Buy Nice, or Buy Twice
When you pay less, you pay twice.
It is no secret that I am a hardcore fan of the kind of non surgical full face medical aesthetics work that I have developed and honed over a decade of experience. So much so that it’s been labelled my signature FFA.
In recent times, my approach has been referred to as “dogmatic” and “pedantic” and “too strict”.
I won’t lie, it’s shaken my confidence in a way that is not easily explained because I made the cardinal mistake of letting people, who don’t work the way I do, guide my work, which, for the right buyer, works.
So in 2025, in part due also to the stricter regulations by AHPRA and the TGA, I’ve taken a step back and talked about it a lot less.
Except…I had an encounter this week that made me reassess the importance of why I work the way I do.
Just because the wrong people can’t see the value of my work, doesn’t mean the work itself lacks value.
A tale of a leaking shower…
Mid 2024, my son told me the ceiling in the garage was leaking water.
Our bathroom is located above this ceiling.
There was a lot of to and fro and work involved in getting it all repaired, including waterproofing that was shot in the shower.
Because I’ve never dealt with this issue before, I made a rookie mistake – I went onto the internet, obtained 3 quotes and went with the first guy who was available, whose price seemed reasonable.
To be clear, I would have been prepared to pay more, if I had understood the importance of the issue. But I had not.
I did a cursory check of his licensing (which lapsed within weeks of the work) and I am now left with a shower that is worse, not better.
I now live in fear of having to replace the ceiling again due to ongoing leakage from the shower, which was not cheap.
So this week, I organised some quotes from some builders on renovating the bathroom.
Each phone call assessed for the basics, much like my FFA readiness quiz does:
- this is the ballpark cost; are you ok with the cost?
- this is the timeframe, how soon are you ready to move forward if it is a yes?
- do you have an idea of whether you want labour-only and source the rest yourself, or do you want an all inclusive package?
Only if you tick some of these boxes are you invited to move to the next stage, which is an in person quote; or in my case, applying for your own FFA.
A tale of two tradies
Yesterday, the first guy, arrived, and after asking me what the issue was, and my experience level with renovations, began to teach me some basics about bathroom renovations:
- flooring, what was legal and what no longer is.
- he advised the waterproofing was no longer adequate and would need replacing, and what that would entail.
- what he would need to do.
- how long it would take – 4 weeks on average but that the contract allows for upto 5.
- what kind of fixtures I’d like and what he’d recommend.
- what kind of tiles would work best, size, floor to ceiling or something else.
He also told me that despite working with contractors, he likes to be personally involved in some of his projects because he is the face of his company, and is personally responsible. As a result, he limits the number of projects he can take on each month.
The second guy arrived, and after asking me the basics including my experience with renovations (none) told me:
- the ballpark quote for the job, for labour only.
- “we can supply the tiles and fixtures but that’ll cost you extra because you are paying for our time”
- “I can’t tell you an accurate quote because I won’t know until I pull the tiles out and see how much damage there is”
- you should start looking at Reece, and Harvey Norman to get an idea of the type of fixtures and tiles you want, and cost and let us know; “do your research”.
- it would take about 2 months from start to finish.
Both men were there 20-30 minutes.
With the second guy, I just wanted him gone 10 minutes into it because he left me feeling more confused than enlightened.
He made the job feel like more work than I was prepared to take on, especially with a life outside of looking for tiles and fixtures.
It was in that moment I realised why I work the way I do, whether it’s with my FFA or any other kind of medical care I provide.
“Fast, cheap or good. At best you can have 2 of the 3.”
The danger of Google or chatGPT as pseudoexpertise
As a first time renovator, out of necessity, not “for fun”, I am bewildered by the options.
Renovations are neither cheap nor easy. They are essentially permanent.
So when I choose someone, I want an expert to guide me, not someone who is DIYing it to save some money.
I’ve googled nothing except a layout to get an idea of some colour schemes I like.
When I obtained the quotes I relied on the tradesmen telling me what I needed, why, how, when and where. And a relatively accurate quote as to timeframe and investment, barring unexpected setbacks.
What does this have to do with your FFA?
The approach of the first tradie is what I do when I see patients for any type of medical care but especially for medical aesthetics and definitely for my signature FFA.
- I don’t take on many “for fun” medical aesthetics especially in young, beautiful people with nothing to correct
- I have a special interest in the ageing face
- I take an interest in how the face ages in the woman who no longer looks like how she sees herself in the mirror
- No amount of googling your concerns can adequately guide you the way an expert can, so I work best with people, who like me, want to be guided and given an all inclusive plan to work towards, complete with timeframe and most common investment.
The benefit of this is that for patients like this:
- you are paying for a service, not a product – whether that is a drug or a device. The product is part of the service, but you are paying for more than just the product so not looking to price match.
- you rely on being guided by the expert, because you understand that you need guidance beyond Google, chatGPT or your cousin.
- you understand that DIY rarely gets you results you’’ll love.
- you understand that for big, important jobs with many moving parts, if you don’t buy nice, you may end up buying twice.Your face is too important for that.
- a decisive guide lets you relax and enjoy the process, rather than fret about the parts you don’t understand, or need to “research”.
My decision?
In case it is not apparent, while I am waiting for a third quote, I walked away from the two quotations with a better idea of what to expect and what kind of consumer I am.
I pay for the best I can afford to avoid regret and mistakes, but only when I have someone to compare good service with subpar service.
The problem many of us make, as I did, is that when the options are many, it is easy to miss an expert because the speciality is overrun by barely qualified people competing on price.
I am someone who appreciates a done-for-you plan, guided by someone who is an expert in their field, who can anticipate problems and guide me through them.
I am not interested in “do your research” because the risk of making mistakes with a DIY approach,is too high.
So ultimately I will go with the tradesman with whom I can relax, let go of the need to control and even (maybe) enjoy the process without needing to be in charge.
Ultimately
- If it is too cheap, I question what corners they are likely to cut.
- If it is too fast (one guy quoted a turnaround time of two weeks, but another guy explained the waterproofing alone will take about a week), then I have to wonder, again what is being compromised.
- Lastly, the first guy said he wants to give me the best possible price without undercutting his contractors because they are licensed, qualified and they deserve to be paid well; a value that aligns well with my own.
So the next time you consider medical aesthetics especially if it is for an ageing face, it may be time to realign your expectations of what good work looks like, and then how you might budget for it, rather than prioritise budget and risk looking worse.