Mates Rates

[VickieC]

Well after what happened tonight i really need some advice from people in the know!!
Im starting my cnd Signature5 Foundation Course in dec, Iv been telling everyone about it as im so excited to get started!!
But all people are saying is ..'oh great i can get mate rates' i personally wouldnt be able to charge family and certain friends full price - as they do so much for me already. Its just others who i hardly ever talk to anymore are sending me messages on facebook asking when im qualified so they can get mates rates!
Well tonight i bumped into friend who i havnt talked to in about 2 years, i was telling her my plans - and again 'oh mates rates' and further talking i said im not just gonna jump right in at the deep end il just be charging people cost of the products so i can get lots of practice on real hands, which to that she says "even mates?" meaning her, so then she says oh well i can get them done propper down at the nail bar for £30. She wouldnt even pay a few quid to help me along with my training but she expects me to do her nails all the time for free!? really annoyed me.
It just seems every1 i tell mentions that they will get it half price from now on.

Sorry for the long post - but how do people deal with this? what do you say to people when they come along talking about half price treatments just because you know them on a personal level? xx

 

[Boutiques]

Hello,

when I first started college i charged £5 so I could get practice, this was at the very start as i got better i put that up to £10 just while i was still training
I now charge everyone full price even my friends, you cannot get anywhere charging mates rates and you still have to buy products and make a living.

Best of all its the mates that end up letting you down all the time beacuse they think they can as they are your mates and dont turn up for your appointments, if this is going to be your career you have to let them know that you will be charing them full price as it is your income.

Best of luck

HTH

Best Wishes
Hayley
Boutiques Mobile Beauty

www.boutiquesmobilebeauty.co.uk

 

[geeg]

Well I've never given mates rates and never would .. your so called 'friends' are being presumptuous and I hope are in for a shock when you tell them that you will have paid a serious amount of money to train and will be charging accordingly. You may work for a few months at a reduced rate for practice, but NEVER for free .. not even from day one. I wouldn't be too keen to approach 'friends' .. you can get others that will be ready and willing to pay. Good Luck.

 

[Claireybearyowen]

Hey Vickie,

Yerp this is a toughie as I have had exactly the same with people I work with, who I don't really class as friends, more associates, and those FB hangers-on-ers too!!! :irked:

I have offered a period of time for which I will do the treatments half price, but on the understanding that yes they are helping me gain experience yet they are getting top quaility products at an amazing price. I am of course very grateful for the opportunity of so many guniea pigs, but I do have expenses and lots of them if you look at the beating the credit card has taken. And I have gone to a lot of effort and costs to get the best training and use the best products. And I am only going to be offering half price for another month in these cases.

I also have a few very close and old friends, that like you have been a great help over the years and been with me through thick and thin and they will be the only people getting "mates rates" in the future, of which there are 3 or 4 no more !!

I have also offered those "associates" an incentive, if they are happy with the treatment and the product and they recommend me to their friends ect and I get say for examples 5 refferals then they get a half price treatment.

It's so hard because you do need to get the practice but you don't want to taken for a ride either. And you should be proud of the proffessional status you will be working so hard for.

Good luck and stick to your guns.

Claire :hug:

 

[Sam Biddle]

Hello,
I would defiantly not get into the habit of doing family and friends...it always ends in desaster. When they say 'ahhhhh do I get mates rates' laugh and say yeah sure. Then charge them the same as everyone else, if they ever pull you up on it say...'all my clients are friends, I thought that is what you meant' :0)
I have always told my students while they are training and need models to practise, is to advertise for these 'models' and charge them a donation to the training.

Another thing to remember is that family and friends aren't always the best people to practise on, they feel they have a right to be overally critical and pick at everything you do...they have a relationship with you already so think they should let you know when they think they are doing something wrong. This is not a good idea....especially when your starting out...you need to build confidence not have is smashed.

play them at their own game.
Sx

 

[SJK]

That so-called friend is a bit cheeky! Generally the people who ask for discount don't deserve it - they're freeloaders. The people who wouldn't dream of asking for discount - those who have really helped you out in the long term and support you - do deserve it. It's Murphy's Law.

 

[~Louise~]

I know I don't do nails (I'm a MUA) but I get the same thing, I've friends who aske me to do their make up & they wouldn't even put their hand in their pocket to even offer fuel costs! grrr! I'm no good at asking either - suppose it's my own fault really

 

[Susie H]

I've answered this one before, but I don't mind doing so again.
My daughter was a teenager when I took my CND course and all her friends thought they would get nails for free.
I told them, with a smile that after they had delivered a couple of thousand leaflets for me, I'd be delighted to do a set of nails for them and then told them what their rebalance would cost them.
Funny how I didn't have any takers
My daughter has never paid for a set of nails and she never will, she was my model from day one, she designed and delivered my leaflets, she did my housework when ever I had clients when she passed her driving test she took on the trips to the wholesales for me and continued to be my model when ever I took another course.
Every now and then someone gets cheeky and says how about mates rates and I either tell them the same thing I told those girls or I inflate my price by 20% and then tell them they can have a 10% discount.
Your CND course will cover the buisness side of things, how to advertise etc and my advice to you is to jump straight in on that, get your add in the shops, do leaflet drops, get your web site up and running and forget the so called mates, they are the ones who will let you down, turn up late and generaly by a pain in the butt.
Other then that, enjoy your course hun, you've chosen to train with the best:hug:

 

[lauramakeupart]

