2 for the price of 1!

[RED STAR]

I have a dilemma!
A regular client came in after lockdown and said she had decided to leave her hair longer as she had had so many compliments......

Prior to my re-opening, I had informed all clients I was no longer offering any discounts or concessions when we reopened as I could no longer afford to be so generous

This client always had a discount!
She takes me a full hour & a half as she is very fussy......

At the finish, she said she loved her hair, but it was obvious at the point of paying- she wasn’t happy to lose her discount!

A week later I start getting the messages of
“I hate my longer look - I want my short style back can you fit me in ASAP!
I had originally booked her regular slot at 5 weeks, but suggested I could bring it forward a week.
I would not have felt awkward charging for a full haircut at that time
However, today she caught me off guard and I’ve now brought her appointment forward - making it just 3 weeks since the original hair cut.
My thought is this .....
I believe she resented the loss of her discount - and to justify it - wants another ‘do’ for free......
I however feel I did an excellent hair cut 3 weeks ago, and as she was happy with when she left - I don't think that I should spend a further 1 1/2 hours doing a different hair style for free!
What are your thoughts

 

[james28]

I have had one do this to me and is coming back in tomorrow for another haircut.

My response was something along the lines of the salon needs to be made aware of any adjustments you want made to your haircut within 5 days of your original appointment and if they are ever unsure that consultations are always complimentary and could have been booked in to discuss what she wasn’t liking...if during that consultation i was 100% happy that the original haircut was executed with technical accuracy and to the style and standard my clients expect then any changes to the haircut outside of this timeframe would be charged at usual salon prices as it’s a simple matter of the client changing the style they want. Some clients will take and take and take don’t let them. We aren’t a charity!

 

[AcidPerm]

Maybe try something like...

Hi xxx, I thought you looked great with your new longer style but I understand that you don’t feel completely comfortable with it. I can’t afford to turn away paying customers so I’ll be happy to book you in for another haircut earlier than the recommended 5 weeks and perhaps in the meantime, have a look at some styles online that you think you might suit you better? Please let me know whether you want to keep your original slot or book in earlier as slots are getting booked up quickly and I’d hate to have to disappoint you.

 

[Trinity]

What are your thoughts

She's pushing her luck, tell her to jog on.

I'm assuming you make pre appointment contact, covid screening questions I'd assume, so do your usual questions/expectations/etc. and add a simple line something like 'to confirm, contactless payments only please and your service will ge £xx for restyle, look foward to seeing you' - then its done, no face to face awkwardness at the end of the service, she has chance to mull it over before she arrives, and ifvshe chooses to cancel that's her choice. Be firm, Nov reference to the previous appointment, it's been and gone, she's changed her mind.

 

[cmsuper]

I always tell my clients before appointment the full cost of the service. You have done nothing wrong so charge her full price but let her know the price before appointment x

 

[TheDuchess]

Red Star, why on earth should you do a free restyle? I’m not a hairdresser but I wouldn’t expect a change of style for free.

Hi Honey, really looking forward to seeing you again on X date and time. I’m asking all my clients to confirm their appointments with a deposit. Your service will be £X so I just need £x which you can pay by ringing me with your card details, or making a bank transfer by the end of today.

My bank details are xxx, Please use your first name and date as your reference and text me to let me know so I don’t give your space to someone else by mistake!

You can still cancel or reschedule up to 48 hours before your appointment. See you X date.

I send my clients a reminder 48 hours beforehand which prompts them to prepay the balance and I check whether they’ve paid before they arrive.

 

[RED STAR]

You’re all right of course - but this is what happens when we allow the line of professional/friend to blur....
I will drop her a Confirmation text to include date, time & cost
Don’t be surprised if I’m back on here with yet ‘update/dilemma’

 

[Trinity]

You’re all right of course - but this is what happens when we allow the line of professional/friend to blur....

Sorry, she's not a friend, a friend would not be taking money out of your purse

 

[Holly1991]

I’ve had a lot Of clients come back saying that hey want to try their hair longer, one client changed her blowdry to a cut 2 weeks after having it done as she couldn’t cope with it and was also dreading her not wanting to pay again and just pay for her weekly blowdry, but luckily no argument at the till try not to overthink it clients forget you can take them to a small claims court x

 

[RED STAR]

I hold my hands up - I’m embarrassed at having to ask for your advice - as I already know what I should be saying.....
Sadly after 40 years in the industry I feel like the goal posts have changed - and it’s not in our favour....
Big girl pants at the ready!
Thank you all for your support

 

[Scrubadub]

Hope it went well for you! I don’t do a lot of beauty anymore but still work in customer service, we phone customers a couple of days before their appointments and tell them the cost so they are ready to pay when they come in and they still argue about when they get there