Tag: great clips

If You Don’t Get Paid. Why Stay?

~ Joseph Kellner

I’m sure this post is going to cause a war between salon owners and salon employees, but these things need to be said. These are my opinions and I’m sure a lot of people (mostly salon owners) will disagree with me, but the way this industry is run is a complete joke. Currently, the “standard” compensation method in many salons is “commission-only.” Some weeks, your paycheck (when averaged against the hours you’ve worked) may end up far less than minimum wage and some weeks you’ll make considerably more than minimum wage

. In either case, in most salons, you’re expected to sit around in empty salons, do laundry, clean floors, answer phones, and perform a whole litany of other menial tasks that fall far outside your job description as a nail technician or hair stylist–tasks you may not be getting compensated to do. Most American workers are covered by the FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act), which is enforced by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The FLSA dictates that if you are a commission-only employee, your paycheck (when averaged into hourly pay for a two week pay period) must equal or exceed the prevailing minimum wage. If it doesn’t, the employer must make up the difference.

The FLSA doesn’t care what you’re doing at work. If you’re there at the request of your boss, you need to be getting compensated. If your employer requires you to sit in the salon and wait for business, they should be paying you.Whether you’re folding towels, sweeping the floors, answering the phones etc. Too many of you are being treated as servants. You’re told that you have to “pitch in” and “do your share” and “be part of the team.” It is one thing to clean up after yourself and help out your coworkers, it is an entirely different thing to work for free.

It costs an owner nothing to fill a salon with bodies and tell them to “sit and wait.” I know of salon owners who have never paid for reception services or cleaning services. Why would they when they can order their stylists do it for free? Some salon owners have even gone so far as to intentionally sabotage an employee’s books so they’ll be available to run the front desk, assist, or clean. These owners will keep their salons full of employees because they aren’t paying anyone hourly. It doesn’t matter to them that each of their workers is barely making enough money to pay their mortgages because the owners are simply collecting income from them. There’s no risk of loss involved, so they hire indiscriminately.

Salon are normally full of employees who spend every day sitting around, waiting to build their book–yet, the owner still hires until all the empty stations are full. Everyone in the salon is unhappy. The senior stylists and techs are frustrated because they haven’t built yet and are having to share the limited walk-in business with several new people. Every commission-based employee knows that a new stylist often means a pay cut for everyone in the salon.

You cannot point the finger at your team and blame them for their lack of income. You are the captain of the ship. Your leadership determines whether or not the salon succeeds. Every salon has an employee or two who consistently under-performs due to their own inabilities, but if every single one of your team members are floundering, the problem is with you; not them. You are failing them as a leader and you’re failing your business.

MORE TO COME

Missouri Great Clips Stylists Worked While Infected With Coronavirus!

~ Joseph Kellner

Great Clips salons in Springfield, Missouri, have temporarily closed because of “repeated threats” that came after two stylists worked while infected with the corona-virus, potentially exposing more than a hundred customers, the company and police said.

Great Clips Inc. said in a statement that salons in the Springfield area were closed because of threats it received Wednesday, but it did not disclose the nature of the threats. On Saturday, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced that a second stylist at a single location tested positive and that 140 customers had potentially been exposed.

“To protect the safety of everyone, the local franchisees made the decision to temporarily close salons in the Springfield area. They are working closely with law enforcement officials as the officials conduct a thorough investigation of these threats,” Great Clips Inc. said in a statement.

So far, the second stylist is the only person who has tested positive in connection with the case. The health department said Thursday that 42 clients have since tested negative.  An email to a Springfield police spokesperson about the nature of the threats was not immediately returned Thursday night.

But Springfield police spokeswoman Jasmine Bailey told The Associated Press that the first threat came from a Facebook message to an employee on Saturday. The second threat was phoned to a salon Wednesday.  Bailey said that in both cases, the messages “were threatening to shut the place down” because the stylists potentially exposed people to the virus.

The first stylist’s positive result was announced by health officials Friday, and they said the stylist worked for eight days while experiencing symptoms.  The positive test for the second stylist, at the same location, was announced by the health department Saturday.  Both stylists and the customers were wearing masks, the health department has said.

