When you wish to lighten your hair more than 4 levels, a lightener must be used. The term "lightener" is used in place of the term "bleach". When you use lightener, you are lightening the hair. Lightener can be used on color treated hair or it can be used on virgin hair. It is fairly predictable in that it WILL lighten the hair. Exactly how much it will lighten is always open to question. Texture of the hair, how much previous color is on the hair, the consistency of the lightening product, how long the product is left on the hair, all factor into how well this adventure in hair coloring will turn out. Using a product that is too thick will cause the product to dry out, making it relatively ineffective. A product that is too thin will make a huge mess and won't spread evenly onto the hair. When you have previous artificial color on the hair, the lightening product has to break that pigment up first, before it can work on the natural pigment. And, sometimes, depending on how dark the artificial pigment is, you may not be able to lighten the hair to the desired shade before the hair disintegrates.
Lightener is a powerful tool in the hair colorists arsenal. Too high a developer on the wrong hair type can ruin even the best work otherwise. Knowing how to work with the product and being comfortable with the product are so vitally important. Knowing how to work with it, but being uncomfortable with it won't get you terribly far...in fact, it will get you one less client in your chair because once you screw up a persons hair color, you won't get them back into your chair. EVER.
Toner, on the other hand, is an entirely different product. It is a product you use AFTER you lighten the hair to the acceptable tone of pale yellow (either the color of the inside of the banana or the outside of the banana, depending on A) what type of toner you are using, and B) what tone you're looking for. Most toners currently in use do not have the ability to lift/lighten the hair what so ever. What they are designed to do is change the tone of the hair. For example: You've lightened your client to a pale, golden blonde. Her desire is to be platinum, which is a violet based, ash toned color...it's a cool tone. So, what you do is mix up the desired toner with it's dedicated developer, apply it to the hair, let it develop for the allotted time, rinse, and viola! You should have platinum toned blonde hair.
However, when you use toner because you either grabbed it by mistake instead of grabbing high lift color (which, by the way, won't lighten hair levels 6 and darker enough), or grabbed it not realizing what the color actually was because you have no interest in reading the directions, or you're apparently still "suffering" from the effects of what you did last night, it won't do a bloody thing except possibly put a different tone on you current hair color. And, as another "aside", mixing the shades of the toners together, particularly the violet toned one and the neutral/natural toned one won't really get you much of anything. Except the need to ask for help (which should have happened in the first place), and for not being able to charge the client for your mistake, because, well, it was your fault in the first place!!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thoughts...
I'm thinking of changing the direction, or even the "flavor"of this blog. It's occurred to me that I use it mostly to complain about my work situation, instead of what I originally intended it to be for, which was to talk about hair and hair color. So, I thought I'd change things up and see how it goes.
What I'd like to be know as is an "expert" in both hair color and fine hair. "Why??" you might ask?? Well, hair color is my absolute PASSION. I love to watch the chemical reactions I create, I love to learn from the mistakes I make (regularly, I might add), and I love to make people happy with the colors I create for them. Fine hair....I have a head FULL of it. I understand, better than a lot of hairdressers do (in my opinion, mind you) what fine hair is both capable of and not capable of.
So. Let's talk about fine hair, shall we??
What makes hair "fine"?? The diameter of the strand is what makes it fine, visually. What also makes it fine, scientifically, is this: Most hair has a cuticle, a cortex, and a medulla. The cuticle is the outer layer, if magnified, it looks scaly. On virgin hair, it's compact, and difficult for chemicals to break through to do their job. On chemically treated hair, the cuticle is slightly raised to extremely raised, depending on the condition of the hair. Slightly raised is okay....extremely raised is NOT. More on that in a bit... The cortex is where the natural pigment of the hair resides. It's also where the developer and artificial pigment in hair color need to get to to do their respective jobs. The developer breaks up the natural pigment, making space for the artificial pigment to deposit. The medulla is a straw-like structure, located at the very inside layer of the strand, giving it it's strength. All hair has this, except fine hair.
When it comes to chemically working with hair, medium texture is what all the color and perm companies presume hair is, and therefore, their products are formulated to work best with. However, most people don't have medium density hair. Most people actually have fine hair, with a few that have coarse hair.
When you have fine hair, you can have thin hair, medium, or "thick" hair. What does this actually mean?? I'm referring to density...hairs per square inch. Thin hair, or sparse hair means you can see the scalp, clearly, when the hair is dry. I encounter quite a few people that refer to their hair as being "thin" when they really mean "fine"...so I make sure to explain the difference between the two. Most people don't realize that they genuinely have a full head of hair. With the right hair color, and the right hair cut, you can make someone with thin, fine hair look like they have a TON of hair.
How do I know this?? While my hair isn't thin, it is fine. Baby fine, as a matter of fact. Always has been. When you hold a single strand of hair out from my head, you almost can't see it (even when it's flaming red). My hair is quite soft when it's clean and without product in it to give it some "oomph". The only time I never have any product in my hair is when I'm on a full-blown vacation and I'm not going anywhere. Then I'll just wash and condition my hair, but do nothing else with it, just to give my poor hair a break. Otherwise, at all times, there is some sort of product in my hair.
