I am seriously gonna cry!

[hairdresser18]

Help me! What do I do?

I go to a nursing home every Monday and Tuesday in the morning before I do my other clients in the afternoon.
I get treated like crap there, I have a little salon I go into there and the carers wheel them through. I used to go there about 9:40 in the morning and they are never on time bringing the ladies through, I am just sat there waiting, I have a radio there and the carers do but when i say is anyone ready to come through they ignore me, no reply at all. They just suddenly turn up with the ladies and not saying to me they are coming. I now come in at 10am and they are still never ready I have to wait at like 20-60mins before one lady comes through. I have said to them on the radio if they are not coming though in 10 mins I am leaving I do not have time. They never answer me, they turn up just in time before I pick my bags up. If one of the ladies has to go to the loo and they are desperate i call on radio and nothing, they always ignore me! I have to go find someone out of my time and say that a lady needs the loo or that the lady is ready to be collected. They just give me evil looks all the time and dont care they are wasting my time! They are rubbish with my pay, I have to wait 2 weeks for 1 week of my pay to come through and maybe even longer. I am so hard up thanks to them all the time cause I have their to pay for my debts starting up my mobile business! I said I want to be paid by cheque for now on and that was finr for 3 weeks until they screwed up on that saying oh we paid you by bac payments aswell. They said it would be easier if they paid me by bac payment, I gave them another chance and they still havent paid me! I get so upset when I arrive there cause they are wasting my time and money!
I would say that I cant afford to leave there cause of my debts but i go home upset and nearly burst into tears not wanting to go back!
They ignore me on radio, dont wheel the ladies through on time and take 20-60mins to get one through, they dont pay me on time and make me hard up with my payments, they make me feel small, they dont care if i say one of the ladies need assistance and I have to run down the hall and find someone to say they need to be collected or ask if one is ready!

What do I do?
Its making me ill, I have been there for 8 months and its hell!!

Sorry its an essay! xx

 

[dee]

have you spoke to who ever is in charge ? if you get no joyand they dont change i dont see the point in sticking with it when you hate it xx

 

[hairdresser18]

have you spoke to who ever is in charge ? if you get no joyand they dont change i dont see the point in sticking with it when you hate it xx

hey is just as useless, he thinks the carers have a good reason if they dont show up. if there is something wrong and they dont think they can make it on time dont u think they should tell me? I could be doing something else as in going to a client and not have them waste my time! He talk to them on the radio and says who is ready and the carers instantly reply to him saying oh no one is yet and he says ok. I hate the home but cant afford to leave. I have debts to pay xx

 

[dee]

cant you push your mobile biz a bit more ? i am sure you can cover it with a few normal clients , unless you get mega money in the home that is ? .. have you reviewd your business and checked you are chartging what you are worth ? do you have a website ? you can get free ones that look really good ,

 

[hairdresser18]

yea i'm trying to, i dunno how to get a website up but will look, all I need is 4 extra clients a week to not go to the home anymore. doesnt seem alot but i dunno what else to do. I always say thats it I'm leaving the home and then i remember i cant afford to. xx

 

[HCCAR]

Hi The first thing is try to be positive, a couple of deep breaths and then go and talk to people who really love and care about you, parents or best friends.

Those people only want whats best for you and although you have some debt, nobody would want you to be mentally burnt out.

To every situation there is a solution, is just a case of finding it.

Myself no amount of pay would keep me in a job that made me unhappy.

Good Luck to you.

 

[becky30]

Couldnt you re-negotiate,
tell them you will go in the afternoons instead of mornings, and tell them you are being paid for your time and not by each person you see, how many perms or sets can you do in an hour and charge by the hour, or so much for the afternoon say from 1 til 5.
Im sure that if you start doing that and only a few people are being seen, they will start to review and see where they are going wrong, and then im sure management will speak to you, then you can tell them where you think their carers are going wrong!

I wish you luck :hug:

 

[hairdresser18]

i cant cause i have already said and they said well we wash their hair in the shower and we wont do it in the afternoon. I am pretty much screwed until i leave. None of the people in the home can put their head back xx

 

[wonderwoman]

i think you need to write a letter to the nursing home. Personally ive noticed in care homes that older people do take their sweet sweet time, its not intentional on you but they are just slower in general, carers have to be patient.

I wholeheartly sympathise with you, but can understand the logistics of why it would take them so long! If you know they are going to be late, schedule appointments hours before the located time frame, then suggest that you have other clients afterwards. Although you may be experiencing difficulties with money issues, i would state the oppersite to the nursing home staff, so they have an idea of how many clients are outside your base there.

