I have seen it over and over again... nail salons nickel-and-diming clients for silly things like "a drop" of quick dry or a drop of callous or cuticle remover.
About two years ago, I had a fancy $60 Spa Pedicure at a local salon. At the end, the nail tech asks if I would like dry drops. I said,"sure!". After a few invisible pinches from the dropper she says, "that was $1 extra". I nearly fell out of my pedicure chair, you could have knocked me over with a feather! I am blessed to be able to afford a $60 pedicure once and a while, but adding $1 to an already expensive service was infuriating to me!! I am already paying the highest price point on the menu, (their pedicures started at $17), so why bang me out for one more buck? For whatever reason - this just pissed me off to no end. I told the nail tech and the owner I thought that their whole nail dry-drop-racket was in poor taste. They were totally unphased. That event left me feeling uneasy with their business practices, and I vowed not to return. Later that year I noticed they were out of business. I wondered as I passed the "For Lease" sign, how many other patrons felt like I did?
| Charging for Dry Drops is TACKY! Either don't offer them or include Them in the cost of the service. |
I decided to bring this topic up because I was just speaking with an associate who recently had her own, "The $1 that broke the bank" moment at a local salon. She was not only bamboozled by $1 add-ons, but she also paid for a Shellac Gel Manicure and noticed all the polish components they used were of a generic brand - and not CND. I also have noticed this $1 add-on topic was mentioned on several of the Yelp.com reviews about various nail salons. All the reviewers giving these salons only 1 - 2 stars because they felt the staff was 'too pushy' with 'silly up-sells' that they felt should been included for client comfort. People don't like to feel hustled.
If your salon or spa has cost factored that offering clients dry drops is a profit center or fixed cost, INCORPORATE IT INTO YOUR SERVICE PRICE. If the advertised price of my Spa Pedicure was $61, and it included dry drops, I would have continued going to that salon.
Cutting your costs with generic brands and stacking $1 add-ons is not going to save your business... but it will turn off your clients. And it looks to me like they will Yelp you too!
Don't get me wrong; add-ons can equal booming profits for your business, but not when you are charging for basic creature comforts and commodities. If you want to add profits to your bottom line, opt for retail options or beneficial add on treatments like:
Nail Retail Products
Lotions
Natural & Hygienic Paraffin Treatments
Intensive Hand Treatments