Things I Can't Say - Positive Edition

So most of the "Things I really want to say, but can't" are negative.  That's a no brainer.  How many positive things are there to say about life and business that you can't say, in fear of repercussions.  So, it got me thinking and I came up with some positive things about my business that I could NEVER say to anyone other than my spouse, children or close friends.  Why? you ask?  Well, because if I said these things to anyone, I would be accused of bragging.  I am not a bragger.  I am humble.  However, the Troll asked for it, so here it is - The Positive Stuff.

I have made entirely too much money this year.  I have paid off every debt I have ever had.  For the first time, in a long, long, time, I am totally debt free.  I never thought I would see this day.  I have started stockpiling money in different savings accounts.  I have tried to spend it, to get some tax write offs.  I did improvements at the salon.  I brought in new products, new retail and vamped up the furniture.  We are showering our clients with Christmas gifts.  The staff is getting BIG bonuses this year and we are having a formal party this year with spouses invited and entertainment.  I am considering a staff cruise as a reward.  Still, I have way too much money left in the bank.

We have too many clients.  I know that sounds like a good thing, but it really isn't.  We have so many clients, that if we worked non-stop, seven days a week, we would still be busy and have a waiting list.  We are working so much that our backs are hurting.  Our hands ache.  After working all of those hours, there's still the supply ordering, bookwork and cleaning that must be done.  Still, there is the disappointment when we have to turn clients away.  We have no more room in our books.

Our salon has the best technicians in the area.  Yes, they may be sloppy and sometimes be a little lax in their duties, but isn't everyone?  I can honestly say that our technicians are the best around to the point that our competition doesn't even hold a candle to our work.  I guess it's a good thing they charge $5 less than we do, they should charge even less considering the end result that they are putting out, that we end up fixing and thus earning even MORE clients, that we no longer have room for.

So finally, I am proud that I am a female business owner, in a business that I love and thrive at.  I am a successful one as well.  I employ a staff of  seven now.  Each and every one of my technicians is a trained professional, who was trained by me.  With all of the things I deal with each day from salon issues, to staffing issues to client issues, it's no wonder I have things to say.  Things to air out.  I mean really.  Who can I air these things out to?  My spouse doesn't understand.  My best friend is a teacher.  I can't complain about the staff to the staff.

So, I could vent to my peers.  Some of them, would see this as a sign of weakness.  Some like to see any form of it and they just go in for the kill, most of the time behind your back.  So, I and others, vent anonymously.  It gives us a way to get it off our chest.  Without the fear of ridicule.  It is quite cleansing.  You should try it.

--Nancy

Attitude is Everything and Yours Sucks

Today, I finally am going to use your wonderful blog to “Say what I really want to say but can’t”  Why can’t I say what I really want to say?  Because the truth hurts and people will have bruised egos and just up and quit on me.  However, these things need to be said.  Who knows, maybe they are readers of this blog and will see this and think, “Hey, I am being a jerk too” and straighten up.

DO YOUR JOB.  It’s that simple.  You were hired to do a job.  Nothing that is required of you are things that I, as your boss/salon owner, would not do and do not do.  Everything I expect of you, I do myself, and then some.  Why must you all be so lazy?

Why must I feel like a parent, reminding a child to do their chores?  You are adults.  You see me doing it, setting the example, why can’t you do it?  I have the answer for you.  You are lazy.

It is very important to keep accurate client record cards, especially when we all do services on the same person from time to time.  Why are you too lazy to pull the client’s card from the file and instead you make a new card.  So, one person has six cards in all different places.  How is this efficient?  You’ve been told over and over to not do this, yet your laziness wins out every time.

Why must you spell the client’s name in the computer or on their card using your “Hooked on Phonics” method?  I mean I know some people spell their names differently, but come on, not every Linda is Lynda,  not every Kylie is kaileigh, not every Molly is Mollee, etc.  People love their name and it is an insult to them when you misspell their name.  How hard is it to say “Is that Carol with a C or K” or “How do you spell your name?”  Over and over again we go through this.  So in our computer, we have one client in there no less than six different ways.  How hard is it to figure out that one of the five already there that is spelled funky is HER and you don’t need to add another entry.

All of this laziness on your part is just creating more work for me and I am personally sick to death of it.  I don’t know what else to do.  I’ve asked over and over again for you to comply.  We are doing our client’s a disservice due to your laziness and lack of focus.

