A good portion of my job is to take what you are telling me and translate it into something we both understand so I can give you what you want. And, let me tell you, it's not easy.
I had a mother bring in her kids on Tuesday night (the night before school started...busiest night of the year), wanting their haircuts fixed. Tina had done their haircuts the night before and rushed them. Mom was seeing all kinds of things...picking the hair cuts apart, really. A lot of what she was pointing out on the older boy (15 years old) had to do with his cowlicks. However, the hair cut wasn't all that blended, so, off I go.
I asked her what they were looking for in a haircut. What she told me was nothing like what Tina told me they had asked for (which was to have a haircut similar to the picture on the wall that we have). When she described what she wanted, she said "I want the back down to skin, and faded up into hair." "So, you want a high and tight?" "Yes." 'You want me to remove all this hair, from here to here and blend it upward" (pointing from nape of neck to above the ears) "Yes. And I want about half of the hair on top of his head cut off." So, I commence to cutting. When I informed teenage boy he would be losing his sideburns, panic ensued. And, guess what?? A high & tight was NOT what we wanted for a haircut.
Mom asked me "what was it again we decided on?" "You told me you wanted all the hair gone from here to here, and blended up, taking approximately half of the hair off from the top of his head" Teenage boy complained "we just should have shaved my hair off. It was better before". SERIOUSLY??? You're going to pitch a fit NOW?? Why, yes. Yes we are. Mom's reply "Well, it looks better than it did before" Until we get to the end of the haircut and she sees that his bangs are a bit wonky, due to the multiple cowlicks in the front of his hair. And she makes the point of pointing out "Why can't you get his bangs straight?" and points to a nearly minuscule section of his hair. Which I snipped off and replied "he has cowlicks in the front which messes with how his bangs lay against his head" "Oh, yeah, they've got cowlicks, me too" and points to her head.
Guess what?? There is NO CURE for cowlicks except to cut it short or grow it long. None of us has a pair of magical scissors that makes cowlicks go away.
So. Terminology.
High & Tight: Military style haircut. No hair, skin, bald to a certain point, usually near the top of the head. The remaining "circle" of hair is also quite short. Where this line appears is different on every person, but the bald part is always BALD. No hair left behind in those areas, including side burns.
Fade: Also a military haircut. A true Military Fade is also known as a buzz cut, or a "butch" (back when I was a child). It is one size guard used all over the head.
Modified Fade: What a lot of people ask for and call it a fade. Two different sized clipper guards making this haircut. Usually the top is longer than the sides, but all of it is quite short.
It's my job, as a hairdresser, to figure out what you want, educate you on what you're asking for, then give you what we've figured out you're asking for. Your part of this is to retain the information given to you so you can correctly ask for the right haircut the next time you come in to get your haircut, regardless of where you go.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
"I need you to help me!!"
I get that, a lot. Especially on social media. This is what I got today in a private message:
"Help! I put a box of reddish blonde on my hair and XXXXXX (young adult son) went into the shower when I was ready to rinse, so the color stayed on too long and now I'm bright red!! And it's not even even."
To which I replied, "I don't have any stuff at home, sorry. :( Come see me at the salon"
"I can't afford the salon. Can't you tell me what to put on it to fix it??" " I really can't do anything without seeing what was done" "So, the last time I got my hair done, it cost $120. What do you charge for color?"
Well, to fix the hot mess your hair probably is?? $120. I haven't responded to her yet, because she'll whine no matter what the price.
Want to know why we charge such a price?? Because fixing what you did is LABOR INTENSIVE. Even if I were to mix a magic potion to cover up the "bright red" (God only knows what the color really is), it WILL fade and the red will pop right back out. Especially since I know darn well she's going to wash her hair in screaming hot water and flat iron the crap out of it. Did I mention her hair is between the middle of her back and her waist?? And everyone seems to think it should cost $1.98 to fix their hair.
Here's why her color turned "bright red": On the back of the box is this "nifty" chart of pictures of what your hair color SHOULD be (mind you, these are computer generated photographs, so they're not even CLOSE to accurate) in order for this box of hair color to be remotely effective in turning your hair "reddish blonde" (which, by the way is roughly a level 7-8 coppery blonde). Now, if your hair happens to be fine in texture (meaning when you hold up a single strand of hair, it's practically invisible) and you happen to have a lot of hair per square inch, your hair is going to develop FAST. Why?? Because you have all that hair to trap the body heat to your head, causing the color to develop. Here's the other problem with box color: The pictures on the box aren't even remotely close to accurate, and most people don't even know what their natural color is. This nice lady's natural color is a level 6-7. Which means when the color is developing, it will "lift" the natural pigment to a level 7-8. Which is hair colorist code for ORANGE. Which supports a red head quite well.
The uneven-ness: In a standard box of hair color you purchase in the department store/grocery store/drug store/dollar store, there is a 2 ounce tube of color and 2.5 ounces of 20 volume developer. When you have hair 3/4 of the way down your back, one box of color will NOT cover your head. And, I don't know anyone who applies the color to themselves that manages to get the color onto every single area of their head. The "corners" ALWAYS get missed. The nape will get missed. Sometimes, even in the front of your head will get missed. Hence, the "uneven-ness".
Seriously. When will people EVER learn?? I realize that a lot of this is the fact that the hair color companies just cannot put all the important information into the box of color because that little "pamphlet" would be the size of my cosmetology text book. And when I usually explain to people exactly how they should color their hair, they usually either give up and don't do it, or they come in and get it done correctly. No matter how "good" I am, or how "good" people think I am, I cannot accurately diagnose what needs to be done. I will need to talk to you, in depth, while looking at the hair on your head, to determine what can be done. Then, and only then, can I quote you a price. And this is what I'm going to have to tell her. Sigh....
"Help! I put a box of reddish blonde on my hair and XXXXXX (young adult son) went into the shower when I was ready to rinse, so the color stayed on too long and now I'm bright red!! And it's not even even."
To which I replied, "I don't have any stuff at home, sorry. :( Come see me at the salon"
"I can't afford the salon. Can't you tell me what to put on it to fix it??" " I really can't do anything without seeing what was done" "So, the last time I got my hair done, it cost $120. What do you charge for color?"
Well, to fix the hot mess your hair probably is?? $120. I haven't responded to her yet, because she'll whine no matter what the price.
Want to know why we charge such a price?? Because fixing what you did is LABOR INTENSIVE. Even if I were to mix a magic potion to cover up the "bright red" (God only knows what the color really is), it WILL fade and the red will pop right back out. Especially since I know darn well she's going to wash her hair in screaming hot water and flat iron the crap out of it. Did I mention her hair is between the middle of her back and her waist?? And everyone seems to think it should cost $1.98 to fix their hair.
Here's why her color turned "bright red": On the back of the box is this "nifty" chart of pictures of what your hair color SHOULD be (mind you, these are computer generated photographs, so they're not even CLOSE to accurate) in order for this box of hair color to be remotely effective in turning your hair "reddish blonde" (which, by the way is roughly a level 7-8 coppery blonde). Now, if your hair happens to be fine in texture (meaning when you hold up a single strand of hair, it's practically invisible) and you happen to have a lot of hair per square inch, your hair is going to develop FAST. Why?? Because you have all that hair to trap the body heat to your head, causing the color to develop. Here's the other problem with box color: The pictures on the box aren't even remotely close to accurate, and most people don't even know what their natural color is. This nice lady's natural color is a level 6-7. Which means when the color is developing, it will "lift" the natural pigment to a level 7-8. Which is hair colorist code for ORANGE. Which supports a red head quite well.
The uneven-ness: In a standard box of hair color you purchase in the department store/grocery store/drug store/dollar store, there is a 2 ounce tube of color and 2.5 ounces of 20 volume developer. When you have hair 3/4 of the way down your back, one box of color will NOT cover your head. And, I don't know anyone who applies the color to themselves that manages to get the color onto every single area of their head. The "corners" ALWAYS get missed. The nape will get missed. Sometimes, even in the front of your head will get missed. Hence, the "uneven-ness".
Seriously. When will people EVER learn?? I realize that a lot of this is the fact that the hair color companies just cannot put all the important information into the box of color because that little "pamphlet" would be the size of my cosmetology text book. And when I usually explain to people exactly how they should color their hair, they usually either give up and don't do it, or they come in and get it done correctly. No matter how "good" I am, or how "good" people think I am, I cannot accurately diagnose what needs to be done. I will need to talk to you, in depth, while looking at the hair on your head, to determine what can be done. Then, and only then, can I quote you a price. And this is what I'm going to have to tell her. Sigh....
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Ch-ch-ch-changes....and other stuff...
So, we've had some staff changes. Which is why I haven't been on in EONS.
Joan quit back in May. No great loss, there. She turned out to be more trouble than she was worth. I've learned (because of her) that if someone says to me "Oh, you can confide in me. If someone tells me something and they say "don't say this to so and so" you can bet I won't" is usually lying through their teeth. Basically, Joan didn't like the fact that I wouldn't give in to her scheduling demands, and after the great scheduling fiasco back in April, she wouldn't work when I scheduled her to without a fuss, so, no great loss when she gave her notice. And, just for fun, she left a full two weeks earlier than what she said she would. LOVE people like that.
So, then, Tiffany lasted exactly one month longer than Joan did. And left for similar reasons. I know that I'm no picnic to work with, especially when I'm stressed. But, if you work WITH me instead of AGAINST me, life goes much easier, for everyone. I'm not demanding undying devotion. However, if you want to WORK in your chosen profession, you need to be at work. And you need to work when you're scheduled. Help us out. It's called TEAM WORK.
So, Tina and I have been working alone for the last two months. We also got a new District Manager, Diana, who lasted less than a month. And I knew, right from the moment I met her, that she and I were NOT going to get along. She came in with the attitude that she was the "Lady of the Manor", which doesn't tend to sit well with me. And on her last visit with us, she helped herself to a lot more things than the box of gloves I knew she was taking. And had no intention of returning those items when she ordered them. Love people like that.
So, then, we got Kelli as a District Manager. And that's been working well, so far. We've had some issues, mostly stemming from the fact that I've been left alone (as a salon manager) for a really long time and now I've got a DM up my butt. That's taken some adjusting, let me tell you! But, we're getting there. She did, however, find me some applications!
Here's the story: Apparently, two people applied for positions in our salon WAY BACK WHEN and I never knew about it (this is stuff I don't have access to as a salon manager...don't ask). So, when Kelli found them in a file on the computer, she pulled them up and made preliminary phone calls. She then gave me the numbers of these people to call. And one actually responded. Who is now working in the salon. Her name is Lisa. (again, a name change to protect the "innocent")
Lisa has been a stylist since 1991. She got out of hairdressing back in 2007, after an accident at her second job, lifting a patient and hurting her back. She decided, last year, she wanted to get back into the game. And, so she has. She's fabulous, confident, and will be a steady influence for Tina on the weekends.
And, Lynn is coming back!! I'm super psyched for this, also! We're just working out the details of when she can actually start working. So, things are looking U-P at the salon. We just had our best Tuesday in a long time last night because Lisa worked with me from 1-8. AWESOME!! I thanked her profusely and told her how glad I am she's working there.
IN OTHER NEWS.....
Lisa had a potential highlight/color in her chair last night. Her first one since she started last week (the poor lady has had trial by fire the whole time she's been here!). Her consultation was lengthy, and with good reason. A mere few months ago, the client had heavily highlighted hair...almost totally blonde, in fact. Who then put a box of brown over it, thinking "There! I fixed my hair. It's back to my natural color (kinda) and so I can highlight it again later if I want to!" Yuh. Not so much. Lisa talked to her, at length (and thank goodness the client understood what she was getting at, even though she kept looking for loop holes to jump through) about what would more than likely happen to her hair if she went ahead and highlighted it.
So, Lisa wound up doing a test strand on the client's hair. Rather revealing, which it's supposed to be. The first four inches of her hair, which were virgin, lifted beautifully. The next 5-6 inches, not so much. They did lift, but there's some major issues because of color build-up. The last 3 inches of her hair turned CRISPY. Through some more conversation, it was discovered that not only did she have multiple layers of hair color going on in there, she'd also had a chemical hair straightening. So, kids, she had a head full of heavily processed hair!! While she was pretty disappointed that she couldn't get what she wanted (and may wind up at another salon who will not care about the chemicals in her hair and do what she wants, anyway), she left after receiving a great haircut and purchased some products to help her hair along.
