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When You Keep a Bad Employee for the Money He/She Brings In

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Everything was going great. You couldn’t be happier with this employee.

Maybe you hired this employee right out of school, trained them, and helped them build that “big book.”

Maybe you hired this employee for their experience. And maybe because of the clients that would follow them to your business.

But over time, things changed. Teamwork was replaced with attitude, indifference, and entitlement. They would come in, do their clients, and leave.

At company meetings, they would radiate an unsettling funk that everyone could feel. In the break room, it was non-stop complaining about anything and everything.

You had a few quasi-fierce conversations with them about their attitude to no avail.

So why not fire them? The answer is obvious. They’re busy as hell and bring in a ton of money.

As a salon/spa owner, you can relate to the above scenario and likely have your own “employee from hell” stories.

Question #1: Do you have a fierce conversation with a problem employee waiting to happen at your salon/spa?

Question #2: How long has that fierce conversation been waiting to happen?

Chances are, your answers were “yes” and “way too long.”

These two questions demonstrate just how pervasive the “bad employee” problem truly is. And it’s pretty darn bad.



Reality check #1: Most employee-based salon/spa owners fear losing productive employees to booth rental and suites.


  • Suites use “escape the drama” to entice busy employees to lease and join the ranks of independents.

  • Owners would rather tolerate a bad employee than lose the revenue he/she brings in.


Reality check #2: Bad employees wreck cultures and make work
miserable for the team players.

  • When leaders tolerate intolerable behavior and attitudes, everyone sees it and pays the price for inaction.

  • Employees eventually blame the owner for allowing a double
    standard to exist. Once toxic waste takes hold, it gets all over
    everyone — to the point where good employees have enough and leave.


Reality check #3: The money a bad employee brings in pales in
comparison to the damage being done.

  • Teamwork, quality, customer service, and productivity cannot thrive in the presence of disfunction, egotism, double standards, and persistent bad-mouthing the owner, other team members, and the company.


Reality check #4: When a good employee goes bad, the owner/leader must brutally and honestly assess what his or her role played in the unraveling.

  • When bad behavior surfaces, it must be addressed. The longer it continues, the more you enable it, and the more your inaction is being observed by the rest of your team.

  • If one conversation didn’t work, have another conversation. Be
    respectful, be direct about what needs to change, and when you
    expect it to change. Follow-up meetings are a must. Otherwise, the wrong behaviors will quickly resurface.

  • Long-term employees require attention, transparency, and
    appreciation. It’s a fact that many long-term employees leave
    because they feel unappreciated and taken for granted.


Here’s my challenge to you: If you have a fierce conversation waiting to take place — get it done. Every day that passes makes that conversation more difficult and the funk continues to chip away at your culture.

Yes, the money a busy service provider brings in is important, but it doesn’t outweigh the importance of your culture and brand.

It doesn’t matter if it was a bad hire or a good employee that went to the dark side, the longer you allow it to continue, the more aggravation, stress, and missed opportunities you and your team are forced to deal with.

In every case, when a bad employee is finally booted off the payroll, fresh air begins pouring in and the funk evaporates.

If any of the above hits home with you … step up and be the leader your company and your team are waiting for you to be.

? Schedule a free 60-minute strategy session to start building your Team-Based salon, spa, or medspa … CLICK HERE

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