What's with inconsiderate clients?

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lashed11

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Jun 9, 2011
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Sorry in advance.... Prepare for rant...

We allll know that this is a very busy time of year for us lot... I work mobile andalot of my clients are 45min drive away in the next town so I try to group them all together and they all know this... That's now the 4th person who has either cancelled or asked to rearrange in 24 hrs. Now, the cancelling really annoys me, last minute- iv had to turn away work because these clients are booked in, but I think what annoys me more is the ones that assume they can reschedule. One client has actually rescheduled this particular app 3 times and then yesterday cancelled, then told me to text her today if I have a free slot?! It is really like they think we have no other clients!

What also annoys me is when I turn up they sometimes say oh can I get shellac too, or whatever... It's like NO! There's no time! I really feel like because I'm mobile they think its just a hobby for me and I just swan around doing a couple treatments here and there. I know I have said this before but I'm starting to resent the whole mobile thing.

I think I need a change next year, I do feel a bit stuck and don't know what to do next. Iv been put off the salon thing because of the whole coupon culture thing, and there are now hundreds of salons where I live. Literally. Hmm. What to do...

Anyway, happy Crimbo everyone!!!
 
Is a home salon an option for you? xx
 
No,I don't think so, I rent a flat with my brother and don't have a spare room... Also not sure if that would be allowed with the rent agency etc xx
 
Thats business for you, it can be very stressful. The problem with being mobile is that it doiesnt come across as professional as a salon. Its more personal and people end up treating you like a friend rather than a business. There are benefits of working in a salon, in that you come in, do your work and then go home. The owner has the worry/hassle.
 
Totally agree, people are so comfy in their own home and it is like they see me as a friend coming for a chat and shellac! No matter how professional I try to be with my treatments, flyers etc, I'm still just at my clients home and its almost like everything is on their terms. With little dogs running around and chewing my beauty bed cover lol.

I worked in a salon and spa before and I just couldn't hack not being in control of my treatments/prices/column etc.it works for alot of my friends but iv always wanted to do my own thing.

I have been thinking about providing training courses, eg eyelash extensions etc. I would love to train others, i have alot of experience in these treatments but have no training experience just now and there seems to be no jobs advertised. Hmmmmmm!! Is it the recession? I'm not sure... Xxx
 
Why dont you try renting a room love? You have all your equipment anyway and you could do it somewhere thats quite established and is quite central that your clients can visit.

I would drop this into the conversation with your clients and see how they would feel. Ask if they would come to a salon or not?

Also maybe you could be a bit harder with your clients. Tell them it is a full time job and you feel they could respect you a bit more. They probably dont realise they are doing it.

And if theyre too much hassle, sack'em! xxxx
 
I would try make it as professional as you can, do you have a website?

I would get some nice price lists printed with your CANCELATION policy on it!!

People that 'offend' more then twice have to pay in full for they next appoint when they book it there and then with you NON REFUNDABLE

Be stricked! Don't let people push you over xx
 
AHHHHH i had this today!!! i booked in all my clients who live further away and arranged it so i could go straight from one to the next and so on, then i get to my first client and she goes... i don't want my hollywood or arm wax anymore... what??? so then i had an hour inbetween my clients to sit in my van listening to christmas music as going home isnt an option due to waste of my precious diesel, it was too early to go and sit in a pub or go and get lunch. then last week i had 3 MINI pedicures booked in at the same house, so like 30-40mins a treatment, when i arrive and set up one says 'we've decided to spoil ourselves because its christmas so we're all going to upgrade to a luxury!' ummm how about no... a luxury takes 1hour 45mins! when i explained i couldnt fit them in because i had clients afterwards one of them got really funny and said she didnt see the point in having one at all, and the others said they'd cut theirs short so the stroppy one could have it done but that still wouldnt have worked. i agree with the above, don't get me wrong i love being mobile, i have some lovely clients and i am very professional but clients do treat you more as a friend x
 
Oh hello everyone!

Och it's just been a rubbish day with the cancellations!

