Pretty annoyed!!

[zcook]

I have been running my own home based beauty salon for a year now and built up a pretty good reputation and client base. My business is called 'Retreat' I have over 15 years experience as a qualified therapist and nail technician.

A new salon opened today and have used Retreat in the title!

I'm pretty annoyed that in a place as small as this someone has not had the common sense to distinguish herself from already established businesses or is hoping to reap the rewards of others success but doing this? who knows.

Gob-smacked! and on the first day of her opening, I had one of her clients knocking on MY door ready for her manicure!!

I wondered what I can do? probably nothing but just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything like this?!?!

Thanks
xx

 

[chocolatepickle]

Something similar happened to another geek recently...if i can work it, heres the link:

http://www.salongeek.com/biz-geek/109144-really-upset-new-salon-using-my-name.html

 

[zcook]

Thanks, some good points made on there.

I think anyone in this situation I would feel that after 1 year of trading things could go either way.

1. I could get her clients keep knocking on my door as lots of people know where 'Retreat' is as its on a busy main road.
2. Ive been trading longer and have a busy website and advertising on street and a good client base.

but... I dont want my reputation to suffer if things dont go well for her and people think its me! :Scared: I worry about things a lot! dont we all!?

 

[LOU LOU]

Thanks, some good points made on there.

I think anyone in this situation I would feel that after 1 year of trading things could go either way.

1. I could get her clients keep knocking on my door as lots of people know where 'Retreat' is as its on a busy main road.
2. Ive been trading longer and have a busy website and advertising on street and a good client base.

but... I dont want my reputation to suffer if things dont go well for her and people think its me! :Scared: I worry about things a lot! dont we all!?

Just a thought, but have you thought about putting an advert in your local paper saying that there is no connection between yourself and the other business. Also, have you thought about seeing a solicitor for a free consultation to see if they could do anything, in terms of sending the other company a letter asking them to make it perfectly clear there is no connection betwee your business and theirs or even for them to put a customer notice up in their salon stating the same.

xx

 

[scrumpyjo44]

Hiya

From a fellow Guern....

guess this would be very annoying, especially as this is such a small Island...

one positive note i suppose is that at least 'retreat' in your name comes first and in the new one it's the second part of the name. So hopefully your name will come up first in searches etc as you are already established? Not sure how this works exactly but at least its something.

You also still have your established and loyal clients to keep coming and spreading the word.

 

[cabinkel]

It is a shame and frustrating when these things happen. Iv been trading for nearly 10 years, with the lash part of my business being 6 years. I have helped a girl set up her lash business a little while back, and recently got given her price list. She has named her sets similar to mine, got the same colours in her stationary and logo, used very similar wording in her brochure, and even named her lashes "sassy sets" (im sassy lashes) I cant wait to see her website when it goes live!!!!!!

It really bugs me, but in truth, what can we do! My friends say try to be flattered that someone is "inspired" by me, but I think, "go get your own vision and ideas"

Not very charitable of me I suppose lol:biggrin:

 

[user 25446]

The truth is that if you use standard words in either your company name or product name it is very difficult to retain any exclusivity.

Years ago in the UK, I had a company called "X-Y" Ltd with a website X-Y.com. Some years later another company appeared using the same words "X-Y Measurement Ltd" and had websites XY.co.uk and XY.com same as ours without hyphen! We both operated in a very small and specialised market, so anyone doing a google search for us also found them. Given the advertising we did it's incomprehensible that they didn't know we existed and simply wanted to run off the back of our reputation.

I managed to buy the XY.com domain a few years later because the idiots forgot to pay to renew it ;-). But it was a lesson for me.

When we created our nail products company, we choose Iryna Giblett AB and Iryna Giblett Inc because both Iryna and Giblett are quite unusual and if anyone copied the name we'd have a strong case to stop them unless they also had someone in the company with the same name (unless they changed their name...!). The other reason to use her name was to show we stand behind our products and services.

If you can, the best is to modify a standard word so that it's unique. Simply use Google to see if anyone else is using it or if a website exists with the same name that works in the nail industry. Two examples are "InspirationZ" the brand name for our nail art products and "ImagiNAILtion" for our magazine.

Sorry to hear that you are having these problems - but unfortunately there are people out there that will copy you rather than think their own original ideas. It may be good business for them to fool people that they are you, but it shouts volumes about their ethics!

Bob

 

[salpep]

I have to agree with Bob here..if you are really serious about keeping your name or don't want anyone taking a name that is simular..then you have to buy all the names that are close.

If you look at some of the big companies..for example I think toys r us are one, they have brought all the domain names that are close to it, so no-one can use a simular name...although to do this will cost...so you have to think is it worth it!