[Nameless Drudge]

My other half has a hairdressing salon established 22 years,there has been a shift in the frequency of visits amongst the customer base in the last 2 years which was absorbed but the most recent 3 months shows a further decline with the same customers stretching there visits longer.

I have always maintained that an established hairdressers is a barometer of the economy and currently it reveals there is a fear behind peoples spending.Older,financially stable couples are finding more and more that they are bailing out their offspring.

Anyone cutting back reduces the non-essentials and clean windows on a house thats mainly populated after dark falls into this category. I am in the process of just getting going and am giving considerable thought as to where i am going canvassing next. Bungalows populated by the older generation at £6-£8 a time seem ideal if i could get them . My current strategy is every 6 weeks as i am hoping this will reduce the "not this time " households.  

Easy for me to say rather than do but how about a "sales patter" on the not this time brigade along the lines of "due to the present economic climate we are finding many customers are choosing to extend the time betwwen cleans and we can offer this though obviously we would like to clean as normal this time and then  we can facilitate cleaning at   X number of weeks thereafter. However a 6 week from 4 week strategy needs 50% more customers.

 1 in 3 currently wanting to skip a clean might well be a sign that ought to be acted on,involving hard work extending a customer base,keeping things tight whilst the transformation occurs(reduced hours for staff) but it might be the way to adapt to the future. Only surmising of course and i give a little sales patter now to explain 6 week frequency along the lines of " Is that bloody window cleaner here again".

If you have 6 weekly`s and they are saying not this time at a rate of 1 in 3 then i  am a bit more concerned about where my future income might be coming from.

[darren clarke]

what type of houses are saying not this month

big well paid ones,  or £6 houses

[AuRavelling79]

Hi Sean that's interesting.

My daughter's a self employed mobile hairdresser and has been for two years. She was a bit panicky in August as her monthly rate dropped by 25% and she even helped me out for a couple of days to top up her earnings.

However looking back at her last year's figures she dropped about 20% in August then. In fact she says bookings are really on the up for Sept/October and has worked out that a lot of it is seasonal.

[kate1]

Common problem here seems to be winter months.  So hindsight is needed.  To cure the problem you need to have a back up plan in mind.  One step ahead at all times.  Sorry I know that alot of you guys wont agree, seasonal springs to mind and diversification.  What can you do in winter?  Its obviously a problem, so need to think ahead.

[lee09]

so u text them the day b4 and it peas it down the next day what do u do then

Clean them?

[Newannaive]

i'd rather climb a gate than ring for "not today"

its like knocking on the doors and sayin want them cleaning yea? b4 you clean them, prob 20% would say na

i'm not talking 30ft gates.. 5-6ft no probs 












thing is mate one slip and you fall and injure yourself have even heard about w/cs breaking limbs by climbing over gates / fences  so when you weigh it up is it really worth it.

[lee09]

Common problem here seems to be winter months.  So hindsight is needed.  To cure the problem you need to have a back up plan in mind.  One step ahead at all times.  Sorry I know that alot of you guys wont agree, seasonal springs to mind and diversification.  What can you do in winter?  Its obviously a problem, so need to think ahead.

I do not think it's a common problem. We all have or have had customers that like to dictate when they use us, the trick is to fill the round with customers that accept that it is your only source of income, that you work all year round and that they may get 2 or 3 cleans a year on wet days.

Bfg has a valid point about communication. Providing they know when to expect you and can rely on you, most will accept that we have to make a living. The others get dropped.
Lee

[kate1]

Um then, not sure so why winter months are a problem???

If it wasnt a problem, nothing would have been said.

[AuRavelling79]

Um then, not sure so why winter months are a problem???

If it wasnt a problem, nothing would have been said.

It's a problem for the new and unprepared, Kate.

[kate1]

Maybe Gold,

But it stands out.  There is a problem - winter months.

