Bad Behaving clients Vs Salon owners

By Brodie Tsiknaris

Business can be tough, but let’s talk about one of the not-so-fun parts: dealing with difficult clients.

Now, we’ve all heard the saying that the client is always right, but let’s be real here, sometimes they can be downright awful! I mean, who in their right mind thinks it’s okay to treat someone with disrespect, when they’re paying for a service? It’s mind-boggling!

Lately, my team and I have had to deal with some seriously rude people. I think the rise of social media has made things even harder for hairdressers. We’ve had clients with unrealistic colour expectations and others who want to haggle over prices. It’s crazy how some people feel entitled to criticise our business and the prices we charge.

We have a bunch of awards hanging on our salon door and plastered all over our website, but still, some folks walk in thinking they can get a cut and colour for a measly $150. When we give them a quote, they act like we just told them the sky is purple. It’s mind-blowing!

Listen, if you want to shop at Kmart, that’s totally fine. But don’t come into a fancy salon in a swanky location expecting bargain prices. And for the love of all things fabulous, don’t take your frustration out on our receptionist or us! It’s not cool, period!

Maybe it’s the time of year or the full moon or the end-of-year financial pressure, who knows? But here’s the thing: hairdressers are kind-hearted people. So, please, be nice and don’t be an idiot. It’s not that hard!

Now, let me tell you about the crazy stuff my salon, Rokstar, and I have had to deal with. We’ve been on the receiving end of some serious threats and awful claims.

People have gone on social media rampages against us. It’s hard to ignore this stuff, and it’s really horrible as a business owner to have to deal with this crap! It’s just one more thing to add to our never-ending todo list. No wonder some people sell their businesses!

But you know what? We are so lucky to have the AHC (Australian Hairdressing Council) and the incredible Sandy Chong to speak with. I called up Sandy, and she happened to be driving to Canberra, representing the industry like the boss she is! Sandy always has time for me, no matter how busy she is, and she helped me break down those ridiculous threats and bullying, she’s experienced it all in her long career and 30+ years of one of Australia’s best salons, Suki.

She explained my rights as a business owner and guided me through the fair-trade process, what would happen and encouraged me to call out the bad behaviour and see the funny side of a very stressful situation! Sandy is a wealth of knowledge with a heart of gold.

We’re so lucky to have the AHC! If you’re not a member, join, every salon owner should be! Thanks, Sandy, for all you do for our industry! But also, for talking me through a stressful situation. Ok back to the situation…

I called out this woman on her bad behaviour and told her she’s not welcome. Of course, she didn’t like that, but you know what? I don’t like bullies, and I don’t like threats. And if you slander my name, it won’t be taken lightly. But what really upsets me is when people treat my team like they’re not even human! It’s just not right.

People have no idea of the damage they can cause to business owners mental health and also staff mental health by being horrible!

So, here’s my advice to you: know what you stand for and call out any bad behaviour. Don’t tolerate it, and make sure your team knows what’s acceptable.

We even have a script at our front desk now that says we won’t tolerate unkindness or bad behaviour. Can you believe we need a script for a hostile phone conversation? It’s crazy!

We have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and harassment, and I will always support my team when someone is nasty. These clients really test our patience and make us question everything.

They even impact the morale of our hardworking team, causing unnecessary stress. But you know what? Resourceful salon leaders know how to turn these challenges into opportunities for growth and look at the funny side.

So here we are as an industry! And I thought I should interview two very different salon owners on their crazy situations and how they dealt with it, because it’s nice to know you’re not alone right! We all experience the shit….

First up one of my dearest friends Mikey Forster who owns The Disco salon we go back a long way and quite often talk business to each other I’m so blessed to have Mikey as a friend, but also as someone I look up to.

Mikey, tell me about your wild situation?

We had a client wanting a colour change that wasn’t possible. She wasn’t really open to our advice initially, but after 2 consultations, we were on the same page. Her inspiration was Instagram videos, which were very different to her hair.

Do you think sometimes the more successful the salon the more demanding of clients unrealistic expectations?

I definitely do!

I 100% agree! It’s great in that you attract clients wanting beautiful high-end hair, but also attracts clients that perhaps haven’t had great experiences in other salons.

How did you handle this situation?

During the 2 consultations, this client became open to the options to start lightening her hair, keeping the integrity, and not having an experience any unwanted colours.

The first step was to gently remove pigment using a bleach free, ammonia free colour for a soft result. Our next step was to start highlighting and to gradually move the tint to a lighter colour. During this step, in our basin room, she started being vocal about not wanting any caramel/beige tones in her hair and then started showing different inspo.

