LauraLush
Well-Known Member
- Couldn't agree more with this last sentence hun!I can understand the constraints on the amount you can pay in wages in a new salon however a good worker is worth their weight in gold. If you eventually pay an employee their worth you will see your business profit and you will be on the path to a very healthy client base happy employees=happy customers=returning, loyal customers.
I would not return to a salon where I felt the staff were being exploited and I feel earning the minimum wage and being asked to do up to 7 massages a day at £50 a pop is slave labour. I have visited a salon where the girl doing my massage said I was her 7th of the day and that she felt trapped in a contract at the salon- I could not relax and tipped her over the odds, but we should not have to rely on tips. Just because that is the "industry standard" it should not remain that way. I would guess silly hours and bad pay is one of the reasons that the turn over of staff in many salons is so high. How can therapists be asked to give so much physically and emotionally (a caring treatment) to the client if they are stressed about how to pay their bills or getting enough sleep before their next shift? This is why if I did ever work in a salon again I would look for one where the owner is a therapist as then they have some idea of the work a beauty therapist does!
Hi,
I'm a salon owner, I agree completely with what you said about happy staff = happy salon etc. I think if you give respect to employees you'll get respect as an employer and if you show you graft as hard as they do that inspires them to work hard and enjoy their work too. I get them lunch on the odd day about once a fortnight, I take them out for tea after work sometimes & I think things like this this shows I appreciate their work - they know they come first. If you're a dictator your staff won't be happy. I pay a decent wage to my beautician (she is new), not a massive hourly rate but a fair bit over min wage, then I pay a 5 % commission monthly at the moment and thats on sales & services. I also agree with what the guy said too, in the way that; it is a nice job to have, you get a lot of treatments done - our salon does everything hair, beauty, nails, tanning, sunbeds, botox... so my staff love having lots of treatments done and i feel this mounts up to quite a lot if you totted it up. You are in a safe, warm environment -you're not out in the rain or wind on a building site or roof somewhere getting blown about etc, you get to meet new people and its an interesting job to have not to mention doing treatments you enjoy doing and the pride you get out of doing a good job and making someone happy - its rewarding! I know its hard work physically -believe me, I work hard just as the staff do with 10 hours days, no proper lunch breaks some days, I get no bloody wages half the time (still a fairly new business - 18mths) but I do it because I love it.. as everyone in the industry should love what they do. I go to the same spa everytime I really want to treat myself (about twice a year lol) because I love it there, then I saw they were advertising for staff so I started talking to the girl doing my treatments and she said its about £7 per hour. Now, this spa do charge a great deal for their treatments - I thought they must be on a commision thing too.. But my first thought was bloody hell, they work so hard massaging all day long - especially in a posh spa, they ain't gonna be doing many brow waxes and lash tints to break it up! But I assume their overheads would be massive on the building too? So from a business point of view, and with a lot of therapists around wanting work - I suppose they can pay that :S I suppose it depends on what kind of beauty salon it is, what kind of treatments and clientele the salon has and whats expected of the therapist - I can imagine there's a massive range of salaries out there... Xx