Colour client drama-please help!

[emmapj]

Hi Everyone,

I would really appreciate some opinions and feedback.

So my client wanted a change from her base 6/7 coloured roots to mid lengths blending down to a beige blonde ombre. She showed me a picture of Charlotte from Geordie Shores hair - a golden/beige blonde with darker roots like blended soft longish roots sort of look.

So I mixed the usual for the top half of ombre but added equal base 6 and 6.3 to darken it a bit but not too much. I applied the root shade then brought it down a little bit lower, then applied the bleach and blended out the line.

The result was medium brown, caramel blonde, then blonde ends as I had to lift out the previous ombre colour as she wanted the blonde so high up.

It looked fine, blended, no lines etc but her hair is just above shoulder length and all the pics she was showing me were of Charlotte with 20 plus inch blonde extensions in. I did point that out to her when we 1st talked about the colour but she said she understood its not going to be as blonde as that.

She text me the next day saying she was unhappy, looked nothing like Charlottes hair etc etc.

So I had a feeling this was going bad, u know when u have a gut feeling straight off and just think 'no I'm not even going to book u in' or is that just me? lol. :lol:

I offered to re bleach the higher up blonde or give her a refund, I wouldnt usually be so quick to offer this but I just knew what was in store for me.

I also said what if she doesn't like how I fix it as she didnt like the work I had already done?

So she came round, I bleached it up as high as she wanted and it looked AWFUL. The contrast of having the blonde so high up plus it was the blonde u get when u 1st bleach over colour, it wasnt orange but quite a raw colour,
even with a nice blonde toner it still would of looked crap.

I showed her the result and basically said 'This is why I didnt do it so high before as the contrast is too much, but I can either do a full head highlights (FREE!) or we put a medium brown toner on, let that fade out gradually and see where we r at in a few weeks.'

I offered her a full head high lights, she didnt want to look to blonde?! Even though she wanted blonde hair and like 1/2 inches of root left? So she chose the toner.

I used 7.31 with a hint of 6.34 dialight and left on for about 15 mins max.

The result was a medium brown root going into a lighter brown.

Didnt think it was bad, thats what she picked, I showed her and she started tearing up.

That has never happened to me!!

'omg its so dark, I'm getting emotional.' etc etc

So we talked a bit, she seemed fine, I explained that toners dont last forever and she wont be dark (base 7) forever.

I also gave her a refund, so I fixed it TWICE and refunded her.

About 1 hr later she texts me asking if she went to a salon could they fix it?

I replied that I couldn't speak for them, I had done all I could and I didnt really have any more suggestions. So if she was unhappy and wanted more done to her hair then yes maybe they could do more.

So it went to and fro for ages like this. She said her hair is awful (its just brown) and that she has been crying all night and cant stop.

I just thought...What do u want from me? I did your hair 3 times in total, 1st time it looked good, 2nd time with the higher bit she wanted it looked crap, gave her the choice of blonde or dark and she chose dark, and I refunded her, I've spent 9 hours of my life on this now. Sorry I'm ranting, it was this evening so its very fresh :Scared:

She kept saying 'I wish I had gone for the highlights' (hint hint!!)

So eventually she said can u write down what has been done so I can show the salon. So I did that for her.

Went on my work fb page and she has written a status (not on my page) just a personal one saying 'omg I'm heart broken my hair is ruined, my scalp is so sore (I only applied colour the 1st day with tint and 15 mins today with toner- she has been patch tested) Everyone says it is awful etc etc.

I didnt comment obviously but I did text her and say 'oh just seen your status, we only applied colour for 15 mins, just wanted to let u know as I dont want u worrying about chemicals being on your skin alot.'

Couple of messages after that n its all done..for now, I have a feeling this wont be the last I hear. I'm on time off now, I booked from today up until new year (I'm self employed mobile) off and I've been working all hours so I can have this time off and now I get this :cry:

So my questions are;

Did I do something wrong?
Have I handled this whole situation really badly?
What should I say if she messages me again?

Its knocked my confidence so much I just want to quit hair and never pick up a tint bowl ever again!

Thank u for reading my massively long rant!

