Sesame recently wrote a great article on hardselling beauty salons and pushy sales tactics. Reading that reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a friend, BC.
BC contacted me recently, requesting for advice on how I do my own facials at home, instead of going for facials at beauty salons. Ever since I moved to Melbourne, my trips to beauty salons for facials have decreased significantly. Beauty services here are expensive, so I try to do what I can on my own.
The reason she asked me about home facials was that she was tired of spending so much money on facials. She lives in Singapore, and due to the pressure from the beauty salon’s pushy sales tactics, she was seriously bleeding money. With her permission, here’s what she said (the paragraph was edited for clarity):
Every session you were there, they would talk you into adding something. The sales person would go on and on with this: “Why don’t you add this eye mask, if you sign up, it’s only S$50 per session. Oh, you don’t want to spend too much, is it? Why don’t you just sign up for a 6-time package, it’s only S$300.” But during the next session they will add something else, or they would talk you into upgrading your current package. E.g. “We have a new package, I can convert what you have here. You u have 4 sessions left with us? I can convert it for you. Just top up XXX amount of money and you can go for this new package for 8 times…” and so it goes, on and on, every session. Since I have two more sessions left, they will want me to sign up for another big package. They’ll tell me that if I don’t sign up now, then I wouldn’t enjoy this anymore, that I’ve been a customer for so long, and I wouldn’t be able to get such good rates elsewhere.
Does that sound familiar to you? That is what you’d call the Asian beauty salon sales pitch. I cannot say that this is true for ALL Asian beauty salons, but it certainly was for most of the beauty salons I’ve been to in Malaysia. I’ve only been to one Asian beauty salon here, and two Australian ones; I didn’t face any hardselling then.
I absolutely detest this method of hardselling. I really sympathised with BC, because I’ve been suckered into such beauty packages when I was in Malaysia. I too, bled money for years.
You do the math
It’s very good business for beauty salons to sell their beauty services in packages. After all, like they said, if you were to pay as you go, each beauty treatment would cost more than it would per treatment if you were to purchase them in a package instead. It’s good business when you fork out a lump sum of money to the salons first for the next few treatments. However, if you were to calculate the amount you pre-paid per treatment, include all the extra items which the beauticians would coerce you to try, at the end of the day, you may be paying even more than a single pay-as-you-go treatment!
Stop talking to me during my facial
Another method of pushy sales is that, in most of these salons, the beauticians do not only hardsell when the facial is over. I’ve had facials upon facials, where the beautician was talking my head off, asking me to try this eye mask, or that facial mask, yakkity-yak, whilst attending to my face. I’d have my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, and she’d continue to talk. There was one instance when I didn’t respond, and the beautician had the nerve to poke my arm several times and asked me if I agreed with her (I obviously hadn’t a clue what she was going on about). Anyway, thank goodness she had her mask on; if not, I would probably have had hardselling spittle on my face.
If times are bad, then even the best of times are bad
You can say that times are bad now, that these establishments need all the business they can get, thus any method of persuasion would be needed in order to secure your business. See, the sad thing is, this happens almost all the time. It could be good times and customers still have to go through this nonsense. The people who advocate such sales practice ought to have a refresher course on what good service is all about.
Beauty treatments like facials aren’t just meant for fixing of the skin (in fact, I don’t see how a 1.5 hour session of lotions and potions can create miracles on the face); it’s meant to be a relaxing experience which you pay a lot for, where you can ultimately relax after a long week, with a good face and shoulder massage. Soothing music playing in the background, the lights dimmed, and you doze off whilst the beauticians work on you. It’s a bloody waste of money if the session’s going have music in the background, and yakkity-yak in your ears from the beautician trying to sell you yet-another-eye-mask which you probably don’t even need. Plus when the treatment is over, and you come to the front of the shop, the hardselling continues.
I can’t say no, it’s rude!
Call it an Asian thing if you will, but many a time, I’d have trouble saying NO to these people. Rather than listening to my head and pocket squealing “It’s too expensive! Are you sure you can afford it?!”, I started thinking “Maybe I do need this eye treatment; I mean, look at the dark circles, etc. I mean, I don’t want to be rude about saying no as well now, do I?”. And then I sign up for an extra unnecessary package where the effect is only temporary but the credit card bill will be singing a much longer tune.
Learn to say no. Be firm in what you want, and what you don’t want. This isn’t to say that you have to be nasty to the sales people. After all, they are just doing their job. To be fair, I wouldn’t blame them; I’d fault whoever it was who trained them to deliver such shoddy services to customers in the first place. Be polite, but firm. I learned this from my mother. She could be so polite when speaking to sales people that they wouldn’t even know she was being sarky and taking the mickey out of them. She’s that good, it scares me sometimes 😛
It’s a competitive industry
All that talk about not getting better rates elsewhere if I don’t sign up with the salon is utter rubbish. In fact, if I’m such a long-time and valued customer, what are you giving me that can really make me want to stay with you? Ruining my experience every time I’m at the salon, making me afraid to even go back … tell me, how is that making me a valued customer? In fact, it just makes me want to run for the hills and never return.
I do not believe, not a single bit, that I would not be able to get better rates elsewhere. In fact, it’s such a competitive business that once I leave the steps of the salon, 9 more would be requesting my business. Learn to walk away. If they continue to harangue you, leave. Complete the package and never return. I’m sure there are better salons out there that would give you much better service.
Word of mouth can be a bitch too
Since it’s such a competitive industry, if you’re not getting what you want for what you’ve paid for, spread the word. At the very least, let the beauty salon know of your complaints. If they do not buck up, then let the others know about the salon’s shoddy service. A lot of beauty salons rely on word of mouth as a form of advertisement. Help a fellow sister who’s looking for a good beauty salon to go to by telling her which ones are bad.
Above all, educate yourself
It was only when I started this blog, and reading many beauty blogs, websites and books, that I began to educate myself in what my skin really needs, and what it does not. With all that information in mind, I’m glad to say that I can finally put my foot down and say NO to what I don’t need. It isn’t easy, mind you. I still suffer from the “I cannot say no” illness from time to time.
Know what works for you and what does not. Believe it or not, the beauticians do not know everything there is to know about your skin. You do. You should know what’s going on, what is best, what is not. You should know what ingredients work for you and what don’t. For example, if your skin really does not agree with alcohol, let the beautician know. Know what is necessary for your skin, and what is not.
I remembered paying an extra RM70 for eye treatments every time I went for my facial. It was several months on that I found out the RM70 was for two pieces of facial cotton soaked in green tea, placed over my eyes, with another hot towel over them. Something which I could do at home with my Lipton teabags.
At the end of the day, it’s your hard-earned money. You should be able to get good services, and a good and relaxing experience at the beauty salon. There should not be any added stress for you. Having said all that, there are some good salons out there whose services I commend. Beauticians who do a great job in and out of the treatment room, who makes me feel like a million bucks once the treatment’s over, now that’s a salon I’d eagerly return to.
I’d love to know what you think on this subject. Have you had any bad experience with beauty salons and their pushy sales tactics? If there are any beauticians out there, I would love to hear your input on this matter too.