The bonuses to fine hair: Coloring it is fairly predictable. When I want pale blonde highlights for my client, I know that I don't have to use anything stronger than 20 volume, even on color treated hair. When I perm fine hair, it almost always "takes" tighter than the rod dictates the curl will be, which, in turn, means the perm will technically last a lot longer than in "average" hair.
Fine hair can be curly, wavy, or straight. Even when fine hair greys, it may get curlier, but it's still fine.... When fine hair is dense, great care must be administered when you are chemically treating it. Small partings must be used when applying color so all the hair is colored, and fine partings must also be used when wrapping for a perm, so all the hair takes a nice, firm curl.
When the cuticle is slightly raised, fine hair appears to be more voluminous. Not necessarily a bad thing. However, it's also too easy to push the hair into extremely raised cuticle very quickly, especially if the hair is over-processed. This becomes a huge problem for fine-haired clients.
Truly, the only cure for over-processed hair is a hair cut. You cannot "heal" hair, no matter how hard all the shampoo companies try to tell you different. I will say, that the ones who claim to deposit protein and /or keratin back into the hair work quite well at smoothing the hair by filling in the gaps. However, all the shampoos, conditioners, and styling products in the world will not cure your over-processed hair. They are all just "band-aids" to cover up what was done. I'm a big fan of recommending the smoothing products: shampoo, conditioner, and styling products meant to smooth, or straighten hair. They don't actually physically straighten the hair. What they are is an acidic product meant to help counteract the issues alkaline products do to the hair. All permanent hair color and permanent waves are alkaline...they open the cuticle. To counteract this, using acidic products works the best. What they actually do is help smooth the cuticle down, making the hair appear shiny, smoother and easier to handle. I'll even recommend them to my curly haired clients...they offer so much control over the hair.
So, how's that for my first, official fine hair article?? Make any sense?? Or, should I just go back to complaining about my co-workers??
What I'd like to be know as is an "expert" in both hair color and fine hair. "Why??" you might ask?? Well, hair color is my absolute PASSION. I love to watch the chemical reactions I create, I love to learn from the mistakes I make (regularly, I might add), and I love to make people happy with the colors I create for them. Fine hair....I have a head FULL of it. I understand, better than a lot of hairdressers do (in my opinion, mind you) what fine hair is both capable of and not capable of.
So. Let's talk about fine hair, shall we??
What makes hair "fine"?? The diameter of the strand is what makes it fine, visually. What also makes it fine, scientifically, is this: Most hair has a cuticle, a cortex, and a medulla. The cuticle is the outer layer, if magnified, it looks scaly. On virgin hair, it's compact, and difficult for chemicals to break through to do their job. On chemically treated hair, the cuticle is slightly raised to extremely raised, depending on the condition of the hair. Slightly raised is okay....extremely raised is NOT. More on that in a bit... The cortex is where the natural pigment of the hair resides. It's also where the developer and artificial pigment in hair color need to get to to do their respective jobs. The developer breaks up the natural pigment, making space for the artificial pigment to deposit. The medulla is a straw-like structure, located at the very inside layer of the strand, giving it it's strength. All hair has this, except fine hair.
When it comes to chemically working with hair, medium texture is what all the color and perm companies presume hair is, and therefore, their products are formulated to work best with. However, most people don't have medium density hair. Most people actually have fine hair, with a few that have coarse hair.
When you have fine hair, you can have thin hair, medium, or "thick" hair. What does this actually mean?? I'm referring to density...hairs per square inch. Thin hair, or sparse hair means you can see the scalp, clearly, when the hair is dry. I encounter quite a few people that refer to their hair as being "thin" when they really mean "fine"...so I make sure to explain the difference between the two. Most people don't realize that they genuinely have a full head of hair. With the right hair color, and the right hair cut, you can make someone with thin, fine hair look like they have a TON of hair.
How do I know this?? While my hair isn't thin, it is fine. Baby fine, as a matter of fact. Always has been. When you hold a single strand of hair out from my head, you almost can't see it (even when it's flaming red). My hair is quite soft when it's clean and without product in it to give it some "oomph". The only time I never have any product in my hair is when I'm on a full-blown vacation and I'm not going anywhere. Then I'll just wash and condition my hair, but do nothing else with it, just to give my poor hair a break. Otherwise, at all times, there is some sort of product in my hair.
The bonuses to fine hair: Coloring it is fairly predictable. When I want pale blonde highlights for my client, I know that I don't have to use anything stronger than 20 volume, even on color treated hair. When I perm fine hair, it almost always "takes" tighter than the rod dictates the curl will be, which, in turn, means the perm will technically last a lot longer than in "average" hair.
Fine hair can be curly, wavy, or straight. Even when fine hair greys, it may get curlier, but it's still fine.... When fine hair is dense, great care must be administered when you are chemically treating it. Small partings must be used when applying color so all the hair is colored, and fine partings must also be used when wrapping for a perm, so all the hair takes a nice, firm curl.
