After the chaos/exhilaration of the holidays, every year begins with a new, orderly salon timetable. Initially, it might not look that different from last year’s schedule. The salon hours didn’t change; on through Saturday we’re still opening up, 10 am to 6 pm. We didn’t gain or lose any manicurists; there are three of us and I have to hire another one (that’s a complete other subject).
We didn’t add or eliminate any services, and prices have not changed since our last upsurge in January 2010. The brands on the timetable are familiar Even; year they belong to clients who’ve reserved standing appointments for the entire. Standing appointments demonstrate how much these Preferred Clients, as we call them, value our time and services. Likewise, we value Preferred Clients, above all others, for their dependability and commitment.
Simply stated, my salon wouldn’t normally be as successful without them. For 2012, we have around 75 Preferred Clients on our routine. Some are relatively new, while some have been loyal clients for more than a decade. The need for these clients is apparent; taken collectively, they take into account almost half our available time and more than half the income produced by the salon, including retail. While value can be quantified by various statistics (service regularity, service/retail/tip dollars, recommendations, etc.), those figures do not convey the qualitative value of standing up visits. They offer stability and structure and get rid of the seasonal fluctuations that some salons experience.
Particularly in uncertain economic times, it’s very reassuring to know that people can fairly expect a certain amount of revenue through the year. More often than once, I’ve heard the advice that a customer should be pre-booked for another appointment before leaving the salon. That’s not good enough if you would like to secure a client’s devotion for the long term.
Why waste enough time it requires to schedule the next appointment every visit when you could make a more long-term arrangement? Not merely will this save time, but it additionally relieves the anxiousness associated with either having too few clients on your timetable or so many that you cannot find time for your very best clients when they want a session. To create a salon schedule based on standing appointments, advance planning is required, and the greater consistent you can be, the better.
Begin by creating your available hours. For instance, Wednesday thru Thursday I use clients; my employees have different, yet consistent, schedules to hide the rest of the salon hours. It’s also important to plan your routine at least a yr in advance. The planning for 2012 started last June (2011) with a completely empty schedule. Once it was established that there wouldn’t be any price, service, or timetable changes, we started filling the plan and confirming reservations based on seniority. Most Preferred Clients wished to carefully keep the same schedule, while some needed a big change (e.g. adding another service or increasing the regularity period from three weeks to two weeks).
Let me point out that people offer standing appointments to only our best clients (reliable, cooperative, appreciative, etc.). It’s as easy as stating: “I really enjoy doing your nails, but as my clients grow, convenient consultations will be harder to schedule. Day and time simply for you I’d prefer to reserve a particular. What times and days work best?
- Shine-Free Matte Finish
- 8 years back from Central Florida
- Answer the award questions
- Use Almond Oil to take care of Skin Rashes
- 1 medium cucumber
” Not all clients can commit as their personal schedules can vary greatly too much, and that’s understandable. We also value these “regular” clients because they almost fill out the remaining amount of time in our schedule, leaving very little time for walk-in clients. Both our brochure and website announce: “By invitation only, Precision Nails offers standing up consultations in one-, two-, three-or four-week intervals. Clients with standing appointments receive scheduling priority and other valuable benefits.” There’s no financial motivation involved; the incentive for the client should be securing the most convenient time on the consistent basis.
And talking about incentives, I really do not recommend discount rates, ever. If getting busier (more clients, more consultations) is that important, you could advertise discounted (you will want to free?) services and persuade yourself those clients shall return and pay your regular prices later. However, being busy is different from being successful.
The “regular” prices have no meaning whenever a salon continually offers discounts. Actually, the term “discount salon” is a common euphemism for a salon known for low quality just work at lower-than-average prices. Why would any beauty professional desire to be associated with that? When manicurists discount their service prices, clients may discount their professionalism. I want clients who can readily afford to have their nails done, not those who need special pricing to justify the experience.
