Salon - want to give complimentary alcohol to clients

hazysunshine

Hello,

Soon to be opening a salon and have 2 questions regarding alcohol: -

1 - on the launch night I'd to serve nibbles and wine/champagne - do I need any sort of licence / temporary event permit

2 - once the salon is open, I want to be able to offer complimentary alcohol to customers

I won't ever be taking payment for any alcohol served - it will be complimentary (much like free tea/coffee etc)

Do I need a licence to be able to do this?

Thanks

steve1980

As long as you're not charging for it and the clients are over the age limit then you should be ok. Alot of business openings do similar things.

[Deleted User]

I think that most in your line of business do the same, and lets face it if anyone has a problem they will let you know and then you can make a decision at the time. I also agree with the above, the local school used to do the same, not sure if they do now though :-/

paulwf

For the opening I'd just say nothing and I'm sure you'd be ok. As to serving alcohol regularly call the council licensing department, they are the people who can give you the definitive answer.

I'm going to sound like a right killjoy but think carefully about regularly giving alcohol away, it is a major expense compared to tea and coffee. Every business that is starting up has grand plans but the difference between success and failure is often watching the pennies. You can also start simple and offer more free stuff later but it is hard to pull freebies that customers get used to. You may find it is better to keep costs low and stay competitive. Boring as it is logging the amount of shampoo used per wash and negotiating a better rate on conditioner is the sort of thing that can keep you in business.

Mistral001

I agree with paulwf.

Also, cutting/styling hair can be dangerous as it involves sharp scissors and dangerous chemicals etc. and giving clients alcohol may create an addition hazard. I would check with your insurers whether you can do it.

Owain_Moneysaver

storing alcohol on the premises may also increase the risk of theft.

If you want to offer something different from tea/coffee then there are lots of alcohol-free 'mocktails'

Annisele

I agree with paulwf too, but for a slightly different reason.

As a customer, I know that I'm really the one paying for freebies. I rarely drink alcohol, so I'd know that I was paying a higher price for my haircut so that other people could drink the stuff. So, your freebie alcohol would make customers like me much more likely to go elsewhere. There will also be a few people with religious objections, some recovering alcoholics, and a bundle of people who for various reasons will stay away.

So...some people will like your free alcohol, and some will have feelings ranging from mild dislike to loathing. Bearing in mind the cost of providing it, will your net gain in customers be enough for it to be worthwhile?

hazysunshine

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the feedback - food for thought!

Savvy_Sue

[STRIKE]
Could I also point out that you're advertising this, it's complementary alcohol, not complimentary alcohol.

It's a small point, and I don't usually nit-pick people's posts, and I know it's not your spelling services you're trying to sell, but personally I notice these things: if you don't pay attention to detail in your publicity, I will have less confidence in your ability to pay attention to detail to the services you're offering.
[/STRIKE] Strike out because I am a numpty!

I absolutely agree with Annisele, btw.

hazysunshine

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Could I also point out that you're advertising this, it's complementary alcohol, not complimentary alcohol.

It's a small point, and I don't usually nit-pick people's posts, and I know it's not your spelling services you're trying to sell, but personally I notice these things: if you don't pay attention to detail in your publicity, I will have less confidence in your ability to pay attention to detail to the services you're offering.

I absolutely agree with Annisele, btw.

Now I'm lost? See the below from http://www.future-perfect.co.uk/grammartips/grammar-tip-complimentary-complementary.asp

Is it complimentary or complementary?
Both of these spellings exist and are very often used in the wrong context; this can, of course, have a negative impact on the writer/company using the wrong version and can damage hard-won image. Some classic examples of wrong use are outlined below.

Complement
This always has the meaning of ‘completing a set/making up a whole’. This is used when saying that a tie goes well with (complements) a shirt, for example. It is also used to describe a number of people making up a group: ‘This ship has a complement of 50.’

Compliment
This has two meanings: one is that someone is expressing nice things about you, saying that you or something about you looks nice (a compliment/to compliment someone); the other (when used as ‘complimentary’) means that something is free of charge or done as an act of courtesy.

Example:
Therefore, it would be wrong to write: ‘The wine compliments the meal.’ This means that the wine tells the meal how nice it is!

What should be written is: ‘The wine complements the meal.’

http://www.future-perfect.co.uk/grammartips/grammar-tip-complimentary-complementary.asp

So which is it???

Savvy_Sue

What a numpty am I! :rotfl:

You're right: complementary would be, say, putting alcohol on your hair alongside a treatment to make it work better, or faster, or whatever.

Complimentary would be free.

I don't know why I got it wrong, it's not something I usually do.

Mind you, I nearly suggested saying "Free glass of sparkling wine for all customers" to avoid any possible error. :rotfl: