So, You "Forgot" Your Appointment?

It is a glorious Saturday afternoon. The sun is shining and I have finished early for the day. You might think this is a good thing except I did not get paid to go to work today.

The reason I did not get paid was because three clients did not arrive for their scheduled appointments. I don’t know about you but when I go to work, I need to get paid. It is, after all, the main reason any of us work at all.

I love my job. I truly believe I have the best job in the world. I am extremely lucky that my choice of career is one that means I look forward to going to work each and every day. However, at the end of the month there are these amounts of money that disappear from my bank account – bills.

Like anyone else, I have all sorts of life items that requires paying for and try though I might, I can’t put off paying for these things. These are the things that mean my husband, children, furbabies, and I have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and a standard of living that is somewhat comfortable.

Of course, being a business owner, it is not just my house and living expenses that need paying for, I also have all of the expenses of my business that all need paying before I even get a sniff of a wage to cover my own personal expenses.

Three clients not arriving for their appointments in a single day actually means that not only do I not get a personal wage for the day, there is actually a deficit which means that a part of the wage I might have earned yesterday has to go into today’s pot to cover today’s overheads. I went to work today and earned a loss.

I don’t know how anyone else would feel about having deductions from their wages but I’m sure it’s not too dissimilar to how I feel. Pretty darned fed up. I lost over $100 today. I could have filled those three slots many, many times over and not lost that money. That $100 is a very real and personal loss to me.

This week, three other appointment commitments were not met. Three other clients did not arrive for their appointments. That’s a further $100. That’s a very real and personal loss of $200 this week alone. Two of these appointments were forgotten about because they had gone out of town for the weekend and forgotten to cancel their appointments with me. I totally understand the excitement of an unexpected weekend trip. I would love one of those...

I am self-employed. If I am not servicing clients, I am not earning any money. It really is that simple. I don’t get holiday pay or sick pay. Your individual nail appointment worth, for example, $50, may not seem like a lot to you but I’m pretty sure that if your employer deducted $50 from your wage packet, you’d notice it rather quickly. Consider also that the $50 loss is only for one single appointment missed; multiply it by six as I had this week alone and you get the idea of how big an impact this has on a small business. Just one missed appointment per week adds up to $200 per month. That’s over $2400 a year personal loss. I could do a lot with that. Yes, a family weekend trip sounds delightful.

On my FaceBook page, in my salon, on my brochure, and out of my mouth directly, there is a message that says “failure to give at least 24 hours notice to cancel/reschedule an appointment may result in a missed appointment fee”. Please do not be surprised or upset when you call me after missing your appointment and are reminded of this additional charge which will require payment before I schedule you again. You become a high risk client. If you complain about the charge and threaten to go elsewhere then I will wish you well in all future endeavors and hope that your new tech is as good, kind, and diligent about sanitation & excellent customer service as I am. If and when you call me back a year (or two – yes this has happened on numerous occasions) later, that fine will still be on your record card and will still require payment.

It doesn’t matter how much I like you as a person. If you miss a few appointments then you will become a client I cannot afford to keep.

We are an awesome salon. We work hard and we do a great job. I am an awesome nail tech. We are an awesome team. This is why you have chosen us for your beauty needs. Our appointment slots fill up weeks in advance (some of us - months!) and so you can imagine how many potential clients are turned away. Those potential clients would have very happily taken one of the appointments that were missed this week.

If you have an appointment with us, please make sure it is written in your diary, on your calendar, in your phone, or wherever it is you keep your life organized. If your memory is shockingly bad then tell a friend and ask them to make a note of the appointment or set an alarm reminder on your phone/e-calendar.

If, for any reason, you cannot make your appointment then please have the courtesy to call us and let us know. It really isn’t asking a lot.

Incidentally, phoning me on the morning of the appointment to cancel it because you cannot afford it isn’t going to make me drop the fine simply because it most definitely means I cannot now afford something. I’m quite convinced you would have known before that time that finances were tight.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I'm going to enjoy a bowl of oatmeal... It's a good thing I like oatmeal because my grocery fund is now nonexistent for next week.



Inspired by this blog Brittany, Dog Groomer, and real events. Side note - I know some of my clients believe that because I don't have a mortgage (paid off when my MIL died and left us a small inheritance), and my husband has a "well-paying" job (I use quotes because they obviously have no idea what he does nor what he makes nor what our expenses are), that I don't *need* to work. It's just not true.