I didn’t do this colour, but I went in and spoke to her. Everything we spoke about in the 2 previous consultations, she said didn’t happen and that she was adamant she didn’t want this change.

I was totally shaken as I thought I was going crazy. My response was to call her a liar, and remind her of our previous consultations, said kept saying NO NO NO and making a scene. I didn’t like the way she was making my team feel and the bad energy she bought to our space. She told me that she should have gone to a salon that knows what they are doing.

My response then was that there is a reason you haven’t been able to achieve what you want, you don’t listen to anyone.

At that point, I told my stylist to do whatever you need to do to make this client happy, do not charge her and do not let her come back.

Did it take a toll on you or your team?

For the rest of the day, my team member that coloured her hair was really shaken... The client also said that if her husband was in town, she was going to send him in to ‘see’ me. it was a pretty stressful day. Such a beast of a woman.

And how did you support and lift the environment up after it?

I like to focus on positives, and the positive was that we don’t have to deal with that animal anymore. She’s an animal for treating us the way she did, for talking to us the way she did, and we wish her all the best in the future.

AND THEN I SPOKE TO A YOUNG SALON OWNER ABOUT HER CRAZY STORY.

Charlie Stocks — Owner of Studio C & Co

Tell us about the situation:

I once had a new client arrive to her appointment half an hour late, which was a phone booking for a regrowth tint colour, she was the last client on a Friday afternoon. For reference her appointment was 3:30pm, and we closed at 5pm.

My apprentice at the time offered and brought the client a beverage to settle in, and she was SO rude to my junior because her drink wasn’t hot enough for her liking. Immediate red flag.

Upon arrival, we quickly realised that she needed foils to achieve her desired results. We explained the difference between our services on the phone, and asked her what she had done in the past.

She insisted she only wanted a tint retouch — until she was in my chair and explained how much she hated the result and how she never gets the colour she wants.

After explaining that foils would be required to achieve the look she desired, we further explained that she was 1/2 hour late and now 45 minutes into her 1.5-hour appointment — a foiling appointment would be a 3 -4 hour visit, therefore we could get that tint on there for today as booked, but we wouldn’t have time to commence foiling to achieve the inspo — She grabbed her cape and THREW it on the floor and walked out.

How did you handle the situation?

I let her go. I was so shocked more than anything.

She then returned to the salon 10 mins later demanding a refund of her booking fee, to which I obviously refused and told her that throwing her cape and walking out is absolutely classed as a cancellation, to which her booking fee was immediately forfeited as a cancellation fee as per our policy, for wasting our time.

She went bright red with rage and was screaming the house down with the shop FULL of clients. She exclaimed that “You just wanted to go home early, because you’re lazy, you refused to do my hair and she had witnesses” and “that her experience with us has been a disgrace”. I simply replied, “the feeling is mutual, you agreed to these exact policies when you proceeded with your booking, have a great weekend”.

Did It Take A Toll On You And Your Team:

Absolutely. I’m all for being professional but bloody hell, it is 2023 — I will match the energy I am givennnn! I’m 22, mind you all my staff are also around the same age as me. This guest was approx 50-60, and it was just super startling.

Honestly, the whole salon was pretty startled and really taken aback. We even had clients asking us if we were okay after the situation. My staff later telling me that they wanted to step in and defend me when this woman was yelling in my face, but they didn’t want to overstep my authority or intervene!

It gave me anxiety about my policies for weeks, and also a little bit of imposter syndrome, making me overthink that perhaps I was being unfair in a silly way? It was pretty wild, looking back I’m pretty proud I stood my ground the way I did, for the principle of the matter.

How did you go support and lift the environment after it?

To be honest, it was a Friday afternoon, I of course was extremely apologetic to the paying guests that had to witness that, cranked the tunes, and got on with it! Finished off the clients we had in and immediately checked in with my team straight afterwards.

We planned a meeting for the following week to really buckle up and know our policies and procedures inside out after that matter, and I really just ensured to educate my team that this behaviour is absolutely not okay or tolerable and honestly no client or their money is worth putting up with behaviour of that sort.

I also researched into the laws around security cameras and footage ASAP to give myself and my team peace of mind in a way.

Honestly, I could write a book on bad behaviour of clients but the important thing to remember is, by keeping a positive mindset, fostering a supportive team culture, celebrating small victories, encouraging open communication, and finding humour in the chaos, you can navigate the toll of bad behaving clients while keeping your team happy. And hey, we’re hairdressers too, and we don’t need to put up with that crap.

Until next time good luck for the crazy season!

Brodie xx

Rokstar academy

@rokstarsalon