Quit acting like children and do you mother loving job.  I am tired of doing your job for you, however, I have no choice but to do it.  Keep it up, you will burn me out and I will close, then what will you do?  I am betting your next boss will not be as nice.

--Tired of Working With Inconsiderate Assholes

What is going on with our schools???

Reader Submission (Keep them coming!)

I just have to ask, "What the hell is going on in our schools?"  The students that they are putting out are PATHETIC.  As a salon owner, I realize that I need to train technicians that work in my salon, but OMG, these girls are pitiful even after doing 20 plus hours of one on one training with me.  They can't even polish a fingernail. Seriously.  I have proof.

Here is tech number one, who was let go after six months.  She never progressed.  These photos are from three months into her employment and after over 20 hours of training, constant communication on what she needs to do to be better and demonstrations on how to do things better.

Look at this lovely French polish.  Look at the wonderful shape of the nails.  Look at the ragged free edges and are you BLIND from the lack of cuticle care???

How would she even think that that was acceptable to let walk out the door?  So, we worked AGAIN on her French polish.  Still not better.

Finally, this photo was near the six month mark, right before she was let go.

So we take another new one on, because we all know that it's slim pickings out there.  My other two options were one girl with experience but that was 8 months pregnant and one that was 8 months pregnant with her FOURTH child.  I went with the new graduate because I needed someone now, not after maternity leave and I thought, once again, that I could mold this newbie.  Wrong.

I at least learned from past mistakes.  I was giving her 90 days.  Well 30 is all I needed.  I spent HOURS and  I mean HOURS working one on one with her.  I didn't have a day off in three weeks because my days off were spent working with this girl.  This is what I got.

No shape to the toenails, no trimming.  Polish isn't even to the cuticle.  When I showed her the pictures she said that the client wanted her nails that shape and didn't want them cut.  REALLY?  I explained to her that it is her job to advise the client that she needs her toe nails trimmed and shaped.

Now, over the past month I have preached over and over again, "If you get anything on the skin, remove it"  This is one of the last set of nails she did before she was let go.  HOLY product in the sidewalls and cuticle.  How can you even think this looks good?????

What the hell are they teaching them in school.  Obviously nothing.  This is pitiful.  These girls are LICENSED to do nails and hair too.  OMG I can't imagine what these two would do with hair!  I shudder to think.

I have taken it upon myself to contact the school and let them know how they are failing horribly in the nail department.  They just recently had a staff change and an "Old School" teacher finally retired.  I have been asked to sit on their advisory board and I have jumped at the chance.

Now I know that it's all about attitude too and that these two just weren't meant for the industry, however, they should NOT have been passed and shame on the state board for having such a lame test that these two actually hold a license!  Why should "I" have to be the one who suffers because I expect someone who graduated with a Cosmetology degree and passed our state board exam can actually polish nails.  I can't even imagine what the outcome would be when we tried enhancements.

So for now, I am going to continue to turn business away.  I am not going to subject myself to this torture again.  I will tell you one thing, the next person that applies for a job will have to go through a "try out" so to speak.  I am going to make them polish someone's nails and have them polish someone's toes and have them trim the nails.  If you can't do that, get the hell out of my salon.

--Signed - Why Can't I Clone Myself?

Thieves

In this industry we deal with all kinds of thieves.  It depends on the level that you are in your career, which determines what level of thieves you experience.

If you are a salon owner, you probably experience the most common thief.  Every salon has good employees and every salon has a thief.  Every. Single. Salon.  Sometimes the thieves are found out and fired, other times, the thievery isn’t found out until the thief leaves.

Techs steal product all of the time.  A busy salon owner will pull their hair out when they go to the really large jug of monomer that they just got a week ago and there are a few drops left in the jug.  “But we have been really busy”, the staff will explain.  Not THAT busy!  That’s a lot of monomer to use in a week.

Brushes that are supplied to staff members will be missing when the tech isn’t at work, along with other products.  They are obviously doing nails on their off days, most likely their own, more than likely others, being paid on the sly.  Most salons allow you to do your own nails in the salon for no charge and family members for a small supply fee.  There is no reason to take salon supplies home with you unless you are stealing them.  It is never a good idea to travel back and forth with supplies, if you live in a warm climate, you can really mess up the quality of the product if you allow them in a hot car for a period of time.  So, even if the thief didn’t steal these products, most likely they will be ruined and will cost the salon money in the end anyways. 

