"Nice nails ain't cheap, cheap nails ain't nice"

[Belle Vie]

I'm seeing this phrase more and more on this site and I've got to be honest, it's driving me a bit crazy - but this isn't a ranting post.

I'm really interested in what people think of the over use of this phrase and 'NSS'. More frequently, NSS is being used to describe nail technicians that geeks think are 'too cheap', doesn't this miss the point?

It is my understanding that a NSS is a salon which has poor training and poor hygiene nothing to do with what they're charging. What I'm seeing is a lot of sneering at - let's call them - discount salons, but aren't we missing a trick here? Some of the may have lower standards but can we really question the quality of their work - some of them are producing fabulous nails in half the time for a lower price. Competition can make us all nervous and yes, there are those that cause damage with bad practices but there's no denying the skill some of these technicians have, isn't it a bit naive to dismiss them all as NSS?

I do fundraising events for Cancer Research whenever I can and offer Shellac at a discounted rate for that day - does that mean my work is of a lower quality that day?

There is a lady not far from me charging half the price of my Shellac, will her work automatically be of a lower quality than mine or does she just not have the confidence to charge the going rate?

Interested in your thoughts on this.

 

[BarbaraC]

I have to agree with you - I'm a mobile tech and find that, because i don't have a salon, I'm expected to charge lower prices as I'm expected to produce inferior work. I do have travel to organise and pay for, extended and unsociable hours to work as well as trying to keep up to date with the newer products coming online....

 

[tanfastic]

This was posted yesterday or the day before covering this subject, Great minds thinking alike? LOL

http://www.salongeek.com/nail-geek/217513-doug-schoon-speaks-out.html

 

[Belle Vie]

This was definitely inspired by that thread but I thought that a discussion on price, image and what those phrases mean to people in terms of the way people run or market their services might derail Geeg's thread a bit

 

[NancySyd]

Yes, but....

I would agree with you that price is not the determining factor in whether a salon/tech is NSS. Non-Standard Salon does refer to a lack of standards for hygiene, training, service, benefits, etc. But I think it is important to acknowledge that price and quality are often linked. The reason NSS prices are so low is because they do without important and costly things like sanitation protocols and education. Certainly there are places and techs that are both cheap (in price) and good - every client's dream. There may be many reasons other than a lack of standards for that low price - location, competition, socioeconomics, lack of awareness or confidence, underselling, for example. But usually, a significantly lower price does mean a significantly lower service in some regard.

What I think is equally important is the reverse. Do not assume that high price means high quality work. Just as low price does not mean NSS, high price does not mean non-NSS. I know I've seen lots of high-priced salons whose sanitation was for crap and whose results were terrible. And it is important to recognize that just because a place has the ambience and price of a high-end salon doesn't mean that the quality of the service, and particularly the hygiene, is high-end. Just because your price doesn't fit the profile of an NSS doesn't mean your work is up to snuff. In my experience, you have to be attentive to changes in the field and vigilant about maintaining your standards or you can slide down the slippery slope into NSS.

And, hitting on a touchy point, ethnicity is also not an indicator for NSS. I find that too many people assume that certain races/ethnicities mean a salon is NSS, and that certain other races/ethnicities mean a standard salon. NSS refers to standards, not race or ethnicity.

 

[Jo's Nails]

I am going to raise my prices back to normal prices. I had an offer on £10 nails I wanted to drum up some business and gain regular clients. I dontknoW what I was thinking I kept the offer on. I got it tottaly wrong. I atracted the wrong sort of client and completly let my self down. Then all of a sudden no business at all. Don't know if its the weather or what but it made me look at my self and how I was advertising my self on face book I looked desperate and a rubbish tech. I need to know more about the psychology of price and how to price a product. I don't mind being middle of the road with a deal thrown on now and again if it gets me abetter standing in business.

 

[Jo's Nails]

Sorry for typos this phone does what it wants.xx

 

[Rory Love]

I do agree with the phrase 'nice nails ain't cheap and cheap nails ain't nice'.
Regarding fundraising and charging a discounted price for Shellac, I'd call that an offer.

I do agree that cheap does not mean NSS but cheap to me would indicate poor work (unless it was a temporary offer). I've never seen someone ask £10 for a decent set of L&P because any decent person wouldn't. I haven't trained with CND to offer Shellac for a tenner. Not only does it give me the wrong sort of customer, it de-values the brand.

 

[beautybemine15]

I think this boils down to a number of thing's:
Is to do with the area you live in as some of the areas are classed as ''deprived/poverty'' areas.In my area salons are charging as little £18 and the lowest being £12.50 for a set of extensions . And £10 a spray tan and £4.50 an hair cut and the hair dresser does not even dress professional for an hair dresser they were in tracksuits and in the market and yet they are still struggling to make good custom because customers are on benefits/ social security and therefore they would not pay anymore then ''cheep'' or do it DIY.
I have lot of nss salons and Good standard salons that charge £28- £30 a set of nails and yet when you walk past them they are all empty. I put to down to the fact that the jobcentre is near by
However go out of my area to a more ''wealthy'' part and you see what would be called ''good standard salons'' charging more and are full. This makes it difficult for me as i am not sure what to put on my business cards wither to charge more and travel out of where i live and do not do where i live or stick to jobcentre chav pricing :wink2:.