The letter i would advise you to write would be to expain that you wish
1) Money on time payments issues
2) Clients on time or within 15mins, otherwise full booking fee is applied (may nudge them quicker)
3) The behaviour and condescending attitude of the caring staff to intentionally waste your time (if this is the case as suggested)
4) How you do enjoy being an empolyee or work there but feel these changes must happen for easier flow to you buisness and timeframe outside the nursing home.

With elderly clients, i always give a mini freebie if they are on time, it could be a blow dry or a complementry wax on their upper lip hehe! For me it works and it gives them incentives to be on time. If you want more buisness i would also suggest free skin tests with a 10-20% discount or more for colour or technical services, make leaflets flyer etc and state time frame, and see how that works for you! hths xoxo

 

[hairdresser18]

i think you need to write a letter to the nursing home. Personally ive noticed in care homes that older people do take their sweet sweet time, its not intentional on you but they are just slower in general, carers have to be patient.

I wholeheartly sympathise with you, but can understand the logistics of why it would take them so long! If you know they are going to be late, schedule appointments hours before the located time frame, then suggest that you have other clients afterwards. Although you may be experiencing difficulties with money issues, i would state the oppersite to the nursing home staff, so they have an idea of how many clients are outside your base there.

The letter i would advise you to write would be to expain that you wish
1) Money on time payments issues
2) Clients on time or within 15mins, otherwise full booking fee is applied (may nudge them quicker)
3) The behaviour and condescending attitude of the caring staff to intentionally waste your time (if this is the case as suggested)
4) How you do enjoy being an empolyee or work there but feel these changes must happen for easier flow to you buisness and timeframe outside the nursing home.

With elderly clients, i always give a mini freebie if they are on time, it could be a blow dry or a complementry wax on their upper lip hehe! For me it works and it gives them incentives to be on time. If you want more buisness i would also suggest free skin tests with a 10-20% discount or more for colour or technical services, make leaflets flyer etc and state time frame, and see how that works for you! hths xoxo

no in this home it is the carers that are slow and ignorant, the elderly there cant do anything for themselves, such as them having ms etc. the carers just take their time with me but when someone calls on the radio they answer eachother right away just never answer me. All the people in the home need help to get in and out of wheel chairs, have showers, to eat etc. the carers know i come at a certain time and it is their job to get them ready on time, i have to keep changing my times later on in the morning for them and they are never ready, 10am is is suitable for them to be out of bed and have showers and give them to me to do their hair. They make me so ratty and soon I seriously think i will burst and tell them where to stick it. x

 

[Lamaur man]

I don't think the carers are being awkward deliberately.
They are probably understaffed and paid a crap wage and have to get all the patients up and ready under a deadline.

You must speak to the manager, sister or matron in charge and tell them this is not right for you and that you cannot work under these conditions.


:hug:
xx

 

[waffle4]

Hi Hun,I'm not a hair professional (nails) but am just giving you my opinion as someone from the outside looking in. You sound sooo desperate but NO job is ever, ever worth making yourself ill over so you need to get tough and practical and try and change the situation. I would go and see the care home manager and be assertive and say to him that you cannot continue working like this where you are continuously ignored and your schedule is disrupted. Perhaps you could say that if they continue to bring clients late without your prior warning and consent you will invoice them for your time wasted. You also need to insist that your wages are paid on time. Maybe they think you're a pushover, so you need to show them that you're not, you're a self employed hairstylist who is her own boss and does not deserve to be treated like this and will no longer tolerate these abysmal working conditions. Incidentally, are you under contract with them? it may be worth speaking to the citizens advice bureaux to see where you stand legally. I really, really hope that things improve for you very, very soon.
Big supportive hugs coming your way :hug: and let me know how you get on xxx
BTW feel really sorry for the poor residents too having such mean carers

 

[Dolly6410]

