Removing someone elses Shellac

[twid]

I had a call from a lady last night, a friend of a friend of a friend kind of thing. She'd heard that I did Shellac and was interested in having hers done.

I started to find out a bit more info from her; making sure she knew what Shellac was etc, it turned out that she's already got Shellac on having been to a local VERY high end Spa/Salon in a really smart part of a local town. I know this place only does Shellac as a full mani and they charge A LOT of money for the service. I am based at home and do a little mobile so my overheads arent anything like theirs! and I also do a variety of services with Shellac offering more affordable prices. This is why I guess she wants to come to me - great product, great price.

As she currently has Shellac on - she wants it taken off and reapplied. I don't charged my clients for removal if they come regularly and want it reapplied at the same time. However, I felt that as she wanted me to remove someone else Shellac then I should be paid for my extra time and I guess my question is:- do you think that was reasonable and what would you have done?

She agreed so its not a major issue but something that my come up again in future.

Karaxxx

 

[lisa.sharrock]

Difficult as you want gain her business.

I charge £10 for shellac removal but like you it's free if they're re-shellac'd.

What about meeting her half way, and charge £5.00??

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Just a thought, but you could charge for the removal and then take that cost off her next treatment eg. if you charge £20 for application and £5 for removal, then charge her £25 at her first removal and application and then £15 at her second visit. Ensure you explain this clearly to her though as you are having to remove somebody elses application and that all other Shellac appointments will be at your usual rate of £20.

This way, If she does not come back to you, then you have been paid for your services and lost nothing. If she stays with you, she does not pay extra either. Does this make sense?

 

[deanosnana]

Hi Twid, IMO if you are going to remove Shellac and re-apply at the same appt. I would not charge extra for it. I would charge the same as if you had applied the original Shellac.

 

[abicrunch]

Hi Twid, IMO if you are going to remove Shellac and re-apply at the same appt. I would not charge extra for it. I would charge the same as if you had applied the original Shellac.

I have to agree with this post, however I can see that its a bit of a grey area as I havent thought about this one myself. But I guess you might have a regular client if you please her. Or just another idea how about £2.50 charge just for your product and not time. If you explain that you are charging for your product but free time Im sure she wi8ll be well chuffed. Ax

 

[twid]

Thanks for all the replies, there are some really good ideas and its a difficult one as its a grey area. I've not come up against it before as there arent many people carrying Shellac near me

In this instance she was fine about paying to have them removed and understood why, even taking that into consideration shes only paying about about half what she would at the Spa! Im happy with my pricing and have loads of regular clients so not worried about the competition from them.

It has given me food for thought for the future tho.

Karaxxx

 

[Unique.Tips]

17% mark up is not bad. (that would b $5 American if you charge $30 for Shellac) and is understandable. Not only are you using your time but you are also using product. I've learned over my 5 short years that if you give away stuff, people start to expect free things. And this gets costly. I have this customer/friend who is disabled due to a 6 story fall. She is precious and doing great! In the beginning i didn't charge her much if anything at all bc she was jobless. Well now, she is progressing greatly and is a paid motivational speaker doing talks all over the country. When I started to charge her (and not even full price) she made a point to tell me one day not to worry about her toes bc someone was giving her a pedi for free. So don't be a pushover! Bc not everyone appreciates it. GL!

 

[deanosnana]

I have to agree with this post, however I can see that its a bit of a gtrey area as I havent thought about this one myself. But I guess you might have a regular client if you please her. Or just another idea how about £2.50 charge just for your product and not time. If you explain that you are charging for your product but free time Im sure she wi8ll be well chuffed. Ax

I'm not sure I understand the 'grey area'. I know there have been other threads re: removing other people's products but I personally don't get it. If someone comes to me for a mani, it's my job to remove polish, no matter who applied it.

If someone comes to me for Shellac and they already have Shellac on, I'm going to charge the same as if I applied the original Shellac.

Same with L&P, gels, etc.

If I'm missing something here, please explain.

Thank you! :hug:

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

I'm not sure I understand the 'grey area'. I know there have been other threads re: removing other people's products but I personally don't get it. If someone comes to me for a mani, it's my job to remove polish, no matter who applied it.

If someone comes to me for Shellac and they already have Shellac on, I'm going to charge the same as if I applied the original Shellac.

Same with L&P, gels, etc.

If I'm missing something here, please explain.

Thank you! :hug:

For me personally, I don't have experience with Shellac except for what I have read and heard within the industry. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand it does not remove as quickly as nail lacquer. Is this correct?

If this is the case, then I think the therapist needs to be paid for their time. Nail polish removes in a couple of minutes. I think it is a different case when we are talking about longer times such as 15 minutes.

 

[deanosnana]

For me personally, I don't have experience with Shellac except for what I have read and heard within the industry. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand it does not remove as quickly as nail lacquer. Is this correct?

If this is the case, then I think the therapist needs to be paid for their time. Nail polish removes in a couple of minutes. I think it is a different case when we are talking about longer times such as 15 minutes.

Yes, you are correct. I guess my thinking is this: if I remove someone else's Shellac or the Shellac I've applied, what difference should it make in the price I charge? It's the same amount of time.

Now, don't get me wrong. If somone comes for Shellac removal and no other service, yes, you would charge for that.