I'M SO GLAD I HIRED LISA!!! Now, once I get Lynn back on board, the place will ROCK!! WOO HOO!!!
And, lastly, Katie Katherine and I are moving! I bought a house!! We're super-psyched about this! Right now, we're living in "box city" because most of then apartment is packed up, ready to go! Just a little bit left (bathroom, my bedroom, empty out the closets, wipe down the walls) and we're good to go! Signing the papers on September 4th!!
Stay tuned!!
Joan quit back in May. No great loss, there. She turned out to be more trouble than she was worth. I've learned (because of her) that if someone says to me "Oh, you can confide in me. If someone tells me something and they say "don't say this to so and so" you can bet I won't" is usually lying through their teeth. Basically, Joan didn't like the fact that I wouldn't give in to her scheduling demands, and after the great scheduling fiasco back in April, she wouldn't work when I scheduled her to without a fuss, so, no great loss when she gave her notice. And, just for fun, she left a full two weeks earlier than what she said she would. LOVE people like that.
So, then, Tiffany lasted exactly one month longer than Joan did. And left for similar reasons. I know that I'm no picnic to work with, especially when I'm stressed. But, if you work WITH me instead of AGAINST me, life goes much easier, for everyone. I'm not demanding undying devotion. However, if you want to WORK in your chosen profession, you need to be at work. And you need to work when you're scheduled. Help us out. It's called TEAM WORK.
So, Tina and I have been working alone for the last two months. We also got a new District Manager, Diana, who lasted less than a month. And I knew, right from the moment I met her, that she and I were NOT going to get along. She came in with the attitude that she was the "Lady of the Manor", which doesn't tend to sit well with me. And on her last visit with us, she helped herself to a lot more things than the box of gloves I knew she was taking. And had no intention of returning those items when she ordered them. Love people like that.
So, then, we got Kelli as a District Manager. And that's been working well, so far. We've had some issues, mostly stemming from the fact that I've been left alone (as a salon manager) for a really long time and now I've got a DM up my butt. That's taken some adjusting, let me tell you! But, we're getting there. She did, however, find me some applications!
Here's the story: Apparently, two people applied for positions in our salon WAY BACK WHEN and I never knew about it (this is stuff I don't have access to as a salon manager...don't ask). So, when Kelli found them in a file on the computer, she pulled them up and made preliminary phone calls. She then gave me the numbers of these people to call. And one actually responded. Who is now working in the salon. Her name is Lisa. (again, a name change to protect the "innocent")
Lisa has been a stylist since 1991. She got out of hairdressing back in 2007, after an accident at her second job, lifting a patient and hurting her back. She decided, last year, she wanted to get back into the game. And, so she has. She's fabulous, confident, and will be a steady influence for Tina on the weekends.
And, Lynn is coming back!! I'm super psyched for this, also! We're just working out the details of when she can actually start working. So, things are looking U-P at the salon. We just had our best Tuesday in a long time last night because Lisa worked with me from 1-8. AWESOME!! I thanked her profusely and told her how glad I am she's working there.
IN OTHER NEWS.....
Lisa had a potential highlight/color in her chair last night. Her first one since she started last week (the poor lady has had trial by fire the whole time she's been here!). Her consultation was lengthy, and with good reason. A mere few months ago, the client had heavily highlighted hair...almost totally blonde, in fact. Who then put a box of brown over it, thinking "There! I fixed my hair. It's back to my natural color (kinda) and so I can highlight it again later if I want to!" Yuh. Not so much. Lisa talked to her, at length (and thank goodness the client understood what she was getting at, even though she kept looking for loop holes to jump through) about what would more than likely happen to her hair if she went ahead and highlighted it.
So, Lisa wound up doing a test strand on the client's hair. Rather revealing, which it's supposed to be. The first four inches of her hair, which were virgin, lifted beautifully. The next 5-6 inches, not so much. They did lift, but there's some major issues because of color build-up. The last 3 inches of her hair turned CRISPY. Through some more conversation, it was discovered that not only did she have multiple layers of hair color going on in there, she'd also had a chemical hair straightening. So, kids, she had a head full of heavily processed hair!! While she was pretty disappointed that she couldn't get what she wanted (and may wind up at another salon who will not care about the chemicals in her hair and do what she wants, anyway), she left after receiving a great haircut and purchased some products to help her hair along.
I'M SO GLAD I HIRED LISA!!! Now, once I get Lynn back on board, the place will ROCK!! WOO HOO!!!
And, lastly, Katie Katherine and I are moving! I bought a house!! We're super-psyched about this! Right now, we're living in "box city" because most of then apartment is packed up, ready to go! Just a little bit left (bathroom, my bedroom, empty out the closets, wipe down the walls) and we're good to go! Signing the papers on September 4th!!
Stay tuned!!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Blog Fodder...
I love reading people's posts on the professional pages on Facebook. Definitely gives me something to write about!! Here are the latest examples:
Pro color vs Box color: "It looks dry & over processed due to the metal base in those box dyes are just what they are not color ".
Okay, skipping the lousy grammar, let's look at the rest of this: It's dry and over processed due to repeated applications of an ammonia based product where ammonia is not needed, not due to metal bases in the color. Most over the counter colors don't have the metallic bases they used to have. Technology has come a long way, baby! And, my personal favorite with in that quote "dyes are just what they are not color". "Dye" and "Color" are the same thing...artificial pigment for the hair. SERIOUSLY?!?! DID YOU GO TO COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL??? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, DID YOU PAY ATTENTION AND PASS COLOR CLASS?!?
Bottle vs Brush: "Ummm don't some professional use bottles over brushes and bulls (sic)? Me personally can't stand the bottle it looks cheap!"
(Really trying hard to ignore the grammar and word usage here!) Which is right for the job you are doing?? Bowl & brush or bottle?? Personally, if I'm just doing a retouch, the bowl & brush is just fine (Sprush, actually. I feel brushes are too messy). If I'm doing what's called a "global application" (meaning the whole head) I'll use bowl & sprush for the regrowth, bottle for the ends. Why?? Because I feel the B & S is more precise for the face framing areas and the bottle gets the ends more evenly saturated without wasting the product. But, that's me. And, when you're interested in speed, the bottle doesn't fling the color around as much as the b & s does!
"If I could afford a hairdresser, I'd have one".
And, how is that home haircut working out for you?? Nice & even?? Exactly what you wanted?? You don't have to spend a ton of money to find a good hairdresser. SHOP AROUND. PS: learn how to budget your money and you can afford LOTS of things. Just sayin'...
"Exactly why I don't go to the salon! Thankful I know a professional that will do my hair at a very fair price"
Does this "professional" work in a Salon or does she "work" out of her kitchen?? Because I'll tell you this, based on my experience: If someone is a "professional" and does hair on the side, at home, it's because they're not making enough money at work. And why would that be?? Because they're undercharging all their clients, who are probably mostly their "friends" in the first place. And probably because they don't have the ability to budget their money, up sell to their clients, aren't confident enough to sell product to their clients to get them to spend more money, which, in turn, puts more money in YOUR pocket, by way of commissions and tips.
When I have someone in my chair and I can clearly see that they are coloring their hair at home, I ask them about it. "Are you coloring your hair at home??" And proceed to let them know how to do the service properly so the color comes out even. Generally, once I'm done explaining what they need to do, 7 times out of 10, they wind up in my chair for color because to do it "properly" is too much of a pain in the behind to do at home. I tell people all the time "the biggest difference between box color and professional color is ME. I can assess your hair issues, what you want, what you need, go out back, look at what I have, and figure out how I'm going to get you there. By the time you get done purchasing the 3 or so boxes of hair color to do what I have at my disposal out back, you're paying almost as much as if you were to come in here to get your color done." Oh, yeah...my personal favorite "And you get to sit for 1.5 to 2 hours and have someone take care of you for a change!" Works every time...
Pro color vs Box color: "It looks dry & over processed due to the metal base in those box dyes are just what they are not color ".
Okay, skipping the lousy grammar, let's look at the rest of this: It's dry and over processed due to repeated applications of an ammonia based product where ammonia is not needed, not due to metal bases in the color. Most over the counter colors don't have the metallic bases they used to have. Technology has come a long way, baby! And, my personal favorite with in that quote "dyes are just what they are not color". "Dye" and "Color" are the same thing...artificial pigment for the hair. SERIOUSLY?!?! DID YOU GO TO COSMETOLOGY SCHOOL??? AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, DID YOU PAY ATTENTION AND PASS COLOR CLASS?!?
Bottle vs Brush: "Ummm don't some professional use bottles over brushes and bulls (sic)? Me personally can't stand the bottle it looks cheap!"
(Really trying hard to ignore the grammar and word usage here!) Which is right for the job you are doing?? Bowl & brush or bottle?? Personally, if I'm just doing a retouch, the bowl & brush is just fine (Sprush, actually. I feel brushes are too messy). If I'm doing what's called a "global application" (meaning the whole head) I'll use bowl & sprush for the regrowth, bottle for the ends. Why?? Because I feel the B & S is more precise for the face framing areas and the bottle gets the ends more evenly saturated without wasting the product. But, that's me. And, when you're interested in speed, the bottle doesn't fling the color around as much as the b & s does!
"If I could afford a hairdresser, I'd have one".
And, how is that home haircut working out for you?? Nice & even?? Exactly what you wanted?? You don't have to spend a ton of money to find a good hairdresser. SHOP AROUND. PS: learn how to budget your money and you can afford LOTS of things. Just sayin'...
"Exactly why I don't go to the salon! Thankful I know a professional that will do my hair at a very fair price"
Does this "professional" work in a Salon or does she "work" out of her kitchen?? Because I'll tell you this, based on my experience: If someone is a "professional" and does hair on the side, at home, it's because they're not making enough money at work. And why would that be?? Because they're undercharging all their clients, who are probably mostly their "friends" in the first place. And probably because they don't have the ability to budget their money, up sell to their clients, aren't confident enough to sell product to their clients to get them to spend more money, which, in turn, puts more money in YOUR pocket, by way of commissions and tips.
When I have someone in my chair and I can clearly see that they are coloring their hair at home, I ask them about it. "Are you coloring your hair at home??" And proceed to let them know how to do the service properly so the color comes out even. Generally, once I'm done explaining what they need to do, 7 times out of 10, they wind up in my chair for color because to do it "properly" is too much of a pain in the behind to do at home. I tell people all the time "the biggest difference between box color and professional color is ME. I can assess your hair issues, what you want, what you need, go out back, look at what I have, and figure out how I'm going to get you there. By the time you get done purchasing the 3 or so boxes of hair color to do what I have at my disposal out back, you're paying almost as much as if you were to come in here to get your color done." Oh, yeah...my personal favorite "And you get to sit for 1.5 to 2 hours and have someone take care of you for a change!" Works every time...
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The things I see...
I was just on Facebook, reading "memes", and one of them said something about remembering the last haircut you did on the person in your chair. Which, unless they come to you REGULARLY, it's difficult to remember what you did. My memory is pretty good---I can pull up all kinds of weird stuff from my memory banks. Except people's names when they're new and particularly when I don't see them very often. If something memorable happens during the appointment (say, a hilarious or serious conversation, head lice, a bump on their head, unusual hair line) I don't always remember people. It gets me into trouble sometimes because I'm honest enough to say that I don't remember and it hurts people's feelings. I see probably 200 people a month, between clients sitting in my chair, customers purchasing product or asking questions, not to mention when I spend time with my friends! So, it's hard to remember people, but I try.
Something that happened the other day also popped into my head. Pauline & Warren are a cute little retired couple. (Pauline actually trained me for my very first job, a million years ago, when I was in high school) To save money, Pauline & Warren cut each other's hair. Which makes it hard to cut Warren's hair, because he's used to how Pauline does it, and expects the trained professional to cut like the untrained housewife.
Pauline was in the other day to get a perm. On the surface, her hair looked fine. I could see where there was some "creativity" on the top, near her bangs, but otherwise looked okay. Until I washed her hair and started sectioning it for her perm. Which required me to do some seriously creative wrapping of her hair to get all the hair in the rods. While it's tempting to make a note to cut her hair first next time, I don't believe I will....I'll wind up cutting too much hair off and won't be able to give her the soft perm she's looking for. Pauline's comment to me regarding cutting her hair : "I almost don't want you to cut my hair...It's just starting to turn under nicely" (this was before I started wrapping her hair). "Well, I'll take a look at it as I'm wrapping and see what needs to be done" OH BOY.
