Some Business Advice if you please....

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Artsy Canadian

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2006
Messages
207
Reaction score
6
Location
Duncan, BC
Well Ladies I need some help,
I have been working in the same slon for over 4 years now and know I can't stand to come to work anymore. It's not about the nails, I still love what I do and the clients I service. The thing is I don't do mani's or pedi's because the estheticians get those first (plus I have no space to do them), so I have been restricted since day one, and now I can't stand the people I work with. They are way too into themselves and really don't seem to care about the clients. One girl keeps calling in sick for days at a time when she has the sniffles, and another decides she's going home cause she's sick even though she can't get ahold of her last client! I have dissapointed so many clients on her behalf who show up for their appts, I am sick of it! Plus to add to this frustration, we don't have a receptionist, so we all book for each other, and I am finding out that my clients are being told they can't make an appointment because the person on the phone said they couldn't do it! It's because they are busy and don't want to take the time to book them in.
Even the owner has her flaws. I have had a couple complaints due to faulty flat irons and what not, that I said I would take a message and get the owner to contact them because nobody in the salon knows what the protocol is for that. And it took almost 6 months of that client to constantly call back and finally call while she was there to deal with it because the owner "forgot" to phone her back. I reminded her a few times. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to say to that client "I'm sorry I don't know what to tell you, I have given her the message and I'll give it to her again." I don't know about you but I really feel that the owners behavior reflects onto me! No matter how I handle a situation. I really don't want bad business ethics to reflect on me.
I'm so unhappy here, and embarrassed. This is not the experience I want any clients to go through. So I have decided to take a leap and work on starting my own studio in my house.

I would like to know how others made this major move and how they handled it with their owners. There will not be a good parting of ways as this salon (including the owner) loves to talk and everytime someone leaves, their name gets dragged in the mud. It's been a month and a half since a good friend quit and they are still talking about her. The owner has made coments here and there to get everyone to hate her.

I apologize for the long post and value you ladies' opinions. Please be honest. What should I do and how should I go about doing it?
Thanks in Advance
 
I hear you so clearly and applaud you for your decision to go it alone.

When you are alone you are in control of your own destiny.

What do you think people think when your boss bad mouths the girls who have left.?? I know what I would think. Sour grapes, and I wouldn't give her comments 2 seconds of my time.

Live with the fact that your ex boss will not make kind comments about you. Those who know you will take no notice. Those who love your work will stick with you.

Don't waste your energy thinking about what she may or may not say. Just get your head down and do the best job you know how.

Do NOT get drawn into the argument and keep you dignity and say absolutely nothing!!

Do your job to the best of your ability.

Don't gossip about the old place.

Be a lady. People will notice and respect you for it.
 
You know I have actually lost clients because they saw how I was being treated there. That hurt me. I got over it but was upset for a while.

I know things will be said about me and I don't really care, that's not what my worry is. I just want to make the switch and be tackful as possible, (guess it's just in my nature). To leave on good terms here would be to give the boss 2 weeks notice. Should I bother or just leave?
Also I was thinking of starting to take a few people on the side, here and there untill I got everything going, then quit.

How should I tell my boss I'm leaving though......
cya later I'm starting my own business......
She is the type of person that will lock me out of any info on the computer, the second I quit, then treat me like crap, and say it's all my fault. Then I worry about taking my stuff, cause most of it is hers, but there is alot of stuff that is mine....I know she will do an inventory on my stuff the second I quit as well.

grrrrrr get me out!
 
I
I just want to make the switch and be tackful as possible, (guess it's just in my nature). To leave on good terms here would be to give the boss 2 weeks notice. Should I bother or just leave?

Also I was thinking of starting to take a few people on the side, here and there untill I got everything going, then quit.

How should I tell my boss I'm leaving though......
cya later I'm starting my own business......
She is the type of person that will lock me out of any info on the computer, the second I quit, then treat me like crap, and say it's all my fault. Then I worry about taking my stuff, cause most of it is hers, but there is alot of stuff that is mine....I know she will do an inventory on my stuff the second I quit as well.

grrrrrr get me out!

