If you work for someone else?

[Rex L]

Shouldn't it be his/her job to get the clients in?  I don't mind doing chair and talking to the incoming clients (its a hair/nail salon) but the owner was adamant about it being my responsibility to attract new customers.    I am not going to sit around all down again ( like I did today) waiting for appointments.   for those of you that work for someone else.  Don't they usually have appointments booked for you and you just show up and work?  I don't think I am going to go back after tomorrow( I already have a couple of appts booked)

 

[Vegas Jimmy]

If you work for someone else?

Shouldn't it be his/her job to get the clients in?  I don't mind doing chair and talking to the incoming clients (its a hair/nail salon) but the owner was adamant about it being my responsibility to attract new customers.

Janet, No it isn't the owner's job to get you clients unless that was part of the original agreement discussed before you started working there.  If the owner is adamant that it is your responsibility -- then it is up to you to attrack new clients.  

I'm curious, are they paying you an hourly wage to keep you there all day for a possible walk-in?  If they are then I would consider reworking your arrangment (being there during known busy times and "on call" for a walk-in during set hours) or looking for somewhere else to work.  If they aren't paying you an hourly wage then there isn't any reason -- other than to build your business -- for you to be there all day long without appts.  (I've been there and done that and won't ever do that again.)

I can say that in order to build a clientele you have to meet and greet a lot of people and a hair/nail salon is a somewhat captured market that tends to be easier to penetrate in which to create a solid business.  

One last thought:  You stated that you don't think you are going back after tomorrow.  I would ask that you give a lot of thought to how you leave this salon.  The massage industry is rife with practitioners who don't give proper notice to the businesses where they are working.  This makes it that much harder for the next MT who walks in their door.  

It is much simpler to tell the owner that the situation isn't working out for you and that you will be moving your business elsewhere in two weeks (or whatever time you need/want).  This gives you time to find someplace else and them time to either replace you or let you know you can leave immediately.  

Goodluck.

 

[BLam]

I guess I was a little put off by the fact that he said "I was lucky he was giving me this opportunity when there are so many other therapists he could hire". آ I wouldn't mind going in during busy times and working but I refuse to sit there all day and be bored out of my mind.   I am going in today to work and will probably tell him today I won't be returning as he is hiring other people anyway. آ  Thanks Intuitouch,  There was just something in the atmosphere yesterday that made me feel kind of sick and I almost felt as If I didn't want to do massage anymore.  I'm in my late 30's and my husband supports me so I don't think I have to put up with lousy work situations.  

 

[Alex]

If you work for someone else?

I guess I was a little put off by the fact that he said "I was lucky he was giving me this opportunity when there are so many other therapists he could hire".

I'd be put off by that comment too. Sure, he could have hired anybody. But he hired you. He had to have a reason to hire you, it's not like he drew your name out of a hat. Luck doesn't have much to do with anything, he hired you for being a skilled therapist. And if he DIDN'T hire you for that reason, then he's probably not the best person to work for.

And whether or not you work for someone, yes, it is still your responsibility to get your own clients. Sometimes sitting there all day is what will get you a client. When I had my office at the chiro clinic, I sat up there and at the salon next door a LOT. Most people have to get to know you before they let you massage them, that's just the way it goes.

 

[J-Charm]

I wouldn't say it's entirely your job to get clients.  Depending on what the compensation agreement is......if the salon owner is taking a good size chunk.....then it is HIS responsibility to get clients.  Definitely, it's in your best interests and shows him you're a team player if you chat with people during down time and spread the word about massage.  But.....if he expects you to get all the clients, then what the heck is he taking such a big cut for.  It should be mainly the salon owners jobs to bring the people in, get the phone to ring.  Your job is to give them a great massage, get them coming back and get them referring people.  All this should be hashed out before you start working for someone.  If there were some misunderstandings, I would have a chat with the owner.  It doesn't sound like he'll budge on it though if he thinks you should be grateful to HIM for giving you the job.  Since you don't have a good feeling about it.....I'd just be honest and tell the guy that it isn't what you thought.  I would be nice and give him the option of keeping you 2 weeks if he needs you.....sounds like he'll just let you go if he has a stable of folks lined up though.

 

[Pompal 09.]