So, when I got done with the perm part, I started sectioning her hair. Once the hair was curled, you could definitely see where the bulk was in the hair cut. YIKES. She commented again about not losing any length, and my reply was "Well, I see a lot of uneven sections in your hair, so I'm just going to even everything up". Thankfully, I haven't run into a home haircut yet that I can't fix, but, DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN! STOP CUTTING EACH OTHER'S HAIR!
She did comment on the fact that her arthritis has gotten bad enough that she can't hang onto the hair any longer and would be coming in to see me more regularly for her hair cuts, Warren, too. We'll see if she shows up in 6 weeks to get it trimmed. Stay tuned!
Something that happened the other day also popped into my head. Pauline & Warren are a cute little retired couple. (Pauline actually trained me for my very first job, a million years ago, when I was in high school) To save money, Pauline & Warren cut each other's hair. Which makes it hard to cut Warren's hair, because he's used to how Pauline does it, and expects the trained professional to cut like the untrained housewife.
Pauline was in the other day to get a perm. On the surface, her hair looked fine. I could see where there was some "creativity" on the top, near her bangs, but otherwise looked okay. Until I washed her hair and started sectioning it for her perm. Which required me to do some seriously creative wrapping of her hair to get all the hair in the rods. While it's tempting to make a note to cut her hair first next time, I don't believe I will....I'll wind up cutting too much hair off and won't be able to give her the soft perm she's looking for. Pauline's comment to me regarding cutting her hair : "I almost don't want you to cut my hair...It's just starting to turn under nicely" (this was before I started wrapping her hair). "Well, I'll take a look at it as I'm wrapping and see what needs to be done" OH BOY.
So, when I got done with the perm part, I started sectioning her hair. Once the hair was curled, you could definitely see where the bulk was in the hair cut. YIKES. She commented again about not losing any length, and my reply was "Well, I see a lot of uneven sections in your hair, so I'm just going to even everything up". Thankfully, I haven't run into a home haircut yet that I can't fix, but, DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN! STOP CUTTING EACH OTHER'S HAIR!
She did comment on the fact that her arthritis has gotten bad enough that she can't hang onto the hair any longer and would be coming in to see me more regularly for her hair cuts, Warren, too. We'll see if she shows up in 6 weeks to get it trimmed. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
What my days are like...
I was just on a professional site on Facebook, where they asked the stylist if they were to write a letter to their client, what would it say. All were quite funny, yet sadly true at the same time. And it got me to thinking: What would I say to my clients?? Not so much my regular clients, who are fabulous people, but to the ones that hop from salon to salon, for what ever reason. So, here we go:
Dear client:
1) When I ask you to hold/manipulate your child's head, please do exactly that. Hold their head FIRMLY and move it/hold it where I need it to be so I can cut their hair quickly & efficiently.
2) If your child is crying and pitching a fit, this is NOT a good time to cut their hair.
3) When you tell me you're not fussy about your haircut, don't be.
4) Please don't ask me to recommend shampoo, conditioner, styling products or hair color from the drugstore or department store. I do not use those products myself and have no idea what any of them are.
5) Whether you book an appointment or sign up when you walk in the door: when we give you a time, please be on time. If you walk away after we tell you "5-10 minutes" it's going to suck to be you if you don't come right back.
6) When you ask how much for a corrective color, don't be all shocked when we tell you the price. it's a CORRECTIVE COLOR. These things take time and patience.
7) When we quote you a price, that's the price. It's not negotiable. Do you haggle with your dentist, doctor, mechanic?? Didn't think so. Keep haggling and the price goes UP.
8) Please don't ask me what a good tip is or if you tipped enough. If you ask me these questions, I will tell you a good tip is $50, and, no, you didn't tip enough. Google it if you want to know what a good tip is.
9) When you color your hair at home, and have severly damaged hair because you followed the directions on the box, please don't expect miracles when you sit in my chair. The easiet, least expensive way to fix all that damage is to CUT IT OFF. If you would just sit in my chair for your haircolor in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.
I know this sounds like I'm an ungrateful twit. I'm really not. I enjoy each and every one of my clients. Without them, I wouldn't have a paycheck! These are just the things I (and other hair care professionals) hear ALL THE TIME. I hope you see the humor as well as the lesson in these.
Dear client:
1) When I ask you to hold/manipulate your child's head, please do exactly that. Hold their head FIRMLY and move it/hold it where I need it to be so I can cut their hair quickly & efficiently.
2) If your child is crying and pitching a fit, this is NOT a good time to cut their hair.
3) When you tell me you're not fussy about your haircut, don't be.
4) Please don't ask me to recommend shampoo, conditioner, styling products or hair color from the drugstore or department store. I do not use those products myself and have no idea what any of them are.
5) Whether you book an appointment or sign up when you walk in the door: when we give you a time, please be on time. If you walk away after we tell you "5-10 minutes" it's going to suck to be you if you don't come right back.
6) When you ask how much for a corrective color, don't be all shocked when we tell you the price. it's a CORRECTIVE COLOR. These things take time and patience.
7) When we quote you a price, that's the price. It's not negotiable. Do you haggle with your dentist, doctor, mechanic?? Didn't think so. Keep haggling and the price goes UP.
8) Please don't ask me what a good tip is or if you tipped enough. If you ask me these questions, I will tell you a good tip is $50, and, no, you didn't tip enough. Google it if you want to know what a good tip is.
9) When you color your hair at home, and have severly damaged hair because you followed the directions on the box, please don't expect miracles when you sit in my chair. The easiet, least expensive way to fix all that damage is to CUT IT OFF. If you would just sit in my chair for your haircolor in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.
I know this sounds like I'm an ungrateful twit. I'm really not. I enjoy each and every one of my clients. Without them, I wouldn't have a paycheck! These are just the things I (and other hair care professionals) hear ALL THE TIME. I hope you see the humor as well as the lesson in these.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The things I see...
This very nice lady came in yesterday to purchase some product. When I looked at her from a distance and from behind, her hair looked pink. I was soon to find out this was not intentional.
The scenario: Older woman, late 40's to mid 50's. Darker complexion (sort of olive-y), brown eyes, hair is on the coarse side of things, maybe to the tops of her shoulders. MAX. Recently divorced, had been looking for a less expensive hairdresser to take care of her hair. Thought she'd found what she was looking for.
What she wanted (and what had been previously discussed with her hairdresser): Coppery brown with some highlights. Put in a bit more highlights than what she'd been doing over the winter to brighten things up.
What she got: Heavily highlighted hair that was breaking off every time you touched it. And a seriously pink hue from lifting the brown copper out. She also had amazingly blonde color at the root area.
Product she was looking for: Something to put moisture back int her hair because it's so dry now.
Holy Mother of God....her hair was more than "Dry"...it was FRIED!! Her stylist was sooo freaking aggressive with her hair!! I felt so bad for this lady! I actually told her "If it were me, and I got this done to my hair, I would go back and explain to her that this isn't what was discussed previously, this isn't what I expected nor wanted, my hair is breaking off and I need you to do something about it, at no cost to me, since this isn't what I asked for in the first place."
The thing with being a hairdresser is that people TRUST us. They trust that we'll be professional and do what's right for our hair. They trust that we'll actually KNOW what we're doing and why we need to do it. NO ONE, EVER needs to destroy some one's hair!!
From the sounds of things, a consultation wasn't done. Why?? Who knows. Maybe the stylist thought about things, came up with a plan, and decided to go for it, thinking that the client wouldn't let her do what she wanted. Of course, what may very well happen is this client may never go back to this stylist ever again. Maybe she was feeling rushed?? Tough to say, really. Unfortunately, the end result isn't a great one.
I also suggested to the client that if the stylist started to approach her with hair color to fix it, to step away. Her hair is so compromised right now that coloring it will only make it worse, not better. The best thing she can do right now is lots of conditioning treatments, and let it grow. Cut, grow, cut, grow. And don't go back to that stylist again.
The scenario: Older woman, late 40's to mid 50's. Darker complexion (sort of olive-y), brown eyes, hair is on the coarse side of things, maybe to the tops of her shoulders. MAX. Recently divorced, had been looking for a less expensive hairdresser to take care of her hair. Thought she'd found what she was looking for.
What she wanted (and what had been previously discussed with her hairdresser): Coppery brown with some highlights. Put in a bit more highlights than what she'd been doing over the winter to brighten things up.
What she got: Heavily highlighted hair that was breaking off every time you touched it. And a seriously pink hue from lifting the brown copper out. She also had amazingly blonde color at the root area.
Product she was looking for: Something to put moisture back int her hair because it's so dry now.
Holy Mother of God....her hair was more than "Dry"...it was FRIED!! Her stylist was sooo freaking aggressive with her hair!! I felt so bad for this lady! I actually told her "If it were me, and I got this done to my hair, I would go back and explain to her that this isn't what was discussed previously, this isn't what I expected nor wanted, my hair is breaking off and I need you to do something about it, at no cost to me, since this isn't what I asked for in the first place."
The thing with being a hairdresser is that people TRUST us. They trust that we'll be professional and do what's right for our hair. They trust that we'll actually KNOW what we're doing and why we need to do it. NO ONE, EVER needs to destroy some one's hair!!
From the sounds of things, a consultation wasn't done. Why?? Who knows. Maybe the stylist thought about things, came up with a plan, and decided to go for it, thinking that the client wouldn't let her do what she wanted. Of course, what may very well happen is this client may never go back to this stylist ever again. Maybe she was feeling rushed?? Tough to say, really. Unfortunately, the end result isn't a great one.
I also suggested to the client that if the stylist started to approach her with hair color to fix it, to step away. Her hair is so compromised right now that coloring it will only make it worse, not better. The best thing she can do right now is lots of conditioning treatments, and let it grow. Cut, grow, cut, grow. And don't go back to that stylist again.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Corrective color that worked!
So, way back when, this client came in to get her regrowth to match her ends. She'd been coloring it at home with some sort of blonde hair color. Consequently, her ends were practically white, her older regrowth was orangey, and her natural color is about a level 6, although it was incorrectly guessed to be a 7. (more on this in a bit).
When she came in on Sunday afternoon, her ends were GREY, her roots were ORANGE, and neither was the color she requested, which was a beige blonde. And she was sold blue shampoo to combat the mistake that the stylist made.
I attempted, TWICE, to get her to at least an even color. Wasn't a very pretty color, but an even color, ashy in appearance, but warm tones, too, which she didn't like. However, this is what needs to be put up with in order to get where she wanted to go.
This color faded over time (as it will do and she was warned it would do). Her hair is long (to her shoulder blades) and fine in texture. When she was ready to come in for her next appointment (which we'd scheduled in advance) she had called & talked to Rita about getting a perm instead. Which, since Rita didn't ask questions or check on her color card to see what was going on, or left me a note regarding the conversation, or called me at home to find out whether or not she could do this, she told the client "Sure, she can do that". When I came in Sunday and Rita relayed this message, I almost wrapped my hands around her throat. Instead, I did inform her that the next time someone calls like that, to NOT promise them anything other than leaving the stylist in question a note, letting them know the client wants to talk perm. I explained her hair is FRIED and cannot be permed. EVER. (at least until that length is all cut off) And now, I get to explain to the lady that she can't have curly hair and why, breaking her heart in the process, because her heart is now set on getting a perm.
At any rate, I wound up coloring her hair again, still not getting where she wanted to go, because she just can't be as blonde as she wants right now. Even with the regrowth showing, I cannot do a thing with the ends other than darken them.
So, jump ahead 3 months later. She comes in and asks me if I can just darken her hair to the same color. Now that she's got a good 3 inches of regrowth, yes, I can! I was lucky enough to be able to use a brown/copper mixed with a neutral to match her ends to her regrowth. Seamless color! Happens once in every thousand....thank God it was my day to have one!!
When she came in on Sunday afternoon, her ends were GREY, her roots were ORANGE, and neither was the color she requested, which was a beige blonde. And she was sold blue shampoo to combat the mistake that the stylist made.
