| Tiered pricing is not currently the usual way of pricing in the salon. A salon that incorporates tiered pricing has different stylists charging different prices according to their experience, education, and clientele. Most salons that use tiered pricing have different levels that the stylists can achieve. At Mitchell's Salon & Spa there are four levels a nail technician can be on: Nail Technician, Master Nail Technician, Nail Director, and Artistic Nail Director. Stylists, or technicians, can be promoted to the next level when they have gotten a certain amount of education, are earning a set amount, or are in demand and have a good clientele. Tiered pricing is an interesting system that may or may not work well. In this essay I will cover the pros and cons of the tiered pricing system and how it affects the clients. There are many good things (pros) to tiered pricing. The main pro for this system is it gives lower level cosmetologists something to work toward. It also gives honor to those who have worked hard and have gotten more education. Tiered pricing often boosts the quality of work in a salon because the stylists have a reason to work harder and get more education. Newer cosmetologists can find a great wealth of knowledge in the more experienced. The people on higher levels can and should help the people on the lower levels. Also, those on the lower levels may be just out of school and may have learned how to do something differently then the more experienced, something that will save time and energy for the whole salon. Haapala Rees thinks the tiered pricing system can work in any salon if it provides good training, product knowledge, and it creates opportunities for the cosmetologist. "It just takes working out the numbers and inspiring your technicians to build the books and train." There are many cons to this system as well. One of the main difficulties is jealousy and a competitive edge within the salon. It is good to have a competitive edge with other salons, but within your salon you need to work as a team. When different people are making different amounts of money, it can be very difficult to keep a positive attitude about those on different levels. There can be a tendency to look down on those in a level below you and be jealous of those above you. Also, in this system some people may be left out. There may be those who work really hard, and do good work, but for some reason they can't build a clientele or just aren't able to make enough money to get the education needed to expand to the next level. For those people this could be a VERY frustrating system to work with and without proper support from their boss, these people will probably burn out. Phil Fennel has seen both sides of how it works. He has seen where tiered pricing created individual incentive, but he has also seen how it destroys the team because everyone is competing with each other for clients and to get up to the next level. He thinks the salon owner should consider all angles and decide what would be best for the salon, its goals, the stylists, their goals, and the customers. It can be very difficult when dealing with customers. One can never make everyone happy. Many costumers are confused by the tiered pricing and how it works. If they aren't told what the different stylists are charging then there can be problems. For example, if a customer isn't told about the pricing and they come in for a hair-cut and are charged $8 the first time, then three weeks later they are charged $18, most likely the salon will get loud complaints. Many times the tiered pricing does work well for the clients. Many women feel that they are getting a better service if they are paying more money, and many are willing to pay good money for someone with more experience, who is less likely to "mess-up" their hair. Ms. Rees comments that, "You'd be surprised, though, by how many people call asking for someone with experience." The tiered pricing system will also work for the clients who can't afford to pay a lot of money for a service. They can go to one of the newer, lower level, stylist and get a perfectly good haircut for one half to one third the price. We have now dealt with the pros and cons of tiered pricing and how it affects the costumers. I think tiered pricing can be very good in a salon because it gives the stylists a reason to improve. The main problem I see with this system is the tendency toward jealousy in the salon, the workers gossiping back and forth comparing what everyone is making. Some of the costumers will really like the tiered pricing system, but for some it will be too confusing or pricy for them to continue coming to that salon. I know that I would want to work in a salon with tiered pricing. It would give me comfort knowing that if I work hard then I should be able to double or even triple my income. Tiered pricing may not be for everyone but I think it is the way I would go. |
| Tiered Pricing |