hair cut and colours| Where luxury doesn't cost a fortune

I wouldn't send an email.

You need to sit down and speak to them. If you hide behind the computer screen and an email they won't take you seriously.

 

[MrsHBeauty]

I wouldn't send an email.

You need to sit down and speak to them. If you hide behind the computer screen and an email they won't take you seriously.

I agree with BannerPenguin - I don't think this is something that can be done via email. It is negative and will get people's back up straight away. It will come across much better face to face either as a team meeting or as a 1 - 2 - 1.





Jemima

 

[KHS]

I agree too, no emails.
Sit them down and talk, you can have copies on paper printed out of what you expect and give to them during the meeting so they can't say ... Oh I didn't hear you say that
Type everything up in a code if practice and give to them. Ask if they have any questions after you've spoken

Job done

 

[Debbsxo]

Much more professional to do it face to face but perhaps follow up with an email confirming points raised and any agreed improvement plan. That way you have a written record too.

HTH

 

[Nimue]

Yep I agree with PP. I've just gotten rid of a therapist that was taking the P*$$ and it feels so much better!
From now on I've typed up a Business to Business code of practice, which a list of what is included in their rent and what isn't and am bringing everyone in for a meeting to talk over it all.

Good Luck