Delimma - Pricing & New Therapist

[zakyam]

Hello All -

I am facing a bit of a clientele dilemma here.

Where I work at, there's only one massage room and that wasn't usually a problem before now. Another therapist has come on board and he is a more established MT who is paying rent vs. being commission like I am (It's a good split - 60/40 in my favor.)

He also has the ability to spend more on advertising and as such, put an ad in the local paper that he had moved over from one of the other places in town and was offering 1/2 off for anyone who booked their first Swedish session with him until like 12/15. He's been booked solid ever since.

Here's my problem: a) I can't afford to do an ad in the paper here - it's expensive! (The local paper knows they have a monopoly in town and use it to their advaneforum.xxxe.) b) If I do do this 1/2 price thing, I'm making $18/hr and how many repeat customers will I get from that?

I've been lucky to get a chair massage client right now and business has totally dropped off to nothing on our street because of bridge work that has closed the street at the intersection of Fifth Street & MO Hwy 47. Folks seem to think that because Fifth is closed at 47, they can't get to us and this is supposed to go through early December too, if it ever dries out here.

I'm feeling a bit squeezed out here and don't know what to do. I don't want to leave where I'm at - I like the owner and I really do like the location. It's barely a mile from where I live now.

I've done the advertising in the paper thing before and haven't gotten much response to it. I'm doing a small ad in a free monthly newsletter thingy and that's gotten me squat for clients. I've gone and done the CAM-PPO provider certification for one of the largest employers in town and have gotten zero response from that.

So, I'll welcome some thoughts/comments/suggestions here, because I can use 'em!

 

[ASerrano]

Delimma - Pricing & New Therapist

he is a more established MT who is paying rent vs. being commission like I am (It's a good split - 60/40 in my favor.) ..... b) If I do do this 1/2 price thing, I'm making $18/hr

This is why there is no such thing as a "good split"

was offering 1/2 off for anyone who booked their first Swedish session with him until like 12/15. He's been booked solid ever since.

Hard to compete with that strategy.

a) I can't afford to do an ad in the paper here - it's expensive! (The local paper knows they have a monopoly in town and use it to their advaneforum.xxxe.)

Sounds like the other MT knows it too and is trying to monopolize the room. HOw do you figure out who uses the room when?

If I do do this 1/2 price thing, I'm making $18/hr and how many repeat customers will I get from that?

You have to decide if $18 per hour is better than $0. The clients don't care how much you make, just how much they pay. Same facility offers massages 1/2 when it is not you working...

I've done the advertising in the paper thing before and haven't gotten much response to it.

1/2 off is a powerful ad, apparently.

So, I'll welcome some thoughts/comments/suggestions here, because I can use 'em!

1) Ask the spa owner to put you on flat rent
2) Cut your prices 50%
3) Borrow some $ and take an ad out in the paper until the other MT realizes he is leaving so much money on the table he stops running his ad with the ridiculous discount
4) You can't talk to him -- that is price collusion. Or you can talk to him and waive your right to complain about corporate greed.

 

[cantcu]

Delimma - Pricing & New Therapist

Are you a renter or an IC? Can you talk to the new therapist to pick his brain on how he has built his clients base?

My experiance has been that most places don't opperate well with this type of situation. If you are sharing a room it is best to either everyone pays flate rent or everyone pays a commission. That way there is a level playing field. BC the other MT is a flat renter how many days a week does he have the room? Does he get more time bc he pays more than you during the month? What if you are getting really busy and you need the room more during the week how are the 2 of you going to handel that.

Bottom line the owner was looking to make a certain amount of money during the month and for some reason you just are not pulling the money the onwers wants, so to make up for that different the owner brought in another therapist. I know in my area owners in salons want to make around $700+ a month for a room. So a lot of times you will have 3 MT's share a room and you get the room only 2 days a week.

Is your situation far no it is not. I have been there one too many times, so I feel your pain