5 Common Salon Management Questions — and How to Answer Them

Nail care can include everything from basic grooming to self-expression, so salon management should be customized to meet the unique nail care needs and desires of your clients. That said, there are also some aspects of nail salon services that should be universal, like cleanliness, expertise, quality, transparency and professionalism. Smart clients know which questions to ask about your salon to learn if it has these universally desirable traits. Here are five common and important client questions and how to answer them.

1. What Is Included in the Price of the Service?

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Clients can be lured into salons with the promise of inexpensive services and yet leave feeling like they got ripped off.

List the prices for services clearly and obviously on a comprehensive menu. You might even offer paper menus that clients can pick up and take home. If you choose not to offer a printed menu, show clients how to access the menu on the salon website. Explain how any add-ons work and exactly what is included in a service price if it’s not explicit on the menu.

2. Do You Guarantee Your Services?

This is a tricky question, and your answer will likely vary greatly with the type of salon you are operating or working in.

The owner of a large salon generally posts or enforces a guideline for service guarantees that you can invoke to answer the question. A smaller salon or an individual might need to develop an answer. For instance, you could guarantee your work for X amount of days, with the proper home care, or you could provide up to two repairs at each appointment as part of your service charge. While not offering a specific guarantee, you could also regard a salon-client relationship as a partnership in which each party does their best to maintain the service with home care and proper salon protocol.

3. Which Products Do You Use?

The most important feature of the products your salon uses is their quality. You should be able to describe the product system that you use (as an individual nail tech) or that your salon uses and explain why it was chosen. Doing so helps your clients realize that not all products are created equal.

Show them product labels, point out that the lamp and the products are the same brand, or mention that your products have Safety Data Sheets. Demonstrating that you’ve carefully selected the tools of your trade also demonstrates your professionalism.

Ultimately, being transparent about the salon’s policies and practices can build trust and loyalty.

4. What Nail Technician and/or Salon Management Training Have You Had?

Not all salons permit nail professionals to line the walls with their certificates, so you might need to find another way to display any relevant education you’ve completed.

Here are a few alternative ideas:

Scan your class certificates and store them in an album on your mobile phone (if salon management allows phones on the floor).
Create a printable collage of your certificates.
Display them in a digital frame that automatically scrolls through images of your certificates.
Keep scaled-down images of your certificates in a small flip photo album near your work station.

These are some creative ways to verify your expertise if you can’t just hang your credentials on the wall.

5. What Is Your Policy on Salon Sanitation and Disinfection?

This topic isn’t exactly glamorous — but neither would your clients’ nails be if they contracted an infection or a fungus.

Your answer should be simple yet comprehensive enough that clients can tell you care about their health. Avoid technical terms; speak plainly so your clients can understand your answer and potentially relay it to their friends.

If the salon allows it, offer a brief tour of the area where you clean the tools. Describe the sanitation and disinfection processes, showing them the sink and the products involved.

Details matter. For instance, if you use a new file for each person, mention it! Confirm that you discard single-use items, such as orangewood sticks and cotton, at the end of each appointment. This practice may seem like a no-brainer, but some of your clients still want to hear about it.