Techs within the salon will try to steal other techs clients.  You see it all of the time, another tech goes on vacation or is sick and the shady tech will try to make the other tech look bad and try to get the client to rebook with her instead.

All of these examples above, are written from a Salon Owner’s point of view.  There are a number of instances that a Salon Owner has stolen from their staff.  If this has happened to you, I would love for you to write to me and share your experiences, anonymously, of course.

Moving on, you have techs that use photos of other technician’s work that they have found on the Internet and use them as examples of their work.  They use those photos in ads for their business.  How flipping lazy or untalented are you that you can’t use a photo of your own work?  I can understand using a company photo with the brand of the product that you use, that’s what they are provided for, and everyone knows you did not do the nails.   I can’t tell you how many shady people I have seen over the years use OBVIOUS photos of work that they didn’t do.  What happens when someone sees one of those photos and asks them to recreate the nails.  I would LOVE to see a photo of THOSE nails!

My favorite kind of thief is the one that steals all of your ideas.  One that has a salon and tries so hard to be exactly like your salon.  Right now I know of at least six Salon Owners going through this.  Yes, the idea thief may have worked in your salon at one time and learned a lot from you and your salon.  Instead of coming up with their own style or signature, so to say, they just copy what you do.  The joke is on them, though, because people see this and realize this.  How sad to be so unimaginative that you have to use Other People’s Ideas to better yourself or your business.  (How many people just got that?  Gold star if you do!)

It’s time for the thievery to stop.  Stop stealing from your Salon Owner.  Stop stealing from your Staff.  Stop stealing from each other.  Theft is still a crime and it is just plain wrong and it makes you nothing more than a See You Next Tuesday (Platinum star if you get that one!)

--Nancy

Things I Have Learned as a Salon Owner

Yesterday, was the first day I actually considered throwing in the towel.  Closing the doors to my salon.  This was not because business is bad or we are losing money.  It is quite the opposite.  We are booming.  The reason for my feeling of defeat is due to employee problems.  A lack of good employees problem.

I have since shook it off, but I am not the same salon owner any more.  I have become one of “THOSE” salon owners now.  I am now not willing to want to give a chance to a new nail tech.  I am sick and tired of training them for months, only to have everything go in one ear and out the other.  I am sick and tired of them doing a crappy job, having to redo their work, having to give refunds, having to compensate clients for services they are unhappy with.

I have just experienced having a young tech in my salon for nearly six months.  We tried to mold her into a nail professional like the rest of our awesome staff.  We took her to classes, spent countless hours mentoring her, teaching her.  Still, she wasn’t getting it, applying product and polish with the hand flat on the table.

After six months, numerous complaints and requests from clients to not ever be rebooked with her again, a line was drawn with her.  Shape up or ship out.  The choice is yours.  YOU are in charge of your destiny.

Well, long story short, she decided to ship out.  She saw the writing on the wall.  She gave some lame excuse about school being so demanding this semester.  She is a collage student.  It was okay, I had my out.  I didn’t have to fire her and she could leave with some dignity.  She gave a two week notice.  It was very easy to reschedule the few appointments in her column after those two weeks.  We didn’t really schedule anything new for her.

Week one came and you could tell she was doing an even crappier job than normal.  She just didn’t care.   She works two days a week.   Final week comes and she is on day one of her final two days and announces to me that she can’t work the following day, her last day, due to school.  We have no where to put her few people.  She has left me high and dry.

I will now alter how I do things as a salon owner.  I will no longer employ someone who is going to college.  Period.  You are either in this profession or you are not.  You are not going to work for me while you go to college.  I want committed nail techs that want to make a career out of this.

I will never again honor a two week notice.  I am going to be one of those salon owners,  who tell you to get your things and go when you give two weeks notice.  A lot of people diss salon owners for this, but I NOW understand.  I will not allow you to do a crappy, bang up job for two weeks because you just don’t care any longer and you will never see these clients again.  I will not allow you to leave me high and dry at the last minute.

It is a sad state of affairs when a really good, compassionate salon owner is turned into a cold hearted bitch.  Future techs can thank the sins of irresponsible techs of times past.  As a salon owner, I have lived and I have learned. 

Signed – Live and Learn, Crash and Burn