People putting prices too low

[persianista]

A luxury pedi takes an hour fifteen, so excluding product and premises cost, someone is being paid less than minimum wage.
What I don't get with the groupon culture is how professional women, who are paid way in excess of beauty therapists, seem to think that paying less than min wage is acceptable? It is totally, morally wrong, and they should be ashamed.
Maybe it should be pointed out to the fair trade coffee buying brigade that fair trade begins at home...
If they bleat about value for money, then I'd like to see them live on five quid an hour, less four quid an hour overheads. There's no excuse.

 

[wowbb]

I agree that offers and special promotions can be a fantastic tool, and especially cross promotions are great to introduce your clients to other treatments they might not have thought about.....
However, the salons or therapists who solely rely on dropping the prices below the belt are proving that they haven't got the service or the quality to keep their customers.

We have seen it in so many areas where therapists keep competing and dropping prices just to be the cheapest but the client leaves unhappy and in the end the therapist is unhappy as he/she isn't making any money and there isn't enough left to buy new products which then in turn leads to using inferior products which "cheapens" the treatment even more and makes it potentially dangerous for clients as products might not be approved for the country you are in or safe to use!

I know its hard but stick to your guns and differentiate yourself through quality and customer service. Make sure you explain the treatments to your clients as there is salons misguiding clients by using incorrect terms making them believe they are getting a good deal but its not (for example with lashes therapists advertise semi permanent lashes for xxxx but they are clusters) so if you keep your clients informed they might be able to spot that the treatment they are getting from you is good and thorough and worth the money for their own safety!

 

[virtues2011]

Agreed £5 an hour for a pedicure is by far ridiculous. .. but let's not confuse value for money over ridiculously cheap. They are very different. Value for money can be small added extras to a service, a few pounds off for an offer here and there. .. but £5 as a set figure ... Well, even i'm lost for words.

But how many young therapists understand business, pricing, USP, accounts etc? I don't believe too many, just read some of the continual threads on here. They become frightened when the clients don't turn up at their door, they panic, reduce their prices and the others with the same business mentality follow suit. I don't believe anyone should just be able to start a business after completing a few courses. I believe everyone should be taught and certified in business before being allowed to randomly open one and even stricter understanding when employing staff.


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[Solsken]

I remind people over and over about a few very important things -

first, if you are paying rock bottom price for anything, you are getting what you paid for.

second, people go to you for more than just your ability to do nails (or hair cut or whatever else). they are paying for you (all of you, brain included).

Talk while you are working, teach them about what is going on with whatever you're doing (if it is nails, what's wrong with their nails? what could be done to improve them etc). it isn't just to up sell (although that isn't a bad thing either) it is so that they realize you KNOW things.

I've had cheap haircuts in college and then vow not to get a cut for years.. and don't, then i'm miserable, then i went and finally gave up and spent (what I thought was) once for a fairly expensive haircut. And I never went back to cheap again. The difference in what people said of my cut, the difference how i felt, etc.

Same with everything. Don't compete on price, teach why you're better and more expensive. Explain what you're doing, why, if there is something they want and you don't think it's right, explain and teach... others will do because client asked for it, doesn't make it right or great!

sure, you'll turn off people. Sure, you'll have people run for the groupon.. let them. You'll keep the quality people who are worth it, and they will appreciate you and talk about you over and over and that matters more