When the cuticle is slightly raised, fine hair appears to be more voluminous. Not necessarily a bad thing. However, it's also too easy to push the hair into extremely raised cuticle very quickly, especially if the hair is over-processed. This becomes a huge problem for fine-haired clients.
Truly, the only cure for over-processed hair is a hair cut. You cannot "heal" hair, no matter how hard all the shampoo companies try to tell you different. I will say, that the ones who claim to deposit protein and /or keratin back into the hair work quite well at smoothing the hair by filling in the gaps. However, all the shampoos, conditioners, and styling products in the world will not cure your over-processed hair. They are all just "band-aids" to cover up what was done. I'm a big fan of recommending the smoothing products: shampoo, conditioner, and styling products meant to smooth, or straighten hair. They don't actually physically straighten the hair. What they are is an acidic product meant to help counteract the issues alkaline products do to the hair. All permanent hair color and permanent waves are alkaline...they open the cuticle. To counteract this, using acidic products works the best. What they actually do is help smooth the cuticle down, making the hair appear shiny, smoother and easier to handle. I'll even recommend them to my curly haired clients...they offer so much control over the hair.
So, how's that for my first, official fine hair article?? Make any sense?? Or, should I just go back to complaining about my co-workers??
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Anti-climatic
So, Tammy came on Wednesday. She showed up at 8am, left before 10am. Poof. Done. All the meeting was about was how things are supposed to be, so everyone understands the whole commission system. She also explained how returns/refunds are to be done. Which was helpful, because I've explained all the paperwork to the girls until I'm blue in the face, but what the hell do I know?? Tammy is S-L-O-W-L-Y figuring out that Becky didn't tell us/teach us ANYTHING....I suspect that, after a year, we won't be considered a "new" salon any longer. So, the "slack" we've been granted won't be lasting much longer.
In other related news: The "mojo" of the salon has been thrown off in a big way this week. Is it the HUGE full moon we had?? Or Tammy being here and us not knowing what she was going to do?? A mixture of both?? Who the heck knows. What I do know is I'll be glad when this week is O-V-E-R!!
Let's see....what else?? OH! We had an idiot drunk in the salon Wednesday night....that was a "good" time....The best part?? While his kids were in the salon (ages 11 & 9), receiving services, the dumb ass was out in the parking lot, pretending to go home to "get something to return", drinking some more. And the poor lamb is divorced...can you imagine??? (rolling my eyes here...)
At first, when he first came into the salon, he was talking to a guy friend just outside the door, so I chalked his stupidity to his buddy being nearby (some guys have to posture and act like an idiot to impress their friends...my brother is like that). I also tried to give him the benefit of the doubt...his daughter seemed like she had "something" going on, so maybe it was an inherited thing (speech pattern, lack of brain cells (in his case), something...) Nope. We were completely "shit-faced", "hammered", whatever you want to call it.
By the time he decided to go out to his vehicle to drink some more (he just wasn't gone long enough to have driven all the way out to Guilford Elementary School and back), I'd had enough of his stupidity. Apparently, he's never seen a short, chunky, busty red head before, and I fascinated the twit. To the point that he was completely IN MY SPACE while I was cutting his son's hair (who was a great kid, by the way). I almost stepped on the drunken idiot as I was moving around my chair, working. Ugh.
The best part?? Even if he was sober, he still wouldn't have been a nice looking guy or a guy I'd want to spend any time with. And, unknown to the little darling, I've had my fair share of drunks...all set. Where do these people come from?? Who has been tipping rocks lately to let these things out??
Gotta love full moon....
In other related news: The "mojo" of the salon has been thrown off in a big way this week. Is it the HUGE full moon we had?? Or Tammy being here and us not knowing what she was going to do?? A mixture of both?? Who the heck knows. What I do know is I'll be glad when this week is O-V-E-R!!
Let's see....what else?? OH! We had an idiot drunk in the salon Wednesday night....that was a "good" time....The best part?? While his kids were in the salon (ages 11 & 9), receiving services, the dumb ass was out in the parking lot, pretending to go home to "get something to return", drinking some more. And the poor lamb is divorced...can you imagine??? (rolling my eyes here...)
At first, when he first came into the salon, he was talking to a guy friend just outside the door, so I chalked his stupidity to his buddy being nearby (some guys have to posture and act like an idiot to impress their friends...my brother is like that). I also tried to give him the benefit of the doubt...his daughter seemed like she had "something" going on, so maybe it was an inherited thing (speech pattern, lack of brain cells (in his case), something...) Nope. We were completely "shit-faced", "hammered", whatever you want to call it.
By the time he decided to go out to his vehicle to drink some more (he just wasn't gone long enough to have driven all the way out to Guilford Elementary School and back), I'd had enough of his stupidity. Apparently, he's never seen a short, chunky, busty red head before, and I fascinated the twit. To the point that he was completely IN MY SPACE while I was cutting his son's hair (who was a great kid, by the way). I almost stepped on the drunken idiot as I was moving around my chair, working. Ugh.
