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!!
Monday, April 22, 2013
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.
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