I have thought about the room rent thing...I have mentioned it to clients and one even said "oh that's not a good idea people like you going to them"... So basically I'd have to start from scratch :( and I think that would be really hard to make money with all the groupon deals and similar sites going around! The funny thing is, 70% of my clients don't work, so they technically could come to a salon, but they prefer someone coming to them? Hmm.

I really do try to be as professional as poss. Even with my "really friendly" clients I'm wary about telling them too much personal info, and allowing them to see me as more of a friend. I paid a fortune to get amazing business cards and flyers printed, and all the products etc I use are the best for what I'm doing, but it just isn't the same as working in a salon, I always just feel, well, almost inadequate! I don't want to offend any other mobile techs by saying that, but I do honestly feel that way.

Omg dolly, I know exactly what u mean, I experience that ALOT and it really irritates me!! And the thing is, when you arrive they are so excited about these extra treatments THEY were planning on getting, that when you tell them you can't, they act like you have just committed a crime! The other month there, I rocked up to my clients to do a lash infill. Sometimes this client tells me in advance that her next door neighbour would like a lash tint etc while I'm there, so I bring my stuff and do it. On the odd occasion I can do her neighbours tint without prior warning (if it's the end of my day etc and I'm just going home after), but the other day her neighbour turned up expecting a tint-without booking- I didn't have the time so politely said "sorry I can't today, but I can on fri/mon etc" and she took the hump! She wasn't impressed at all! Now this particular neighbour is a pensioner who doesn't actually do very much at all, I offered her 3 days that I could do her tint for her and she said she was busy for the rest of this year! It's just rude!

Oh dear dear!,xxx
 
it just isn't the same as working in a salon, I always just feel, well, almost inadequate! I don't want to offend any other mobile techs by saying that, but I do honestly feel that way...

And you always will unless you are in a salon.

I was at a friends party recently and I overheard 2 of her acquaintances talking in the kitchen. One was saying that she was booked for her highlights, and the other one said "I have a girl come to mine and do them in the kitchen. She's really good and used to work at X salon, but she's half the price you pay when you go to have them done there!".

I was disheartened that this 'girl' had no name, no identity, and that the only thing good about her was 'being half the price' of a well known salon. If those 2 women had of been men, you would think they were talking about another type of 'profession' which isn't exactly legal.

As professionals, I think we deserve more. But what can we do when others lower the tone of our offerings? Groupon deals for £19 including foils, cut and finish? Mobile hairdressers who will come to your house and cut your grannies hair for next to no profit? Your neighbour's sister who has opened her spare room for massage and facials? It all spells out amateur, desperate and totally unprofessional.

If this trend continues, maybe my next door neighbour will open a newsagent in his garage and claim to be a Spar? LOL I'd still go to Tescos for quality, reliability and consumer rights. Might pop to him for the cheap bread and ciggies.

Does this mean I respect him? No.
Does this mean I value him? No.
Does this mean I see him as a thing of convenience? Yes.
Would I knock on his door half an hour after closing for milk? Yes.
Why? Because I know he's not a serious business man and he'll save me a trip to a professional retailer such as Tesco when he says 'OK then'.

;)
 
I paid a fortune to get amazing business cards and flyers printed, and all the products etc I use are the best for what I'm doing, but it just isn't the same as working in a salon, I always just feel, well, almost inadequate! I don't want to offend any other mobile techs by saying that, but I do honestly feel that way.

I'm not offended. I feel exactly the same. I had one woman book in for a luxury manicure, then kept asking me how much longer because she hadn't had her dinner! not my problem love, sorry. I'm using quality products and they take this amount of time. end of.

I would look into renting a room if you can. I know you said your clients didn't want you to but you have to do what's best for you AND your clients, not just for them all the time.
x
 
I'm really hoping groupon gets a shake up during the investigation with trading standards, they have alot to answer for.. any company that can afford to charge £19.50 and then for groupon to take 70% of it meaning the company is getting £5.85 and this is before VAT is deducted too.. now I get a good deal with Schwarzkopf but that wouldn't cover the cost of a product nevermind the staff costs, overheads etc etc!
They promote themselves as a profit loss marketing solution and say that its a way of getting people through the door however I'm hearing that customers do not tend to rebook any other service than what they have had done on the voucher..

