Need some help please!

[Jen12]

I have started a Beauty salon in the last two months and it has been running smoothly. However over the weekend my therapist was doing a Hollywood and burnt the client, my therapist came out and nearly started to cry. I was not too sure what to do. The lady said it was fine as it was an accident. I gave her a discount on her wax and was extremely sorry for this situation.
When the lady went home, she phoned be back saying that my therapist when waxing her legs had left patches of hair. When I asked my therapist about the waxing of the ladies hair, she explained that she made sure she did a good job because of what happened. I anyway gave the lady a full refund.

This has all worried me a bit and has also knocked the confidence of my therapist as she is new in the industry. Please can anyone provide any advice that I could give to my therapist and me? I have been supportive to my therapist and have not had a go at her.

Thanks xx

 

[blutopaz]

Im not in the beauty side but having read many things on here have learnt a thing or two,

for a start did you check the clients legs after the missed hairs complaint? whos to say she wasnt just after more from you.....there are very cunning, sly people out there that are always after something for nothing.

secondly, and this is where u can correct me if im wrong,

doesnt it depend on them switching between hair removal methods i.e epilating, shaving etc and lengths that the hair is at for it to be able to be waxed? if its to short and down to the client then ur therapist has just done her job, and after burning someone i dont think shes goin to screw that bit up.

 

[Jen12]

I never saw her legs, I think I was still in a sort of shock mode that I didn't think till after that she could have been lying!!!

And i'm sure she did say something about shaving parts in the past. I should have explained that could have been the cause!

Thanks for the reassurance, it was not a nice experience xx

 

[blutopaz]

not a nice one granted but its an experience to take into the future, their'l be plenty more when running your own place.

We live and learn and its what we do next time to better our experiences that counts. I think you done the right thing standing by your therapist, It would break her confidence alot more if she knew she hadnt done anything wrong, if you hadnt stuck by her then it would with one client complaining.

If the client knew she was new into the industry then she could of been trying to undermine her just to get something else for free. If it happens again don't except anything over the phone, have them come in for you to talk over it together so u can examine them and their issues.

maybe think about protocals and draw up some trouble shooting guidelines for you and your staff, that way when you go into shcok mode again and cant think its their in black and white, and you can shoot those "after something for nothing" people right back down with the facts

also staff appraisal wise, if u were to sit in on some treatments, you can offer advice on any skills that need more perfecting etc.

hth's

 

[pure]

for a start did you check the clients legs after the missed hairs complaint? whos to say she wasnt just after more from you.....there are very cunning, sly people out there that are always after something for nothing.

It sounds like the client was genuinly distressed so I think we have to take her at her word and give her the benfit of the doubt.

secondly, and this is where u can correct me if im wrong,

doesnt it depend on them switching between hair removal methods i.e epilating, shaving etc and lengths that the hair is at for it to be able to be waxed? if its to short and down to the client then ur therapist has just done her job, and after burning someone i dont think shes goin to screw that bit up. And it is the therapist job to note on the consultation card if this is the case and they should also have advised the client what happens when they stop shaving, and this advice should also have been noted on the card.

I have to say I think you have handled it well, it's obvious that your therapist is new to have missed the things I mentioned above, and perhaps you should invest in some additional training for her, but don't assume the worst of your client. This is someone you want to return to the salon and not to go around slating your treatments so treat her well, address her concerns, offer to put it right for her and make sure that she doesn't want to go elsewhere.:hug:

 

[number1kitty]

I had this and its a tricky one. My therapist did a bikini wax and apparently caused severe burns all over her bikini area - before her holiday.

Anyway it was her friend that called in and told me, I apologised asked for a picture for the insurance company and a statement. I told her I would reasses my staff and ask her for a written apology to be sent.

The girl never persued despite being on holiday and having to cover up in a sarong.

The same therapist also missed hairs and I lost heaps of clients because of her until someone spoke up. I got a friend the therapist didnt know to have a wax and I secretly checked later on that day and she had missed loads of fine hairs at the back of the knee and thigh. She also left scatters of darker hairs.

