I've got the keys!!!!

Alas, it's only temporary. A bit of back story: A couple of weeks ago, before I went on vacation, I noticed that for August 7th (just yesterday), both Evelyn & Ginger (the only one's besides Ginger's family members who have keys) were leaving work early for different things (one was a funeral in VT, one was anniversary). Chrissy took the weekend off to go to the beach, which left Maude & myself at the salon. Maude, God bless her little heart, leaves early, ALL THE TIME. So, I knew she wouldn't stay until the very end. And, she didn't. But, I'm jumping ahead. I spoke to Ginger about this before I left on vacation, and her reply was "well, I guess someone will need some keys". And, I knew, she and Evelyn would find a way to make sure I didn't get a set. It's happened before. From what I can figure, it comes from a bunch of different angles. 1). Ginger is very OCD, and has major control issues, because of it. She also has HUGE trust issues. 2). Evelyn's nose gets all out of joint when she's perceived as not 2nd in command any longer, which means Ginger won't do anything to hurt Evelyn's feelings, even if it " hurts" someone else's. 3). Ginger also doesn't take the time to really get to know her co-workers/subordinates, and it shows. So, lets now jump ahead to Friday, August 6th. My book was pretty full, so I was busy all night (well, until 6:30ish). I went up to the desk (to check out a client) and noticed a note with names of my clients and phone numbers, with notes to call them to get them to come in earlier...this is to prevent me with getting the keys, so everyone can leave at the same time. Since no one discussed with me exactly what those notes were about (no, I'm not dumb, however....), I didn't bother to call my clients. Now, it's Saturday. Ginger gets done before Evelyn, and she's hanging around. Evelyn helps her do something with her hair (put it up), so they're farting around. FINALLY, Ginger has put things off long enough. She hands me the keys, tells me which one is for which door (there's 3 total), and proceeds to collect her things, asking me if I'm going to be all right here by myself, stuff like that. I looked her right in the eye and said "Gee, I've closed a salon, many times, before, Ginger. I think I can handle it." At my previous salon employer, Not only did I close two nights a week (Tuesdays & Saturdays), but, I had the keys and I was TRUSTED. Talk about frustrating!! I'm surprised I haven't gotten a phone call, as of yet, regarding my closing of the salon. Mind you, I only had to shut everything down and lock the doors. I didn't have to balance the drawer (which I'm completely capable of, even though I've never been shown "Ginger's way" of doing things). And, the fun part of most salon software, it's relatively idiot proof. It's a matter of following the directions. And, as long as a password isn't required, all is right and wonderful. Can't wait to turn the keys back in on Tuesday!!

This week....

I'm on vacation. My first one in three years. It's a paid vacation, too, THANK GOD. I have a list going of the things I should be doing this week. Have I accomplished any of it?? No, not really. I'm still trying to keep up with the dishes! And, I get to do laundry, AGAIN. When you don't wear your work clothes, and just wear "civies" all week, suddenly there's a ton of laundry! We also did Vacation Bible School this week (MTW), so there's extra from there, as well. And, I'm back walking with purpose, so, there's clothing there from being so sweaty. Oh, yeah...extra towels from showering extra (yes, I do use the same towels for the body & hair, it's the wash cloths that are piling up rapidly), as well as scrubbing the makeup off my face from VBS --we were "Egyptians" this time...so I coated my face in copious amounts of bronzer & did a bit of detail work to look Egyptian...even wore a black wig! It was fun, but I'm glad it's over. My face has NEVER been this clean! However, we must get some serious work done today. SiSi & NiNi are coming up tomorrow for a sleep over, and there must be space figured out in KatieKatherine's room both for the sleepers and for walking in the middle of the night when I have to pee!! I'm also supposed to be making a dent in the hair swatch situation....haven't done very much, I must say. Cleaned up the mess I left from a couple of weeks ago and that was it! However, the sleep fairy deemed it necessary that I get up at 0:dark thirty this morning, so, perhaps I ought to get to it before the child gets up. Not that she interferes with my work in the first place!

And so, the battle continues.....