I attempted, TWICE, to get her to at least an even color. Wasn't a very pretty color, but an even color, ashy in appearance, but warm tones, too, which she didn't like. However, this is what needs to be put up with in order to get where she wanted to go.
This color faded over time (as it will do and she was warned it would do). Her hair is long (to her shoulder blades) and fine in texture. When she was ready to come in for her next appointment (which we'd scheduled in advance) she had called & talked to Rita about getting a perm instead. Which, since Rita didn't ask questions or check on her color card to see what was going on, or left me a note regarding the conversation, or called me at home to find out whether or not she could do this, she told the client "Sure, she can do that". When I came in Sunday and Rita relayed this message, I almost wrapped my hands around her throat. Instead, I did inform her that the next time someone calls like that, to NOT promise them anything other than leaving the stylist in question a note, letting them know the client wants to talk perm. I explained her hair is FRIED and cannot be permed. EVER. (at least until that length is all cut off) And now, I get to explain to the lady that she can't have curly hair and why, breaking her heart in the process, because her heart is now set on getting a perm.
At any rate, I wound up coloring her hair again, still not getting where she wanted to go, because she just can't be as blonde as she wants right now. Even with the regrowth showing, I cannot do a thing with the ends other than darken them.
So, jump ahead 3 months later. She comes in and asks me if I can just darken her hair to the same color. Now that she's got a good 3 inches of regrowth, yes, I can! I was lucky enough to be able to use a brown/copper mixed with a neutral to match her ends to her regrowth. Seamless color! Happens once in every thousand....thank God it was my day to have one!!
Corrective Color gone horribly awry...
So, this client came in a while back...maybe 3-4 months ago, and was with Tina. Back then, they had decided to take her to blonde. Now, this nice lady is a level 6. I'm sure she was doing her hair at home (although I'm not 100% positive, this is usually how it goes). Consequently, she's not quite as blonde as she wants to be. So, Tina attempts to take her to blonde. And gets her to chicken yellow (commonly referred to as level 9). And then puts a toner over it, to make it all better. Which it does not.
Here's the thing about lifting & toning that I don't seem to be able to get through Tina's head. In order for the toner to do the job you're asking it to do, the hair MUST be lifted to PALE BLONDE. Like the color of the INSIDE of the banana. Almost white. If there is any brighter yellow in the hair than that, the toner will NOT "take". If it does take, it doesn't last for very long. She also subscribes to the issue that if you wash your hair enough times with blue shampoo, that will fix everything. Not so much.
So, here we are, 3-4 months later, and we want something different. We settle on a chestnut brown color that was picked out of one of the haircut books. Should be a reasonably simple request?? Not really.
Ideally, what needs to be done is to fill the hair. Which is how Tina started out. She turned the previously blonde hair orange, which is step one. The next step, she used a brown/copper, which kept her hair red, but not a bad color. HOWEVER, once the hair was dry, you could see large areas where the color didn't "take" very well. And, just for "fun", Tina did apply the demi permanent color, each time, all over the client's head. Which made the regrowth (about 3 inches) darker, and a pretty color, but not the same color as the rest of the head.
Which is why the client came back yesterday to schedule an appointment with Tina to fix this nifty fact. Sigh. And, when I let Tina know the client would be coming back in, her reply was "I asked her if she was okay with it like that and she said she'd live with it a few days".
#1: I never heard this conversation occur. I had my bat hearing turned on throughout this procedure. Not a word about this. And I checked in with Tina during the process, to see if she needed anything....wouldn't ask for help. Now, I should have stuck my beak in this a bit further, and did not. Which was a mistake. She was on the right path, just decided to skip a step.
#2: When doing a corrective color, A) you can't promise exactly what they're asking for, as you don't know what the hair will do. B) Corrective color does not take an hour or two. It can take ALL DAY LONG.
What happened: Areas within the hair shaft didn't "take" according to plan. This wasn't caught when she was drying the hair (or we chose not to acknowledge it needed more work). What should have happened: More of the red color needed to be reapplied to the "bare" spots, then brown needed to be added to the formula to help tone down the red AND the regrowth needed to have additional color applied to attempt to match the ends, in permanent color. OR, if the red was a pleasing color, the regrowth should have been colored red, using a permanent formula instead of a demi permanent formula.
Since these things weren't done, Tina now has to devote MORE time to correcting this color. Free of charge to the client, of course. Which costs the company money.
Corrective color isn't easy. And it doesn't take one or two or even three applications of color to get it right. But, it does take patience, and the ability to ask for help when you need it.
Here's the thing about lifting & toning that I don't seem to be able to get through Tina's head. In order for the toner to do the job you're asking it to do, the hair MUST be lifted to PALE BLONDE. Like the color of the INSIDE of the banana. Almost white. If there is any brighter yellow in the hair than that, the toner will NOT "take". If it does take, it doesn't last for very long. She also subscribes to the issue that if you wash your hair enough times with blue shampoo, that will fix everything. Not so much.
So, here we are, 3-4 months later, and we want something different. We settle on a chestnut brown color that was picked out of one of the haircut books. Should be a reasonably simple request?? Not really.
Ideally, what needs to be done is to fill the hair. Which is how Tina started out. She turned the previously blonde hair orange, which is step one. The next step, she used a brown/copper, which kept her hair red, but not a bad color. HOWEVER, once the hair was dry, you could see large areas where the color didn't "take" very well. And, just for "fun", Tina did apply the demi permanent color, each time, all over the client's head. Which made the regrowth (about 3 inches) darker, and a pretty color, but not the same color as the rest of the head.
Which is why the client came back yesterday to schedule an appointment with Tina to fix this nifty fact. Sigh. And, when I let Tina know the client would be coming back in, her reply was "I asked her if she was okay with it like that and she said she'd live with it a few days".
#1: I never heard this conversation occur. I had my bat hearing turned on throughout this procedure. Not a word about this. And I checked in with Tina during the process, to see if she needed anything....wouldn't ask for help. Now, I should have stuck my beak in this a bit further, and did not. Which was a mistake. She was on the right path, just decided to skip a step.
#2: When doing a corrective color, A) you can't promise exactly what they're asking for, as you don't know what the hair will do. B) Corrective color does not take an hour or two. It can take ALL DAY LONG.
What happened: Areas within the hair shaft didn't "take" according to plan. This wasn't caught when she was drying the hair (or we chose not to acknowledge it needed more work). What should have happened: More of the red color needed to be reapplied to the "bare" spots, then brown needed to be added to the formula to help tone down the red AND the regrowth needed to have additional color applied to attempt to match the ends, in permanent color. OR, if the red was a pleasing color, the regrowth should have been colored red, using a permanent formula instead of a demi permanent formula.
Since these things weren't done, Tina now has to devote MORE time to correcting this color. Free of charge to the client, of course. Which costs the company money.
Corrective color isn't easy. And it doesn't take one or two or even three applications of color to get it right. But, it does take patience, and the ability to ask for help when you need it.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Updates, bulletins, whatever...
So, "Big Brother" at home office is micromanaging our schedules. They send them to me, already done (kind of like graph charts), I just have to plug my people into the spots. Sound pretty simple?? Not so much.
What happens in the salon: You try to come in to get your hair done. If we have something/someone available, we let you know, immediately. If we don't, we also let you know, immediately. Now, when I was scheduling everyone with no thought to home office's wants & needs, I had the staff on hand to take care of everyone. Now that I'm following the "optimized" schedule, I have a bare bones staff on hand. Which means you probably won't get in. For days on end.
I will freely admit I was over scheduled in places and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what was going on. I tend to be a fairly busy stylist, so I "come up for air" after the fact, a LOT. However, having home office SLASH the schedule the way they have is counterproductive to the idea of MAKING MONEY FOR THE COMPANY.
This week, alone, we've lost over $1300 in business. Enough to have everyone on board, every day they can be scheduled, for a full days' work (meaning an 8 hour day apiece). When I spoke to my boss about it on Thursday, she was SHOCKED at how much money we've turned away.
What have I done to try to counteract this?? Well, I've asked the people I work with if they can come in, as an "on call" stylist if I need them (at the direction of my boss). And, what a surprise, no one bit at that. "I've got an appointment at 1:30, 2 hours away from here" was one answer. The other answer I got was "I'm sorry, but I've got tons of errands to run...but, you can try calling me". This answer was from the stylist who broke down into tears because her schedule for this week had been SLASHED to ribbons. When I asked the same stylist, last night, if she could come in early today (not scheduled until 1pm), her reply was "Sorry. We've got plan in the morning". SERIOUSLY?!?! You were whining & crying about the hours, now you don't want any??? WTF!?
So, we have a staff meeting tomorrow after work. I've got official stuff to go over, then we'll be talking about the schedules. I'm going to add hours to them without putting it on the schedule. My boss suggested the on call thing...I personally don't see the difference between having them "on call" and asking them to come in early on days they're scheduled 4 hours. None of this makes sense.
I'm presuming that home office is attempting to get things under control this year for when the health care bill that was passed a few years ago actually goes into effect next year. (you know, the one where employers HAVE to provide insurance to their workers??). I get what they're trying to do. I just don't like the way they're doing it. Had they said "Starting in 2013, all salon managers need to be between 36-40 hours a week. All other associates need to be at 30 hours or less" that would have been easier to swallow. For me, one would have lost 8 hours, one 5 hours, and one would have had no change to her schedule. This week, alone, I had 51 hours to split between 3 people. Guess what that meant?? 17 hour, MAXIMUM, between 3 people. Hence, the tears from one stylist, and another stylist giving her some of their hours to help her out.
I can feel a new grey hair popping through, as we speak....sigh...
What happens in the salon: You try to come in to get your hair done. If we have something/someone available, we let you know, immediately. If we don't, we also let you know, immediately. Now, when I was scheduling everyone with no thought to home office's wants & needs, I had the staff on hand to take care of everyone. Now that I'm following the "optimized" schedule, I have a bare bones staff on hand. Which means you probably won't get in. For days on end.
I will freely admit I was over scheduled in places and didn't pay a whole lot of attention to what was going on. I tend to be a fairly busy stylist, so I "come up for air" after the fact, a LOT. However, having home office SLASH the schedule the way they have is counterproductive to the idea of MAKING MONEY FOR THE COMPANY.
This week, alone, we've lost over $1300 in business. Enough to have everyone on board, every day they can be scheduled, for a full days' work (meaning an 8 hour day apiece). When I spoke to my boss about it on Thursday, she was SHOCKED at how much money we've turned away.
What have I done to try to counteract this?? Well, I've asked the people I work with if they can come in, as an "on call" stylist if I need them (at the direction of my boss). And, what a surprise, no one bit at that. "I've got an appointment at 1:30, 2 hours away from here" was one answer. The other answer I got was "I'm sorry, but I've got tons of errands to run...but, you can try calling me". This answer was from the stylist who broke down into tears because her schedule for this week had been SLASHED to ribbons. When I asked the same stylist, last night, if she could come in early today (not scheduled until 1pm), her reply was "Sorry. We've got plan in the morning". SERIOUSLY?!?! You were whining & crying about the hours, now you don't want any??? WTF!?
So, we have a staff meeting tomorrow after work. I've got official stuff to go over, then we'll be talking about the schedules. I'm going to add hours to them without putting it on the schedule. My boss suggested the on call thing...I personally don't see the difference between having them "on call" and asking them to come in early on days they're scheduled 4 hours. None of this makes sense.
I'm presuming that home office is attempting to get things under control this year for when the health care bill that was passed a few years ago actually goes into effect next year. (you know, the one where employers HAVE to provide insurance to their workers??). I get what they're trying to do. I just don't like the way they're doing it. Had they said "Starting in 2013, all salon managers need to be between 36-40 hours a week. All other associates need to be at 30 hours or less" that would have been easier to swallow. For me, one would have lost 8 hours, one 5 hours, and one would have had no change to her schedule. This week, alone, I had 51 hours to split between 3 people. Guess what that meant?? 17 hour, MAXIMUM, between 3 people. Hence, the tears from one stylist, and another stylist giving her some of their hours to help her out.
I can feel a new grey hair popping through, as we speak....sigh...
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Crazy busy and other stuff...