 

[Susie H]

Yes, you are correct. I guess my thinking is this: if I remove someone else's Shellac or the Shellac I've applied, what difference should it make in the price I charge? It's the same amount of time.

Now, don't get me wrong. If somone comes for Shellac removal and no other service, yes, you would charge for that.

I see both sides of this, which is why I like Mrs Clooney's solution.
If you were just doing a removal, you would charge, if it's a regular customer you include the removal as part of your service, sort of a thank you for being a regular customer.
So if you charge the first time, with the insentive that they will have that charge deducted if they come back and there after benefit from the regular customer's priceing, everyone wins.
Nice one Mrs C:hug:

 

[tigi]

I dont charge my usual ladies, however i do charge new ladies and give htem a voucher to redeem the next time they book.... so if i dont see them again, nevermind and if i do then they get a bit off their treatment.

tigi

 

[skymark]

For me, the removal is free if they are being re shallaced whether it was me who put it on or not.

I believe that we were all encouraged to take the cost of removal into our shellacing pricing anyway and personally for me the few minutes and bit of cotton, foil and d-sperse thats used in the process wouldnt be enough for me to charge extra.

As a client if I went for a shellac and and was told that this that im doing would be free if I put them on, will be free next time but this time I want a fiver , I would feel like being penalised for moving my business to you. As a client I feel annoyed when sudden 'extras' are put on a service if I havent requested something abnormal.

I am a simple being and although I may get a voucher to redeem next time, that all sounds a bit complicated for me, as i'll never remember about the damn voucher and will probably tune out while its being explained. lol

If removal is in your pricing anyway then it doesn't allow for any grey areas.

 

[deanosnana]

For me, the removal is free if they are being re shallaced whether it was me who put it on or not.

I believe that we were all encouraged to take the cost of removal into our shellacing pricing anyway and personally for me the few minutes and bit of cotton, foil and d-sperse thats used in the process wouldnt be enough for me to charge extra.

As a client if I went for a shellac and and was told that this that im doing would be free if I put them on, will be free next time but this time I want a fiver , I would feel like being penalised for moving my business to you. As a client I feel annoyed when sudden 'extras' are put on a service if I havent requested something abnormal.

I am a simple being and although I may get a voucher to redeem next time, that all sounds a bit complicated for me, as i'll never remember about the damn voucher and will probably tune out while its being explained. lol

If removal is in your pricing anyway then it doesn't allow for any grey areas.

Thank you, that's exactly how I feel. :hug:

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

I think if I had a client call and say she has Shellac done from another salon, I'd probably quote them a little more for removal. Just because you never know what they have on their hands. Alot of places where I live are advertising Shellac, and using it as kind of a generic term, and could be using any combination of products.

Even if you know that they are using a certain product. You don't know how. They could have used primer first, or etched the nail with an e file.

But if I found the product removed easily and the prep to the natural nail was good, I would probably surprise them and charge the same as any other of client.

 

[EMMA AT ELITE]

I have had quite a few girls come to me for a Shellac Manicure with Shellac already on from someone else.

I always charge them £8 to remove it then £20 for the Shellac Manicure & tell them if they come back again then the removal is free.

I dont believe that you should do a free removal when it wasnt you who applied it.

To be fair if she is used to going to the highly priced salon/spa she wont have a problem paying your prices.
Have a look at their site & see if they charge for removal with a Re-Shellac.

Shellac removal is the most expensive part for us to do. x

 

[sarahchinee]

I agree that if removal I'd worked into your price then it doesn't matter who applied it, it's like your punishing them for not coming to u first, I dont get the concept at all as to why u would would charge new clients differently to existing? However the point made above about not knowing what is ACTUALLY on their hands does make sense, u could be sitting there for 30 mins waiting for it remove! I would say that removal is free if shellac is being re applied however as you can't be sure what or how the product has been applied then You may need to add on £5 to the price if it takes longer to remove than shellac usually would ?

 

[clare04]

Hi.

I personally don't do shellac but find it interesting that we all seem to have a problem when it comes to charging. I do geleration and although i have a price for removal it is very rare i charge my clients, if ever!!!

why do we all do this? Its costing us as individuals in time and product. Why do we all seem to have a problem with under valuing what we do as professionals and the services we offer.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App

 

[Unique.Tips]

I agree that if removal I'd worked into your price then it doesn't matter who applied it, it's like your punishing them for not coming to u first, I dont get the concept at all as to why u would would charge new clients differently to existing? However the point made above about not knowing what is ACTUALLY on their hands does make sense, u could be sitting there for 30 mins waiting for it remove! I would say that removal is free if shellac is being re applied however as you can't be sure what or how the product has been applied then You may need to add on £5 to the price if it takes longer to remove than shellac usually would ?

Removal on the next visit is included in my original price. It's up to them if they come back for it. I don't feel it's punishing the client for charging for your product usage. Jmo tho! This is why clear postage of all pricing is important. Cuts down on the confusion.

 

[skymark]

Shellac removal is the most expensive part for us to do. x

Im not sure I understand this part. My removal consists of about a 100th of a bottle of d-sperse, some foil and cotton. Compared with the 1/30th / 1/20th of each bottle of shellac that each coat uses.

If your removal price is high and you REALLY think its eating your profit that much, then change the removal costs to you.

My personal opinion is that if it becomes the norm to charge for a removal whenever a clients switches techs then it will encourage a lot of 'self removal' before they go to the appointment to avoid the charge.