Missouri hair salons and barbershops have been allowed to reopen after they and other nonessential businesses were ordered closed under a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the corona-virus. It was not clear when the Springfield area Great Clips salons may reopen.

Regis, Great Clips want to be leaders in reopening process. Lolololol

~ Joseph Kellner

 

Corporate Employment In The Beauty Industry Leads You Only To The Working Poor.

~ Joseph Kellner

 

Working in a fully developing economy in the United States jobs are very plentiful.  Any one can go out and get a part time job or full time job with out education in the food service industry and come home with $13-$15 dollars a hour.  You can practically go into any restaurant and get $13.00 dollars a hour to start off with.  Which is good for a lot of people since they are in college or semi-retired people looking for added income.  But in the beauty industry the corporations are making the professionals the working class poor. Never in my mind would I have though these corporations would treat  beauty industry professionals with such little respect and poor wages. So many of these company’s will tell you they are for there employee’s, providing false medical insurance and lack of pay raises. Working for these corporations is the same as working in a sweat shop in China or a Asian nail salon in the U.S.

The chains salons and the franchised salons are pretty much the same when you go for employment. They give you a all caring “Gun Ho” lecture of how important you will be to the “TEAM”, the “TEAM” is the management and owners of the salons that are franchised. A all promising future you will have with there company and how much they care but in the end employment with these corporations they will chew you up and spit you out. Not caring about you as a employee, in here minds they know there will be another coming through the door in a few weeks to take your place when you quit.  You are just a number, that’s it a human body to make money and make you follow there rules. And not caring if you have any family, “Its all about the company”. But in there advertising they will let the public know its all about there employee’s.

If you are new to the beauty industry I would not recommend employment at the following company’s.

How many interviews I have done with fellow professionals who have worked at the above named company’s and have not had good experiences.  People have worked for years at Regis corporation and have not received pay increases. The same goes for anyone who has or now works for Great Clips. These company’s will force there employees to do a haircut service under 15 minutes, and will also time you on how long you take to sweep up your hair after a haircut service.  If these practices they teach and tell you to do are not met they will fire you.  I had a sit down with a former employee of Great Clips and was told to me that there was a academy were the owner of the franchised salon has to send you to learn the computer, hair designing methods and customer service skills required by the company. This was not given to her when she was hired and never got it.  But was required by Great Clips Corporation for all franchises owner to do for all new hires in there salon.  She was paid a minimum of 9.00 hourly and was told she could give herself raises by selling retail and talking customers into washing there hair for 4.00 extra. Most of the time she told me she would work on people who have not washed there hair in days and was filled with hair spray etc. The made for a very unclean atmosphere to work in.  But that’s Great Clips promising and not delivering. Twisting there words into falsehoods to there new employees.  While the whole time banking on your efforts, especially when they have $7.99 haircut specials that Great Clips has all the time.  You make no money but the owners do.

Split shifts were required of her but no compensation for gasoline. Her day would start off at a 10-2 shift and was let go and told to come back at 5-9 shift. And of course she lived in a area that was 45 minutes away, so what could she do sleep in her cat till the next shift. Again no compensation for gasoline to get back and forth. SAD!  These are the new times of corporations and how they make the beauty industry professional the “Working Class Poor”. Working a full time job with part-time pay will get you nowhere in this day and age except into debt.  So letting you know as a customer when you walk in to one of these establishments let it be known to you that the stylist is really working for tips. Because there wages date back take home pay from the 1980’s. These stylists are under a lot of stress to make money, and when you are in a atmosphere like that people are trying to get you in and out so they may take another client who has walked in and is waiting for there service. In that atmosphere there is a lot of “CAT FIGHT” on who gets the next client, and who is up next. People will skip one another for that extra client.  You the consumer will only get a 10-15minute haircut if you go to Great Clips. WHY? Because that is what the company wants.

So if you are a employee of one of these company’s 9.00 a hour times 30 hours weekly gives you 270.00 times 2 gives you 540.00 and then they take out for credit card tips, which gives you a bi-weekly salary of nothing.  They will not give you full time because they will not pay for your insurance. And they will also give you a “BS” story of how much more you can make but it is merely penny’s on the dollar.

You cannot make a living with these corporation. And they really don’t care if you do or not!