It seems that everyone wants an 'offer', 'a deal' or 'a discount' right now.. so I believe in clever marketing and promoting in such a way that the customer feels special and that doesnt mean putting myself out of business before I even get started... my biggest promo at the minute is a one day 'free eyebrow waxing' deal which has been going down a storm and we're getting lots of other booking from it.. no groupon, no profit loss, no over bookings and no complaints
 
I'm really hoping groupon gets a shake up during the investigation with trading standards, they have alot to answer for.. any company that can afford to charge £19.50 and then for groupon to take 70% of it meaning the company is getting £5.85 and this is before VAT is deducted too.. now I get a good deal with Schwarzkopf but that wouldn't cover the cost of a product nevermind the staff costs, overheads etc etc!
They promote themselves as a profit loss marketing solution and say that its a way of getting people through the door however I'm hearing that customers do not tend to rebook any other service than what they have had done on the voucher..

It seems that everyone wants an 'offer', 'a deal' or 'a discount' right now.. so I believe in clever marketing and promoting in such a way that the customer feels special and that doesnt mean putting myself out of business before I even get started... my biggest promo at the minute is a one day 'free eyebrow waxing' deal which has been going down a storm and we're getting lots of other booking from it.. no groupon, no profit loss, no over bookings and no complaints

I disagree. Yes there will always be people who will never rebook. But I was speaking to the woman who does my waxing just yesterday.

Her recent Groupon sold 300. She has done a couple now. Each time she offers further treatments which are booked directly so the salon gets that amount in full. She says some are booking the offer directly rather than through Groupon.

They upsell to the majority of the clients and most of them rebook aswell. Every one gets a discount voucher which lasts 6 weeks which encouraged them to rebook straight away.

Also think how many people read those emails and see her business. They may not buy the deal but may read about the salon/treatment/click through to website.

It generates a high amount of interest for no outlay. It's like paying x amount of money for marketing, the difference being that you get feet through the door and get a massive chance to impress and turn that client in a rebooker
 
Hi i rent an apartment and i work in one of the rooms...

I still get clients thinking their your friend do they can cancel and basically think they own you.

I have put together a 48hr notice for cancellations and trying to be more firm. I had a client yesterday text asking to buy 2 full body massages for 10€ (because he was buying 2 like him was doing me a favour) less of the total and i patted myself on the back because i actually said no :)
He may not buy them but i needed to make a stand.

Happy Chrimble everyone xx
Sent from my GT-S5660 using SalonGeek
 
Thank you all for your replies!

A good few points here guys.

I know what you mean, sometimes my clients make phone calls, eat crisps, text etc when I'm doing their lash Infills- I'm guessing that would never really happen in a salon? When I worked in one it didn't. And I do totally get referred to as "the girl/ the eyelash girl" by some of my clients, even though they have known me for 3 years!

What I also personally find irritating is when I turn up at someone's house, and 90% of the time I am carrying my beauty bed on one shoulder, and carrying a massive bag with wax pot etc, and lash extensions in the other, maybe a spray tan machine... I know this sounds pathetic but i am only small and i do toil at times carrying so much stuff- especially if there is ice or wind!!! And on several occasions I have had to climb 3 stories high with no offer of help. And I'm meaning regular clients who know exactly what I'm carrying up every week, and some of them are even male. Now I know it's my job, I'm mobile, but personally if I had a hairdresser or massage therapist come to my house and I answered the door to them I would immediately go to help them with their stuff, even just to be polite. And then it's the same thing when I go to leave, I pack up and nobody ever EVER helps me to the car. Maybe I'm a total moan today because I'm tired lol.