The best part?? Even if he was sober, he still wouldn't have been a nice looking guy or a guy I'd want to spend any time with. And, unknown to the little darling, I've had my fair share of drunks...all set. Where do these people come from?? Who has been tipping rocks lately to let these things out??
Gotta love full moon....
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Just a little trim.....
"I just want a trim, not a hair cut"...."A regular man's hair cut" ..."A regular boy's hair cut". "I've been growing my hair out...haven't had it cut in two years" "Just a quick dye job" "Just throw in a couple of foils"
Okay, lemme 'splain somethin' to you, Lucy....a "trim" is the SAME as a hair cut. We go through all the same motions to "trim" it as we do to cut it. What YOU, the client needs to say is "no more than 1/2 inch off".
"A regular man's/boy's hair cut"...as opposed to irregular hair cuts?? (of which I've fixed MANY, trust me) WHAT THE HELL IS A REGULAR HAIR CUT?!?!? Just give us the freakin' details....up over the ears to expose the ears, or not?? And when was the last time it was cut?? PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE!!!
"I've been growing my hair out...haven't had it cut in two years"...Seriously?? WHY?? So that 4 inch section of hair can touch your behind and make you THINK you have long hair?? *rolling my eyes here* Again, if you schedule your hair cuts on a regular basis (1 month, 2 months, 3 months), work with the same hairdresser so you both know what the goal is, and agree on how much gets cut off at each hair cut, you'd be at your goal at the same time it took you to grow that mess out, than by leaving it alone. And here's a little bit of science for you: Hair has a growing phase, a resting phase and a falling out phase (catogen, anagen, telogen), and each individual hair is doing it's own thing. THAT would be why you get that v-shaped hairline when you want forever to get your hair cut. And it feels scraggly. If you and your hair dresser develop a regimen and stick to it, your hair will be long and healthy, all at the same time, knuckle head!!
"Just a quick dye job"...no such freakin' thing. First of all, if your stylist has half a brain, they're going to go through a complete consultation with you, writing down the important to them parts, such as hair type, condition, previous color, what is needed (grey coverage)and what is wanted.(red tones, ash tones, neutral tones). Even if this is accomplished in 5 minutes, it takes another 5-10 minutes to create the color you're looking for (sometimes we don't have the exact components and need to create it), and can take up to 30 minutes to apply it, depending on the density of your hair. Can a "quick dye job" be done at home?? Absolutely. You mix up the stuff in the bottle and start smearing it around on your head....which leaves blank spots at the back of your head where you can't really reach as well as damages the entire head of hair, all at the same time. So, go ahead, do it at home. I'll see you in my chair for a color correction. Which, by the way, will cost a heck of a lot more than the initial color job in the first place. AND dye is for clothing and shoes...COLOR is for hair.
"Just throw in a couple foils"...do you think any one would mind if I just tossed pieces of foil at them like Rip Taylor and his pail of confetti?? Using foils, even just a few, is all about placement. And every one's head is different. The difference between natural looking highlights and not natural looking highlights is a foil or two in the wrong place...that's it. All it takes.
These are things we hear all the time. And we all feel like a broken record, repeating ourselves all day long, educating John Q Public about how it's not as easy as we make it look.
Oh, yeah...my friend, Ami, brought this up on Facebook this morning...when we say we're closed, we're closed. If there's no money in the register, the register is locked, we can't get into it to do ANYTHING....as much as it's all about the customer all the time, cut us a little bit of slack, would you?? And don't tell us it's just a trim when it's an entire new creation....thanks.
Okay, lemme 'splain somethin' to you, Lucy....a "trim" is the SAME as a hair cut. We go through all the same motions to "trim" it as we do to cut it. What YOU, the client needs to say is "no more than 1/2 inch off".
"A regular man's/boy's hair cut"...as opposed to irregular hair cuts?? (of which I've fixed MANY, trust me) WHAT THE HELL IS A REGULAR HAIR CUT?!?!? Just give us the freakin' details....up over the ears to expose the ears, or not?? And when was the last time it was cut?? PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE!!!
"I've been growing my hair out...haven't had it cut in two years"...Seriously?? WHY?? So that 4 inch section of hair can touch your behind and make you THINK you have long hair?? *rolling my eyes here* Again, if you schedule your hair cuts on a regular basis (1 month, 2 months, 3 months), work with the same hairdresser so you both know what the goal is, and agree on how much gets cut off at each hair cut, you'd be at your goal at the same time it took you to grow that mess out, than by leaving it alone. And here's a little bit of science for you: Hair has a growing phase, a resting phase and a falling out phase (catogen, anagen, telogen), and each individual hair is doing it's own thing. THAT would be why you get that v-shaped hairline when you want forever to get your hair cut. And it feels scraggly. If you and your hair dresser develop a regimen and stick to it, your hair will be long and healthy, all at the same time, knuckle head!!
