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!!

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...

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.

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.

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.

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'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!