Whether you’re a salon owner, a mobile nail tech or are home-based, you want your clients to feel pampered like never before, and your staff (if you have them) to come to work with a smile on their faces. However, certain blunders can turn this beautiful daydream into a nightmare that you’ll never forget. So, exactly what kinds of blunders are we talking about here?
Every nail tech has experienced this at least once during their careers - a client comes in for a mani and pedi, you work your magic and chat about the latest episode of Love Island. Your customer pays and goes about their day. Hours go by and you get a text from them, in which they’re complaining about redness and swelling around the nail cuticles. Oops, looks like someone didn’t follow proper sanitation procedures. If you’re lucky, the client might be a regular and won’t leave you a negative review. But what if it's someone who is just appalled by your lack of proper sanitation? This can earn you a negative review online, consequently giving your potential clients second thoughts before booking with you. Additionally, you can be held accountable for not taking the right preventative measures against COVID-19, which can land you in seriously hot water. More on safety protocols you should introduce in your salon can be found here.
In order to avoid such blunders in the future, it is essential that you prepare nail salon sanitation rules, which cover how reusable and disposable products and equipment should be used. Obviously, reusing products and equipment meant for single-use and improperly washing reusable items means you’re putting your clients at risk of catching fungal and bacterial infections, not to mention COVID-19. In order to effectively avoid these hazards, it is essential that you dispose of all one-use products and clean and sanitise EVERYTHING after each client, including foot basins, chairs, armrests and tabletops. As for reusable tools, make sure to properly clean them in an autoclave.
We can all agree that a satisfied client is your most effective form of marketing. You clean the skin from around their nails with effortless precision, carefully apply stunning nail art and provide an out-of-this-world hand massage and pedicure. Your client pays and you simply thank them and watch them go about their day. Nothing wrong with this scenario, right? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but if you do this, then you are missing out on a wonderfully fruitful business opportunity. That’s not saying you shouldn’t thank customers - but you could be doing so much more!
A satisfied client might tell their friends about your business, however, it’s not probable that they’ll go about promoting your salon, unless they’re asked about where they had their nails done or if they know a reputable business. In order to have satisfied customers actively promoting your nail salon, you ought to provide the right incentives.
To do so, UK nail techs and nail salon owners turn to Booksy. The system lets you enable regular discounts for your most loyal clients or reward them with a free amount voucher for successfully referring their family and friends to your business. This kind of incentive is all it takes to get clients to visit you more often and promote your business like never before!
Have you ever been overwhelmed with a wave of guilt for not giving in to the demands of some of your clients? Sadly, many beauticians and nail techs try to avoid these feelings by giving customers exactly what they want - later regretting doing so. A client might demand a discount, ask that you book them in for a last-second slot, or request that you drive a few extra miles to their house, even though it’s beyond the area you work in. Now, why exactly are these situations considered blunders? Well, for starters, if clients see that they can have their way, then they’ll take advantage of the situation so much that they may even create losses for your business. The best way to counteract this is by learning to stand up for yourself and to be able to just say “no” to ridiculous demands. You’ve taken a number of nail technician courses, spent months on improving your techniques and you provide quality treatments with professional products - so why should you be bossed around?
Running a nail salon means you ought to be tough as nails (pun intended) when faced with certain situations concerning your staff (if you have them). However, this doesn’t pertain to booth renters, as they’re their own business entities. If you’re too soft on your untrustworthy staff, they might take advantage of this and may begin coming in late, not working as hard and might even resort to acting mischievously by taking money out of the register and working sloppily - thus blemishing your business’s reputation. In order to avoid such situations from occurring in the first place, it is important to nip these cases in the bud. If a team member is acting up, you should confront them right away and let them know that you mean business.
Also, creating a strict but fair list of salon staff procedures is essential in order to keep your team focused and driven. Make sure that you let staff know that you won’t tolerate rudeness, laziness and theft, as well as non-compliance with your COVID-19 safety protocols. Not abiding by these rules, let alone those enforced by the government regarding COVID-19 prevention, will not be tolerated, and your staff needs to be aware of this.
Making at least one of these blunders in your nail salon can be costly for your business - therefore, it is important that you take measures in order to prevent such situations from occurring. Don’t let clients and staff walk all over you, make sure to take your time when sanitising your work area and launch marketing campaigns to all clients, especially your most loyal ones, with the help of Booksy. Your account is just a click away - sign up today and run your business like never before.
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