Salon/Spa Etiquette

Hello my friends! Today, I'm going to discuss Salon & Spa Etiquette and what makes your friendly neighborhood Esthetician (and other beauty professionals) want to throw back a few bottles of wine and cry in the corner.

Salon/Spa Etiquette is, I think, insanely important to maintain a good client-eshtetician (or stylist, massage therapist, etc) relationship.

I hope that clients and professionals new to the self employment game get something out of this post.

As always, I'm going to be brutally honest in this post. Truth bombs will be thrown.

Let's start with being late to your appointment...

I get it. Things happen; flat tire, sick kid, traffic, etc. It happens to everybody. But when you walk in 10 minutes late, holding a steaming cup of Starbucks, I'm not going to believe that "traffic was crazy." Nope... the only acceptable time to be late, is when you have another cup of joe in your other hand for me... preferably from Dutch Bros - Medium Iced Cookie =).

You being late, not only cuts your service short, but it also sets off a domino effect.

You being late means you are wasting the time of my clients who arrive on time, thus making my day longer... which sucks, because I work an average of 10 hour days, usually without eating. And I get hangry... you wouldn't like me with I'm hangry.

This is why I have a strict late rule; If you aren't at my door at the time of your appointment, I'll shoot you a text 5 minutes after your appointment has started; perhaps parking was atrocious and you're literally two minutes away. Totally acceptable.

After 10 minutes and you haven't shot me a text or a phone call, your appointment has been canceled.

End of story.

I will not bend when it comes to this rule. Why? I've got a schedule to keep. My time, along with all of my clients, time is valuable. It's not fair to push their appointments back because you forgot or didn't give yourself ample amount of time to get to my studio.

Again, you may think I'm hard core with this rule. And more times than naught I've actually gotten complimented on my rigid rule. We are adults. We are responsible human beings and I feel like we are all capable of keeping appointment times... and 10 minutes is a good amount of cushion time.

No Show, No Call...

Bye.

Seriously.

If I get a text or a call a few hours or even days down the road saying that you were in the hospital or there was a death in the family, then of course, I'll give you another shot. But No Show, No Call is a first class ticket to not getting rebooked...EVER AGAIN.

Why?

Well, firstly, it's rude. It's inconsiderate, and you are taking money out of my pocket and time from a paying client who would have gladly taken your appointment time and showed up for that matter.

We in the beauty industry are mostly self employed or 1099 employees, which means, if you don't show up, I don't get paid... This is how I feed my kids, clothe my family, pay for my home...

Put yourself in my shoes.... ya, not cool, huh?

So when you book an appointment and ghost me, it's kinda like your stealing money from me in a way.

Think before you book.

Time is money.

Cancellations.

Most spa's and salon's require 24 hours notice. I'd appreciate 24 hours notice, but I'm cool even if you give me 2 hours notice. Like I said previously, I understand life happens; sick kid, flat tire, etc. As long as you're not calling thirty minutes before your session starts, I'm pretty chill about it. But it's nice to know if you can't show up earlier rather than later, so I can either move up a client who's scheduled later on in the day or call a client who's on my wait list.

Groupons- One hit wonders, continual purchasers & and no tippers.

Groupon and I.... we have a love hate relationship. I have Groupon to thank for my business success. I opened my business without having a client base to pay rent on my studio, and now I have a loyal clientele base because of Groupon.

I personally can clock a One Hit Wonder sixty seconds into their appointment... what exactly is a One Hit Wonder?

A deal seeker who is there just for the cheap service, with no intention of returning for future appointments.

Ok, I'm probably going to step on some toes here, but again, like I said in the beginning of this post, I'm going to be brutally honest;

Before I pull the pin on a truth grenade, I want to say that I give my all no matter who you are. I use my professional products and treat my Groupon clients like a full paying client. I treat every new client's session- whether it be a full paying or Groupon client- as if it's a job interview. Because, essentially, it is. You (the client) are seeing if you want to hire me to become your regular skin care provider.

So, that being said...

One Hit Wonders aren't my fave- not just because they are there for the cheap service- no. Because those clients are the biggest complainers, whiners, late to their appointments, no show-no call, most pickiest, pain in the rear clients. Ok, probably angered a few people just now... but it's the danged truth, and I don't know why this phenomenon happens, but it's true. Ask anybody who has a Groupon for their business, theyll agree. And if they don't want to admit it, they most certainly are thinking it.

Continual purchasing offenders- Groupons are fantastic for trying out a new stylist, esthetician, etc. And, its fantastic when you come back, but it's not cool when you keep buying the Groupon. Believe it or not, but Groupons are for first time clients only, whether you're buying a facial or a pair of earbuds. It's in the fine print, it's hidden and not a lot of us take the time to read that part when you buy your deal. That is why I personally will text my clients my guidelines about this matter. This is another strict rule I enforce. Why is this a strict rule? For this, we are going to need to do math!

My Mircrodermabrasion sessions are $85.

Groupon cuts that in half - $42.5

Groupon gets half of that- $21.25

And I get the rest -$21.25

Now, let's factor in the professional product that is used in the service, the wear and tear of my machinery, my time and my brain power. I profit maybe $15 off of an $85 service.

Get where I'm going with this?

MLM pitchers

I've covered this in a previous blog post... All I'm going to say is, don't to pitch your crap product to an educated professional. It's insulting.

Alright! Here's a recap

- Don't be late to your appointment

- Don't No Show without calling

- Be courteous; call as soon as you find out you need to cancel your appointment.

- If you've bought a Groupon, but are there solely for the cheap service, don't nit-pick, relax and enjoy the service.

- If you decide to return, don't buy another Groupon.

- Don't pitch second rate product to a professional.

Man... after writing this, I kinda feel like the Grinch. But, small business owners have to set boundaries and rules. Otherwise our days will be like a Mad Max movie... it would be mayhem.