I put it to the therapist that said she needs glasses and wasnt wearing them during the treatments so couldnt see properly.

I lined up a day of waxing for her that I monitored and said it was for her own confidence. She was also fresh out of college, and they are not taught to wax in the way we do in the profession. She applied one strip of wax then removed it, and so on which takes ages and missed loads of areas. She also didnt take out any remaining hairs as she was told at college never to go over the same area twice. She also never checked the tempreture of the wax, or asked the client if the wax tempreture was ok.

If shes newly qualified I wouldnt have her doing such intimate waxing, where shes more likely to cause more damage than any other area. She can rip the skin, burn or bruise the area and I would leave her off this until shes confisent in the rest of the areas.

Get a few models in and do a quick refresher/confidence course with her. Praise the things she does right and pick up on the areas you think shes got wrong. Certainly address the issue. She could damage your business and reputation. She might not be doing anything wrong. it may just have been nerves after that incident. It will put your mind at rest, and hopefully make your therapist feel more confident. Leaving her to fend for herself with knocked confidence will make her more panicky with waxing.

We all make mistakes after we come out of college, and I think we all feel a bit daunted by these errors and whilst we might think people are being nasty taking us to one side and going over certain areas. But in the long run she will thank you for it, and feel confident coming to you with problems. I told my staff even being an experienced therapist with years of experience I still make mistakes and need a confidence boost.

Hope you get it sorted and she gets her confidence back too!

Kate

 

[High Hopes]

A similar thing happened to me when i was newly out of college. I waxed a client and she later phoned the salon to say i had left patches etc. My boss apologised and sent her a voucher for her next waxing treatment. I was really upset and my confidence was knocked so she suggested a time out session each week one on one. Basically she booked out an hour on a friday with me (or anyday we werent particually busy) and went through any treatments i was unsure about. This lasted for 6 weeks and it helped me out so much, it also benefitted the salon because she started doing this with all the staff and found there were a few areas that people could improve on.

I totally agree with the other comments, college does teach you differently and the tutors dont always have time to assess everything that goes on.

 

[number1kitty]

A similar thing happened to me when i was newly out of college. I waxed a client and she later phoned the salon to say i had left patches etc. My boss apologised and sent her a voucher for her next waxing treatment. I was really upset and my confidence was knocked so she suggested a time out session each week one on one. Basically she booked out an hour on a friday with me (or anyday we werent particually busy) and went through any treatments i was unsure about. This lasted for 6 weeks and it helped me out so much, it also benefitted the salon because she started doing this with all the staff and found there were a few areas that people could improve on.

I totally agree with the other comments, college does teach you differently and the tutors dont always have time to assess everything that goes on.

It is worth doing. We all learn from each other. Its amazing what my trainees taught me too. Its a two way street. I refused to wax for the forst two years after qulifying, Now its something I love doing, a passion. I wish someone took me on and made me face my fears head on!

xx

 

[High Hopes]

I was totally ready to bury my head in the sand after that but i am still so grateful for her patience! It really improved her relationship with all the staff aswell which is never a bad thing

x

 

[Jen12]

Thanks everyone for all your help and advice. I have brought in a few friends for her to gain practice, I think I will make it a little more regular so she gains her confidence and experience. What can I do about the Hollywood, how can she practice doing that? I have tried to tempt my friends, but have had no luck...

Thanks again everyone, its really helped me xx

 

[number1kitty]

Give her time. Once she gets her confidence in the regular waxing and a lot more experience approach her again, get some models in for a fiver or something and get her to do several one after the other.

She will get there but if you force her she will make mistakes through nervousness. You may find she will tall you shes comfortable to try again in a few weeks. Maybe let her do yours. thats what I did if I couldnt get any one else.

Kate

 

[pure]

What can I do about the Hollywood, how can she practice doing that? I have tried to tempt my friends, but have had no luck...

Has she actually recieved specific brazilian training?

 

[Jen12]

Thanks Kate x

 

[Jen12]

She has only learnt it when she was in college. But I was looking to send her on a course. What I worry about is that she will leave me after she does the the course.