I find that mobile and also salons are undercutting each other, with or without groupon and it does need to stop. I have a hairdresser friend, who decided to train in nouveau because I am trained in nouveau and she seen how busy I got with lashes... But she charges half the price. And what she charges is under the recommended price set by nouveau. I have no idea how good she is because I have never had lashes applied by her. But this sort of thing happens all the time. I feel like, I worked so hard at college, learnt so much working in salons and spas, trained in treatments that I now feel very confident with and now charge accordingly, but then someone else comes along and undercuts, and sadly alot of clients are only loyal until something cheaper comes along.

I live in Edinburgh and there are hundreds of salons here, and every single day there is a groupon deal for beauty or hair. I would love groupon if jimmy choo got involved :(

Merry Crimbo! Xxx
 
Thank you all for your replies!

A good few points here guys.

I know what you mean, sometimes my clients make phone calls, eat crisps, text etc when I'm doing their lash Infills- I'm guessing that would never really happen in a salon? When I worked in one it didn't. And I do totally get referred to as "the girl/ the eyelash girl" by some of my clients, even though they have known me for 3 years!

What I also personally find irritating is when I turn up at someone's house, and 90% of the time I am carrying my beauty bed on one shoulder, and carrying a massive bag with wax pot etc, and lash extensions in the other, maybe a spray tan machine... I know this sounds pathetic but i am only small and i do toil at times carrying so much stuff- especially if there is ice or wind!!! And on several occasions I have had to climb 3 stories high with no offer of help. And I'm meaning regular clients who know exactly what I'm carrying up every week, and some of them are even male. Now I know it's my job, I'm mobile, but personally if I had a hairdresser or massage therapist come to my house and I answered the door to them I would immediately go to help them with their stuff, even just to be polite. And then it's the same thing when I go to leave, I pack up and nobody ever EVER helps me to the car. Maybe I'm a total moan today because I'm tired lol.

I find that mobile and also salons are undercutting each other, with or without groupon and it does need to stop. I have a hairdresser friend, who decided to train in nouveau because I am trained in nouveau and she seen how busy I got with lashes... But she charges half the price. And what she charges is under the recommended price set by nouveau. I have no idea how good she is because I have never had lashes applied by her. But this sort of thing happens all the time. I feel like, I worked so hard at college, learnt so much working in salons and spas, trained in treatments that I now feel very confident with and now charge accordingly, but then someone else comes along and undercuts, and sadly alot of clients are only loyal until something cheaper comes along.

I live in Edinburgh and there are hundreds of salons here, and every single day there is a groupon deal for beauty or hair. I would love groupon if jimmy choo got involved :(

Merry Crimbo! Xxx

I cant believe you expect a client to help you carry your stuff. Its not very professional for a start. Not having a go, but maybe you need to look at how you approach work and your attitude. You may be portraying an unprofessional image. Hence why people dont take you that seriously. You decided to be mobile, so im sure you know youd be carrying things. Unfortunately undercutting is what people with a lack of foresight and business knowledge do. They are only thinking of this week and not years into the future. They dont see the long term damage they are doing to the industry. They are undervalueing the industry, then moan that they are not getting what they are worth. Mobile therapists undercut salons, and them moan when another moibile moves into the area and undercuts them and about Groupon. Business owners who are experienced in the industry realise the importance of not getting into a price war and concentrating on building a good name and quality treatments. It builds long term stability. The majority of people who attend salons do so for the experience and are willing to pay for it.
 
I cant believe you expect a client to help you carry your stuff. Its not very professional for a start. Not having a go, but maybe you need to look at how you approach work and your attitude. You may be portraying an unprofessional image. Hence why people dont take you that seriously. You decided to be mobile, so im sure you know youd be carrying things. Unfortunately undercutting is what people with a lack of foresight and business knowledge do. They are only thinking of this week and not years into the future. They dont see the long term damage they are doing to the industry. They are undervalueing the industry, then moan that they are not getting what they are worth. Mobile therapists undercut salons, and them moan when another moibile moves into the area and undercuts them and about Groupon. Business owners who are experienced in the industry realise the importance of not getting into a price war and concentrating on building a good name and quality treatments. It builds long term stability. The majority of people who attend salons do so for the experience and are willing to pay for it.