 Thanks for the responses.  I did expect to greet people and introduce myself, but he wanted me to push myself on everyone. (give them free 5 minute massages-neck and shoulders)   I told him that it wasn't working out for me.  He said that he was going to be interviewing other therapists this week and I told him he could call me if he needed me to come in for an appointment.  He doesn't have anyone scheduled until next friday.   Thanks, Janet  

 

[WRATH OF THE FIST]

I worked at a hair salon briefly and it was up to me to get clients in, I was an IC and they weren't responsible for getting people in.  At the spa I was working at, well, I could go in there any day and they would have clients for me to do, just depends on where you go, some places will have a ready clientele but others, well, you'll have to do it yourself.

 

[singer3030]

My attitude with this situation is who cares whose responsibility it is, if you're the one who wants to be busy, you'll have to do whatever it takes to get yourself there.  It always drove me crazy when therapists would sit around complaining that they didn't have any money and ticked off they didn't have any clients but would "hide" in their room or not be out stirring up some business.  If YOU want to be busy, YOU'RE going to have to do something about it.  If you sit around waiting for someone else to do it, that's all you'll be doing is sitting around.  Keep up your spirits.  Remember that you have to keep yourself happy.  Do what it takes and show that guy that he should be thankful that YOU are there...not the other way around.

 

[lesley.mullin]

If you work for someone else?

Janet, No it isn't the owner's job to get you clients unless that was part of the original agreement discussed before you started working there.  If the owner is adamant that it is your responsibility -- then it is up to you to attrack new clients.  

I'm curious, are they paying you an hourly wage to keep you there all day for a possible walk-in?  If they are then I would consider reworking your arrangment (being there during known busy times and "on call" for a walk-in during set hours) or looking for somewhere else to work.  If they aren't paying you an hourly wage then there isn't any reason -- other than to build your business -- for you to be there all day long without appts.  (I've been there and done that and won't ever do that again.)

amen sister! been there, done that too.

moral of the story:

make sure everyone is in clear agreement as to each party's responsibilities

 

["Team Failure"]

If you work for someone else?

precari515 - I totally agree. I think it's great that you offer the chair clients free hand massage. Someone who's active engaged in doing something is much more approachable than someone just sitting around doing nothing. Additionally, you correctly pass along the impression that you're friendly and you care about the people around you. And not charging for 2-3 minutes on hand massage is now different than doing an hour or more of promotional chair massages (except less work maybe).

 

[greatdeals_007]

If you work for someone else?

I guess I was a little put off by the fact that he said "I was lucky he was giving me this opportunity when there are so many other therapists he could hire".  I wouldn't mind going in during busy times and working but I refuse to sit there all day and be bored out of my mind.  

I am going in today to work and will probably tell him today I won't be returning as he is hiring other people anyway.  

Thanks Intuitouch,  There was just something in the atmosphere yesterday that made me feel kind of sick and I almost felt as If I didn't want to do massage anymore.  I'm in my late 30's and my husband supports me so I don't think I have to put up with lousy work situations.  

Janet, there will always be those situations where the owner will do whatever he/she can to maximize their profit potential while doing very little to help you do it.  It is a steep learning curve for you to discover what you will and won't put up with.  Unfortunately as Pete said, there are always other people willing to put up with bad hours, bad pay...etc.  

The best way to prevent this from happening to you again is to become clear about what is important to you.  Know what hours you can be available for appts and how many appts you can do in one day.  Whether you can create clientele or need help establishing yourself.  Once you know this information it is a lot easier to create a work environment that is more suitable to you.  I can tell you that relying on others to create your clientele is similar to putting your eggs in someone else's basket -- very few others will take care of your eggs as well as you will take care of them.

As you are looking for a different venue, consider what just happened and how it could have been better.  Mush said it best, "make sure everyone is in clear agreement as to each party's responsibilities."  If someone tells you they will help you build your business, ask them how they will do it -- get specific about advertising, hours worked, the understanding that you aren't interested in being there all day without appts.  

In addition to what they will do for you, there are several ideas from other members about what they do to increase their business on their own.  Being there during busy hours, talking to people, offering teasers and being approachable are the seeds to building a profitable business.  Goodluck.