"Just a quick dye job"...no such freakin' thing. First of all, if your stylist has half a brain, they're going to go through a complete consultation with you, writing down the important to them parts, such as hair type, condition, previous color, what is needed (grey coverage)and what is wanted.(red tones, ash tones, neutral tones). Even if this is accomplished in 5 minutes, it takes another 5-10 minutes to create the color you're looking for (sometimes we don't have the exact components and need to create it), and can take up to 30 minutes to apply it, depending on the density of your hair. Can a "quick dye job" be done at home?? Absolutely. You mix up the stuff in the bottle and start smearing it around on your head....which leaves blank spots at the back of your head where you can't really reach as well as damages the entire head of hair, all at the same time. So, go ahead, do it at home. I'll see you in my chair for a color correction. Which, by the way, will cost a heck of a lot more than the initial color job in the first place. AND dye is for clothing and shoes...COLOR is for hair.
"Just throw in a couple foils"...do you think any one would mind if I just tossed pieces of foil at them like Rip Taylor and his pail of confetti?? Using foils, even just a few, is all about placement. And every one's head is different. The difference between natural looking highlights and not natural looking highlights is a foil or two in the wrong place...that's it. All it takes.
These are things we hear all the time. And we all feel like a broken record, repeating ourselves all day long, educating John Q Public about how it's not as easy as we make it look.
Oh, yeah...my friend, Ami, brought this up on Facebook this morning...when we say we're closed, we're closed. If there's no money in the register, the register is locked, we can't get into it to do ANYTHING....as much as it's all about the customer all the time, cut us a little bit of slack, would you?? And don't tell us it's just a trim when it's an entire new creation....thanks.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Musings...
So, I got to hear a little bit about what went on Wednesday when Tammy was here. Rita started in, asking a TON of questions, about how would Tina and I handle "X".
Rita just doesn't get it. And, I get the feeling, she's going to be asking a lot of questions during the meeting, which is exactly what Tammy doesn't want, even if she says "Any questions??" I even tried to explain to Rita "Everything you say, to Tammy, is going to be an excuse, so there's no point in saying anything other than "Yes, Tammy. I'll work on that to improve"". And she just doesn't get it. Sigh.....
Of course,what makes me irked is that when I had talked to Tammy a while back about cutting hours when the sales just aren't there, she had told me to go ahead and do that. Now, she's singing a different tune. Which is irritating, to say the least.
Rita just doesn't get it. And, I get the feeling, she's going to be asking a lot of questions during the meeting, which is exactly what Tammy doesn't want, even if she says "Any questions??" I even tried to explain to Rita "Everything you say, to Tammy, is going to be an excuse, so there's no point in saying anything other than "Yes, Tammy. I'll work on that to improve"". And she just doesn't get it. Sigh.....
Of course,what makes me irked is that when I had talked to Tammy a while back about cutting hours when the sales just aren't there, she had told me to go ahead and do that. Now, she's singing a different tune. Which is irritating, to say the least.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Hmmmmmm....Not sure what to think.....
So, I talked to Tammy on Monday. Got quite a few of my questions regarding the "PIP" answered, which made me feel somewhat better. And she actually made the effort to get down to our store, by way of Leominster, MA. (Which is where she was scheduled to be, and made an additional stop to our store)
When I got home from errands yesterday (my second day off), there was a message from Tammy on my machine. She sounded drained and tired (part of that is she's fighting a cold, the rest is the drama that goes on), but let me know she did some changes to our schedules to get things properly covered (more on that in a bit), as well as scheduling a full staff meeting for next Wednesday, so she can tell everyone the same thing at the same time (which I much prefer, honestly, to telling individuals slightly different things), because there seems to be a lot of things we're not aware of. I was not home when this call came, so I did not get a chance to talk to her.
I did, however, call Tina and give her the heads up about things. Both she and I did the same thing...have a small panic, then go into question-asking mode. So, I encouraged her to write down whatever questions she comes up with in the next few days so we can, hopefully, get them answered.
As far as Stephie & Rita go: I can only imagine what those two said to Tammy. I'm sure I've been right and properly bashed by the both of them, regarding hours, not telling them things, etc., etc., etc. Does this bother me?? Somewhat. Why?? Because I care about the salon doing well, as a whole, I care about people doing well individually, and I care about MY job and doing IT well. While I'm not here to be every one's friend, everyone getting along would be a good thing.
Is there a definite line drawn between those who provide great service and those who don't?? Absolutely. Have I been effective in helping those who are not?? No, not really. Do I have a lot of things I could say to "defend" myself?? Sure, I do. There's almost no point in saying them, though, because all it will sound like is a bunch of excuses.
So, I go into work today with a bit of trepidation...not knowing what Tammy did, nor what she said to the others, nor what was said by the others. Ugh.
When I got home from errands yesterday (my second day off), there was a message from Tammy on my machine. She sounded drained and tired (part of that is she's fighting a cold, the rest is the drama that goes on), but let me know she did some changes to our schedules to get things properly covered (more on that in a bit), as well as scheduling a full staff meeting for next Wednesday, so she can tell everyone the same thing at the same time (which I much prefer, honestly, to telling individuals slightly different things), because there seems to be a lot of things we're not aware of. I was not home when this call came, so I did not get a chance to talk to her.
