New staff + their existing mobile clientele?

[topcuts]

What do you usually expect of new staff? I dont particularly want new full time staff to continue with their mobile hairdressing, I would want their clientele to come into the salon but a girl I have interviewed, when asked, said theyre mostly elderly so probably wont.......

Do you have it written into their contract that they offer no other services outside your salon?

Thanks

 

[MissLou]

Hey there,

being a mobile hairdresser myself I would love the opportunity to do my mobile on the side and work in a salon. I can't speak for your new staff but for me if i was ever given that chance i would jump at it, but for me i would respect that clients within the salon are strictly salon only and mobile is mobile. Myself I wouldn't tell clients in the salon i do home hair as this may jeopardise the business for my boos-you.

At the end of the day, if any of us have a opportunity to make a little extra outside of work we all would, you included no doubt Also for me it would be that bit of independence on still holding a few of my own clients that I have control over. I would love to have this chance as I miss that salon atmosphere and the friendships with other staff....Maybe you should think of this with your new staff member, as I say it's just me, I would never dream of risking upsetting my boss by mixing home hair clients and salon clients, she may be thinking the exact same as me.

Maybe put it in her contract that she is not to disclose any information about her outside work. She isn't to speak of home clients in the hours of work, and as it already goes, no poaching (obviously)

But even if you have it in her contract to stop her outside work, she probably won't, I've worked with many stylists that do this, myself included, lots of us have our own clients outside the salon, I think it's just how it is.

 

[sarahchinee]

I have never worked in salon that has said u can't do hair outside of work! You would have to paying a VERY good wage to be able to expect this, and I don't think you can expect staff to bring their existing clients into your Salon unless they are self employed and renting space from u, and on the same note they obviously shouldn't be taking clients from your salon to do privately. But I think like said before when working in a salon u don't tell the clients that u do private hair as that is completely separate from the job that you are getting paid to do while in the salon

 

[craigkeane]

I have never worked in salon that has said u can't do hair outside of work! You would have to paying a VERY good wage to be able to expect this, and I don't think you can expect staff to bring their existing clients into your Salon unless they are self employed and renting space from u, and on the same note they obviously shouldn't be taking clients from your salon to do privately. But I think like said before when working in a salon u don't tell the clients that u do private hair as that is completely separate from the job that you are getting paid to do while in the salon

Totally agree!

Craig Keane
www.hculture.co.uk

 

[vitality]

A lot of the time mobile clients are completely different to salon visiting clients. Clients choose mobile therapists or stylists for a reason such as they have a disability, they like the convenience, they have to stay at home with the kids etc.

I doubt you would actually get much clients who are used to having a mobile hairdresser deciding to come to the salon. Yes they may like the hairstylist but it sort of defeats the purpose of a mobile hairdresser if you expect them to come to a salon, when they chose a mobile hairdresser for that reason.

You could put a clause on your contract stipulates that the employee should not promote her mobile work to your salons clients and if she breaches that you will take legal action.

 

[persianista]

I never employ people who have done full time mobile in the past. Apart from family/friends I frown on people doing work outside. It is not good enough to expect to sit in my staff room being paid, yet contribute nothing to the salon these days.

In my experience, mobiles have always tried to poach clients, and legal action is expensive/pointless. Staff cannot have it all.

 

[scottydolly]

i dont see anything wrong with continuing doing your "homers" so long as you dont take business from the salon.
for example my old salon boss implemented a no home clients outside of work as there was a slump in business during the reccession, i stupidly went along with it on the condition this didnt include family and a couple of close friends, so other people i told them the situation and stopped doing them at home. They didnt come to the salon in the end, so she was no better off and i was worse off, which in the end was very unfair. i didnt do that many people outside work, it was mabye a few a month.
tricky situation!!

 

[topcuts]

OOOOH INTERESTING array of replies. I have never been allowed to do home hair outside of any salon I worked at!! It was always in the contract and to be honest, I sure as hell didnt want to do home hair after a 40hour week!

Also, with reference to the comments that mobilers wont come to the salon, I was mobile for 2 years, opened a salon last May and only 2 have not followed me, 1 as he is on a lung machine so I go to him still and 1 because she is an alcoholic and thankfully doesnt drive (she did come once though and i made it an early appt!) so maybe I was very lucky as I am now buying a bigger salon within 10 months of opening the last one!!! Without my mobilers following me I would have sunk in the water.

Hmmmmm Now I am not sure how to approach this, such different thoughts.

Thanks everyone as always great feedback.

 

[xxlouiseshanexx]

I am allowed to do mobile as long as they are not existing clients. Or have been recommended by family or friends, for example my sisters best-friend. and I can obviously do my own family as well
Which I think is fair it only works out as maybe a few no family members a month.
And I wouldn't want to be doing a full time job as well as a lot of mobile !

 

[craigkeane]

I never employ people who have done full time mobile in the past. Apart from family/friends I frown on people doing work outside. It is not good enough to expect to sit in my staff room being paid, yet contribute nothing to the salon these days.

In my experience, mobiles have always tried to poach clients, and legal action is expensive/pointless. Staff cannot have it all.

Can you legally discriminate people like this? ...

Craig Keane
www.hculture.co.uk

 

[-sophisticutz-]

Can you legally discriminate people like this? ...

Craig Keane
Welcome to HCulture

Yes. It is not discrimination.
Stylists should be looking to build their clientèle within in the salon. Money comes in, stylist gets paid. It's very simple.
I have contracts, written by the NHF, that state that my staff cannot build a business outside the salon and that it is a sackable offence. You cannot have a conflict of interests.