 

[Bean on Board]

Thanks for all the comments.  I can say that I have learned a lot from everyone.  The split was 50/50.  He had said that he would supply everything, but he didn't.  I brought in my own sheets/towels and oils.  I can say I don't mind trying to get my own clients but I think the atmosphere of the salon did not make me feel comfortable.  If I'm not comfortable then I won't perform well. "IMO, as long as the schools keep churning out TONS of new MTs every month, this will never change.  Facility owners will continue to see MTs as being worth a dime a dozen.  We have to change the paradigm by refusing to accept bad situations, low wages, poor treatment, lack of appreciation etc."  I agree Pete.  I think that we need to remember we are professionals and should be treated as such.  Not be so grateful that we've been given an opportunity we will do whatever the owner/employer asks us to do without question.  

 

[BabyGirl05]

While doing massage at several salons over a period of two years, I was expected to talk to patrons and offer head/neck massages.  I did those occasionally.  At the time, I was just out of massage school, so for a second job, I was paid to shampoo the clients heads.  This help support me financially and bring in clients.A salon will book your appointments for you and spread your name out to their clients, but it is usually up to the massage therapist to bring in the bulk of massage clientele.Someone mentioned beforehand about contracts.  This is very important to work out before accepting a job.

 

[Riley A]

If you work for someone else?

IMO, as long as the schools keep churning out TONS of new MTs every month, this will never change.  Facility owners will continue to see MTs as being worth a dime a dozen.  We have to change the paradigm by refusing to accept bad situations, low wages, poor treatment, lack of appreciation etc.  Unfortunately, it seems there is always someone ready to accept the unacceptable...

This will happen regardless of schools "churning out new MTs". I don't blame the schools at all, and I don't see how anyone can. I do agree that it's our fault for accepting jobs like these, but some people have to work. Nobody complains that there are thousands of people graduating from college with computer science degrees, therefor software engineers get lower pay. It doesn't work like that. It's the software engineers that settle for making $30k/year that get themselves into situations like those. Most of the time we don't know we're in the situation until it's too late. However, I do think we need to start taking responsibility for ourselves and quit blaming schools for everything.

Sorry for the rant, but I guess I've just heard "churning out MTs like an assembly line" too many times. The school is doing its job, training MTs. And just like us, the more clients, the merrier.

 

[Barbiee?]

If you work for someone else?

Wasn't really blaming the schools for that one, Jeff.  What I was trying to refer to is the over-saturation of the job market (if you can even call it a job market since most MTs working for other people don't even have "employee" status) and how SOME facility owners use that to their advaneforum.xxxe and treat MTs like they should be grateful to have ANY environment to work in.  Kinda like how the school you were working at was treating you, no?  Letting the students use your room and belongings...booking your room for student use rather than booking clients with you during the time you were available...etc.???  I'm glad that you are choosing to leave that situation since it seemed clear that they are/were taking advaneforum.xxxe of you there.

Sorry, I guess I was a little over the top. I haven't left the school yet (though I have decided to), as right now it's a place to keep my equipment and massage my clients without having to pay rent. I'm going to have to stay there until I can pay off a few bills, but that's another thread, lol.

As for taking responsibility, that was another point of mine that you missed.  When I said "It is up to us to change the paradigm..." I meant it is up to us as MTs...again, not blaming the schools.

That's where I agreed with you   though it may not have sounded like it. That's why I said " I do agree that it's our fault for accepting jobs like these, but some people have to work. "

What I do think the schools NEED to do a better job with, especially considering the tuitions that are paid to them to train MTs, is they need to better prepare students to actually work in the real world.  It's great to graduate knowing how to give an awesome massage, but the schools could greatly reduce the mortality rate of our industry by painting a better real world picture for their students.  What I mean by that is better business training, better marketing information, a true picture of what the job market is like in our industry....at the very least, if they don't want to offer that curriculum, they could/should do a better job of encouraging students to take CEUs in those areas.  I'm not saying that ALL schools are lacking in this area, but I've talked to enough MTs from all over to know that MANY schools are lacking...Not really BLAMING schools for this, it is my opinion that by not focusing too much on the real world, the schools are watching out for their bottom line as is their right.  Success or failure in this (or any) industry is a matter of personal responsibility.