I was so stupid you will all be shaking your heads. I said to a couple of friends I'd do lashes free because I was training, this spread to other friends who then started enquiring - but hey I needed the practise. Anyway my last two were my best and I didn't have a camera available and my phone one is crap. So one pal I took a quick pic on her phone but she was in a hurry and said yuk she hated the pic and she wasn't letting me use it and she'd get another to me. I kept asking he and she said a couple have came out - so they aren't perfect - no use to me as I don't live near her to top them up, she even deleted the pic I took! All that I asked of them is that they take a pic for me in return is that too much to ask! I had a right go at her tonight lolxx

 

[Pebbles#1]

I have done mates rates in the past. It really isn`t worth it.
I have one friend who comes for enhancements twice a year for holidays. One appointment she even questioned why was it dearer than last time, and wanted me to justify my increase in prices!!! I had the last laugh..... whilst on holiday she broke a nail so went to a salon for one nail. She had a fit that she had to pay £10 to have the remainder of the broken nail soaked off and a new nail applied, welcome to the real world. I still had to explain to her that was an average price, she was convinced she had been robbed. I was so cross at having to justify a small increase in treatment prices when she returned for her removal I didn`t give her any mates rates.
Just to add to this, her husband is a self-employed tradesman and she has told me what he charges on a daily basis ££££££££££££, and I know she earns £30k plus.

 

[skymark]

I've answered this one before, but I don't mind doing so again.
My daughter was a teenager when I took my CND course and all her friends thought they would get nails for free.
I told them, with a smile that after they had delivered a couple of thousand leaflets for me, I'd be delighted to do a set of nails for them and then told them what their rebalance would cost them.
Funny how I didn't have any takers
My daughter has never paid for a set of nails and she never will, she was my model from day one, she designed and delivered my leaflets, she did my housework when ever I had clients when she passed her driving test she took on the trips to the wholesales for me and continued to be my model when ever I took another course.
Every now and then someone gets cheeky and says how about mates rates and I either tell them the same thing I told those girls or I inflate my price by 20% and then tell them they can have a 10% discount.
Your CND course will cover the buisness side of things, how to advertise etc and my advice to you is to jump straight in on that, get your add in the shops, do leaflet drops, get your web site up and running and forget the so called mates, they are the ones who will let you down, turn up late and generaly by a pain in the butt.
Other then that, enjoy your course hun, you've chosen to train with the best:hug:

I'd totally deliver a couple thousand leaflets for free nails. Then im a bit mad and have actually started to enjoy leaflet dropping lol Even as a teen tho I would have seen the opportunity in that.

To the original poster, if you are ever to do 'mates rates' you have to have a definition of 'mates' This for me consists of a very small list of people (like 3) and thats it. Being a good friend, relative, facebook randomer, newsagent, milkman or dog walker does not qualify for me.

I am happy to do a deal on services for people who can offer the same to me from their own self employed business, but otherwise people can freaking pay.

In my experience tho, real mates never ask for a discount on anything. Its a good way to weed out some ''so called friends'' and see what theyre really all about.

When my friends go into business I want to support them by taking my business to them and your true friends will show this supprt.

 

[M00min]

It's so hard to go back once you've started offering freebies! I didn't charge during my practices on family and friends whileand that was a mistake. I do charge now unless it's in return for something they've done for me.

None of my friends have ever taken the p*ss - it's my fault for being too soft! I think it was Persianista on here who advises to add value, not discounts, so I'm trying to stick to that for the future! x

 

[VikkiNails]

I agree with these posts. Freebies are a no no! Only my mum gets free nails, everyone else pays the going rate.

It is suprising how many 'friends' come out of the woodwork when they think a freebie is on offer. True friends realise that you did not / are not training to do nails as a hobby so that you can do their nails at no cost to them and expense to you and will pay for your time, expertise, and their nails as they would in any salon or with any tech.

Ok, charge a reduced rate whilst you are still learning, but keep this a realistic price so that you are covering your products but also earning a little on top, but as soon as you feel confident, get those prices up.

Dont worry about the people who are expecting this of you, in my opinion, they are not real friends. x

 

[Pooh8bear]

People don't appreciate freebie's, you would be better off charging them the normal price & giving them a bottle of champagne -to the same value ie. £28-£35 to thank them for being a client, that way THEY would see the value a lot more.
(+if you buy 6 bottles you get a 5% discount at Tescos!!!!!!)

 

[makeupartistzoe]

I know a good group 25 of girlies that I've always offered mates rates too as they all work in an environment where they are talking to lots of people. It was only 20% but I didn't get lots from that and then with my launch party last week only 1 of the 25 girls from that group bothered to show up for my launch! I don't know why I classed them as mates in the 1st place, lots of them didn't acknowledge the event at all but I know they got the email. One confirmed and then was ill, yeah right.

I make a point of doing one tan or one 30 min makeup for a birthday present to my sister and bessie mate, I love them, don't get me wrong but it's what I do for a living!

 

[VickieC]

Thanks everyone! You helped so much! Iv got loads of great advice and i cant wait for the next person that asks about mates rates! Il just tell them.. "Yeh you can have it at a reduced rate, Because you will be helping me out with my training" & when i do decide to put up my prices Il just thank them for the practice and let them know its now full price... will be interesting to see how many 'friends' come back!! x

 

[CathyBryant]

Hi

for my very immidiate family, mum, sister and sister in law and my best friend i make them a VIP client and our computer system automatically gives them a 10% discount on all services. In return they do alot of word of mouth advertsising for me. They are good regular clients so i dont mind. Also if we have any training going on within the salon then i ask them to model for us for free, again this works in our favour as they then advertise fo rus.

ive had other so called friends and relatives that i hardly ever see ask me, so i always ask them in return what they can do for me, will they give me a discount on whatever they do? i think not, this normally does the trick and they stop asking. lol

at the end of the day they wouldnt go into tesco and ask for a discount