A matter of trust...

One of the things Ginger said to me, a year ago, during my interview, was that she'd like to start passing some of her clients off to another hairdresser so she could have more time with her family. It made things sound very promising. Now, I know that no hairdresser will hand you all their clients, but a weeding out is sometimes in order. All I've heard Ginger do, ever since I started working there, is complain to her clients that she doesn't have time to entertain like she used to, or she doesn't have time to get all her Christmas preparations done, stuff like that. She's had clients call all week, looking to get "squeezed in" before the holidays. Which, of course, she cannot do, because her schedule is PACKED. A few miracles have occurred, such as other clients cancelling last minute, but not very much. I noticed in Chrissy's schedule for today that she has a "dedicated" Ginger client down for color. Now, applying color isn't rocket science. The formula is in the computer. It's just like following a recipe. A little of this color, a lot of this color, appropriate amount of correct developer, mix well, viola! Haircolor in a bottle, ready to apply. When Ginger was talking to the both of us about when she booked this client, she looked both of us straight in the eye and said "I know you'll do just fine, it's just that she's never been with anybody except me" and actually looked sad about it!! She told the client, ON THE PHONE, that if necessary, she'd even mix up the color for Chrissy, so there'd be no mistake! So, I'd just like to say, "Thanks for the vote of confidence"! Not only does Ginger do this to Chrissy, she does it to me, as well. I'll give you another example. A couple of months ago, a potential client called, wanting to book updos with our salon for their wedding. They're not clients of our salon, but they were going to be in the area and found us. Evelyn had first called me at home, wanting to know if I felt confident enough with my updos to take on a wedding. To my detriment, I did laugh and say "No. I've done 4 and one of them was on short hair!", so I know that didn't help. They waited over a week to call this client back, and only after I kept asking what happened with that client. When Ginger talked to me about it next, it was because I noticed two updos scheduled, one with me, and one with Chrissy. Ginger had the audacity to tell the client "Well, normally, Evelyn and I do all the weddings, but we're both booked solid. I've got two stylists, who aren't experienced with updos, who are willing to try". Why doesn't the woman just shoot us in the foot and get it over with?? For that matter, she also just shot herself in the foot! The end result?? The client did book, but found another salon to book with and didn't call us back to cancel. Chrissy did the confirmation calls for that day and left a message on their cell phone, but got no call back to cancel. So, she and I were both booked for 1.5 hours that we lost, Ginger lost the profit from both those updos. So, my question is: When does your salon owner start to trust you?? After a year of working to prove myself, shouldn't there be a measure of trust?? I also received a Christmas card, from one of my more sporadic clients on Thursday. Evelyn made sure to explain she made a point of saving the card for me and telling me where it was, instead of just leaving it on my station. I'm thinking she was debating whether or not to even tell me about it. I've also had clients bring me gifts for Christmas, as well. And all of this surprises both Evelyn & Ginger. It blows my mind. They must think they're the only hairdressers on the planet that people can care about and appreciate! Thanks for letting me grumble!