Actually, I'm starting to think they all do it. I haven't heard from a single MT who said they enjoyed their business training, had a real-world example of what self-employment is like, or who learned to market themselves properly. We were taught that employment = satan, and that self-employment = heaven. We were told NOT to go work at a spa because we will be taken advaneforum.xxxe of, and that the only real way to make money is to get referrals. We were all confused about the circular reasoning "How do we get clients?" "By referral." "How do we get referrals?" "By telling clients to tell their friends." "How do we get clients?" and so on. Not so much the school's fault, as that's not required and it's increasing competition (you know, the schools that have the spa attached that's supposedly the best place on earth to work).

I still love ya Pete!  :-*

 

[have_a_go_mate]

In the past, I have gently (and with a smile ) reminded my proprietor that "the more I make the more you make!"  If you work on a perceneforum.xxxe basis I don't know why the proprietor wouldn't promote your services, unless they don't need extra revenue.

 

[Shim]

Hello,I'm new here and I first want to say...what a great website!  There's so much info for new massage therpists. In response, that salon sounds almost the same as where I worked.  She had opened a new salon and I worked only two days a week.  It was my first massage job.  I was so happy! I was not paid hourly, but by massage.  60/40 split.  Anyway, I sat around all the time. I had to put out my own flyers, give free 5 min massages etc.   I had a few appoitments, but when it came time to give a massage I had to use her table.  Which really wasnt a massage table, but a facial table that bent into a massage table!  I could not bring in my own, since there was no room, and she wanted to use it for facials too!   The room was small, so I could not get around to the head of the table or end...it was horrible.  Then, she wanted me to give her a massage.  I did, since I figured she wanted to see how good I was.  Of course I was not paid.... ( I think she just wanted a free massage) Needless to say..I was not happy working there and quite within three months.  

 

[tenny_the_true_gaian]

If you work for someone else?

Sugspc,First off, welcome to the boards! I was offered the same situation you had. It was a very nice, upscale salon that wanted a massage therapist. However, it was a very small room, 60/40 split, and working on a facialist's table. I ended up turning it down, there was no way I was going to spend over $600 on my table (bought it during school as required) and not use it.

 

[jesssiccaah]

If you work for someone else?

I told him that it wasn't working out for me.  He said that he was going to be interviewing other therapists this week and I told him he could call me if he needed me to come in for an appointment.  He doesn't have anyone scheduled until next friday.

I want to make sure you see that I have read this response (therefore the quote), but I would like to say something about the one that was prior to this.

This one:

I don't think I am going to go back after tomorrow

In all fairness of being a business person - to yourself and the owner of the salon... two weeks should have been given as notice.  I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me to see people who just "come and go" without feeling obligated to give their notice.

Being in your late 30's and supported by your husband or not, I think this is highly unprofessional to have this sort of attitude.

That aside, working in a salon, is of course going to be a situation where they are scheduling clients for you.  But if this is how you plan to earn a living, then you do have to help yourself as well.  They are going to be providing the "big" advertising usually - things like newspaper ads, their name will be known if they have been in business a long time, yellow page ads, etc.

For the next salon job you take, you may want to price out just how much advertising the place is doing.  Find out how big their yellow page ad is and how much it costs to run.  See what types of flyers they have made and what newspaper ads are run and again, price it out for cost.  This will give you a good idea as to how much money per month the place is putting into advertising, then you can guage as to what you may or may not be needing to do on the side to build your business.  

You may find out that they are paying you per hour to be there rather you have clients or not, and that is worth it - because in that time, you can design your own flyers, etc. and do some other crafty things or catch up on your reading.  Grab a few massage magazines or re-read "Trail Guide to the Body".

Or, you may find they don't pay you except on commission of the massages you perform and you will need to explain to them, that because such & such amount of thier money is going into advertising, you feel you need to utilize some of the non-booked time on your feet handing out business cards in order to let people know where you are at.  Maybe then asking for a certian period of time each day (when you are slow) to go work your business.

Building a practice in a salon, if you really want to build the practice there, is not going to be fully dependent on the salon.

However, if you are just looking at it as a "job" to get you by, until you find a better one, then I can see why you won't be putting the extra effort in... but you'll have to take the good with the bad, and the bad is that you will find a lot of days where you are sitting without work.

Unfortunately, this is what I have personally found with salon work.  Other peoples experiences may be different.

Good luck.  

 

[Hobo Joe]

If you work for someone else?

We were taught that employment = satan, and that self-employment = heaven.

I really had to quote this.  You're right, this is pretty accurate as to what they are teaching!

*hehe*