We've been absolutely crazy busy lately! And, what's funny, is that home office doesn't necessarily want that...let me explain:
Home office likes the numbers we're pulling. What they don't like (much like other large employers) is to have to pay a few people large paychecks. What they want to do is pay many people small paychecks. I get where they're going: They don't have to pay benefits because they're paying someone for so few hours. And with those few hours, as long as it's busy, you, the hairdresser in question, are guaranteed to make commission. But, they don't want anybody other than the salon managers working full time. And I've got problems with that.
We truly do need another hairdresser. This person needs to be part time and FLEXIBLE. What does this "flexible" mean?? It means you go where I'm told to put you and you work the hours I'm given to give you to work. It does NOT mean I'm going to bend & flex for you.
So, that's part of what's on my plate, for now. Some other fun things: Tina has been misinformed as to how to prepare hair for perms. I've only just caught onto this. When you are preparing someone's hair for a perm, it is important that the hair be clean and conditioner free. Why?? So the chemical can get into the hair shaft (this is highly over simplified) to do it's job. Conditioner's job is to coat the hair shaft to make it smoother and more manageable. Period. This magical coating impedes the success of a perm. Tina did not know this. When I stopped her from applying the conditioner her response was "I always do it this way" and it was really hard not to say "and that's why your perms come back to get fixed." Instead, I replied "Use this product instead." (a spray in reconstructor meant to even out the porosity of the hair to ensure the chemical can do it's job) To which she started to apply this (by spraying) while the client's head was in the sink. "uh, Tina, you'll have an easier time using that when she's sitting up" REALLY!?!?
Tiffany is still under the impression that appointments come first. This causes major problems. She's also under the impression that if someone signs up for a haircut that you have to wait forever for them to come back. Both of these are not true in our world. In hair world in general, yes. In a walk-in based salon, not so much. And it's why she struggles with commission. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't take you. So & so is coming back". And that person walks away, unhappy that they couldn't get in. I catch her, all the time, telling people this. And I'm quick to step in and correct the situation. If the person who signs up gets told what time to come back, and they aren't back, TAKE THE DAMN HAIRCUT THAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. Why is this so stinking difficult to understand??
Joan does the same thing. Which is something I need to talk to them about, AGAIN. We are a walk-in salon. PERIOD. We take appointments as a courtesy. All the appointment guarantees is that you get the person you're requesting, if you're requesting a certain stylist. Otherwise, first come, first serve. If someone signs up and walks away after given a time they can be taken, AND they don't come back at the appointed time, it's onto the next person. Do we piss people off with this?? Sure we do. However, it's the business model we have to work by. If you don't want to miss your time with the person you want, show up EARLY for you allotted time, or, better yet, if you're a walk-in, don't walk away.
We also have an appointment book on site. Do we book appointments?? You betcha. It also serves as a great tool to see when and where we can fit people into, as long as everyone keeps both the sign in sheet and the book up to date. It makes everything flow much more smoothly, for everyone.
What I'm currently not agreeing with: We have these sheets of critiquing that I'm supposed to fill out. I don't happen to agree with them. At all. They have to do with the customer experience, but I don't feel they focus on what's important. I could be wrong. It could be just me and the way I'm looking at it. I feel it doesn't cover enough. It asks for you to call the customer by name, repeatedly (which I'm fine with), to recommend products for the guest (again, okay with), goes through the entire "thing" you're supposed to be doing with your guest. What I don't like about this whole thing is it's a "score card". When I'm watching you doing these things, I get to grade you. (as if I have time to do these stupid things in the first place, company program or not) Oh, and they want what we say to people to be ridiculously scripted. Which doesn't sound genuine to me. It sounds fake, phony, whatever adjective you want to put on it. And I hate that.
We've also got an ongoing contest. Stylist of the Month. The criteria is "simple" : Highest service dollars per hour for the month, Highest combo tickets per month, most requested clients per month. The requested clients per month I added in at the beginning of the year. Otherwise, Tina would win it every month. What's the prize?? Your portion of my bonus check. Which can get up to $100 extra in your hot little hand. I'm not supposed to do this. I'm doing it anyway. The two "youngest" stylists, Tiffany & Joan, don't like the "most requested clients" part. And the reason why is ME. I have the most consistent client base of anyone in the salon. And that makes it hard for them to beat me. Tiffany whines about it in general, but in a different way than Joan does. Joan feels it will take her YEARS to catch up to me (I have about 85 regular clients a month), which it will not, unless you always have that negative Nelly attitude. Tiffany (and Joan, to a lesser degree) wants everything handed to her on a silver platter. The clients I have are because I work HARD to get them and HARD to keep them. I work to be consistent, to listen to what they want and figure out what they can have within the limits of what their hair will do.
Something else Tiffany complains about (and thinks I don't know what she's doing) is that I'm "stealing" her clients. I'm not. A lot of them came to me before she started working there. They've gone to her, and they've come back to me. One of them was in yesterday. Jeramie has been my client for almost 2 years now. He will see any of the girls in the salon to get his "high & tight", but he prefers me to cut his hair, when I'm available. Tiffany was under the impression that he was "her" client, and she gets "snippy" about him sitting in my chair. Again, let's examine why: I'm consistent. Do I goof up?? Sure. I'm not perfect. But I try hard to remember people and what they're asking for. Especially if I see them on a fairly regular basis. Pretty simple.
HAPPY SPRING!!
Home office likes the numbers we're pulling. What they don't like (much like other large employers) is to have to pay a few people large paychecks. What they want to do is pay many people small paychecks. I get where they're going: They don't have to pay benefits because they're paying someone for so few hours. And with those few hours, as long as it's busy, you, the hairdresser in question, are guaranteed to make commission. But, they don't want anybody other than the salon managers working full time. And I've got problems with that.
We truly do need another hairdresser. This person needs to be part time and FLEXIBLE. What does this "flexible" mean?? It means you go where I'm told to put you and you work the hours I'm given to give you to work. It does NOT mean I'm going to bend & flex for you.
So, that's part of what's on my plate, for now. Some other fun things: Tina has been misinformed as to how to prepare hair for perms. I've only just caught onto this. When you are preparing someone's hair for a perm, it is important that the hair be clean and conditioner free. Why?? So the chemical can get into the hair shaft (this is highly over simplified) to do it's job. Conditioner's job is to coat the hair shaft to make it smoother and more manageable. Period. This magical coating impedes the success of a perm. Tina did not know this. When I stopped her from applying the conditioner her response was "I always do it this way" and it was really hard not to say "and that's why your perms come back to get fixed." Instead, I replied "Use this product instead." (a spray in reconstructor meant to even out the porosity of the hair to ensure the chemical can do it's job) To which she started to apply this (by spraying) while the client's head was in the sink. "uh, Tina, you'll have an easier time using that when she's sitting up" REALLY!?!?
Tiffany is still under the impression that appointments come first. This causes major problems. She's also under the impression that if someone signs up for a haircut that you have to wait forever for them to come back. Both of these are not true in our world. In hair world in general, yes. In a walk-in based salon, not so much. And it's why she struggles with commission. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't take you. So & so is coming back". And that person walks away, unhappy that they couldn't get in. I catch her, all the time, telling people this. And I'm quick to step in and correct the situation. If the person who signs up gets told what time to come back, and they aren't back, TAKE THE DAMN HAIRCUT THAT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. Why is this so stinking difficult to understand??
Joan does the same thing. Which is something I need to talk to them about, AGAIN. We are a walk-in salon. PERIOD. We take appointments as a courtesy. All the appointment guarantees is that you get the person you're requesting, if you're requesting a certain stylist. Otherwise, first come, first serve. If someone signs up and walks away after given a time they can be taken, AND they don't come back at the appointed time, it's onto the next person. Do we piss people off with this?? Sure we do. However, it's the business model we have to work by. If you don't want to miss your time with the person you want, show up EARLY for you allotted time, or, better yet, if you're a walk-in, don't walk away.
We also have an appointment book on site. Do we book appointments?? You betcha. It also serves as a great tool to see when and where we can fit people into, as long as everyone keeps both the sign in sheet and the book up to date. It makes everything flow much more smoothly, for everyone.
What I'm currently not agreeing with: We have these sheets of critiquing that I'm supposed to fill out. I don't happen to agree with them. At all. They have to do with the customer experience, but I don't feel they focus on what's important. I could be wrong. It could be just me and the way I'm looking at it. I feel it doesn't cover enough. It asks for you to call the customer by name, repeatedly (which I'm fine with), to recommend products for the guest (again, okay with), goes through the entire "thing" you're supposed to be doing with your guest. What I don't like about this whole thing is it's a "score card". When I'm watching you doing these things, I get to grade you. (as if I have time to do these stupid things in the first place, company program or not) Oh, and they want what we say to people to be ridiculously scripted. Which doesn't sound genuine to me. It sounds fake, phony, whatever adjective you want to put on it. And I hate that.
We've also got an ongoing contest. Stylist of the Month. The criteria is "simple" : Highest service dollars per hour for the month, Highest combo tickets per month, most requested clients per month. The requested clients per month I added in at the beginning of the year. Otherwise, Tina would win it every month. What's the prize?? Your portion of my bonus check. Which can get up to $100 extra in your hot little hand. I'm not supposed to do this. I'm doing it anyway. The two "youngest" stylists, Tiffany & Joan, don't like the "most requested clients" part. And the reason why is ME. I have the most consistent client base of anyone in the salon. And that makes it hard for them to beat me. Tiffany whines about it in general, but in a different way than Joan does. Joan feels it will take her YEARS to catch up to me (I have about 85 regular clients a month), which it will not, unless you always have that negative Nelly attitude. Tiffany (and Joan, to a lesser degree) wants everything handed to her on a silver platter. The clients I have are because I work HARD to get them and HARD to keep them. I work to be consistent, to listen to what they want and figure out what they can have within the limits of what their hair will do.
Something else Tiffany complains about (and thinks I don't know what she's doing) is that I'm "stealing" her clients. I'm not. A lot of them came to me before she started working there. They've gone to her, and they've come back to me. One of them was in yesterday. Jeramie has been my client for almost 2 years now. He will see any of the girls in the salon to get his "high & tight", but he prefers me to cut his hair, when I'm available. Tiffany was under the impression that he was "her" client, and she gets "snippy" about him sitting in my chair. Again, let's examine why: I'm consistent. Do I goof up?? Sure. I'm not perfect. But I try hard to remember people and what they're asking for. Especially if I see them on a fairly regular basis. Pretty simple.
HAPPY SPRING!!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Inexperience...
I have yet to figure out a way to hide some one's inexperience. And, I'm not sure how to council someone in how to hide THEIR inexperience. It's one I've got to bat around for a bit.
Here's the situation: Lady came in, wanting highlights with a "strawberry blonde" hue. I was not a part of this consultation, did not hear this consultation. I was up to my eyeballs in clients, myself. Now, Joan did ask for my help in figuring out what to do for said strawberry blonde highlights, and did as I suggested. What I found out was the biggest problem with the whole event was that: A) the client did NOT feel comfortable with Joan doing her color. She could tell immediately that Joan does not have a whole lot of experience. B) It appears that Joan (according to the client) did not communicate with the client exactly what her plan was with her color request.
The plan Joan came up with was to highlight her hair first, then put the strawberry "toner" over the top. The client's complaint was that it was taking 2.5 hours to get this done instead of the 1.5 hours she was used to. (this is where the inexperienced part comes into play) She also wanted me to take over doing her hair, which I refused to do. Was that the right thing to do? Well, if I'd taken over the appointment, Joan would have been absolutely humiliated, and very publicly so. As it was, Joan wound up being upset with the whole thing, and completely lost her "cool" by the end of the appointment. The client was very angry and I can guarantee she'll never come back.
What I've noticed about Joan: Panics and shuts down. Almost completely. I don't know if she's just not comfortable with color, if this isn't what she thought it was going to be, don't really know. I'm going to try to talk to her about it, but I'm betting I won't get very far. She may not realize what she does when she does it, or she does realize and will get incredibly defensive about it. She also has an incredibly hard time asking for help, particularly when she's in over her head. Which is the point of no return, unfortunately.
Sigh...
Here's the situation: Lady came in, wanting highlights with a "strawberry blonde" hue. I was not a part of this consultation, did not hear this consultation. I was up to my eyeballs in clients, myself. Now, Joan did ask for my help in figuring out what to do for said strawberry blonde highlights, and did as I suggested. What I found out was the biggest problem with the whole event was that: A) the client did NOT feel comfortable with Joan doing her color. She could tell immediately that Joan does not have a whole lot of experience. B) It appears that Joan (according to the client) did not communicate with the client exactly what her plan was with her color request.