Emma xx

 

[cosmohair]

Do not beat yourself up! No matter what you do for some people they will never be happy. Don't think of yourself less of value. Do what you do and rock it!

 

[suse82]

I think you've done well and kept calm and professional. I maybe wouldn't of offered a refund though as you never did anything wrong she got what she asked for and as soon as you offer her it that's her thinking you have done something wrong. Confidence and belief in yourself is a must or people will take the piss out of you. I hope she didn't name you on FB did she? That's terrible. I would just forget her and hope she doesn't ever return.

 

[jamiereid92]

It think you have remained proffesional, however you offererd her a refund too early. If you explain to the client, it's not going to look exactly like the picture, but we can go for this look instead, and the hair looks good, then she can't expect a refund.

If you knew it would look awful lighter, I would have said to her, it's not going to look very nice, it will be too much of a contrast, really let her know you don't want to do it. Then if she persists I would do it but then if she wasn't happy I would have made her pay for the 3rd service. Tell her that before you do the 2nd.

She has really taken advantage of you, don't let it happen again! X

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[emmapj]

Thank u

No I don't think she has named me. I did think I was too quick to refund I should of stuck to my guns but I hate confrontation! I knew she wouldnt be happy with however I fixed it so I thought she might go away if I offered a refund. :lol:

I've only been working for myself for 8 months and this whole situation has really put me off!

 

[Mariwanas]

Thank u



No I don't think she has named me. I did think I was too quick to refund I should of stuck to my guns but I hate confrontation! I knew she wouldnt be happy with however I fixed it so I thought she might go away if I offered a refund. :lol:



I've only been working for myself for 8 months and this whole situation has really put me off!

I think either u offer a refund or u offer to redo , 3 times it's seems to much though,sometimes clients can feel that they can take advantage and they do so u need to be more strict,but don't put yourself down u always learn and u will get them situations like that when u work in a salon.Just put behind u and carry on😉

 

[emmapj]

I think either u offer a refund or u offer to redo , 3 times it's seems to much though,sometimes clients can feel that they can take advantage and they do so u need to be more strict,but don't put yourself down u always learn and u will get them situations like that when u work in a salon.Just put behind u and carry on😉

Thank u.

I'm terrible anyway, even when I do work and I know 100% its good I start thinking 'oh maybe I should of used this or that instead' It drives my hub mad!

I'm just waiting for my phone to go off any second :Scared:

 

[jamiereid92]

Don't worry, we always think oh I could have done this, I could have done that, but if the client is happy that's all that matters x

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[AcidPerm]

It's been said many times on Hair Geek but Texting back and forth is so unprofessional and inevitably leads to these sorts of situations where you end up paying them for the pleasure of wasting your time.

When dealing with a client from their first enquiry onwards, stay professional and just think 'How would I deal with this if I was working in a salon?'.

So no ping pong text conversations.

Also, you are being paid to perform a specific hairdressing service, not to transform someone into their favourite celebrity icon. You know they will never look like Kim Kardashian (thank god!), or any other pointless celebrity person...
Keep it real and ensure you manage their expectations and write down on your consultation form what has been agreed. Get them to sign it if you think they are likely to remain dissatisfied.

Unfortunately, these types of clients are extremely delusional and overly self indulgent. ('crying all night about her hair colour') That is their immaturity whining at you. They need a Psychoanalyst not a hairdresser!

Pandering to the client at all costs is NOT an effective business strategy.

Assuming you carried out a service correctly, quickly accept that with these sorts of clients, you can never really win so don't waste any further time on them. Instead, tell them that you carried out the service they agreed but as this hasn't met their expectations, you suggest they find another Hairdreser who can help them to achieve their desired outcome.

Fairy Godmothers only exist in children's stories, so don't beat yourself up thinking you could have been The One who fulfilled their wishes.

(You can apply that advice to crappy relationships too )

 

[emmapj]

So far I've not heard anything from her. I'm so nervous its ridiculous! I've only had this lady and one other lady a while back (she was happy with the redo though unlike this one). So 2 people in 8 months I hope isnt too terrible?!

I'm going to try not to let it get me down. I've felt on edge all day and for no real reason!

Anyway my 4yr old seems to be going down with chicken pox. So I'm sure he will keep me busy! Xx

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