 

[Paperclip]

I remember when I was fresh out of college and got a full time job in a beauty salon, the owner threw me in at the deep end. I learnt alot the hard way. I think that as a boss that you should have a trade test to check their standard of work and as said, to offer weekly 'lessons' to improve on their weaker treatments. Its always good that way to improve confidence, and that way you can check that she is competent and happy with the treatment.

 

[number1kitty]

I remember when I was fresh out of college and got a full time job in a beauty salon, the owner threw me in at the deep end. I learnt alot the hard way. I think that as a boss that you should have a trade test to check their standard of work and as said, to offer weekly 'lessons' to improve on their weaker treatments. Its always good that way to improve confidence, and that way you can check that she is competent and happy with the treatment.

As boss' running busy salons its so hard to sit and trade test on every area! We trust that these girls are leaving college with the basic fundementals to at least perfom a leg wax, or manicure etc. Unfortunetly standards are so low in a lot of colleges these days and the pass rate so low, that girls are being passed when they are clearly not competent. Could you imaging sending an electrician, dentist or gas man out if they require retraining in new employement. Luckily for most jobs these people can take apprentices and get real first hand experience whilst training where as these schemes are rare in beauty. I think its even rare for these trainees to do 1 day a week in a real salon.

Salon owners are in such a tricky position when recruiting, if we take on experienced therapists and no newly qualified staff, then we get called, and when we do take on these newly qualified girls we often have to completly retrain them.

Its difficult time wise for salon owners, to retrain, and also costly for us to send them on all the training they do need, as we need to ensure they have all the product training too which also costs money.

I love taking on newly trained therapists, I love their enthusiasm, and I love to help them grow there skills. I trade test some basics and you expect them to pass it, throw them into real salon situation and mistakes get made for so many reasons beyond the salon owners control. I have been there and many salon owners after me will make the same mistakes too!

Jen have you got written into your contract a clause that enables you to salvage your training costs from your staff if they leave within a certain time period. I had mine within a 12 month period. If they left then they had to pay the full cost out of their final wages. You can also contact the training company to issue certificates that are only valid at your salon. So it would say 'this certifies Joe Bloggs to perfom a Great treatment at my beauty salon'. I know several companies do this. Makes it invalid for anywhere else she goes.

Kate x

 

[tog]

She has only learnt it when she was in college. But I was looking to send her on a course. What I worry about is that she will leave me after she does the the course.

I doubt it . . . she will probably be grateful that you are trying to help her.
Besides, what does it say in her contract?
Usually if a therapist leaves soon after being sent on a course paid for by the salon, a percentage of the cost will be deducted from her wages eg if she leaves within 3 months then 75%, if within 6 months 50% etc etc. So there should be no incentive for her to leave immediately as it will cost her financially.

 

[Paperclip]

I think that these days very little is taught in colleges. They just wnt bums on seats to keep the numbers up and it doesnt matter what level of competency they are at , they are still passed. I have to say when I was at college, all those years ago, I did have good tutors, and they were eager for us to do well. Now its all paper work with the tutors and very little teaching.
I love the job we do, and am always keen to learn more about our job. I think the learning definately comes after you qualify, from the people that we work with we pick up tips from. The experience comes later.
I think it is a shame we cant get apprenticeships within the industry as other jobs do. Teaching someone, I appreciate, is fresh from college, costs money, but it could work out alot less than a client who has a bad experience, may never come back, or worse still could sue you !!!!
I think the experience has probably knocked the confidence of both of you. But as said we all live ad learn, including me. I doubt she will do the same again. Just make sure she double checks her waxing. Hth xx

 

[Jen12]

Thanks paperclip. I did a check a job she did yesterday. Got my friend to come in for a wax, then checked it after and I thought she did a good job. I will continue to monitor her and maybe to a training session once a week.​

 

[Kim Lawless]

Sorry if I'm repeating; not read the replies.

Your therapist sounds a little inexperienced and nervous. Only natural if she's new. Just make sure she gets proper training in Intimate waxing and give her regular trade tests.

You sound like a lovely boss so I'm sure you'l give her support. We all had to start somewhere.

xxx