People of the Neighbourhood By Gary Latham

In the words of the modern-day philosophers Depeche Mode ”People are people so why should it be that you and I get along so awfully?”

It would come as no surprise to anyone if I said that hairdressing was a people business. Its all about relationships. So, I thought I’d examine a few of these relationships. Clients, staff, and suppliers. They all make up our own little neighbourhoods and how we navigate these relationships governs the success or failure of our businesses.

Clients/guests, don’t you just love em? Well yes. Well, most of them. No, all of them. Most of the time. No, all of the time. Few business to client relationships are like hairdressers and their clients. Put a gown on someone and have them staring at their reflection for an hour or so and all will be revealed. We want them back. We want them to love us. Do we love them? Well, we should love them as they are the ones who keep us in business right. Without them we would have nothing. They define our businesses as much as we do.

Any hairdresser I have ever met who loves their clients I can assure you loves their job. But is this the right way that we should behave? Should we keep them at arm’s length a little more. Should we be in the driver’s seat in this relationship? Should it be more on our terms? Is the customer always right or only right for us? Are there enough out there to be choosey? Anyone who has sacked a client would understand the sheer relief and joy of doing so in the knowledge that this now someone else’s pain in the arse. Be warned however that once that line is drawn of what clients you will or won’t accept your tolerance levels only ever go down rather than up. No less important but just as effected by supply and demand are Staff. Like clients we tend to end up with the staff that we deserve. I’m very fortunate with the loyalty and friendships I share and have shared with staff over the years.

There is danger is crossing the friendship lines with staff, but I come to work to enjoy myself and relish the same expectation from staff, so it works best for me. My advice is if you are going to treat staff differently to each other do so equally. As hard as it is after twenty-nine years, we do our best to remember what it is like to be an employee. On the whole staff want security and a stress-free life otherwise they would have their own business. They also need attention and progression. Oops made a little goof there, thinking I know what staff want. At least thinking that all their needs are the same.

I like to take the time to tailor to each staff members needs. Alternately there is the my way or the highway road. Somewhere in between lies the answer with flexibility and friendship as we travel down my highway. Having great clients means having great staff and vice versa. The balance is in the balance.

I can think of few industries that rely so much on the business to supplier relationship as hairdressing. Its one of rebates, education, and complexities. Colour companies stop just short of treating salons like they are franchises. Sometimes I get the feeling salon’s would prefer it if they actually were. During covid the companies have suffered greatly but salons seemed to think they had been untouched and should be covering them rather than sharing the losses. Salon expectations of just what they can get from a supplier are often way off the charts.

They are banks, educators, and business advisors. Its amazing just how much can be squeezed out of a tube of tint. The add on culture is slowly fading away as salons are now after the lowest price, but the culture of perks is still hanging in there on both sides. As my old boss when I worked in pubs used to say “Just give me the lowest price, I don’t care how many golf days you promise me. You will send me on the golf days anyway.”

So, what is the most important relationship in hairdressing for business owners? The one you have with yourself. If its not working for you than its not going to work for anyone. These other relationships just go together to make up how you feel about yourself. Hairdressing is a very broad church and can work for many different people in many different ways.

As Elio Nappa from OZ Hair once said to me “if you are lying awake in the middle of the night thinking of a staff member… sack them.”