Ok, so if you had a beauty therapist coming to do your lashes and you seen her carrying a beauty bed on one shoulder and a beauty case on the other, you wouldn't offer to help her?I personally would. I am just being honest. That's all.

This forum is for professionals to share their thoughts and views with each other and support each other, not to make unnecessary critical remarks. You don't know me, you have never had a service provided by me so your comment about me being unprofessional is irrelevant to me. It would be unprofessional if I asked my clients to help me- which I would never dream of doing.
 
Thank you all for your replies!

A good few points here guys.

I know what you mean, sometimes my clients make phone calls, eat crisps, text etc when I'm doing their lash Infills- I'm guessing that would never really happen in a salon? When I worked in one it didn't. And I do totally get referred to as "the girl/ the eyelash girl" by some of my clients, even though they have known me for 3 years!

What I also personally find irritating is when I turn up at someone's house, and 90% of the time I am carrying my beauty bed on one shoulder, and carrying a massive bag with wax pot etc, and lash extensions in the other, maybe a spray tan machine... I know this sounds pathetic but i am only small and i do toil at times carrying so much stuff- especially if there is ice or wind!!! And on several occasions I have had to climb 3 stories high with no offer of help. And I'm meaning regular clients who know exactly what I'm carrying up every week, and some of them are even male. Now I know it's my job, I'm mobile, but personally if I had a hairdresser or massage therapist come to my house and I answered the door to them I would immediately go to help them with their stuff, even just to be polite. And then it's the same thing when I go to leave, I pack up and nobody ever EVER helps me to the car. Maybe I'm a total moan today because I'm tired lol.

I find that mobile and also salons are undercutting each other, with or without groupon and it does need to stop. I have a hairdresser friend, who decided to train in nouveau because I am trained in nouveau and she seen how busy I got with lashes... But she charges half the price. And what she charges is under the recommended price set by nouveau. I have no idea how good she is because I have never had lashes applied by her. But this sort of thing happens all the time. I feel like, I worked so hard at college, learnt so much working in salons and spas, trained in treatments that I now feel very confident with and now charge accordingly, but then someone else comes along and undercuts, and sadly alot of clients are only loyal until something cheaper comes along.

I live in Edinburgh and there are hundreds of salons here, and every single day there is a groupon deal for beauty or hair. I would love groupon if jimmy choo got involved :(

Merry Crimbo! Xxx

Omg Merelle I completely agree with you, I have had the exact same experiences and feelings. For example I was doing my clients eyebrows and she was eating a bacon roll. You would never dream of doing that in a salon! I completely agree that clients feel far more relaxed and at home in their own surroundings however, like yourself its seems some common decency has completely gone out the window. I carry alot of equipment around as well and it wouldn't hurt some people to at least hold the door open for me, regardless of how many years I have been going to them. I don't feel these clients see me as unprofessional, as otherwise they clearly wouldn't keep booking me back, year after year. However it is just rather upsetting if anything that some people don't treat you the way they want to be treated.

And can I just say Chelsea gal, I think your comment was utterly harsh, Saying its not very professional and Merelle needs to take a look at how she approaches work and her attitude. How about you go and feed your negative chat elsewhere, in a forum that appreciates people that have to lower the tone, something which you clearly intended to do.

I also noticed your indirect, "cleverly" included dig at Merelle "moaning" about clients undercutting. Coming across so "business savvy" and informed, that you like to think you are doesn't mask the negative undertones to your comment.

This forum is for professionals to discuss and share their inner most thoughts and feelings about things they love and dislike, and for others to support or discuss subjectively without putting anyone down or intentionally being rude.

Merelle don't take any notice of it, it is by no means unprofessional to dislike the fact that some clients don't offer a helping hand after all it is just good manners.

Im reading too many posts where people hide behind their computers, say what they like and I assume feel rather smug with themselves afterwards, which is rather ironically unprofessional.
 

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