A client books a gel manicure at a published price. She has existing product removed, chooses a shape that costs more, has art on two nails and a repair on another, and the figure at the desk is considerably larger than the one on the website.
Every charge is legitimate. None of them were mentioned before she sat down.
A worked example
One appointment, priced the way a client experiences it.
Line 1: the headline service
What it is, how long it takes and exactly what is included. The published price should describe a complete appointment rather than a starting point.
Line 2: removal of existing product
Included or charged, and at what rate for your own work and for somebody else's. It is the most common addition and the most commonly assumed, which is the ground in nail appointment questions about gels, removals and timing.
Line 3: shape and length
Whether certain shapes or lengths cost more, and by how much. Clients choose from a picture and do not know it changes the price.
Line 4: nail art
Per nail, by complexity, with examples at each level. It is the largest and least predictable addition and it should be illustrated rather than described.
Line 5: repairs
Per nail, for a break or a lift, whether within a period of your own work it is free and what applies otherwise.
Line 6: treatments and extras
Cuticle work, a soak, a massage or anything added. Small individually and substantial together.
Line 7: the honest total
For a common combination, published as an example. It is what a client actually pays and seeing it prevents the desk moment entirely.
Publish the menu in full
Every service and every addition with a price. Clients compare on the headline and choose on the total.
Show art pricing with pictures
Because complexity cannot be described in words and clients cannot judge which tier they are asking for.
Quote before starting
A total at the chair, before any work begins, once the client has chosen. It takes ten seconds and it removes every complaint.
Explain what affects the time
Because a longer appointment blocks the column and clients who arrive wanting more than they booked create a knock on delay.
Publish the deposit and cancellation position
What is taken, when, and what happens with a late cancellation. It belongs with the pricing rather than in a separate policy.
Publish the walk in position
Whether additions can be accommodated without booking extra time, which is the availability problem in walk in availability questions nail salons answer all day.
Publish what happens if a client wants more time
Somebody who arrives wanting art on a booking made for a plain set is asking for an appointment that does not exist in the column. Explaining that additions need booking, how much time each adds and how to request it in advance protects the day and prevents a rushed result nobody is happy with.
Be honest about the true cost of a maintenance cycle
What a client spends over three months with infills and removals. Publishing it converts people who would otherwise feel misled later, as in treatment price questions every salon receives and hidden costs of AI chatbot pricing.
Getting started
Publish every service and addition with prices and example totals, quote before starting and answer price questions at any hour. SpideyChat for salons answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.