I posted, a couple back, about how KatieKatherine is to be doing chores now if she wants money. It's not going well. Today, she called me at work, to tell me she had SUCH a headache that she couldn't do her chores. However. She was well enough to eat the last of the Blondies, watch movies, mess around on the computer (which she denied), and play in general, as well as call me to tell me she was just too sick to do her chores. (insert dramatic pose here) I'm thinking she's hoping that if she comes up with the right angle, I'll just give up on her doing chores and just do them myself. No such luck, kiddo!

To tip, or not to tip...It's always the question!

I had an interesting conversation with my daughter a few days ago. It was her math teacher's philosophy regarding tipping waitstaff. It's a "theory" that's been around forever, and it's never been my favorite. It is this: If you receive good service, tip accordingly. If you receive horrid service (and every one's definition of either is open to interpretation), you leave a penny. This is to show the waitperson that they stunk. Now, while I'm not waitstaff (never a job I wanted), I am someone who receives tips (most of the time) for the services I render. Personally, I would rather receive NOTHING than a penny, if my service was horrid. A complaint to the manager would be in order, as well, from you, the patron, instead of leaving a penny. There are many courses of action to take, rather than leaving a penny. And, this is what I talked to my daughter about. Tipping in my industry. Many people ask me what is an appropriate tip. Jokingly, I'll tell them "$50!" Then, I'll seriously tell them "Tip us exactly like you'd tip waitstaff". Which means this: whatever percentage you generally tip your waitstaff is the same as you would tip your hairdresser. Waitstaff get paid minimum wage + tips. That's why tips are intensely important to waitstaff. Does this knowledge prevent them from giving poor service once in a while?? No. Stuff happens. We don't know what's going on with their day, and quite frankly, it's hard to leave your personal stuff behind and be "ON" for your patrons all day long. It's draining. Yes, it's the profession they've chosen, so they should just suck it up, I know. However, they're still people, too. With actual lives outside of their profession. And, occasionally, they overlap. Hairdressers get paid commission. Some employers are able to pay an hourly rate until you start hitting commission, some do not. So, those tips we receive are equally important. The owner of the salon is not supposed to receive tips. They own the place. The owner of my salon, Ginger, does not realize this. I know this because she gripes every once in a while about the $1 tips she receives (from the nice old ladies she's had for 25 years) for a $55 perm. She's owned the salon since 1988, and it makes a profit (although this year may be a bit interesting, numbers-wise), so, according to industry standard, her paycheck (and she should be receiving one) is a percentage (I have no idea what it is) off the top. I admit, I will gripe if I don't get a tip, particularly if the client was a bit "difficult"...either very demanding, or very indecisive, or their hair was quite a challenge on its own. However, I'm truly not in this industry for the tips. Because, I've learned (even before becoming a hairdresser), you will be disappointed, every time, if you count on them. Do I need my tips?? Sure. They're gas money, laundry money, extra groceries, lunch money, stuff for the child money, stuff for myself money, stuff to continue my education money, cat food money, you get the picture. Could I survive without them?? Yes. Do I want to?? No, not really. But, I would, if I had to. My other "beef" is this: If someone "squeezes" you in, manages to get you done, ON TIME, and gives you the same quality of service, don't be a snot and tip less because you felt "slighted" by the service getting done in less time than normal. There isn't a one of us that enjoys running behind for ANYBODY. It messes up our whole day and makes everyone cranky. Please appreciate the fact that we "squeezed" you in. Or, better yet, schedule accordingly so you have the time you need. Seriously. My point is this: If you like your service, please tip your service provider accordingly. 10% and up works well. If you didn't like your service, please leave NOTHING for a tip, and, if you feel it's necessary, talk to management about your poor service. Please do NOT leave a penny.

Second generation hairdresser....