The plan Joan came up with was to highlight her hair first, then put the strawberry "toner" over the top. The client's complaint was that it was taking 2.5 hours to get this done instead of the 1.5 hours she was used to. (this is where the inexperienced part comes into play) She also wanted me to take over doing her hair, which I refused to do. Was that the right thing to do? Well, if I'd taken over the appointment, Joan would have been absolutely humiliated, and very publicly so. As it was, Joan wound up being upset with the whole thing, and completely lost her "cool" by the end of the appointment. The client was very angry and I can guarantee she'll never come back.
What I've noticed about Joan: Panics and shuts down. Almost completely. I don't know if she's just not comfortable with color, if this isn't what she thought it was going to be, don't really know. I'm going to try to talk to her about it, but I'm betting I won't get very far. She may not realize what she does when she does it, or she does realize and will get incredibly defensive about it. She also has an incredibly hard time asking for help, particularly when she's in over her head. Which is the point of no return, unfortunately.
Sigh...
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Stealing clients
So, Tina, bless her little heart, wants what I have, which is a fairly steady client base. Unfortunately, she'll try her damnedest to take the clients I have away from me. Which manages to bite her in the behind on a regular basis.
Case in point: Melissa has been coming in for quite a while now. She started off as just a waxing client and has evolved into a color & cut client. She and I have hit it off, rather well. For whatever reason, I did not give her my card with my hours on it. (DOOFUS) So, when she was coming in, she wasn't able to get me because it was either my day off (and she wants it done NOW) or I was on lunch. So, she wound up with Tina instead. Now, she likes Tina as a person, just not necessarily what she does.
Yesterday, Melissa and her son's girlfriend came in yesterday to get stuff done. I was on my lunch break when she came in (had just clocked out, in fact) so when she signed in, she requested Tina. Now, I don't know what Tina told her specifically, but she was under the impression that I would be gone quite a while. When I came back a half hour later, and saw she requested Tina, I stayed out of it. If she wants Tina, whatever. Well, Melissa walks up to me and asks me why she's sitting around if I'm back from lunch. "You requested Tina." "Well, I'd rather have you. She told me you were on lunch". "Okay, well, I'm back from lunch. Let's go!" And proceeded to talk to her about her hair color.
Melissa is funny, because she says to me "I'd like to have a lighter color in general. Can that be done?" "Sure. What I'll do is figure out where you're at right now, and what color is lighter. We'll do your regrowth that new color, feathering it into the old stuff so it blends and it'll be a work in progress with this new, lighter color. That way, you don't have to highlight your hair all the time to get the lighter color you're looking for " (as I look at the highlights that have been done and see they're the stripey kind, which, personally, I hate to look at on a older woman) "Oh, good. I knew you'd be able to tell me if we could do it or not. Tina is nice and all, but she won't tell me if we can do it or not." And so, I won her back.
Now, if I lose a client to someone because they treat the client better than I do, and offer a better quality service than I do, or if our personalities just didn't mesh, that's fine. It happens. But, if I'm losing clients to others because of sneaky, underhanded tactics, that's NOT okay. Clients don't like being lied to. And when they find out, they WON'T go back to you.
I've got one more client to get back from her...we'll see if I can get that to happen. I made sure both of these clients received my business card with my hours on it so they know when I'm around.
Case in point: Melissa has been coming in for quite a while now. She started off as just a waxing client and has evolved into a color & cut client. She and I have hit it off, rather well. For whatever reason, I did not give her my card with my hours on it. (DOOFUS) So, when she was coming in, she wasn't able to get me because it was either my day off (and she wants it done NOW) or I was on lunch. So, she wound up with Tina instead. Now, she likes Tina as a person, just not necessarily what she does.
Yesterday, Melissa and her son's girlfriend came in yesterday to get stuff done. I was on my lunch break when she came in (had just clocked out, in fact) so when she signed in, she requested Tina. Now, I don't know what Tina told her specifically, but she was under the impression that I would be gone quite a while. When I came back a half hour later, and saw she requested Tina, I stayed out of it. If she wants Tina, whatever. Well, Melissa walks up to me and asks me why she's sitting around if I'm back from lunch. "You requested Tina." "Well, I'd rather have you. She told me you were on lunch". "Okay, well, I'm back from lunch. Let's go!" And proceeded to talk to her about her hair color.
Melissa is funny, because she says to me "I'd like to have a lighter color in general. Can that be done?" "Sure. What I'll do is figure out where you're at right now, and what color is lighter. We'll do your regrowth that new color, feathering it into the old stuff so it blends and it'll be a work in progress with this new, lighter color. That way, you don't have to highlight your hair all the time to get the lighter color you're looking for " (as I look at the highlights that have been done and see they're the stripey kind, which, personally, I hate to look at on a older woman) "Oh, good. I knew you'd be able to tell me if we could do it or not. Tina is nice and all, but she won't tell me if we can do it or not." And so, I won her back.
Now, if I lose a client to someone because they treat the client better than I do, and offer a better quality service than I do, or if our personalities just didn't mesh, that's fine. It happens. But, if I'm losing clients to others because of sneaky, underhanded tactics, that's NOT okay. Clients don't like being lied to. And when they find out, they WON'T go back to you.
I've got one more client to get back from her...we'll see if I can get that to happen. I made sure both of these clients received my business card with my hours on it so they know when I'm around.
Discounting your services
I have quite a few "professional" pages on my Facebook page. I like to see what's going on out there. (someday I'll have my own shop, so it's good to collect ideas) There's one in particular, a local shop, where they discount the daylights out of everything!
I've seen "free haircut with $50 or more in foils", "10 foils with haircut & style for $46" (have no idea what the regular price is, presuming it's not $46), "5 free foils with haircut". There's also "Ladies night, $20 haircut & $7.00 wax" and "Men's night, haircuts $15".
What I'm wondering is if these tactics genuinely work?? I know, from working where I do, that coupons/special offers only tend to attract a certain individual: One looking for a bargain. They're not looking for a new salon/stylist. They want what they want and they want it CHEAP.
We've got a lady that comes in every few months, trying to get us to give away the shop for free. "Well, I can get a kit in the store and do my own for much less. Everyone likes what I do to my hair" Then, by all means, keep doing your hair for the bargain price of $9.95. I made the mistake, ONCE of giving this lady a deal...she had quite the sob story and I fell for it. She set up a time to come in, then, miraculously, she blew me off. PHEW! Because I regretted the deal the moment I did it. When she came in two weeks later, wanting the deal, I told her no. She's been trying, ever since, to get an amazing deal out of us. I since found out that she drives a shiny new Toyota Prius (which are NOT a cheap car) and her 7 children are grown & gone.
I'm not saying I don't give certain services for free. I'm known to blow dry for nothing with a haircut when the client has fine, non-existent hair (can't see the point in charging for a 2 minute service), and I just about always condition the hair for free ( a big no no, which is crazy), just so I can get a comb through the damn hair! And, on occasion, I'll forget to charge someone for wax. Or, I'll pluck a few random hairs and not charge for it. Piddly stuff. But, I will NOT discount chemical services. Our prices are already low enough. We charge $24.95 for 7 foils (which is just a splash of color)...I'm not about to take $25 out of my pocket and hand it to someone, which is exactly what happens when you do that. $25 is gas money, for crying out loud! And, if we have a conversation, and you don't have the funds to get the job done, then don't get it done. It's not a problem. Leave with the information I've given you, and come back when you have the money to get the job done. I have a system in place to write down the client's name & information discussed on a chemical card so we have it when the time comes.
I also feel that by discounting my work, I've got to work twice as hard to win you over, to get you to come back every time. Of course, I'll be charging you the magic price every time, because now I've trapped myself. But, if I can win you over, it's at least steady income for me in the form of a regular client!
I also get the feeling, because we get these phone calls all the time, that the local salons call us to get our prices, so they can "beat" us. We do a tidy business, and I'm sure we're a "threat" to these salons, particularly the one offering the shop for free! And here's my thought process on that: If you give good, quality work, treat your clients well, you won't have to discount your work to keep them. They'll come back because they like you and what you do. Otherwise, you'll lose them. Period.
I've seen "free haircut with $50 or more in foils", "10 foils with haircut & style for $46" (have no idea what the regular price is, presuming it's not $46), "5 free foils with haircut". There's also "Ladies night, $20 haircut & $7.00 wax" and "Men's night, haircuts $15".
What I'm wondering is if these tactics genuinely work?? I know, from working where I do, that coupons/special offers only tend to attract a certain individual: One looking for a bargain. They're not looking for a new salon/stylist. They want what they want and they want it CHEAP.
We've got a lady that comes in every few months, trying to get us to give away the shop for free. "Well, I can get a kit in the store and do my own for much less. Everyone likes what I do to my hair" Then, by all means, keep doing your hair for the bargain price of $9.95. I made the mistake, ONCE of giving this lady a deal...she had quite the sob story and I fell for it. She set up a time to come in, then, miraculously, she blew me off. PHEW! Because I regretted the deal the moment I did it. When she came in two weeks later, wanting the deal, I told her no. She's been trying, ever since, to get an amazing deal out of us. I since found out that she drives a shiny new Toyota Prius (which are NOT a cheap car) and her 7 children are grown & gone.
I'm not saying I don't give certain services for free. I'm known to blow dry for nothing with a haircut when the client has fine, non-existent hair (can't see the point in charging for a 2 minute service), and I just about always condition the hair for free ( a big no no, which is crazy), just so I can get a comb through the damn hair! And, on occasion, I'll forget to charge someone for wax. Or, I'll pluck a few random hairs and not charge for it. Piddly stuff. But, I will NOT discount chemical services. Our prices are already low enough. We charge $24.95 for 7 foils (which is just a splash of color)...I'm not about to take $25 out of my pocket and hand it to someone, which is exactly what happens when you do that. $25 is gas money, for crying out loud! And, if we have a conversation, and you don't have the funds to get the job done, then don't get it done. It's not a problem. Leave with the information I've given you, and come back when you have the money to get the job done. I have a system in place to write down the client's name & information discussed on a chemical card so we have it when the time comes.
I also feel that by discounting my work, I've got to work twice as hard to win you over, to get you to come back every time. Of course, I'll be charging you the magic price every time, because now I've trapped myself. But, if I can win you over, it's at least steady income for me in the form of a regular client!
I also get the feeling, because we get these phone calls all the time, that the local salons call us to get our prices, so they can "beat" us. We do a tidy business, and I'm sure we're a "threat" to these salons, particularly the one offering the shop for free! And here's my thought process on that: If you give good, quality work, treat your clients well, you won't have to discount your work to keep them. They'll come back because they like you and what you do. Otherwise, you'll lose them. Period.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Bouncing around
So, I was just on Facebook and noticed one of my fellow hairdressers is changing salons, yet again. She's young (to the point of immature, really), enthusiastic, highly skilled, offers lots of services. From what I understand, she's also pregnant, so income is important.
What happens when you bounce around from salon to salon isn't always a good thing. Most of your clients will follow you, but some will not. It's normal to lose anywhere from 10% to 30% of your clients, depending on where you move to and, of course, how much demand there is for you. I know some hairdressers who did not lose their clients, and in fact, GAINED clients, because they moved. But, it's not always the case.
I moved from my old salon to where I am now based on the fact that my current employer offered me more hours (which equals more money in the end), opportunity for advancement, and benefits such as health, dental, 401K, 529 savings plans. Things my previous employer could not do. It was a huge risk for me, one that has paid off for me. There were some instances where I thought "OH CRAP. What have I done?!?" but, over all, I'm doing really well.
Everything I do is a stepping store to something else. I imagine that's the same for most others. Eventually, I'd like to have my own place. I have goals, but I also need to figure out how I'm going to get there. One step at a time.
I wish my fellow hairdresser well, and hope that her new "home" is where she will fit the best and make money as well as gain new clients.
What happens when you bounce around from salon to salon isn't always a good thing. Most of your clients will follow you, but some will not. It's normal to lose anywhere from 10% to 30% of your clients, depending on where you move to and, of course, how much demand there is for you. I know some hairdressers who did not lose their clients, and in fact, GAINED clients, because they moved. But, it's not always the case.
