Discounting your services

I have quite a few "professional" pages on my Facebook page.  I like to see what's going on out there.  (someday I'll have my own shop, so it's good to collect ideas)  There's one in particular, a local shop, where they discount the daylights out of everything!

I've seen "free haircut with $50 or more in foils", "10 foils with haircut & style for $46" (have no idea what the regular price is, presuming it's not $46), "5 free foils with haircut".  There's also "Ladies night, $20 haircut & $7.00 wax"  and "Men's night, haircuts $15".

What I'm wondering is if these tactics genuinely work??  I know, from working where I do, that coupons/special offers only tend to attract a certain individual:  One looking for a bargain.  They're not looking for a new salon/stylist.  They want what they want and they want it CHEAP.

We've got a lady that comes in every few months, trying to get us to give away the shop for free.  "Well, I can get a kit in the store and do my own for much less.  Everyone likes what I do to my hair"  Then, by all means, keep doing your hair for the bargain price of $9.95.  I made the mistake, ONCE of giving this lady a deal...she had quite the sob story and I fell for it.  She set up a time to come in, then, miraculously, she blew me off.  PHEW! Because I regretted the deal the moment I did it.  When she came in two weeks later, wanting the deal, I told her no.  She's been trying, ever since, to get an amazing deal out of us.  I since found out that she drives a shiny new Toyota Prius (which are NOT a cheap car) and her 7 children are grown & gone.

I'm not saying I don't give certain services for free.  I'm known to blow dry for nothing with a haircut when the client has fine, non-existent hair (can't see the point in charging for a 2 minute service), and I just about always condition the hair for free ( a big no no, which is crazy), just so I can get a comb through the damn hair!  And, on occasion, I'll forget to charge someone for wax.  Or, I'll pluck a few random hairs and not charge for it.  Piddly stuff.  But, I will NOT discount chemical services.  Our prices are already low enough.  We charge $24.95 for 7 foils (which is just a splash of color)...I'm not about to take $25 out of my pocket and hand it to someone, which is exactly what happens when you do that.  $25 is gas money, for crying out loud!  And, if we have a conversation, and you don't have the funds to get the job done, then don't get it done.  It's not a problem.  Leave with the information I've given you, and come back when you have the money to get the job done.  I have a system in place to write down the client's name & information discussed on a chemical card so we have it when the time comes.

I also feel that by discounting my work, I've got to work twice as hard to win you over, to get you to come back every time.  Of course, I'll be charging you the magic price every time, because now I've trapped myself.  But, if I can win you over, it's at least steady income for me in the form of a regular client!

I also get the feeling, because we get these phone calls all the time, that the local salons call us to get our prices, so they can "beat" us.  We do a tidy business, and I'm sure we're a "threat" to these salons, particularly the one offering the shop for free!  And here's my thought process on that:  If you give good, quality work, treat your clients well, you won't have to discount your work to keep them.  They'll come back because they like you and what you do.  Otherwise, you'll lose them.  Period.