 

[beautybemine15]

And then it is down to a persons workmanship you have some with passion and some that are sloppy and it like that everywhere you go

 

[Conny]

I am going to raise my prices back to normal prices. I had an offer on £10 nails I wanted to drum up some business and gain regular clients. I dontknoW what I was thinking I kept the offer on. I got it tottaly wrong. I atracted the wrong sort of client and completly let my self down. Then all of a sudden no business at all. Don't know if its the weather or what but it made me look at my self and how I was advertising my self on face book I looked desperate and a rubbish tech. I need to know more about the psychology of price and how to price a product. I don't mind being middle of the road with a deal thrown on now and again if it gets me abetter standing in business.

You are so right!
I'm not the most expensive nailtech in the area, i'm one of the few mobile nailtechs here.
This morning i did a Brisa Gel sculpt with acrylics and 4 accentfingers with NailGrafx. Price was 50€
Shellac is 25€, and the only reason is that all other nailtechs in the area are offering Gellish at only 20€, sometimes even promotions, 35€ for a MANI + PEDI.
I do not give 'promotions', instead i give a free handmassage after the nails are don, i offer every client a free Solar oil pinky the first time and when it's their birthday, i always text them with felicitations, telling them i will bring them a suprise with their next appointment
That is a voucher for a 50% discount on a CND SPA Almond Manicure (no Shellac, acrylic or Gel included).

 

[Jo's Nails]

Totally agree I live a quite mixed area but I have never afforded salon prices and I think I was trying to cater to the same people as me even though i am now self employed and off benefits by putting the offer on.i know how it feels not to be able to afford it. It is also a confidence thing. Having the confidence to set a price and stick to it. My god if I was working for someone else that would be the price and that's that. I need to find my price and be happy with it. I was reading about the 99p theory on the web the other night and that made sense but I need more info on this.cx

 

[w1nnie]

There is a lot of competition in my area, every street seems to have a salon or mobile / homeworker, so I watch the prices that everyone charges all the time. You see, you want the customer to come to YOU, not to the girl in the next street. So I gage it carefully, but I would never charge £10 cos that does look desperate, and I would resent it. If I were a customer I would look for convience, good service and price.

 

[mizzy_dizzy]

"Nice nails ain't cheap, cheap nails ain't nice"

I think some are missing the point in this saying a bit ,
as with anything in life ,when things are done properly nothing is cheap , or corners cut ,

this quote can be looked into far far deeper than that of a local price war . or the undermining of a fellow tech ,

my products are not cheap , why ? the companies innovations , research , brake troughs , problem shooting and education that they pass on and support us with , i am proud to be a consumer of top of the line products as many of us should. as this means we are putting our money back into an industry that supports us.
we have come such a long long way from dental acrylic , that was once the recognized and normal way of doing it! I for one cant Waite to see what happens in the next 10 -20 years .

my skills wear not cheap , why ? sure there are cheap classes out there but I chose to take the tested path to success ,

My time is not cheap , why ? its not as easy as whacking nails on clients , and going home ,
its continual unpaged time learning , reading , finding out and testing the latest things ,even if testing means just trying to find out what will help your business and what wont you still need to know what else is available , updating our knowledge , talking to peeres , stock taking ,book keeping , cleaning , organizing appointments , maybe a bit of advertising , practicing new techniques ,
countless other things that are normally unpaged , while having a life ,

nail techs need to stop slagging each other off and we need to start setting an example to each other with good practice , knowledge and education.
we are all in it together in many ways , the clients will benefit , the whole system will benefit , and we as individuals will benefit as we will be able to charge more for our better services .

 

[pinkthistle]

Sorry for having a thick moment... but what is NSS standing for? Been trying to work it out all the way through the post

 

[xxx]

Non standard salon

 

[Jo's Nails]

Hi mizzy-dizzy
Was going to copy and paste what you said but can't with this silly phone. You make so much sense. I am going to take that attitude from now on. I have made so many mistakes since I set up I feel guilty if I charge too much and lower the price. My confidence is also very low I pretend to be confident. i can do a lovely set of nails nice and thin and natural loking with hardley any lifting I love sculptured and gelish and reserch everything. I use brilliant products. xx

 

[Fake it...]

I'm a nail tech, a bloody good one too. CND trained, lived and breathed the brand and it's products for 17 yrs, try where I can to educate my clients etc. etc. but I'm cheap, super cheap.
£15 for a rebalance.
£28 for a full set.

I have a good client base who know good nails from bad nails but I don't have the confidence to charge more.
My full set prices are £3 dearer now than when I first started and my rebalance price hasn't increased at all!
How can I charge more when every other salon close to me are either the same price or cheaper?
I'd love to hear your answers xxx

 

[pinkthistle]

Sorry again...but what's standard? Confused...
If you mean standard training, well I've been on branded training and learned way less with a trainer who had less experience than me, her student than on free demo days where the trainer has a passion for the job and knows her stuff!

If you mean standard salons, then what's standard? You can charge the earth and be branded to the hilt and be rubbish, some people are good at gathering qualifications but never master the practical...you also can't standardise salons in different countries, cities, town or villages...what is classed as standard pricing etc to me in Glasgow would seem offensively cheap and belittling and devaluing to salon owners in many other areas. I would love to be ale to charge what some others do, but I would be half empty while clients tried out the cheaper salons around...they might realise I'm better eventually but I need their return custom now.

As for standard training, well that boils down to greed of the training companies, impatience of students who suddenly don't need any prior experience and lack of regulation, but then I've also seen people who complete a weekend nail course and can enhance the socks off people who've trained for months...

I've just had a salon open next to me, to the client her certificates are as good as mine...I know she's opened up as a nail tech after a 2 day class 2 weeks ago, clients don't. I know her posters in the window don't match the products on her shelf and that just being out of school she has no experience so is she NSS?