I moved from my old salon to where I am now based on the fact that my current employer offered me more hours (which equals more money in the end), opportunity for advancement, and benefits such as health, dental, 401K, 529 savings plans. Things my previous employer could not do. It was a huge risk for me, one that has paid off for me. There were some instances where I thought "OH CRAP. What have I done?!?" but, over all, I'm doing really well.
Everything I do is a stepping store to something else. I imagine that's the same for most others. Eventually, I'd like to have my own place. I have goals, but I also need to figure out how I'm going to get there. One step at a time.
I wish my fellow hairdresser well, and hope that her new "home" is where she will fit the best and make money as well as gain new clients.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Update on "Over Processed Hair"
I saw the client from my "Over Processed Hair" episode. She got her perm someplace else. (She walked by the salon with an extremely sour look on her face, too...apparently still angry we wouldn't perm her hair) and, boy is her hair FRIED!!!
I wasn't kidding when I said she'll find someone who will see dollar signs and perm her hair, regardless of the condition of her hair. I'm just not that kind of hairdresser and never will be. I also will not encourage my staff to be that kind of hairdresser, either.
I wasn't kidding when I said she'll find someone who will see dollar signs and perm her hair, regardless of the condition of her hair. I'm just not that kind of hairdresser and never will be. I also will not encourage my staff to be that kind of hairdresser, either.
I'm a beautician, not a magician...
First, she says she wants a beige blonde. So, you go bananas figuring out a formula, complete with making hair swatches to try to get something close to what she wants. Then she says (after you've applied the color "I'd like to be a golden blonde"...which, by the way, she was pretty much at before you applied the beige color.
"Can you cover up the bright roots?" while putting the hair up at the same time, exposing the root area. "Can you put my hair up?" When she's got so much breakage, it's coming off in your hands. What do you want to bet she'll not come back for quite a while, then expect me to fix the mess she made, AGAIN??
This, my friends, is the client you will NEVER please. She's got ideas in her head, but no way to effectively communicate to you what the heck she wants. She's done some serious damage to her hair, but wants you to fix it. Because, somewhere in the description of Hairdresser/Colorist is the word "magician". Not only can you not fix stupid, you can't fix fragile, broken hair. When you are handling the hair, say when you're foiling the hair, and it looks like it's snowing on the black cape from all the breakage, that's BAD. And it can't be fixed, unless you want a nice, Jamie Lee Curtis short haircut. Which this nice lady does NOT want.
I've got a plan in place for her, should she come back. She, more than likely, will NOT like it. But, here it is:
Her natural level is a medium, almost coarse level 3. Which means, to lift her to a nice color, without revealing the warmth, I can take her to a 5-5.5 light brown, in the golden vein, to bring some color back to her face. (visually, it's darkish brown) Because her ends are blonde-ish right now, I would isolate a lot of them in foils with protein loaded conditioner to mask as much breakage as I can, so she still has the appearance of blonde. The blonde part she'll like. The darker brown, not so much. She was adamant about not liking her natural color. Can I take her to a lighter, yet still darker color? Sure. I can bring her to a level 7 (dark blonde) with demi, then do the same plan with her blonde to give her the effect of highlights.
Ideally, the hair needs to go. And, AGAIN, had she come back in way back in July, we wouldn't have had the struggles we had getting her hair to something reasonable for her event. Unfortunately, for her, her hair is taking care of the haircut all on it's own, by breaking every time you touch it. Luckily, you can't see the "pile" of hair she's leaving behind because the hair is so white it disappears.
Really, I'm getting cranked up for nothing. I'm too sure she won't be back. And I'm also pretty sure the reason why she came back in the first place was because no other salon would touch her hair. I can't say that I blame them, really. I didn't want to touch her hair, either!
"Can you cover up the bright roots?" while putting the hair up at the same time, exposing the root area. "Can you put my hair up?" When she's got so much breakage, it's coming off in your hands. What do you want to bet she'll not come back for quite a while, then expect me to fix the mess she made, AGAIN??
This, my friends, is the client you will NEVER please. She's got ideas in her head, but no way to effectively communicate to you what the heck she wants. She's done some serious damage to her hair, but wants you to fix it. Because, somewhere in the description of Hairdresser/Colorist is the word "magician". Not only can you not fix stupid, you can't fix fragile, broken hair. When you are handling the hair, say when you're foiling the hair, and it looks like it's snowing on the black cape from all the breakage, that's BAD. And it can't be fixed, unless you want a nice, Jamie Lee Curtis short haircut. Which this nice lady does NOT want.
I've got a plan in place for her, should she come back. She, more than likely, will NOT like it. But, here it is:
Her natural level is a medium, almost coarse level 3. Which means, to lift her to a nice color, without revealing the warmth, I can take her to a 5-5.5 light brown, in the golden vein, to bring some color back to her face. (visually, it's darkish brown) Because her ends are blonde-ish right now, I would isolate a lot of them in foils with protein loaded conditioner to mask as much breakage as I can, so she still has the appearance of blonde. The blonde part she'll like. The darker brown, not so much. She was adamant about not liking her natural color. Can I take her to a lighter, yet still darker color? Sure. I can bring her to a level 7 (dark blonde) with demi, then do the same plan with her blonde to give her the effect of highlights.
Ideally, the hair needs to go. And, AGAIN, had she come back in way back in July, we wouldn't have had the struggles we had getting her hair to something reasonable for her event. Unfortunately, for her, her hair is taking care of the haircut all on it's own, by breaking every time you touch it. Luckily, you can't see the "pile" of hair she's leaving behind because the hair is so white it disappears.
Really, I'm getting cranked up for nothing. I'm too sure she won't be back. And I'm also pretty sure the reason why she came back in the first place was because no other salon would touch her hair. I can't say that I blame them, really. I didn't want to touch her hair, either!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Entertaining to watch...
It's entertaining, sometimes, to watch my co-workers. Ultimately, it's insightful, but it's also entertaining. For example:
Tina: Is very vindictive and vengeful. Particularly after she's been spoken to regarding something she's done that isn't correct, or isn't something she's responsible for doing (acting as salon manager in my absence, for example). She will go out of her way to get back at you, any way that she can. If you have something she wants, say a steadier schedule, or a larger client base, she'll do what she can, including lie to clients, to get what she wants.
When we have salon meetings and I chose to address an issue with her as a global issue, she ALWAYS pretends to not know what I'm talking about. Again, funny to watch. She'll also ask stupid questions that she knows the answer to. For example, we have new goal books to use with codes the company has established for certain things like request clients, referrals, new people. So, it made sense to me to change what we had going for our own codes and use the "company approved" ones. And, of course, she had to question that. It was hard not to say to her "Well, what the hell do you think it means, idiot?? Do you not pay attention to what you're reading?? How does that not make sense to you???" But, I didn't. I just repeated myself, at least 3 times, by saying "it makes sense to use the codes the company provides. Look at your book" The response?? "Oh, yeah......." SIGH....
Tiffany: If you don't give her a goal, she'll wander around, all day long, bored out of her mind. She isn't really interested in taking responsibility herself, or for her share of the daily business, she would rather have someone else do all the work and she reap the benefits. If you don't remind her of what needs to be done, she doesn't do a darn thing. "Tiffany, would you drain the sinks?" "Tiffany, would you scrub all three sinks out??" (because, if you don't put in the "three", she'll leave the back room sink a disastrous mess.) "Tiffany, would you empty the trash cans?" And god help Tina if she gets her bossy pants on because Tiffany won't do anything Tina asks her to do. I finally had to pull her aside and say "Look. If you're asked to clean something by someone other than me, JUST DO IT. It won't kill you. If someone other than me starts correcting you, that's an issue that I need to address. If someone acts like salon manager when I'm not around, that also needs to be brought to my attention, however, YOU get to tell her "hey...you're not the salon manager. Knock it off. I'm calling Beth to clarify". The other thing she does is when she's bored, she's outside for a cigarette. The moment she leaves, 9 times out of 10, a client walks in and either can't hang around, so it's lost money, or they go to someone else and she loses out on the money. She'll get it, eventually.
Joan: I'm still assessing this one. However, when she started, we were SLAMMED, so she raked in the bucks, instantly. Now that it's calmed down, she's not pulling in the bucks. It'll pick back up, soon. Tax checks will start coming back and people will be in to spend money. I have noticed, however, that when her personal life falls apart, so does she. I'm not saying everyone needs to be cold and analytical about it, but put that crap aside so you can do your job. She also doesn't understand that just because everyone else is busy and you're not, you don't get to start goofing off in the back room where potential customers can't see you. I had to tell her that when everyone is dead, I don't mind you working on swatches to understand what color does what, etc. However, when you're the only one not with a client, you need to make yourself visible so when someone comes in, you can take them immediately. Also, she'll get it, eventually.
Overall, I really do have a good team. Everyone works well together. There's some kinks to work out, there always is. It will be interesting when Lynn comes back, too. She'll have to get back into the swing of things, and get used to having Joan here (they went to school together, were roommates for a bit, had a falling out. Hopefully, the animosity won't be an issue at work). And I think, by then, we'll have a ROCKIN' TEAM!!
Tina: Is very vindictive and vengeful. Particularly after she's been spoken to regarding something she's done that isn't correct, or isn't something she's responsible for doing (acting as salon manager in my absence, for example). She will go out of her way to get back at you, any way that she can. If you have something she wants, say a steadier schedule, or a larger client base, she'll do what she can, including lie to clients, to get what she wants.
When we have salon meetings and I chose to address an issue with her as a global issue, she ALWAYS pretends to not know what I'm talking about. Again, funny to watch. She'll also ask stupid questions that she knows the answer to. For example, we have new goal books to use with codes the company has established for certain things like request clients, referrals, new people. So, it made sense to me to change what we had going for our own codes and use the "company approved" ones. And, of course, she had to question that. It was hard not to say to her "Well, what the hell do you think it means, idiot?? Do you not pay attention to what you're reading?? How does that not make sense to you???" But, I didn't. I just repeated myself, at least 3 times, by saying "it makes sense to use the codes the company provides. Look at your book" The response?? "Oh, yeah......." SIGH....
Tiffany: If you don't give her a goal, she'll wander around, all day long, bored out of her mind. She isn't really interested in taking responsibility herself, or for her share of the daily business, she would rather have someone else do all the work and she reap the benefits. If you don't remind her of what needs to be done, she doesn't do a darn thing. "Tiffany, would you drain the sinks?" "Tiffany, would you scrub all three sinks out??" (because, if you don't put in the "three", she'll leave the back room sink a disastrous mess.) "Tiffany, would you empty the trash cans?" And god help Tina if she gets her bossy pants on because Tiffany won't do anything Tina asks her to do. I finally had to pull her aside and say "Look. If you're asked to clean something by someone other than me, JUST DO IT. It won't kill you. If someone other than me starts correcting you, that's an issue that I need to address. If someone acts like salon manager when I'm not around, that also needs to be brought to my attention, however, YOU get to tell her "hey...you're not the salon manager. Knock it off. I'm calling Beth to clarify". The other thing she does is when she's bored, she's outside for a cigarette. The moment she leaves, 9 times out of 10, a client walks in and either can't hang around, so it's lost money, or they go to someone else and she loses out on the money. She'll get it, eventually.
Joan: I'm still assessing this one. However, when she started, we were SLAMMED, so she raked in the bucks, instantly. Now that it's calmed down, she's not pulling in the bucks. It'll pick back up, soon. Tax checks will start coming back and people will be in to spend money. I have noticed, however, that when her personal life falls apart, so does she. I'm not saying everyone needs to be cold and analytical about it, but put that crap aside so you can do your job. She also doesn't understand that just because everyone else is busy and you're not, you don't get to start goofing off in the back room where potential customers can't see you. I had to tell her that when everyone is dead, I don't mind you working on swatches to understand what color does what, etc. However, when you're the only one not with a client, you need to make yourself visible so when someone comes in, you can take them immediately. Also, she'll get it, eventually.
Overall, I really do have a good team. Everyone works well together. There's some kinks to work out, there always is. It will be interesting when Lynn comes back, too. She'll have to get back into the swing of things, and get used to having Joan here (they went to school together, were roommates for a bit, had a falling out. Hopefully, the animosity won't be an issue at work). And I think, by then, we'll have a ROCKIN' TEAM!!