Its completely understandable

I agree with you too Gold "if you can work it"

[Nameless Drudge]

Hi Sean that's interesting.

My daughter's a self employed mobile hairdresser and has been for two years. She was a bit panicky in August as her monthly rate dropped by 25% and she even helped me out for a couple of days to top up her earnings.

However looking back at her last year's figures she dropped about 20% in August then. In fact she says bookings are really on the up for Sept/October and has worked out that a lot of it is seasonal.


Kids back to school,family holidays,ice cream vans etc. all have an effect on cash flow in August/September,kids back to school is the big one with uniforms,shoes etc. The wife is a bit "old school" and thinks a woman likes to be pampered in a salon but is well aware that as money gets tight people will opt for savings and finding a good mobile hairdresser would generally reduce the cost of the cut/colour/perm/highlights. Wish your daughter well ,sounds like her customer base is increasing,tell her never to bother with a salon,just doesn`t add up!. Got stung  just over £600 for ppl music license 3 weeks ago,have prs and thought thats all was required but some nice bit of government legislation gave the ppl lot new powers last year.Dont get me started on staff,basically they are women and go away from work to have babies whilst you continue paying them and the customer base that they had go elsewhere.It kills a small salon. Stay independent or be massive,anything in between is just a hard slog that just aint worth it and i see posts on here from guys who have a better quality of life and no worse off for going alone and binning the staff.

[mci services]

If 1 in three cancel, then increase your customer base by a third, and keep taking new customers till you have a core of reliable customers that require your services all year round, it might take a few years though

[lee09]

Kate,
You must be a leave it today merchant if you think there is an understandable problem in the winter, there isn't. It just gets tougher but is expected and manageable.
1 in 3 is a really tough rate though.
Lee

[kate1]

Might be good for you?  If there wasnt an issue why are people raising it?

[lee09]

Might be good for you?  If there wasnt an issue why are people raising it?

Ok, no worris.

[Steve CM]

i have a few drop in the winter, i have done every year for 4 years!

i now do a promo on offering 20% off gutter cleans, this tops us up and is a nice bonus running into xmas. signed up 12 customers last week which is well over a thousand in revenue

[Nameless Drudge]

  1 in 3 sounds scary to me but you mention you have staff,have you taken your finger off the pulse?,could there be other reasons for this?

[chopsie]

it does appear that the younger generation of house owners/dwellers are less house pround than the older generation when it comes to windows.

I had the can you leave it this time from a custy last week cos money is tight,    this after they have just had a large extention built  and paid £800 for a s.h.i.t.t.i.n.g. machine ( cocker spanial )

I consider myself of the younger generation (33) I personally could not give a toss about my windows getting cleaned until they are dirty, Probably every 3-4 months. I generally think its the women who care about such things, But my mrs cares even less than me about the window, Probably be happy twice a year!! Not that I would suggest this to any of my customers 

[David Kent @ KentKleen]

sean i was just thinking the same mate...... staff member problem is where i would look at first, the 'not today' COULD  be a result from smoking on the job, not saying thankyou for the cuppa, leaving a gate open or just not taking care. it might NOT be but 1 in 3 is terrible.

[mikecam]

I do not think it's a common problem. We all have or have had customers that like to dictate when they use us, the trick is to fill the round with customers that accept that it is your only source of income, that you work all year round and that they may get 2 or 3 cleans a year on wet days.

Bfg has a valid point about communication. Providing they know when to expect you and can rely on you, most will accept that we have to make a living. The others get dropped.
Lee

I agree with this mostly. I see it this way.........if you have customers who you are scared to ring incase they cancell or you just turn up so they can't then there's already a problem .You aint getting the right customers, drop them. Drop them with a smile and tell them to get back in touch when they want to get back on the round and bump the price accordingly when they do. The jist of it is never stop looking for new solid reliable customers if you're providing a solid reliable service. Don't accept any less than they would. Give ya best and expect it too!!