A hairstylist will always smile when you enter and wave bye-bye when you leave. And as a service provider, they cannot speak their mind as freely as they want to.
But, if they have a chance to be really honest and casual, here are the things that they would want to say.
1. I can’t copy that style to the exact detail
Customers enter a hair salon with a definite idea on how they want to come out looking. Normally they would be dreaming of looking like a famous Hollywood celebrity.
But take the case of Jennifer Aniston’s seemingly rugged and unstyled hair, can anybody imagine that a team of experts have spent time in making her hair look as simple as it is?
When as customer makes an impossible request to copy a celebs hairstyle, stylists have no option but to just say “yes”.
2. Please respect my time
Hair dressers are professionals who always have something to do, someone to service. When a customer sets an appointment it only means that the stylist has set aside everyone else for that customer.
If a customer is late by fifteen minutes, it throws every succeeding appointment off schedule. The worse scenario is a no-show which ruins the artistic mood for the whole day.
3. Can you tell me more about what you want?
For the most satisfying cut possible, customers must refrain from using vague descriptions like “a little bit” or ”something like that”.
Instead of using these vague descriptions, it would be very helpful if they said how many inches should be cut off and where.
4. I only want to make your acquaintance
Hair stylists are not like bartenders who are willing to hear about everything that happened to their customer’s life like divorces, cheating husbands, problems at work and other stuff.
They may say “aha” and “ahum” a couple of times but that doesn’t mean that they are interested. They may be forced to listen out of courtesy but that is beyond their job.
It’s creates a lot of burden to listen to sad stories and problems and they want to last the whole day.
5. This is not a day care center
Some customers bring their kids in the hair salons and let them loiter and tinker with stuff.
Stylists have to keep their eyes constantly focused on their customer’s hair and they cannot spare any attention in looking after their customer’s kids and worrying about what they might break.
If customers have to bring their kids along, at least these customers should bring a nanny or an older daughter or son who could take care of their younger siblings.
6. Put down that cell phone!
Cutting hair is a very delicate matter because they cannot glue the strands back if they make a mistake. Talking on the phone while having a trim is very distracting and annoying.
When people talk on the phone, they make gestures that will cause their head to move. Two things can happen. One, the hairstylist will make a mistake or he’ll get a headache.
7. These hair products are the best as per my knowledge
It is very insulting when people ask for an alternative product that is not within the salon. It somehow generates the impression that the salon it trying to rip them off.
Salons carry particular products because they have tested them and have been convinced that they are the best product. Salons can easily change brands if they discover something better.
If customers have doubts about the products they are carrying, just say they won’t get it and should refrain from making other hurting comments.
8. Please take care of your hair
Hair stylists take their work very seriously because every customer is their walking billboard.
If a hairstylist can only follow their customers around and fix their hair every time a gust of wind messes it up, they would just so that everybody can see how the mastery of their work.
9. Please tell me about your hair
While hair stylists know more about hair in general, nobody knows one’s hair better than that person.
Hairstylists will not get offended if customers will them more information on how their hair reacts to various treatments and some of the hairstyles that worked for them.
Hairstylists would rather hear these things which will be of great help rather than sad stories, break ups and the worst of all; gossips.
10. Please tell other people about me
The lifeline of a hair salon and its hairstylists are referrals. Aside from their passion to provide great hair care services, they are also hoping that you will tell other people about their services and recommend them.
Hairstylists always want to create the best hairstyles and satisfy their customers. But, the actual turn out will be the result of the stylist’s skills and the customer’s vivid description of what she wants. If both can focus on these shared responsibility, one of the greatest hair masterpieces will be coming out of the salon in a short while.