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Another new stylist...
So, 4 days before Christmas, I hired another stylist, Joan. And, so far, she's working out all right. Has she made mistakes along the way?? Sure. She got the perm client from hell last week, and, honestly, I could have wrapped my hands around the woman's throat by the time I got done dealing with her (when she came back), but, hey...this stuff happens.
What I didn't find out until well after the fast is that Joan and Lynn used to be roomies and it didn't end well. It hadn't better be a problem when Lynn gets back from maternity leave. I've got a great team right now, and adding Lynn back into the mix will be even better. Let's not ruin it by letting stupid, petty crap get in the way.
What I didn't find out until well after the fast is that Joan and Lynn used to be roomies and it didn't end well. It hadn't better be a problem when Lynn gets back from maternity leave. I've got a great team right now, and adding Lynn back into the mix will be even better. Let's not ruin it by letting stupid, petty crap get in the way.
Corrective color from hell, part 2
So, she comes in...LATE. Big surprise. With a half-baked apology. "I'm sorry. Can we still get this done??" "We'll just have to make it work" Honestly. What the hell is wrong with you?? If you have an "important" event to go to, GET YOUR COLLECTIVE CRAP TOGETHER BEFORE HAND!!!
This is what I would have done if A) I was her, or B) I had been in control of this color long before this week:
1) As soon as I got the tickets, or even the invite, book appointments. Make phone calls to find out who does what, where, and what time.
2) ARRANGE TO TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK. She is a home health care nurse. She worked Friday night into Saturday morning. HELLO, EYE BAGS. It's also why she was late.
3) FIND A DRESS THAT FITS. One that needs minimal alteration, not major surgery.
4) Get ALL the accessories you need together, before hand, such as the correct bra, spanx, pantyhose, jewelry, hair gems, all of it.
5) Get the issues with your hair dealt with, well in advance, not last minute. That way, there's no panic on any body's part to get things "right".
6) GET YOUR DRESS PAID FOR AND PICKED UP BEFORE THE DAY OF THE EVENT!!
So, she comes in 1/2 hour-ish late. Awesome. I don't even discuss what I'm doing, I just go mix it up. Tick tock. Through the course of conversation, I let it be known that A) she could easily support red hair, if she wanted to, which would be easier to accomplish than the blonde B) if she'd come in even two weeks ago, we wouldn't be scrambling last minute to get this stuff done. C) if she'd let me have complete control over her hair, she'd have a short, Jamie Lee Curtis haircut, with the blonde ends colored to match her natural hair, let it grow out, cutting off the old blonde as we go until it's GONE, then start over FRESH with hair in fabulous condition. When I mentioned how short her hair ought to be, short term, to get her back to healthy hair, she about lost her mind. Not to mention going back to her natural color, so she can have healthy hair.
Seriously. To keep things looking as natural as possible, it's suggested you don't go more than 3 shades lighter or darker, depending on which direction you're aiming. This lady is a level 3. Which means, to keep the gold under control, she needs to go no lighter than a level 6, which is darkest blonde. Then, maybe highlight the heck out of it to make it appear lighter. But, ONLY ON HEALTHY HAIR!!!
So, I'll probably make some swatches, on natural level 3 hair, to show her some options. Of course, this will probably be all for naught, but, at least I'll be prepared.
This is what I would have done if A) I was her, or B) I had been in control of this color long before this week:
1) As soon as I got the tickets, or even the invite, book appointments. Make phone calls to find out who does what, where, and what time.
2) ARRANGE TO TAKE TIME OFF FROM WORK. She is a home health care nurse. She worked Friday night into Saturday morning. HELLO, EYE BAGS. It's also why she was late.
3) FIND A DRESS THAT FITS. One that needs minimal alteration, not major surgery.
4) Get ALL the accessories you need together, before hand, such as the correct bra, spanx, pantyhose, jewelry, hair gems, all of it.
5) Get the issues with your hair dealt with, well in advance, not last minute. That way, there's no panic on any body's part to get things "right".
6) GET YOUR DRESS PAID FOR AND PICKED UP BEFORE THE DAY OF THE EVENT!!
So, she comes in 1/2 hour-ish late. Awesome. I don't even discuss what I'm doing, I just go mix it up. Tick tock. Through the course of conversation, I let it be known that A) she could easily support red hair, if she wanted to, which would be easier to accomplish than the blonde B) if she'd come in even two weeks ago, we wouldn't be scrambling last minute to get this stuff done. C) if she'd let me have complete control over her hair, she'd have a short, Jamie Lee Curtis haircut, with the blonde ends colored to match her natural hair, let it grow out, cutting off the old blonde as we go until it's GONE, then start over FRESH with hair in fabulous condition. When I mentioned how short her hair ought to be, short term, to get her back to healthy hair, she about lost her mind. Not to mention going back to her natural color, so she can have healthy hair.
Seriously. To keep things looking as natural as possible, it's suggested you don't go more than 3 shades lighter or darker, depending on which direction you're aiming. This lady is a level 3. Which means, to keep the gold under control, she needs to go no lighter than a level 6, which is darkest blonde. Then, maybe highlight the heck out of it to make it appear lighter. But, ONLY ON HEALTHY HAIR!!!
So, I'll probably make some swatches, on natural level 3 hair, to show her some options. Of course, this will probably be all for naught, but, at least I'll be prepared.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Corrective Color From Hell....
Last Sunday was my first Sunday off since November. It was very peaceful. Until I went in for our Salon meeting...and heard about this client.
She came in LAST JUNE and saw Rita for color. This client, whom we've all spoken to, at various times regarding her hair color, had some "interesting" hair. She had been going to a different salon, trying to get beige blonde hair. Her ethnic background is Italian, specifically Sicilian. Which means her natural hair color is DARK, her eyes are DARK BROWN and her skin tone is olive. She has absolutely NOTHING in her visual genetic makeup to indicate she was ever a blonde. And yet, blonde is what we want, because we shouldn't have it.
Because her previous salon was using high lift color (and because she also tried to maintain it at home with box color) her hair is a level 8-ish gold color. In order to be blonde, she needs to be a double process...lift with decolorizer/lightener/bleach, then tone accordingly to get the right shade. Well, we all know how easily distracted Rita got. Apparently, while this client's lightener was processing, Rita was also getting her hair done (hence the newest rule that you can't get your own services done during working hours), which was clearly more important. The paying client's hair lifted to WHITE...which is completely destroyed hair. Rita applied the toner, which didn't make it any better.
Client paid, client went home, client endured EVERYONE talking about her hair color for approximately 24 hours, then came back to get it fixed. To which both Rita and Tina proceeded to tell the client SHE needed to pick the color she wanted her hair to be instead of taking charge, listening to what she wanted, and making it happen. The client eventually got so frustrated with the way things were going that she just walked out. And didn't come back for 7 (SEVEN) MONTHS.
She came in last Sunday, wanting the sun, moon, and stars for her hair, and wanting "something" done about what happened 7 months ago. The girls got her name & number for me to call.
I called Coral on Tuesday morning to find out what she wanted me to do. Which was this: She was to come to me and only me. Stress the importance of the fact that there's nothing we can do about what happened 7 months ago except move forward. Give her some "free" services, such as conditioning treatments to help "smooth" things over, offer slight discount (two small dollar amount coupons we've always got going), and that's it.
Did I mention she's going to the NH Inaugural ball TODAY and needs all this stuff done ASAP? Can you see me rolling my eyes??
So, I spoke to her Wednesday morning and arranged everything for her. She comes in Thursday, 15 minutes late for her appointment, doesn't bother to call. Awesome. Now I finally get to see her hair up close and personal.
OH. MY. GOD. Everything done previously was WRONG. Her natural level was determined to be a 5, it's really a 3. Her texture was never determined. She's medium, headed to coarse, with little to no grey. She's got a small amount of gold banding going on because she's been maintaining it at home with box color. Because of this, and what was done back in June, her hair is WHITE, particularly on the ends, which are horribly uneven.
The first thing I do is explain that I cannot make her hair "perfect. Can't guarantee a thing. Had she come in and dealt with me way back when, even after Rita got done with her hair, a lot of the damage could have been dealt with between now and then, and she'd have hair in much better condition than what she currently has. As it is, her hair is so compromised, there's not much to be done, really.
I lifted her regrowth to level 8, which is as far as it can go, SAFELY. Rinsed it out, combed her out, trimmed her hair. Dried her hair to damp. Watched her ends break every time I combed her hair to section it as I was foiling in the toner. It looked like it was snowing on the cape she was wearing. Rinsed out the toner, dried her hair, gorgeous color.
She stressed & fretted over the color. To the point that she's coming in early today (at 9am) to get her color re-done before she gets her "up sweep" done (up-do) to get ready to go to the ball. She wants one all over color. And, she wants it to match a picture we have on the wall. Of nice, healthy hair. Which she does NOT have.
Stay tuned for the next installment, later today....
She came in LAST JUNE and saw Rita for color. This client, whom we've all spoken to, at various times regarding her hair color, had some "interesting" hair. She had been going to a different salon, trying to get beige blonde hair. Her ethnic background is Italian, specifically Sicilian. Which means her natural hair color is DARK, her eyes are DARK BROWN and her skin tone is olive. She has absolutely NOTHING in her visual genetic makeup to indicate she was ever a blonde. And yet, blonde is what we want, because we shouldn't have it.
Because her previous salon was using high lift color (and because she also tried to maintain it at home with box color) her hair is a level 8-ish gold color. In order to be blonde, she needs to be a double process...lift with decolorizer/lightener/bleach, then tone accordingly to get the right shade. Well, we all know how easily distracted Rita got. Apparently, while this client's lightener was processing, Rita was also getting her hair done (hence the newest rule that you can't get your own services done during working hours), which was clearly more important. The paying client's hair lifted to WHITE...which is completely destroyed hair. Rita applied the toner, which didn't make it any better.
Client paid, client went home, client endured EVERYONE talking about her hair color for approximately 24 hours, then came back to get it fixed. To which both Rita and Tina proceeded to tell the client SHE needed to pick the color she wanted her hair to be instead of taking charge, listening to what she wanted, and making it happen. The client eventually got so frustrated with the way things were going that she just walked out. And didn't come back for 7 (SEVEN) MONTHS.
She came in last Sunday, wanting the sun, moon, and stars for her hair, and wanting "something" done about what happened 7 months ago. The girls got her name & number for me to call.
I called Coral on Tuesday morning to find out what she wanted me to do. Which was this: She was to come to me and only me. Stress the importance of the fact that there's nothing we can do about what happened 7 months ago except move forward. Give her some "free" services, such as conditioning treatments to help "smooth" things over, offer slight discount (two small dollar amount coupons we've always got going), and that's it.
Did I mention she's going to the NH Inaugural ball TODAY and needs all this stuff done ASAP? Can you see me rolling my eyes??
So, I spoke to her Wednesday morning and arranged everything for her. She comes in Thursday, 15 minutes late for her appointment, doesn't bother to call. Awesome. Now I finally get to see her hair up close and personal.
OH. MY. GOD. Everything done previously was WRONG. Her natural level was determined to be a 5, it's really a 3. Her texture was never determined. She's medium, headed to coarse, with little to no grey. She's got a small amount of gold banding going on because she's been maintaining it at home with box color. Because of this, and what was done back in June, her hair is WHITE, particularly on the ends, which are horribly uneven.
The first thing I do is explain that I cannot make her hair "perfect. Can't guarantee a thing. Had she come in and dealt with me way back when, even after Rita got done with her hair, a lot of the damage could have been dealt with between now and then, and she'd have hair in much better condition than what she currently has. As it is, her hair is so compromised, there's not much to be done, really.
I lifted her regrowth to level 8, which is as far as it can go, SAFELY. Rinsed it out, combed her out, trimmed her hair. Dried her hair to damp. Watched her ends break every time I combed her hair to section it as I was foiling in the toner. It looked like it was snowing on the cape she was wearing. Rinsed out the toner, dried her hair, gorgeous color.
She stressed & fretted over the color. To the point that she's coming in early today (at 9am) to get her color re-done before she gets her "up sweep" done (up-do) to get ready to go to the ball. She wants one all over color. And, she wants it to match a picture we have on the wall. Of nice, healthy hair. Which she does NOT have.
Stay tuned for the next installment, later today....
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