So, Katie-Katherine has expressed a fairly serious interest in becoming a hairdresser. I'm both thrilled about this and cautious about this. Thrilled, because I'm glad I've inspired her! Cautious, because, well, she's 13 years old. Things change as she gets older. There's very few things, in her life, that she's been consistent about. Her love of cats, horses, wolves. That's about it. The rest of it changes faster than you can say "Gone With The Wind"! She's also had an interesting summer, my Katie-Katherine. She didn't want to go to day camp, so I told her that's fine, but you're going to do stuff around the house. Especially if you expect to get paid for doing some of these things. So, I've started a "Katie-Katherine Do" list. It's not terribly complicated: wash, dry, & put away the dishes, fold all laundry, clean out the cat box (not the big clean, just the basic clean), collect all trash and take to the dumpster. There are also jobs she doesn't get paid for, like putting her own laundry away, making her bed, things like that. She hasn't actually gotten paid yet, because, well, money is at a premium, and she knows it. However, there IS a running tab going. I collect each chore list she does and assign a monetary amount to each chore, based on the quality of work performed. She also knows this, although she doesn't know the monetary value of each chore. Now, being Katie-Katherine, she has most definitely tried to get out of doing things. The first chore list, she tried getting out of doing the dishes, until "later". When I got home from work that night, and discovered what she'd done, I had her come right back out into the kitchen and get the dishes done. And, explained that the list is written in order of importance, and there's no negotiating what does or doesn't get done. If the chore is a paid chore, and she chooses NOT to do it, she doesn't get paid. Conversely, if she only does a half-way job, she only gets half pay. She understands all of this. Whether or not she remembers all of this when payday finally comes is a completely separate issue!!

Tired.....

I worked 9a-7p yesterday...I don't do these very often. I usually work til 3. I changed my schedule this week because my niece's graduation is this Saturday. By the time I got home last night, I was FRIED. Ate my dinner, talked a little to Katiekatherine, talked to the bff on the phone, soaked my feet, went to bed. And I'm still tired today. I can hear you: You're just a hairdresser. All you do is stand behind someone and do their hair. Yup. I do. I stand in one spot, with my arms raised to roughly chest high and keep them there until I'm done with what I'm doing. If it's a first time haircut, I'm like that for an hour, with my arms up and moving back and forth, moving through the hair. If' I'm doing foils, same thing, only I'm also plotting which piece of hair to capture in the foils next. If I'm doing a cap highlight, then I'm attacking some one's head (while encased in a plastic cap) with a crochet hook, picking out "random" pieces of hair to be colored/bleached, again with arms raised at about chest level, for at least a half hour. If I'm perming or setting hair, I'm creating sections of hair to wrap around a rod of some kind, again with my arms up at chest level for at least a half hour, if not longer (depending on what I'm doing). Oh, did I mention that during any of these procedures I'm also chatting (most animatedly) with my client about whatever we wish to talk about??? Sometimes I'm bent over a sink, either washing the hair, or waxing eyebrows, moving back and forth while bent over, making sure I've either thoroughly washed the hair or thoroughly removed the hair! So, now you see why I'm tired. But, I'll recover. I always do. I do these things because this is the career I love and waited 20 years to have. I wouldn't trade all these experiences for anything !!! And, tired means I've been busy!! :)

I've been busy!!

I really have!! Last week, I was actually in demand!! So much fun!! While I wasn't booked out straight, I had enough clients that I didn't have time to work on my swatches!! So, that's what I'm trying to work on this week. I've gone through the cupboards at work, and have written down what's available for colors. Then, I've gone through my pile of pre-torn foils and written on them the formula for what I'm going to work with next...truly, that's half the battle...the paperwork!! The CHI swatch book is thisclose to being done. I finished up the very last of the swatches today...they're drying out right now. All the rest of them are on white file cards, with the formula, as well as what the hair swatch is. For example: Level 6 (the color of hair...darkest blonde) Color treated (what has previously been done to the hair) CHI High Lift (product I've used) BB & 30 volume (the color & the developer) 2 hours (how long it processed) No heat (conditions in which it processed) I've had to accommodate for the fact that the hair is not connected to a human head, so I've extended the processing times for certain products. The high lift/no lift series actually requires heat for 25 minutes, cool for 5 minutes. It's kind of difficult to put swatches, encased in foil, under the hood dryers and not have them blow around! Especially when the dryers are being used all day long!! The swatches are taped onto white file cards,with this information, then glued (with that scrapbooking glue tape) to black cardstock paper, then three hole punched, and (eventually) put into two 3" binders...one for the no lift colors and one for the high lift colors. I've gained a lot of education throughout this particular experience. While I would work with some of the colors...I wouldn't work with all of them. Next?? Bleach!! :)