I did, however, call Tina and give her the heads up about things. Both she and I did the same thing...have a small panic, then go into question-asking mode. So, I encouraged her to write down whatever questions she comes up with in the next few days so we can, hopefully, get them answered.
As far as Stephie & Rita go: I can only imagine what those two said to Tammy. I'm sure I've been right and properly bashed by the both of them, regarding hours, not telling them things, etc., etc., etc. Does this bother me?? Somewhat. Why?? Because I care about the salon doing well, as a whole, I care about people doing well individually, and I care about MY job and doing IT well. While I'm not here to be every one's friend, everyone getting along would be a good thing.
Is there a definite line drawn between those who provide great service and those who don't?? Absolutely. Have I been effective in helping those who are not?? No, not really. Do I have a lot of things I could say to "defend" myself?? Sure, I do. There's almost no point in saying them, though, because all it will sound like is a bunch of excuses.
So, I go into work today with a bit of trepidation...not knowing what Tammy did, nor what she said to the others, nor what was said by the others. Ugh.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Commission...UGH.....
So, the edict came down last week, as I've posted in "Letters" and "Letters, part 2". So, today, I actually got to talk to Tammy about the whole thing...what exactly we're supposed to be doing, how she wants us calling in our numbers, etc. What a screaming pain in the ass.
Now, there's an equation within the letter, explaining how to figure out what you need to be "making" an hour to be on commission. Divide our hourly rate (which sucks, by the way) by 40% (which is our commission, unless we surpass $929 in services...next to impossible right now), and viola! You have your commission rate. However, when I talked to Tammy, she gave me a completely different amount to go by. So, consequently, it's a bit confusing.
At any rate....when I figured out what everyone needs to be doing every day for commission sales, I got pretty discouraged. The amounts are quite high. Don't get me wrong, we're fairly busy right now, especially for this time of year (which is typically slow from Labor Day to the week before Thanksgiving). However, not all of us are busy. And I'm certainly not busy enough in the eyes of the corporate "Gods". Right now, I'm busy enough to make commission at 32 hours a week. To receive manager's status (officially, mind you....getting tired of these stupid hoops), I have to be working 38 hours a week, which I'm not too keen on. And, frankly, it was hard to not pipe up to Tammy this morning and say "Uh...in case you hadn't noticed, I'm DOING the manager's job at 32 hours a week. 38 isn't necessary". But, I managed to keep my trap shut. Only just.
I really do like my job, despite my Aunt telling me I'm dumb for doing it the way that I am. ( by being "acting" manager instead of MANAGER) I'm far busier here than I was at my old salon...by far. And my tips have tripled since I've been at this new job. I certainly don't want to lose my job over something so relatively trivial as commission or not commission.
According to Tammy, when you're paid hourly, it eats up a lot of payroll. I have issues with this theory, and I'll tell you why. When I worked at my old salon, I kept track of what I charged for services vs what I received for pay each week. At the end of the month, it wasn't uncommon for my former employer, Ginger, to clear a minimum of $350 a month or more off of me. Now, I realize that doesn't begin to cover my payroll , but she was still making money. And Regis is making more, due to all the retail I've sold that I didn't receive a cent of commission from when I didn't make service commission. It may be a lousy attitude, but I don't think the company will go bankrupt just yet.
So, while I'm not stressed out about this just yet, it's coming. Sigh...
Now, there's an equation within the letter, explaining how to figure out what you need to be "making" an hour to be on commission. Divide our hourly rate (which sucks, by the way) by 40% (which is our commission, unless we surpass $929 in services...next to impossible right now), and viola! You have your commission rate. However, when I talked to Tammy, she gave me a completely different amount to go by. So, consequently, it's a bit confusing.
At any rate....when I figured out what everyone needs to be doing every day for commission sales, I got pretty discouraged. The amounts are quite high. Don't get me wrong, we're fairly busy right now, especially for this time of year (which is typically slow from Labor Day to the week before Thanksgiving). However, not all of us are busy. And I'm certainly not busy enough in the eyes of the corporate "Gods". Right now, I'm busy enough to make commission at 32 hours a week. To receive manager's status (officially, mind you....getting tired of these stupid hoops), I have to be working 38 hours a week, which I'm not too keen on. And, frankly, it was hard to not pipe up to Tammy this morning and say "Uh...in case you hadn't noticed, I'm DOING the manager's job at 32 hours a week. 38 isn't necessary". But, I managed to keep my trap shut. Only just.
I really do like my job, despite my Aunt telling me I'm dumb for doing it the way that I am. ( by being "acting" manager instead of MANAGER) I'm far busier here than I was at my old salon...by far. And my tips have tripled since I've been at this new job. I certainly don't want to lose my job over something so relatively trivial as commission or not commission.