ROAD TRIP

My nail sister, Michelle, lives & works in Tacoma, WA. She's driven down to my area a few times in the last couple years, but until now, I hadn't driven up to her. I remedied that this past weekend. Three weeks ago, she came down on a Thursday, we had lunch at Bellagio's (my favorite local pizza joint), and spent an hour talking nails/business in my new studio (which she loves). I was supposed to bring her a vacuum I was getting rid of and some sourdough starter; both of which I forgot.
So, this past Saturday, at 830am, my daughter & I packed up the car with the vacuum, some starter in a small cooler, filled up the gas tank, and off we went. I was slightly concerned that I'd have to stop somewhere on the way home, but still in Washington, and fill my gas tank; I haven't done that in close to 20 years. I also get a little antsy driving to new places (although Google's STREET VIEW comes in handy to reduce that stress a little). We stopped at Toutle River Safety Rest Area for a potty break, and if I was in a more meandering state of mind, we would have hung out there a bit longer.
I turned on the voice directions just outside of Olympia; the last 10 minutes were a bit hairy with all the turns and hills... but at 1140a, we pulled in to Washington State University's campus in Tacoma; her salon is in one of their admin buildings. It's a nice campus, too; easy to navigate, lots of parking, and restaurants onsite. We were greeted by Michelle's daughter, Rain (age 20), who took the vacuum from me, and walked us up to Michelle's office. She has a tiny space (a little smaller than mine), but hers is like a wide hallway (set up with two tall chairs for waiting, a small nail desk, a small desk with for sale items on it near the front, a larger desk with her polishes/gel polishes/etc), and has a "large walk in closet" type space in the back that she uses for storage (behind a curtain in the corner) and pedicures.
The four of us walked over to the The Rock Wood Fired Kitchen for lunch (half a block); I'd never eaten at one, and it was better than expected. Michelle told me all about her meeting with (the famous, at least in our world) Tammy Taylor, Rain filled me in on her college classes/plan and personal life, and we just had a nice visit. It was over too soon, though; maybe next time, our nail sister Elyse can join us (she, too, lives in Tacoma) and I can stay longer.
We left just after 1p, but hit a bit of stopped/very slow traffic getting back out of Tacoma, and again in Olympia. We stopped for another potty break at Maytown Safety Rest Area (where not only did they have free coffee, but they had a little snack booth open!). Amazingly, I *didn't* have to stop for gas; I made it there & back home on 2/3 tank! We stopped at the Burger King drive through in Beaverton on the way home; my daughter wanted some chicken fingers for a snack. We pulled into my driveway at 443p; I had enough time to use the restroom again, get myself some juice, change into my "pajamas" (yoga-style pants, socks, and a hoodie), and turn on the Ducks game.
Now that I've made that drive, I'm totally okay with doing it again!

Service Menu Changes!!

For those of you that are current, or future, clients: please note that as of October 1st, 2015, my service menu is getting a revamp! I am adding a few things, and raising most of my prices. It's been two years since I last did so, and I'm the only one who will give me a raise. If you really need a reason, and you shouldn't, here are three:
(1) My new space comes with a higher rent cost.
(2) My product costs continually go up (and rarely do *I* get warning).
(3) My continuing education costs money; whether I'm taking a local class (on a day off, usually) or going out of town (sometimes state) for a weekend event. I continue my education to bring you the best products and make sure I'm keeping up on laws and techniques.

Anyway, this is the updated brochure. Keep an eye out for a lovely, framed, Service Menu to be hung from the wall next to my manicure station soon!

Let's Get To Work!

The OPEN HOUSE had less attendance than I would have liked, but that's ok... I am officially, fully, in my new space. Over 130sq ft of space, by the way, & a storage closet). I posted finished pics on my Facebook page, if you're so inclined.

My husband is going to build me a gel lamp platform at some point, & I have a new service menu coming next month (some price increases & some new services offered), but everything else is done.

Thanks to my husband, our daughter, my friend Julie, my salon owner, and all my other friends, family, & nails-fam who helped along the way.

**OPEN HOUSE**

I'm having a little Open House at my NEW studio on Saturday, August 1st, 9am-noon!! If you're in the Portland, Oregon area and want to stop by to see my new space, please feel free! It's Salon Shibumi, 1219 SW 18th Ave, Portland, 97205, about three blocks south of Providence Park. There is plenty of street parking in the area, plus we have a lot (the NORTH side of the lot, only!!), and the MAX stop is 1/2 block away (SW Jefferson/Goose Hollow). My studio is the center room upstairs. I'll have light refreshments/juice.

For those who have been following along on my FB page, I've been posting pics there... but I won't post any more until after the Open House (so the final product is a surprise to everyone).

Same Salon, NEW ROOM!

The detail work isn't quite done, yet, but I am officially in my new room. After we got back from vacation, I had a very full work load, so I didn't get a lot done, but I was able to bring my daughter to work a couple days... With her help, we got my drawers & two of the shelves lined, the new pedi chair all set up, and a multitude of other little things done.
I still have to put up my certifications, misc decorative items, and window coverings, plus put the glass shelves in the retail cabinet and fill it with items for sale. A friend of mine is hemming my closet curtain and making a liner for my clean towel basket, and I may pick up a new rug or two (one for under the pedi chair and one for under my mani desk) and maybe a new client chair... but I am *IN* the room now.
My old room has been cleaned out and cleaned, and I got all the little holes filled & painted. I still have to do some white touch up, but it is otherwise ready to be rented to another beauty professional.

Here are some pics of what I've got done so far --

Almost Done

One trip to Ikea, multiple trips to Home Depot, some internet purchases, three days of painting, two days of furniture building... I'm almost done. I know, it's the 1st. I was supposed to be done already. I blame my daughter. Yes, seriously. She insisted I wait until she could help me paint. That put my schedule back a full week, because she went on a trip with my mother & her best friend. When she got back, I had everything ready to go. So, here it is -- I only have to move all the wall hang stuff (polish/racks, certificates, misc decorative items, etc) then patch/paint the holes in my old room. But, I don't have the free time available this week. So, looks like I'll most likely be ready for clients in there when I get back from vacation -- July 14th (I'd be ready the 8th, but that's the first day of my vacation). If you haven't yet, and you want to see pics, go to my business page on FB (here) and follow along with my progress!