Hi Hun,I'm not a hair professional (nails) but am just giving you my opinion as someone from the outside looking in. You sound sooo desperate but NO job is ever, ever worth making yourself ill over
BTW feel really sorry for the poor residents too having such mean carers

i'm a beautician but feel your pain!
this is so true, you can't keep going on if its making you unhappy, at the end of the day why did you set up your own business and go mobile? i'm guessing because you love what you do and wanted to enjoy a days work? this is exactly why i set up on my own and i had a few clients that really put me down and i dreaded going to see them, i'd feel like crying before i went and i cry on the way home because they treated me like i was below them, then my dad sat me down and told me the obvious but it really did kick in, next time these rude clients tried to book in i just said 'sorry i'm fully booked and i'm not taking on anymore clients'. and yes they will find another beautician but atleast they're not making my life hell. I think you need to go and see the manager in person and say to him you are being messed around and from now on you are going to arrive at say 9.45 and leave at lets say 12, each client has a slot of time, say 45mins each, if the clients dont make it to their appointment then they either dont get done, OR the home has to pay you X amount for each hour you stayed over. you really need to put your foot down with the money situation aswell, maybe say you want your cheque or however they pay you on the day you go in, you need to set a day/date that they pay you each time you go in so its the same all the time. good luck, but as said above, if your not happy, get out of there! there are so many people out there who want a mobile hairdresser but cant find one, advertise on yell.com, gumtree, tradeit, do a leaflet drop door to door once a week, if your struggling for money wix.com is a good website making site, i used it for mine and then i bought a domain from easyspace.com when i could afford it

 

[scottydolly]

the hairdressing side of this story is bad. . .the caring side of this story is shocking. . . if they arent taking ladies to the toilet, busy or not i wud be reporting them to your local care standards inspection authority. . . . im also in the social care industry and it sounds like the carers are awful to you, and lacking in compassion for the people they support.x

 

[hairdresser18]

Yea I know I just need to be more tough really, yes they do treat them badly, it's not all carers it's the ones that bring them through for me. Just ignoring me, they don't care if the ladies need the loo, they leave them, i always have to go straight to them if it's urgent, they don't listen to me. I rang this morning and said are you going to e on time or I am not coming in till later waiting, they said come in at 10:30. This time is very late for certain ladies, they like to be up early, this is too late for me also I can only do one client before them if it is before 10 or 10:30 and it's takes a few hours to do them and then I have to travel to start doing my other clients, my Monday and Tuesday's are wasted! Xx

 

[kimi1101]

so did you go today then if you are saying its wasting your mondays and tuesdays?

 

[hairdresser18]

I can't leave my poor ladies in the crap, it's the carers and how it is run!

 

[waffle4]

I can't leave my poor ladies in the crap, it's the carers and how it is run!

Oh hun, and I bet they look forward to getting their hair done and have someone actually be nice to them. So, you have GOT to get tough and stand up for yourself!
Is this an NHS home or Private?...... xx

 

[footwoman]

Hello hairdresser18,
As a chiropodist who has visited nursing/care homes to treat patients you have my sympathies.
Some homes are really nice and co-operative others treat visiting professionals like c***, and I've had a fair share of those in my time!

Firstly, if you are concerned about the standard of care being offered then you must express your concerns to the Care Quality Commission

Care Quality Commission

they will keep your complaint anonymous and will check and see if the home are meeting the national standards.

I would agree with others who have said that no job is worth making yourself ill over.

I would make an appointment to see the manager and tell them that you like your job and working with the residents but it is difficult to work effectively when the staff are so busy that they can't bring the clients on time. Say that you are quite happy to come at another time of day when the staff are less busy and could he/she suggest when that could be?

I don't know what arrangement you made with the home, whether is was to be paid per client or per hour? Most care homes pay per client (or rather the client pays) as to do it per hour is difficult from their point of view.

I know you don't want to leave your ladies in the lurch but from what you have said, stacking shelves at supermarkets would be preferable to that place!

 

[Penners]

Hi, I used to be the cook in a private care home and to be honest I think we should all work in one of these places to witness how bad it can be:irked:. Lots of the staff are brilliant but there are plenty of shirkers who do the minimum and would be rather having a coffee and a *** than answering buzzers. I complained to the owners about one carer who was disgusting in his attitude and lack of 'care' leaving one lady for hours in her soiled pads. End result - I was pushed out for causing trouble! I had a very good case for industrial tribunal but you have to fund it yourself and I was so stressed by the whole episode I didn't have the cash or energy! Anyway, long way around to answer your problem eh? Unless you can wash their hair front ways over a sink then I guess you don't have much choice but to talk to the owners/management and voice your concerns, by all means contact the care quality commission. I did work with some brilliant people who cared beyond the call of duty and sometimes when short staffed there were only two carers to get 20 people up and dressed and given meds!! The whole system is appauling and generally run by money making capitalists who want everything on the cheap (including the staff).