Festive Staff Attitudes

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

As we move towards another year end its time to start gearing up for what will hopefully be a profitable time for everyone.

Generally when we talk about gearing up for the festive season it’s all about ensuring maximum revenue by seeing as many clients as humanly possible.

However, this is only half of the story because if you only focus on maximising revenues and living off business that simply comes your way then you may end up losing as well.

When business is going well and we are busy we can take our eye off the ball and become reckless. We feel that we can afford to spend more as money is flowing in and the belt loosens in more ways than one.

The busyness of the festive period leads us to believe that we cannot possibly think about anything else but making money and as long as this happens everything will be ok.

In this month’s article I would like to consider our staff attitudes towards clients when the salon is busy.

Don’t be yourself?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

As someone working in the hair industry you will be very familiar with working on peoples appearances. They will come to you with things they see about themselves and the way they look that they would like addressed and improved.

Your job is to address the changes to present them with another self (or an improved self).

With your help they hope to feel better about themselves and possibly more confident, leading them to live in a way that perhaps they would not have if they were not their “new” selves.

Did you know that you can apply the same principle to yourself and your staff in order that you perform better in your work place?

Consumer Protection 4/4

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

The consumer’s right to return products is probably the portion of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) that caught most people’s attention. For consumers it was a celebration and for suppliers something of great concern.

Upon closer inspection, as with most of the CPA, it is all about being “reasonable” and perhaps there is not as much for business owners to fear as initially expected.

The fear experienced by business owners (and elation by consumers) was that for up to a period of six months a consumer will be able to return any product for any whimsical reason without any questions being asked and get a full cash refund in return.

Consumer Protection 3/4

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

In this month’s article, as we continue the series on the Consumer Protection Act we take a closer look at the implications on Gift Vouchers and Sales Records.

Vouchers

The main change in the new act with regard to vouchers is that the expiry period has changed. Instead of you placing a three or six month expiry date on your voucher you now have to provide a minimum of three years for your expiry date.

The reason I say minimum is because the act also says that you as the supplier may agree to extend the expiry date at any time. In this case you cannot fall back to the 3 year expiry date if you have agreed a longer period.

Consumer Protection 2/4

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

Who are you?

Last month we started a series on the new Consumer Protection Act, which came into effect earlier this year. It was an introductory article in which we covered the fact that the new Act was brought into being because we had no proper protection for consumers in our country especially those who were particularly vulnerable. We also made mention of the National Consumer Commission who would be the enforces of the new Act so that it would actually make a difference in our lives. We also looked at the Consumer Protection Regulations, which supplement the Act in interpreting and applying it.

This month we will take a look at Business Names and what is required in the new Act.

Consumer Protection 1/4

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) came into effect on 1 April 2011 and received much publicity in the months leading up to its inception, sparking fear into the hearts of suppliers and joy as well as eager anticipation into those of consumers.

In this month’s article we will have an introductory look at the new act, why it was put into place and what it is meant to achieve.

DIY

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

Have you ever tried to self-diagnose a medical ailment using Google? Well I am sad to say that I have made this very unfortunate mistake. I thought that I would save myself the inconvenience and cost of visiting the doctor by taking matters into my own hands. At the very least I would know as much as he would about the possible causes of my symptoms and I may even be able to offer some valuable insight as to what my diagnosis should be.

Before I began my research I generally felt ok (apart from my symptoms) but the more I researched the more concerned I became. Eventually I found myself in a state of panic as I learned I had only short time to live and I should go to the emergency room immediately as most of my symptoms lead to heart attacks, strokes and many other ailments that would require chronic medication for the rest of my life! I even began to experience new symptoms as a result of the panic that had now set in. I even found myself investigating new web sites about panic attacks!

Are you dispensible?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

If you went on holiday for 6 months what would be the state of your business when you came back? Would your salon be standing empty, stripped of all your furniture and equipment? Will your clients have deserted you or will your staff be holding your salon ransom demanding that you hand over the business to them else they will turn you over to the tax man? Does the very thought of leaving your salon alone for more than a few days send shivers down your spine?

Why would you even consider such a preposterous idea? Well, in the past I have spoken to more than one salon owner who has found it difficult to get away on decent leave for up to 3 years at a time, which has its obvious problems. I’ve also spoken to others who wish to slow down their involvement in their salon and hand the reigns over to someone else who would run it for them or perhaps even buy it. There are also situations where salon owners want to open more than one salon and can’t physically be in more than one salon at a time.

What are my takings?

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

A question that I find coming up quite often from salon owners and one which there seems to be much confusion over is what their business takings are at the end of the day or month and the information that must be given over to their accountant. A common viewpoint is that the money you bank is the income that you have earned. However, this is not necessarily true. In fact sometimes just the opposite is true.

Staff Rights

24 February 2014/in Articles, Hairdressers Journal /by Karl Markwald

Recently a Hairdressers Journal reader wrote in requesting information on the rights of stylists in the Western Cape with regard to their salary structures as she and some other salon owners had become concerned with the high number of salons being opened by unqualified persons and stylist rights being infringed upon. Specific reference was made to staff contracts and deductions from staff salaries.

In this article I will take a look at some of the basic minimum requirements with regards to staff contracts, commission calculations as well as salary deductions. Note that the bargaining council points raised in this article related to the Western Cape and may vary from council to council.