“I follow three rules— Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.” —Lou Holtz
Going by the above quote by Lou Holtz, a former football player, rules are not so bad. The rebel in us may not agree to abide by the rules, but as a lash artist, you know rules are a necessity. Having streamlined policies in place for your clients and staff will allow you to run your salon smoothly despite the everyday challenges and hiccups. Treat your policies like the support you can fall back on if you ever face a problematic client, a tricky situation, or a challenging team member.
Between your lash consultations and your busy life, you may find it a bit hard to squeeze in time to create salon policies for your business; however, we cannot emphasise enough the importance of having one. So here is a step-by-step guide on identifying the right policies for your business, integrating them into your business, and communicating them to your clients.
Why is it important to set policies for your lash salon?
Salon policies are as essential to a business as salon insurance because they serve as a safety net for you and your business. They help create expectations and mitigate risks and confusion. Salon policies also give you the confidence to work confidently and keep you safe from a disrespectful client or a dishonest employee. It also saves you time and money.
How to create policies for your Lash Studio
- Situation 1: Let’s assume you have back-to-back lash appointments, have planned your workday, and then your client doesn’t show up. You have wasted two hours of your precious time.
- Situation 2: You did the most amazing lashes on your clients; when leaving your salon, you and your client were on the same page of satisfaction, but a week later, she complained about falling lashes/ allergic reaction and is pretty upset with you. What do you do?
- Situation 3: Your staff member is texting/talking on the phone while doing lashes which may negatively impact your business.
The above are a few common situations you may face in your everyday life. Outline the challenges you often encounter at your salon to ensure you have covered them in your policies for your company’s seamless and hiccup-free running.
How to communicate your Lash Salon's Policies?
When putting together your salon policies, ensure you use simple language that is easy to comprehend. Having long paragraphs can look overwhelming. Instead, break the guidelines into bulleted points and ensure you are clear about each. If you have a website for your lash business, don’t forget to have it on and direct your visitors to read through it and agree before booking an appointment. If they book in person, hand them the document and sign it off before their lashing session. Don’t be afraid to verbally communicate more common challenges, like cancellations, no-shows, no pets, or children policies. If you are expanding your team and are planning to hire an employee or a team, ensure you outline the policies and code of conduct to them at the time of onboarding. Remember keeping your communication transparent and to the point will make the process easier and simpler to adhere to.
Policies for your eyelash extension customers
You can keep your salon policies as long or concise as you want. However, we have categorised them into must-haves and discretionary so that you and your clients wade your way through them clearly while transacting.
Must-Haves:
- Booking and Cancellation: Ensure you mention the payment method and any extra charges that could be incurred. Clarify the rules of last-minute cancellations or no-shows and the fees they will incur. It would be worth mentioning your chosen deadline for fee-free cancellations, any rebooking time, and any fees to be charged. Mention the expected arrival time for appointments and if you charge a late fee or cancel appointments once a particular timeframe of lateness has been met.
- Lash policies: Sometimes, lash clients can come with a full face of makeup against your advice. To save you time and effort, you can mention that removing their makeup will be included within the time of their appointment, or an additional fee can be charged.
- Refill policy: Mention the various factors involved in the refill sessions. Sometimes due to poor aftercare, lifestyle and habits, clients may present with a less than appropriate amount of lashes left on their lash line but have booked a refill session. It would be worth noting that to consider it a refill session, they will have to retain 50% of the lashes; otherwise, it is viewed as a complete set. You could also include rules surrounding clients coming with lashes done by another lash artist and how you would want to approach it.
- Health and safety policies: The health of your clients should be your priority. It is worth taking note of any medical history of allergic reactions or their health in general, based on which you will go ahead with a patch test and move forward with the next stage of the appointment.
- Right to refuse policies: As a business, you want to put your best foot forward, but sometimes unpleasantness can creep in; for such times, it is better to set expectations for your clients to be respectful with their communication and any line crossing should give you the right to refuse your service. This helps protect you and your business.
- Privacy policies: Guarantee your customers how you will use their personal details, payment information, and feedback. Mention if you will use it to promote your products on your website, social media, or emails/SMS. Get a permission document signed.
Discretionary:
- Age policies: Don’t be afraid to mention the age group you will be catering to. If your clients are under 18, you may require parent or guardian approval to perform the service. You can make the rules flexible if an adult accompanies them and sign a waiver before you go ahead with the lash session.
- Pet and children’s policies: Pets and children can be a distraction. Lash application requires concentration and peace; mentioning it in your policies would be a great way to ensure you don’t turn away a potential client or disappoint a client. However, make sure you state that service animals are always welcome. Depending on your local laws, refusing a service animal within your business may be illegal.
- Product refund policies: If you have a retail store, mentioning the rules around refunds would be worth it. You could add store credits rather than a cashback policy.
Policies for your employees
When you work closely with people, sometimes conflicts happen, but that doesn’t mean you end up falling apart. Setting salon policies help create boundaries and gives employees more clarity on what they are expected to do and how they are intended to behave. Here are some of the rules you need to add:
- A code of conduct: This policy should cover all the responsibilities of their job, punctuality, their dress code, their behaviour with the team and clients, and how they will use the resources and facilities at work. You can get very specific about your requirements within your business, for example, a no-phones-during-work-hours policy. Remember to align it with your brand and the consistency of experience and service you want your clients to have.
- Disciplinary conduct: To ensure an efficient working team, you must enforce particular behaviours or attitudes that would not be tolerated at work. It could be discriminatory, bullying, or an idle attitude towards their duties and staff. Ensure you mention the details of termination, fair work ethics, and the safety of your team.
- Leaves Policy: Tally your leave policy with The Fair Work Act to ensure you align. Take into consideration your peak periods like Christmas, any long weekend when you would require your staff’s assistance to keep pace with the excessively booked-out calendar when no applications for leave will be granted.
Salon policies give a sense of professionalism to your business. Even if you work from home, ensure your salon policies are in place. The upside of having salon policies is they are fluid. You can change and improve your policies as you go to suit your business model because they are meant to help you stay organised, maintain decorum, and feel safe.
