Childs cut but an adults style?!

[sarah_clancy]

I had a client the other day, She wanted her little girls hair cut, I have no problem with cutting childrens hair, but it was a graduated bob - she wanted it all trimmed and then really taken in at the back.
At the end of the hair cut she gave me a £5 note, which is what I charge for a ''Childrens cut'' (and it was stated in my leaflet)
Clearly its more technical, cutting a 7yr old hair into that style when they are constantly moving too!
I let my guard down when it came to the end with the money, as I should of said it was more, but how would I go about it without being rude when I come into this situation again.
Many thanks!
xox

 

[smooth]

Can you not say it is a re-style which is charged at £**? You would need to have this in your leaflet though.

 

[julesgems]

I had a client the other day, She wanted her little girls hair cut, I have no problem with cutting childrens hair, but it was a graduated bob - she wanted it all trimmed and then really taken in at the back.
At the end of the hair cut she gave me a £5 note, which is what I charge for a ''Childrens cut'' (and it was stated in my leaflet)
Clearly its more technical, cutting a 7yr old hair into that style when they are constantly moving too!
I let my guard down when it came to the end with the money, as I should of said it was more, but how would I go about it without being rude when I come into this situation again.
Many thanks!
xox

Hi

Make it clear before you start what the price will be. I took my daughter for a cut the other day and was told from the start it would be adult price, due to style and that fact she has a lot of hair! She is 13. I have no problem with being charged that, since I was told before she started.

 

[Alfadais]

I am finding alot more children lately are having their hair cut & styled as opposed to the usual 'wet cut',both boys & girls.
I have just re-done my price lists for 2010/2011 and have two prices for children of each age group,Wet cut & cut & finish.When booking i ask if they would like it styled or dried and quote the cut & finish price if they require styling ,however some will just ask for this on the day in which case i tell them its then a cut & finish and will be slightly more

 

[wonderwoman]

i personally dont like doing childrens haircuts, you always find "pushy mums" that want their kids to look older than what they are ...if you get what i mean!

I made a general rule in my salon no kids under 16 without parental consent. (which translates to 11 really) i let them know rather than charging childrens cut they would be classed as adults as they are almost teenagers.
now if they go to high school they always want to look cool and trendy and you let the "pushy mums" know that its more of a technical cut etc.

what you could do is... one price for all under 10 and then that way you dont feel out of pocket.

Personally i would let them know the special offer is on a certain day of the week say mon-weds and only wet cut but double your price because i think £5 is too low! HTH's xoxo

 

[Tanya.]

I've cut a child's head equivalent to three heads of hair, and on the opposite, some with a few hairs on their head. Never been a fan of a set children's price.

Parents around the world always think it should be cheap.

A salon I worked at, our prices were on the high end of moderate. So our kids price was about half of what we would charge an adult woman, about 13 pound. We had many walk in upset with the price, then walk out. The ones that paid, were repeat clients, well behaved for the most part.

Our thinking was it had to be worth our while for all the moving around, crying, parents supervising the cut, telling us how to do our job. It worked.

 

[salons]

I am finding alot more children lately are having their hair cut & styled as opposed to the usual 'wet cut',both boys & girls.
I have just re-done my price lists for 2010/2011 and have two prices for children of each age group,Wet cut & cut & finish.When booking i ask if they would like it styled or dried and quote the cut & finish price if they require styling ,however some will just ask for this on the day in which case i tell them its then a cut & finish and will be slightly more

This is really too difficult to cut the hair of the 7 years child!!! I charge extra money for extra services and specify them before cutting them about this. :irked:

 

[Penners]

Isn't our job just swings and roundabouts?? On one hand we may have a client whose hair takes ages to cut and even longer to get dry then we have the client who has fine hair and dries in seconds - generally we charge the same?? If we charge more for foils when people have thick awkward hair do we then charge less for the person with a small head and thin hair??
I agree it doesn't seem fair when a childs haircut takes as long as an adults but equally some children just have a few wisps to take care of.
I know I'm repeating myself but it'll get very complicated if we have a style book and say - this one costs this much, depending on the size of your head and how thick each strand is etc. etc.
( sorry for rant, caught me on a toothache morning!)
:irked: Its natural to feel irked when a style takes ages but then equally we smile and rub our hands together when we finish early...its our job.

 

[Alfadais]

I am finding a lot more children lately are having their hair cut & styled as opposed to the usual 'wet cut',both boys & girls.
I have just re-done my price lists for 2010/2011 and have two prices for children of each age group,Wet cut & cut & finish.When booking i ask if they would like it styled or dried and quote the cut & finish price if they require styling ,however some will just ask for this on the day in which case i tell them its then a cut & finish and will be slightly more

This is really too difficult to cut the hair of the 7 years child!!! I charge extra money for extra services and specify them before cutting them about this. :irked:

Not really,I have just tailored the pricing slightly due to demand,It's then quite clear to the client there is a wet cut or a cut & finish price.
My 'children' range from babies to 15yr olds so there is a need for clearer pricing for each service & age range.Children make up a reasonable proportion of my business so it's works well for both the clients & me.

 

[Siansy]

Isn't our job just swings and roundabouts?? On one hand we may have a client whose hair takes ages to cut and even longer to get dry then we have the client who has fine hair and dries in seconds - generally we charge the same?? If we charge more for foils when people have thick awkward hair do we then charge less for the person with a small head and thin hair??
I agree it doesn't seem fair when a childs haircut takes as long as an adults but equally some children just have a few wisps to take care of.
I know I'm repeating myself but it'll get very complicated if we have a style book and say - this one costs this much, depending on the size of your head and how thick each strand is etc. etc.
( sorry for rant, caught me on a toothache morning!)
:irked: Its natural to feel irked when a style takes ages but then equally we smile and rub our hands together when we finish early...its our job.

This is actually really interesting. I on occasion have actually made my head hurt by thinking should i have charged more more one client with thick hair or visa versa fine hair , did i charge too much . and the amount of times i have played around with my price list with countless combinations for length, thickness ect. I think this makes sense and Ill stick with the same old half head and full head. thanks

For me with childs cuts i have a minimum fee anyway so unless there are quite a few little ones to do i wouldnt d just a child cut. Its often while the mums colours taking so im there anyway so stick with the £5 or with the little ones i do for free if they a regular clients.
I do find child pricing so difficult as in which age banding to charge what, by 12/13 most are into layering and something that bit more funky rather than the quick one length trim.

 

[KBHD]

Firstly, £5 for a kids cut??!! Dont under sell yourself. Rather than setting a lower price for kids why not set a higher price like £10, that way mums wont have a heart attack at the thought of spending more than she would pay for her lipstick. Plus, if you feel youve only trimmed abit off and its not a £10 cut you can charge less when taking your bill and watch the mums face light up. Everyone loves a bargain