According to Tammy, when you're paid hourly, it eats up a lot of payroll. I have issues with this theory, and I'll tell you why. When I worked at my old salon, I kept track of what I charged for services vs what I received for pay each week. At the end of the month, it wasn't uncommon for my former employer, Ginger, to clear a minimum of $350 a month or more off of me. Now, I realize that doesn't begin to cover my payroll , but she was still making money. And Regis is making more, due to all the retail I've sold that I didn't receive a cent of commission from when I didn't make service commission. It may be a lousy attitude, but I don't think the company will go bankrupt just yet.
So, while I'm not stressed out about this just yet, it's coming. Sigh...
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Letters, part 2
So, from what I understand (by talking to Tina), Stephie seems to think I totally have it in for her, and that I hate her. (mind you, she's my Red Bull drinker and pot smoker, so there's some anxiety and paranoia going on here). Sigh....
It genuinely takes a LOT for me to hate someone or something. I can intensely dislike things, or people,for that matter, but to actually HATE something or someone, takes a lot. I feel it's the exact same intensity that love is....if you're saying it, you'd better mean it. Therefore, I don't "hate" things a lot.
Anyway. The Regis Corporation, much like any other corporation, is all about sales figures. We now know, finally, exactly what it is they're looking for. I've got how they want service commission to be figured out for each day, I've got retail commission for each day all figured out, I've got how many "combo tickets" need to be obtained for each day.
What are combo tickets, you might ask?? Well, in Regis-speak, it's when you sell retail behind the chair---meaning while the client is in your chair, you talk to them about the virtues of the products you've used on their hair...shampoo,conditioner, styling products. By endorsing them, you should manage to convince your client to purchase what you've used on their hair so they can get the same results at home. If you believe in the product, it's pretty easy to convince the client it will do what it claims. And, since Regis wants 8% of your weekly clients to be combo tickets (I believe it's weekly...could be mistaken on that one), it's pretty easy to achieve. It works out to roughly 4 clients a week. Now, if you see 20-30 clients a week (which isn't uncommon where we work) that's 2-4 clients a week you need to sell to, to make the "gods" at home office happy.
My goal?? To put this into easy to understand, written down goals, for everyone to follow, including Stephie, who will resist this every stinking step of the way.
What is truly frustrating about talking to her is she's such a passive -aggressive. For me, those people are so hard to deal with. I'm trying, but it's not easy. She's going to take everything as a personal attack, which makes me not want to talk to her, which, in turn, is exactly what she wants, so I won't talk to her about these things, so she can just go on her merry way. And, if you know me, there's no way in h-e-double toothpick I'm going to let her get away with that one!!
It genuinely takes a LOT for me to hate someone or something. I can intensely dislike things, or people,for that matter, but to actually HATE something or someone, takes a lot. I feel it's the exact same intensity that love is....if you're saying it, you'd better mean it. Therefore, I don't "hate" things a lot.
Anyway. The Regis Corporation, much like any other corporation, is all about sales figures. We now know, finally, exactly what it is they're looking for. I've got how they want service commission to be figured out for each day, I've got retail commission for each day all figured out, I've got how many "combo tickets" need to be obtained for each day.
What are combo tickets, you might ask?? Well, in Regis-speak, it's when you sell retail behind the chair---meaning while the client is in your chair, you talk to them about the virtues of the products you've used on their hair...shampoo,conditioner, styling products. By endorsing them, you should manage to convince your client to purchase what you've used on their hair so they can get the same results at home. If you believe in the product, it's pretty easy to convince the client it will do what it claims. And, since Regis wants 8% of your weekly clients to be combo tickets (I believe it's weekly...could be mistaken on that one), it's pretty easy to achieve. It works out to roughly 4 clients a week. Now, if you see 20-30 clients a week (which isn't uncommon where we work) that's 2-4 clients a week you need to sell to, to make the "gods" at home office happy.
My goal?? To put this into easy to understand, written down goals, for everyone to follow, including Stephie, who will resist this every stinking step of the way.
What is truly frustrating about talking to her is she's such a passive -aggressive. For me, those people are so hard to deal with. I'm trying, but it's not easy. She's going to take everything as a personal attack, which makes me not want to talk to her, which, in turn, is exactly what she wants, so I won't talk to her about these things, so she can just go on her merry way. And, if you know me, there's no way in h-e-double toothpick I'm going to let her get away with that one!!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Letters.....
So, we all got letters from home office regarding our job performance. It talks about tracking your daily sales, creating a sales goal for yourself (both services and retail), stuff like that. There's even a spot in the letter that states that "Those stylists who choose not to perform the required actions on the plan will have refused to improve, and necessary disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, will be taken."
What I'm curious about is this: Which of us will take this seriously, and which will not?? It will be interesting to watch. I've already put in a call to Tammy, with questions to ask her, however, in typical unavailable management form, she hasn't responded to my call. So, now, I'll start nagging.
The funny thing?? I've been tracking my own job performance for quite a while now. And keeping track (somewhat) of the others, as well. The fact that some of them may choose to not take this seriously?? Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.