 

[kimi1101]

Agreed, where I have worked it has always been frowned upon to do a large clientele at home.

The way I look at it is....if you do your clients at home, you are taking away from clients in the salon. If you have no clients in the salon, then how are you supposed to get paid? Staff should be working as part of the salons team, if they'd rather do a few homers than build their salon clientele then ultimately they could lose out if they are not making money in the salon there is no money to be paid with= no job?

I've always felt like this, was "trained up" with this attitude. x

 

[Essential Bliss]

I work in a salon and also work mobile...i think its perfectly fine to do this and so does my employer! If anything she encourages me because thats how she started!
I dont 'poach' clients and if i cant fit my mobile clients in in my own time, then they come to the salon if possible which contributes to her business.
Personally i wouldnt work for someone if i wasnt allowed to do mobile work as well..we all want our own business eventually and this is a starting point..you should trust staff not to advertise their business in yours x

 

[kimi1101]

we all want our own business eventually and this is a starting point..you should trust staff not to advertise their business in yours x

no offence but if in an interview someone told me they want their own business I would be pretty wary about employing them. This, to me, sounds like "i want to be paid to build up my clientele then leave and start my own business with them"

But maybe thats me being a cynic...as I was always very open in my last salon that I wanted to have my own shop xx

 

[Essential Bliss]

I see your point But as i said its trusting staff! I have worked for year and half and just been promoted to salon manager..yes i do want my own business but i am committed to the salon too. My boss understands this and she knows as well as i do that im not gonna poach clients.
You also just said, you were open about wanting your own shop..so have i been..dont suppose you took clients as your own either?xx

 

[kimi1101]

I took around 5 clients with me. 4 of them were a family and the daughter was getting married the nextmonth so I felt I had to tell her.

However - i now have around 40 clients from where I used to work - they found me as my new salon is about 7 miles from where I worked in the past - what are you supposed to do? OK you are supposed to say "sorry mrs xxx but i wont do your hair out of loyalty to my old employer" but in reality if someone is coming to you and wanting their hair done and you are trying to build a business and make some money for yourself to live then what will you do?

I wasnt a deliberately bad person but still people who go self employed are going to take clients from your salon whether they poach them directly or the client finds them. As Donna said, to me its a conflict of interest.

 

[Essential Bliss]

I took around 5 clients with me. 4 of them were a family and the daughter was getting married the nextmonth so I felt I had to tell her.

However - i now have around 40 clients from where I used to work - they found me as my new salon is about 7 miles from where I worked in the past - what are you supposed to do? OK you are supposed to say "sorry mrs xxx but i wont do your hair out of loyalty to my old employer" but in reality if someone is coming to you and wanting their hair done and you are trying to build a business and make some money for yourself to live then what will you do?

I wasnt a deliberately bad person but still people who go self employed are going to take clients from your salon whether they poach them directly or the client finds them. As Donna said, to me its a conflict of interest.

If clients want to come to you then i completely agree..i personally wouldnt turn them down either...but 'poaching' clients, to me means advertising your business to them and asking them to come to you instead..thats something i wouldnt do xx

 

[-sophisticutz-]

A problem can arise, with mobile, if an existing salon client knows you already do mobile. They may ask for you to start providing a mobile service, especially if it's cheaper (and it almost invariably is). Does the stylist say
'Oh, no you are a salon client, you must remain that way!'.
Of course they don't, so that's a client lost to the salon.
Another scenario. Person approaches you and says they like Mrs x hair that you recently did. If you work solely in a salon, you would give them your name and the salons number. If you work in a salon and mobile, which number do you give. 9 out of 10 times it will be your mobile business that gets first dibs.
Salons are built from reputation and word of mouth. You do not just sit there and hope the business comes in. If your stylists are doing mobile then it is a conflict of interest in your business.
Us small salon owners are not rolling round on beds of money, (as some staff like to think), we work hard and in the first 5 years and have periods of time where we pay our staff more money than we pay ourselves, yet we tend to work twice as hard.
I would never employ anyone who worked mobile, as well and I would sack them if I found that they were.

 

[Lou x]

I'd be so annoyed if I was told I couldn't work mobile on the side! And definatly wouldn't take the job!
Why would they give you there clients they have worked so hard to get? That's your job to get people in the salon not theirs.

Sent from my iPad using SalonGeek

 

[-sophisticutz-]

I'd be so annoyed if I was told I couldn't work mobile on the side! And definatly wouldn't take the job!
Why would they give you there clients they have worked so hard to get? That's your job to get people in the salon not theirs.

Sent from my iPad using SalonGeek

You have absolutely no idea how a salon works then. It is a joint effort between stylist and salon owner to 'get clients in'. A stylist is selling themselves through their services, attitude and ability to build a clientèle. A salon is paying you a wage to do this. By doing a good job on a clients hair, you are selling your services not only to the client but to any potential business that may arrive from you performing that service. This can be sorely comprised if your employed stylist is doing mobile as well.

It is not rocket science.

service + payment= wages

Wages do not exist if the first two actions are not performed and those actions, in my actual living in the real world opinion, are compromised if the stylist has an interest in building their own separate business. Your column, in the salon appointment book, IS your business. It pays your wages, commission and ensures you have a job.

My stylists are more than happy with this arrangement. I let them do their partners hair, in the salon, free of charge (cutting) and chemical services at 50% reduction. They work hard in my salon, to keep their jobs, and I reward them with a good wage, commission and bonuses. I have no objections to them doing close family at home but my girls know if there column is persistently half full and they are not meeting their targets, then they have no job. I am not a charity but a business and my staff thank me for that as it keeps them in employment.