You should do everything right and give your 2 weeks notice. Go into work every day and hold your head up high.

If you worked for me I would not ask you to work the 2 weeks notice but let you go immediately.

I would also lock you out of the computer to protect myself and the business.

I would also do an inventory on stock.

These things are STANDARD procedure and for your protection as well as your boss's. She isn't behaving badly by doing these things ... any owner would do them .. even you should you ever take on any staff. It is nothing personal so do not take it that way.
 
If she is this bad i would get some business cards printed up with your details for your home salon and take them with you everywhere even work, i would work for a week or two so that you get the chance to speak to all your clients and explain that you will be leaving and then if they still want their nails done by you give them a card, once you have had the chance to speak with your clients and get whatever details you need to get then i would hand my notice in and start up on my own, if this woman is as nasty as she sounds she dosnt deserve any better, and as long as your not bad mouthing anyone you are giving the clients the freedom of choice, good luck with it all :hug:
 
we have a salon like this in my home town. It has such a reputation for the way the owner treats her clients and her staff. If any body tells me they used to go to a salon but they left because the owner treated her staff so badly I don't even need to ask which salon!!! Yup she is that bad, I don't know how she has stayed in business so long. So what I am trying to say here is don't worry about what she says about you, people aren't stupid and they won't pay attention to it. The only person who will look bad is her!

When you start in a new place, put an ad in your local paper with your photo and those clients who went because of her may just come back to you. Good luck, nothing worse than being unhappy in your workplace :hug:
 
If she is this bad i would get some business cards printed up with your details for your home salon and take them with you everywhere even work, i would work for a week or two so that you get the chance to speak to all your clients and explain that you will be leaving and then if they still want their nails done by you give them a card, once you have had the chance to speak with your clients and get whatever details you need to get then i would hand my notice in and start up on my own, if this woman is as nasty as she sounds she dosnt deserve any better, and as long as your not bad mouthing anyone you are giving the clients the freedom of choice, good luck with it all :hug:

I'm sorry loubylou but I have to tell you that what you are telling this poster to do is VERY unethical and so not done and if I was the owner, I would have plenty to say about someone who treated MY customers in the salon this way. Business ethics!!!

IF the clients want to find you they will when you advertise. YOU NEVER speak to customers about leaving EVER. You get on with your job with integrity and you leave with the DOOR OPEN. To pass any cards under the table or to speak about leaving with out the boss's permission is absolutely very low behaviour.

I am assuming that the business is your employers and not yours and that the customers in this case belong to the salon and not to the poster.

As far as I can see your main complaints are lack of support from the other staff and your boss is bad about dealing with complaints ... IT DOESN'T MAKE HER ATILLA THE HUN. The rest of what you say is what you ASSUME she will do and not what she has done ... and most of it apart from bad mouthing (which is not nice, but is what some do to defend themselves) is what any employer would do.
 
I understand where you are coming from Geeg. And I know for fact my boss will do the same to me.
It's sort of ironic though cause she states that if a client comes in asking for you then they are your client and if they don't ask for you they are a shop client. That theory will go out the window when I leave, and they will suddenly all be shop clients. Note: there were no clients when I started there. and she didn't advertise me at all whatsoever. Majority of my client are word of mouth so they are asking for me.
And when she hires new stylists she always encourages them to bring in their exsisting clientelle, and advertises for them so the old clients see where they are now.
As for the inventory, I'm afraid she will count my supplies as her own then accuse me of stealing them!
It just sucks that I would treat someone with so much respect for so long and then to be treated this way in return is just unreal to me. I'm trying my best to leave on good terms but if I am to be treated this way in the end...why bother...really? The right way would be to give 2 weeks and not have a client list and not tell my clients I'm leaving........
Asking me to leave and locking me out of the compuer after I give my 2 weeks will land me on my ass stuggling to pay bills AND I'm getting married in the summer so this whole thing is risky anyways! So tell me after I have done everything right......why it went all wrong.

