The color I dislike the most

I fancy myself as a colorist first, stylist definitely second. I love to look at color, I love to play with color. I feel confident using color, any color. That being said, the one color I absolutely abhor is 11A. A, for those not in the business, is ash...the color most people are. I feel that ash should only be used in the instances of correcting color, not as the only color on your hair. It is a very flat, boring color. I happen to have a client who is WHITE and prefers to be ASH to tone down the warmth that always happens when you color white hair. Now, the solution to this is to put back the pigment that's missing (N series) with a little bit of the desired pigment (Ash series). However, I'm digressing... 11A. Completely ugly color. What it does on a natural dark blonde is take them to the yellow stage of the lightening process. Because it's hair color, not lightener, it won't progress past the yellow stage. Consequently, the client's hair is now canary yellow. I have a client that I share with the others, who have turned her onto this ugly color to start with. I want soooo badly to change her color!! The first time I had her, I talked to her about lowlighting her hair to break up all that yellow. It took her from March, when I first had her, until October to do "highlights". Now, considering she is colored to a level 11 (which is really a level 9, since it's yellow), taking her higher with lightener is a waste of time. You can't see it. You're walking the color up to pale yellow (which is a nicer color), which, by the way, doesn't show up in yellow hair! If she were to become my client, I would highlight her, 3/4 head, with lightener and 10 volume, to lift her gently and safely, on her ends, and use on the scalp lightener & 20 volume on her regrowth, bringing her up to the pale yellow stage (which is the desirable color), and maybe toning afterward, if color balancing is needed to get rid of unwanted warm tones. (Listen to me, sounding all Beth Minardi-ish!) However, since I'm the 3rd alternate back up plan, I'll need to bide my time and strike when the timing is right! A funny side note to this person, the first time I had her in my chair, she didn't tip me (and I suspect this is standard operating procedure). The second time she was in my chair, she actually tipped me! A huge tip? No, not the point. The point is, she liked what I did enough to tip me, and that's what's important, not the dollar amount!! I've said it before, and I will continue to say it: If I were in this only for the tips, I'm going to be sadly disappointed!! I do this because I love it. My financial reward is my paycheck at the end of every week, not the tips I pull in. Don't get me wrong, tips come in very handy. However, if I didn't have them, I'd find a way to survive. I'm funny that way.