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...