I understand the owners side, but,
Where is MY protection as a nail tech trying to make a living and be happy.
Leaving on perfect terms especially when I will be talked about after, doesn't seem to be an option to me.

I hope nobody will think of me any less when I finally do decide to part ways with my employer, but to protect myself I'm not going to be able to do it on good terms. Iwill try but I will have to prepare myself.
 
But you can place one add in the newspaper

I´m now quit my job at (salongname) to work from home or some other salong ect.. Phonenumber 8888

Good luck hun:hug:
 
I understand where you are coming from Geeg. And I know for fact my boss will do the same to me.
It's sort of ironic though cause she states that if a client comes in asking for you then they are your client and if they don't ask for you they are a shop client. That theory will go out the window when I leave, and they will suddenly all be shop clients. Note: there were no clients when I started there. and she didn't advertise me at all whatsoever. Majority of my client are word of mouth so they are asking for me.
And when she hires new stylists she always encourages them to bring in their exsisting clientelle, and advertises for them so the old clients see where they are now.
As for the inventory, I'm afraid she will count my supplies as her own then accuse me of stealing them!
It just sucks that I would treat someone with so much respect for so long and then to be treated this way in return is just unreal to me. I'm trying my best to leave on good terms but if I am to be treated this way in the end...why bother...really? The right way would be to give 2 weeks and not have a client list and not tell my clients I'm leaving........
Asking me to leave and locking me out of the compuer after I give my 2 weeks will land me on my ass stuggling to pay bills AND I'm getting married in the summer so this whole thing is risky anyways! So tell me after I have done everything right......why it went all wrong.

I understand the owners side, but,
Where is MY protection as a nail tech trying to make a living and be happy.
Leaving on perfect terms especially when I will be talked about after, doesn't seem to be an option to me.

I hope nobody will think of me any less when I finally do decide to part ways with my employer, but to protect myself I'm not going to be able to do it on good terms. Iwill try but I will have to prepare myself.
You are making assumptions!!

You CAN leave on good terms at least knowing what YOU did was right.

Unless you rent a table and run your own business from the salon ... the clients belong to the salon.

If they like you they WILL find you. You may have a blip of 2-3 weeks before they all know where you are but that is all. TRUST yourself and your ability and your relationship with the clients. You won't get them all maybe, but you'll soon pick up if you are good at your job and it sounds like you are. Get your space ready to rock n roll and then hand in your notice.

Tell you boss that you are not happy with the way things are and you feel you would rather leave. End of!!

Advert .... Artsy Canadian, formerly of XXXXX salon, has moved to : da de da de da ... and looks forward to seeing Clientèle both old and new at da de da de da Telephone for appointment etc etc etc.

Oh, and find a discreet time to lable all products that are yours now so that when you go through the inventory she can clearly see that you have done this to avoid dispute.
 
I'm sorry loubylou but I have to tell you that what you are telling this poster to do is VERY unethical and so not done and if I was the owner, I would have plenty to say about someone who treated MY customers in the salon this way. Business ethics!!!

IF the clients want to find you they will when you advertise. YOU NEVER speak to customers about leaving EVER. You get on with your job with integrity and you leave with the DOOR OPEN. To pass any cards under the table or to speak about leaving with out the boss's permission is absolutely very low behaviour.

I am assuming that the business is your employers and not yours and that the customers in this case belong to the salon and not to the poster.

As far as I can see your main complaints are lack of support from the other staff and your boss is bad about dealing with complaints ... IT DOESN'T MAKE HER ATILLA THE HUN. The rest of what you say is what you ASSUME she will do and not what she has done ... and most of it apart from bad mouthing (which is not nice, but is what some do to defend themselves) is what any employer would do.

I see this is going to be a heated argument soon....

