BUSINESS
Treatment
Beyond the
Room.
By Robyn McAlpine. Owner of the 2023 ABIA Australian Salon/Clinic of the Year – 4 Treatment rooms or less
What to do when your day of appointments disappears! With client appointments changing more often than one changes underwear, it’s a challenge to the brain to think that the appointment inconsistencies are becoming our new normal.
Instead of holding on for dear life in the hope that things are going to return to what we’ve always known as “normal”, I think it’s time we accept the fact that our appointment books can be flaky A F and if we can’t beat them… it’s time to adapt so that we don’t end up rocking in the corner with an eye twitch!
policies and be charging credit cards left, right and centre, cos clearly that’s not working- clients are still cancelling! Toxic positivity and a brave face only goes so far.
Not only is it bloody tough as a business owner to have your team lingering in the treatment room on standby when suddenly a fully booked day disappears into thin air, but it can be such a challenge as a skin therapist to know how to effectively use all this new found free time that has suddenly appeared in our schedule. There’s only one floor top mop before we’re left alone with a ready wax pot and our own brows to play with. Don’t do it!
So, knowing that each new day is going to be a guessing game of who is actually going to show up, how as a skin therapist can we stay motivated without asking our (again) boss for something to keep us busy? Sometimes our bosses are a bit overwhelmed with a massive to-do list that delegating tasks with some jobs on the spot results in the immediate obvious things like dusting the shelves and cleaning out that random draw in the kitchen. A job that they don’t have to teach or explain but you and I both know that there’s only so much laundry/cleaning/ restocking we can do!
I’m not here to tell you it’s all going to be ok or that we just have to stay positive and ride it out. Or that we should tighten up our cancellation
I get it, a slow day can feel like a drag. It’s giving ‘nobody loves me’ vibes when your fully booked day suddenly cancels. You feel unmotivated and
58
Beauty Biz Year 16 Issue 6
that rush you get from a busy day of vibing with clients is now nowhere to be seen. Trust me, the whole team, including the boss start to get a little flat so how can we stop the slow vibes from going spreading and going viral? Our role as skin therapist is so much more than the treatment time in the room. Our roles in our workplaces aren’t just show up treat skin, pluck hairs and go home. Especially as 90% of us are working in a small business where everyone on the team is a super important part of the growth, stability and success of the business. So, what else do we do besides treat clients? A very big part of our career is creating strong professional client relationships. In building our clients and connecting with them to become their go-to advisor on all things skin and beauty. And that goes well beyond the time spent in the treatment room.
