ok, firstly let me tell you about my experience from before I became a nail tech.
The very first time I had my nails done, it came to the time when I needed a soak off and new set. Not knowing anything about nails at this point, I asked my tech (creative qualified by the way) and she told me this:
"well I can remove them if you really want, but to be honest you are just as well getting some soak off from boots (they call it Get 'em Off) and doing it yourself, or to be honest, you can just pick them off"
Now, as I say, those were the words of a Creative Qualified Tech, and so I am sure that there are many more techs out there who do this but wont admit it.
When I did my Creative Foundation Course, our educator advised us not to charge for a soak off if the client is having another full set applied. Now I am a business woman first, Nail Tech Second (this is my job and my living after all), however having been advised by an experienced professional that I would see a greater client return by absorbing the cost of these "free" soak offs into other treatments, I decided to acknowledge this lady's expertise, and so I do not charge for a soak off if it is followed by a full set.
I charge £15 for soak off only, because I follow this up with a mini mani. Personally I would prefer to charge for a soak off even if its followed by a full set, but to some extent you have to heed the advice of seasoned professionals, so I thought I was doing the right thing.
On Saturday I had a lady in with Rheumatoid arthritis. Now I suffer with this condition myself and know how painful it can be. She has difficulty keeping her hands in one position for a long time, and no matter how I tried to arrange it, she had to keep taking her hands out of the remover for a rest, and that soak off took an hour. Her subsequent enhancements took 2 hours, and she paid me £35. Not enough for the time I spent in my opinion.
I am glad to read now that a soak off charge is a feasible thing, as I will now be altering my prices while my business is still new and its easier to do.
A very interesting thread, I've found all your opinions very helpful!