People Want What They Want

I try to give people what they want. But in doing that sometimes I end up compromising what I shouldn't, in order to please a client. What usually ends up happening? Neither my clients or I become pleased with the result.

You can find many blogs on the web about such hair disaster's from the client's point of view. I read a very interesting one just the other day. And I can see both sides. Let me tell you one from my side.

I had a client once, whom I had never met before, who came in and asked for a "Meg Ryan" hair cut. I asked her what she thought a Meg Ryan hair cut was. She said, "You know, messy, choppy, lots of different pieces and layers everywhere."

OK, easy enough if you are Meg Ryan, with natural curl and thick hair. But this client had none of that. I got out a book and showed her many different pictures of Meg Ryan with different variations of the famous do. My client found just the one she wanted.

I looked at the picture and examined it as well as anyone can examine a photo in a magazine. It was a very sophisticated hair cut. There were some disconnected pieces. (Meaning the layers did not blend together.)I knew from looking at the picture that my client would have a hard time styling this hair cut. So I began the daunting task of explaining that although this was a great style for Meg, it might not be the best choice for my client.

This was not what she wanted to hear. She asked me to tell her why not. So I did. She insisted that she didn't care how much time it took to style, or how much product she had to put in her hair. She wanted that look and would do whatever she had to to get it. I then explained that it would not look the same. It might be close, but because she has a different texture of hair, and not the same amount, the haircut would not be identical to Meg Ryan's.

Here is what people like this client fail to realize: even if I cut it the same way (which is almost impossible since I am not the stylist who cut Meg's hair)I can get a similar result only on similar types of hair. The result will be completely different on different hair! There is no way to make fine hair coarse, and there is still no way to make thin hair instantly thick. We can mask and energize and do many other seemingly magical things to make thin hair appear thicker, or give fine hair more body, but it is all an illusion. That is the fine art of hairdressing. We make our money by giving the illusion of what people do not have naturally.

My client still insisted that she could pull off this style and it was what she wanted. No other hair cut would do. Her mind was made up and nothing I said was going to change it. Here is where it becomes a loose loose situation for me. I loose if the client walks out of my salon without getting the service because I refused to do it. She is not going to come back. I loose if I do the cut because she will not be happy with it, and it will ultimately be my fault. And she will never be back.

So I did the logical thing. I gave my client the benefit of the doubt and cut her hair. I explained the entire haircut before I did it. I told her that this was not going to be like any hair cut she had before. I took over an hour to go over every detail with her before I even picked up my shears. She knew what was going to be done before I did it. There was full disclosure.

I cut the hair, and styled it as close to the picture as I could. And to my utter amazement it turned out very, very similar. It was very striking, and did look good on my client. She was ecstatic! She even hugged me. She said that it was exactly what she wanted. She thanked me, left me a huge tip and went on her merry way. I was so relieved!

About two hours later the call came in. It was my client. She was in tears. She said that her boyfriend told her it was the worst haircut he had ever seen. She was furious at me. Not only did she demand all of her money back, but told me I was in the wrong profession. She said I should have been a butcher instead. Because that is what I did to her hair.

I was devastated and more than a little confused. What had happened from the time she left the salon until she called screaming at me? Had the hair style suddenly gone bad? Had a different cut suddenly appeared after she left? No...of course not. Her boyfriend didn't like it at all. So instead of owning up to INSISTING on the cut,and loving it herself, she had to use me a scape goat to get back into his good graces. Did it work? I have no idea. Of course she was not going to come back to me. See what I mean? Loose loose for me.

I vowed after that, that I would not ever be in that situation again. If a client will be mad either way, then I let them walk. I put my reputation on the line every time someone comes in my door. I want the rest of world to have a good impression of me through my work. It all comes down to integrity. If I feel it will not work, I will not do it. No amount of money is worth my reputation.

Confession: Boyfriends, husbands, significant others of all types are usually the ultimate judge of some one's look. I cannot control what they might say about my work. I can only judge the situation by the two people involved, me and my client.It took me a few more times of finding myself in this loose, loose situation to fully realize the impact on my self-esteem. I don't do what I think I cannot do well. I do make mistakes, as anyone can. But the difference is that I do know what I do wrong, and given the chance, I can fix it. I can't fix an ignorant boyfriend, or a husband who will never like shorter hair, no matter how attractive it is to others. I do belong in this profession. I am not a butcher, a baker or even a candle stick maker. I am a great stylist. I love my job. Even if it does make me the bad guy with some men!