7 customers that are every hair salon nightmare

You care about your clients and want to provide them with the best services possible. Surely, you get money off their satisfaction, but it does not exclude a genuine desire for them to look and feel their best. Throughout your career, you have faced clients with different temperaments, expectations and experiences, so you may think that at this point, you would be able to manage every appointment that would come your way. Unfortunately, there are those who may bring you frustration, resentment and even financial loss - let’s learn to recognise and disarm them as soon as possible!

Eleventh hour’s child

Every stylist knows that lady who comes in saying she wants to go platinum blonde for her wedding day. There are just two teensy-weensy problems: her hair is level 3 and the ceremony is this Saturday.

What to do? There are many people who come to the salon with non-feasible expectations that come from their lack of knowledge - and it is perfectly fine, they are not hair specialists and don’t know the chemical processes and techniques behind your services. The problem occurs when they start to get angry and undermine your expertise, because “it is just a dye, I am pretty sure it can be done in one day, you just have to try harder” and “I am paying you, so you have to do what I want.”

Don’t let yourself be emotionally blackmailed. It is customer’s fault, not yours, that they did not check earlier whether the effect they want is obtainable in a given time period. It is better to not perform procedures that may possibly go wrong (such as rushed bleaching), even if the customer says they take the full responsibility. Tell the client why you cannot give them what they want, why it takes such a long time and what you can give them on the spot instead. If they are still infuriated, just let it go - a failed procedure would make them even more agitated and additionally waste your time, products and even risk reputation.

Obsessive penny-pincher

A potential customer comes to the salon and tells you that their hair is unprocessed, so you should charge him for a child’s cut. You laugh until you realise they are serious.

What to do? You are charging for the quality you provide. Your price reflects your years of practice, the professionalism of your team and top-shelf products you use. Let’s be honest, hairstyling is not a first-aid service, so there is no need for feeling guilty when you refuse to negotiate the price.

Be upfront about your prices and when providing a service, inform the client of any additional fees. If someone tells you that you are charging too much, politely answer that the price includes the costs of the product, years of your training, and so on. If the person still argues or even becomes offensive, simply cut the discussion. Be confident about your work!

Market trader

She wants a mermaid ombre, keratin treatment and a full-on blowout, but has no money to pay you. Instead, she offers to babysit your children. You don’t even have children.

What to do? Remember the times you used to braid your friend’s hair and she would do your eyeliner in return? These times are over. A washed car will not pay your taxes, a cleaned house will not refill your stock, having your dog walked will not pay for your employees’ salaries. Even if the offer is honest, you should not settle on it. Refuse politely and mention you will be more than happy to provide the service - if paid in a traditional way.

Master of DIY

A customer pays you a visit, still gleaming after the treatment you gave them recently. Their hair is strong and shiny like never before... And because they love their new look, you should give them your hair colour formula, so that they may recreate it at home. In their dreams! You recommend they book a treatment with one of your stylists, and the client still hasn't decided.

What to do? Depending on the laws in your area, you may be forced to provide clients a list of what products you have used for their treatment. Before you deny them this information, make sure that you are in the right!

A similar situation occurs when a client wants you to do the treatment with their own products, such as store-bought dyes, shampoos or masks. This is a definite no-no. If you don’t know the product, you cannot be sure how the treatment will end - but you can be sure the customer will get mad. Say a definitive “no” and offer a treatment done with your trusted products, explaining how good they are and how long you have been working with them.

Truth bender

A customer wants to go blonde - for now, their hair is medium brown and virgin. Or so you are told. When you start bleaching, suddenly their scalp becomes red and itchy. It quickly becomes clear that they used a box dye that contains metals the bleach reacted with. Under the layer of medium brown box dye, there is also a layer of red box dye… and then a light-brown layer. “Virgin hair”, you murmur under your breath, trying to salvage the mess. You confront them about their hair not being processed before and they have nothing to say.

What to do? For some reason, there are customers who do not like to confess that they have chemically processed their hair before. Some of them are embarrassed that they used a cheap box dye, others think the dye was done so many years before that it should not even matter or they simply do not know that keratin treatments are chemical processing, too. However, you should have a full overview of one’s hair condition.

The best you can do is explain clearly why you need this information - that it is not about your curiosity but about their hair’s safety. Make sure they know what “processed” means and that it is not only about dying but also about perms, bleaching, relaxing, henna and so on. That should solve the problem - no one signs up for a fried coiffure willingly!

Compulsive booker

They make an online appointment for the hot towel shave and haircut, and although you should be happy, you only sigh with irritation. Half an hour before the appointment, the client called, apologising that they totally forgot about the visit and will not be able to make it in time. Can they come tomorrow?

What to do? Some people book salon visits carelessly, as they are convinced it is perfectly fine to cancel them at any time. Others are extremely clumsy and even though they genuinely want their hair done, they get lost in the depths of their daily schedule easily. No-shows and late cancellers are a huge problem and although a one-time accident may happen to anyone, frequent irresponsibility of your customers brings you massive financial losses. Inform your reckless clients about the consequences of such behaviour and do not hesitate to ban them if it continues. For less severe cases, use your salon software to mark them as possibly problematic. Or just consider enabling required prepayments or cancellation fees to spare yourself the trouble.

Difficult clients can truly make your day much harder than it should be. Do not let such cases ruin your passion for doing what you love! Invest in an advanced hair & beauty salon software, prepared to help you even with the most distressing situations.

Give Booksy software a go and see how a good digital salon assistant helps you resolve even the most troublesome situations!