Yes that is bad business ethics to hand out cards under the table I am aware of that. I really do have my ehtics in check.
It's just so hard to watch everything you worked for be suddenly taken away from you and all you want to do is nails and be happy and still pay your bills.

As for my main complaints....this isn't even the half of it, I wish I had more time to explain it all but I just don't.There is more....trust me, these are just the recent developments that are making me angry.

I feel I will be more successful on my own and that's what I want to do. Bottom line.
 
You are making assumptions!!

You CAN leave on good terms at least knowing what YOU did was right.

Unless you rent a table and run your own business from the salon ... the clients belong to the salon.

If they like you they WILL find you. You may have a blip of 2-3 weeks before they all know where you are but that is all. TRUST yourself and your ability and your relationship with the clients. You won't get them all maybe, but you'll soon pick up if you are good at your job and it sounds like you are. Get your space ready to rock n roll and then hand in your notice.

Tell you boss that you are not happy with th e way things are and you feel you would rather leave. End of!!

Advert .... Artsy Canadian, formerly of XXXXX salon, has moved to : da de da de da ... and looks forward to seeing Clientèle both old and new at da de da de da Telephone for appointment etc etc etc.
Thanks that was the advice I was looking for....
I wondered if it would be alright to at least set up first. I'm not doing anythignw rong with that.
I can do this...support is what I need.
 
BOTH of my employed jobs have ended in me be treated badly - leaving me confused and upset - I was only 19 and worked my backside for rubbish money. I worked my weeks notice (I didnt have to - but my mam said they might give you an awful reference so I did it...I broke my heart at the end of the week). And after all that - my name STILL got dragged through the mud.

This is will infact make you more determined to succeed, but if your professional and do things the right way - clients will love you for it.

Your clients will find you. But you might have to put a little work into them finding you.

I wish you the very best for the future and hope evrything works out well for you...I'm sure it will.
 
Thanks that was the advice I was looking for....
I wondered if it would be alright to at least set up first. I'm not doing anythignw rong with that.
I can do this...support is what I need.

You can do this and there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting prepared. Of course you must do that ... then the blip is only minor.
You can totally get ready ... get your space ... your cards printed .... leave then EVERYWHERE once you have left ... and if you see a client outside of the salon there is nothing wrong in telling them you are moving ... it is when you are IN the salon that you must be discrete ... you are an employee there. I'm glad you have good ethics and I do not see why anything should get heated here on the site. There is a right way and there is a wrong way to do things and too many people think it is right to do what was suggested and it is NOT.
 
Good Luck to a fellow Canuck!!

Maybe you could tell your "long standing", "regular", customers that you will be doing nails at home. Still give your boss your 2 week notice, and at the end of the day, the day your going to give your notice, have all your stuff ready to go in case she tells you not to come back, then you won't have to worry about coming back to pick it up. We have places like that here to, just don't worry about what they say, and carry on with your life. Because we all know that people like that will NEVER change!! Let them wallow in their own crap! Just smile, and carry on!
 
I was in your situation many years ago, and it's a hard thing to do. I am not proud of the fact that I did not give notice and told all of my clients that I was leaving. It's a choice that I made and I had to live with. I then went on to open my own salon and a few years later the same was done to me. I was never mad at the nail tech that left me I was however hurt. The only thing that I ever asked for was honesty.

I may get slammed for this comment however it is how I feel. When it comes to clients no one owns them, they may go to a salon because of the location, price etc.. but I feel strongly that the reason they continue to come back is the person that performs the service. It is the client's choice to either follow their nail tech or to stay at the salon and see someone else.

Just my 2cents
SC
 
Good luck going on your own. Do take the advice above and do it right. You never know when things come back to haunt you or kick you later if you dont deal with things properly. Its respectful and you owe it to yourself not just your employer to go about it in a decent manner and professionally. You have said she is not professional in her treatment of you, dont let it be the other way round. Hope all goes well with you.
 

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