The Beauty Pro Book Club: 4 Reads to Inspire Growth and Success
Four publications for beauty industry professionals to enhance their leadership skills, financial awareness, professional growth, and joy!
by Anne Moratto
How do you Deal with Competitive Coworkers?
Readers give advice to an unfortunately common issue between coworkers.
by Staff
December 1, 1994
2 min to read
The only way to deal with a competitive co-worker is to ignore her and not let the situation bother you. Hopefully, if you ignore the situation, your co-worker will get the message and stop. If she doesn’t, then you should have a talk with her. If you don’t talk to her about it, it will make your job miserable.--Kerry Marmanidis, NailTique, Norwood, Mass.
My approach is to find a common ground, for example, children, a hobby, etc., and bond that way. Then you can work on the problem. Find something positive in the person and relate to it.--Springs Romano, Express Nail, Kailua, Hawaii
I had stepped out to get a soda because my client didn’t show up for her appointment. When I returned, the client was sitting at the other technician’s table. I went over to get her, thinking the tech was preparing her nails for me. The technician became insulted and caused a scene, so I just stepped aside and let her work on the client. The poor client must have felt so awkward. Afterwards, I went to the salon manager and told her how unprofessionally the tech had handled the situation.--Cecilia Pilate, Natural Nails/Sundays, Washington, D.C.
At the previous salon I worked at, I confronted the technician one-on-one and asked her if she realized what she was doing. You need to deal with the situation right away and get it out in the open. --Michelle Orton, At Your Fingertips, Phoenix, Az.
I would speak to the person directly, behind closed doors, and ask her what the problem is. To prevent the situation from happening in the first place, I strongly recommend weekly meeting so that staff members can be open and honest and express any complaints or concerns. --Tracy Presba, Nails by Tracy, Seattle, Wash.
One of the reasons I opened up my own salon and work alone is because I don’t like to play those “competitive” games. If there was a problem with another technician, I’d bring it up with her. And if that didn’t take care of it, I would speak with the manager. I think it really depends on the situation. Sometimes you can cause more grief by addressing a problem if it’s a petty one.--Liz Morris, Liz’s Nails Inc., Silverdale, Wash.
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