What I'm curious about is this: Which of us will take this seriously, and which will not?? It will be interesting to watch. I've already put in a call to Tammy, with questions to ask her, however, in typical unavailable management form, she hasn't responded to my call. So, now, I'll start nagging.
The funny thing?? I've been tracking my own job performance for quite a while now. And keeping track (somewhat) of the others, as well. The fact that some of them may choose to not take this seriously?? Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
How to "fake" a haircut....
A practice I've been watching, and need to address, is the practice of "faking" a haircut. What is "faking" a haircut, you might ask?? Is it waving the shears over someones head and saying "SHAZAAM! You have a new haircut!!"?? Unfortunately, no, that would be too easy.
"Faking" a haircut is this: wetting down the perimeter of the hair, or even going so far as to actually shampoo the hair, trimming up the perimeter so the edges are even again, maybe cleaning up the back hairline, and cutting the bangs so they're not heavy again. Now, in all fairness, sometimes, this is needed to be done, like when you are growing your hair out and just want the edges cleaned up. Usually, you and the client go into the haircut knowing that this is what you're doing. It's no where near the work you are doing when actually cutting someones hair.
However, when you and the client discuss the haircut they are wanting, and you tell them you have no problem giving them what they want, you had better darn well be actually cutting that hair, not "faking" it. Today, for example, my mother came in, just wanted her back hairline cleaned up and her bangs cut shorter. She's quite undecided as to what to do with her hair (I'm hoping she doesn't grow it out again....it doesn't look good on her), so that's all she wanted this time, which is fine. When I got done, and brought her to the register, Tina was at the desk, watching me ring her out. And, she questioned why it was so cheap (I only charged my mom for a bang trim, because, really, that's all it was). And I explained "It was just a bang trim". It didn't occur to me, until now, that she was thinking I would charge for a haircut.
I guess I'm part of a weird breed. If I don't cut someones hair, I don't charge them for a haircut. I'm rather honest that way. However, I know that I work with people who are shady enough (for lack of a better phrase) to do their best to get away with that practice. Personally, I feel that if you're going to start the process, you should complete the process. I had another client today who just wanted the back of her hair dealt with. She's working on growing into the "Kate Plus 8" haircut (lord help us....I don't think she's wanting the real thing....) and needed the back cut and razored out. Which I did. And she was more than willing to pay the full price. However, I also made sure the front of her hair blended with the back, so the growing out process is relatively pain free.
Are these two procedures different, or the same?? I definitely did work through her hair, cutting exactly what was essential to cut. There was no pretending to cut her hair, going through the motions to make it look good. There was a PILE of hair on the floor when I was done. And, to me, that makes the difference. When Rita did it to one of my clients, I couldn't believe she charged the poor kid for a haircut...unfortunately, I was with another client and couldn't get to her in time to stop it from happening, nor knew how to confront her about it. Definitely some things I need to work on.
"Faking" a haircut is this: wetting down the perimeter of the hair, or even going so far as to actually shampoo the hair, trimming up the perimeter so the edges are even again, maybe cleaning up the back hairline, and cutting the bangs so they're not heavy again. Now, in all fairness, sometimes, this is needed to be done, like when you are growing your hair out and just want the edges cleaned up. Usually, you and the client go into the haircut knowing that this is what you're doing. It's no where near the work you are doing when actually cutting someones hair.
However, when you and the client discuss the haircut they are wanting, and you tell them you have no problem giving them what they want, you had better darn well be actually cutting that hair, not "faking" it. Today, for example, my mother came in, just wanted her back hairline cleaned up and her bangs cut shorter. She's quite undecided as to what to do with her hair (I'm hoping she doesn't grow it out again....it doesn't look good on her), so that's all she wanted this time, which is fine. When I got done, and brought her to the register, Tina was at the desk, watching me ring her out. And, she questioned why it was so cheap (I only charged my mom for a bang trim, because, really, that's all it was). And I explained "It was just a bang trim". It didn't occur to me, until now, that she was thinking I would charge for a haircut.
I guess I'm part of a weird breed. If I don't cut someones hair, I don't charge them for a haircut. I'm rather honest that way. However, I know that I work with people who are shady enough (for lack of a better phrase) to do their best to get away with that practice. Personally, I feel that if you're going to start the process, you should complete the process. I had another client today who just wanted the back of her hair dealt with. She's working on growing into the "Kate Plus 8" haircut (lord help us....I don't think she's wanting the real thing....) and needed the back cut and razored out. Which I did. And she was more than willing to pay the full price. However, I also made sure the front of her hair blended with the back, so the growing out process is relatively pain free.
Are these two procedures different, or the same?? I definitely did work through her hair, cutting exactly what was essential to cut. There was no pretending to cut her hair, going through the motions to make it look good. There was a PILE of hair on the floor when I was done. And, to me, that makes the difference. When Rita did it to one of my clients, I couldn't believe she charged the poor kid for a haircut...unfortunately, I was with another client and couldn't get to her in time to stop it from happening, nor knew how to confront her about it. Definitely some things I need to work on.
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