Customer complaint

[parkervp]

10 months ago I highlighted a ladies hair and didn't hear anything from her until recently.(she said my salon was too far to travel to) To cut as long story short, she had been elsewhere and had gone platinum blonde all over ( at a cost of £80 a fortnight she was paying) Unable to afford this she started bleaching it herself. She then decided this was too much maintenance and contacted various other salons and asked them to take her back to a more natural colour but they all said they wouldn't be prepared to do this.
So she comes to me and I agree to help. So we agreed to basically tone her down and applied to a level 8 at roots and mid lengths and level 10 on the ends. She was really happy when she left and purchased shampoo and conditioner from us and I advised her not to wash her hair for 72 hours to let the cuticle close.
So originally I did the service on the 31st of March. She rings and complains on the 8th April that it looks a bit patchy and faded. I asked her to come back in on the 11th of April and I would have a look and re-apply if necessary as a measure of good will. She didn't turn up.
She then ring me on the 24th April and asks could she come back in to have her hair corrected. I said you didn't turn up for the appointment I gave you. She then apologises for not making her appointment (on a Saturday!!) She insists she left a message on my answer phone- I said I did not receive a message-she then snapped 'well I did leave one!' She said her hair was patchy, but looked ok after a couple of washes but has now completely faded. (which i would expect after 4 weeks on very porous hair!) Ive now agreed for her to come in on Bank holiday Monday to rectify the problem. By the time she comes in, it will have been 5 weeks since I did the original service and I think she is expecting me to do it for free - I am assuming this by the way she asked if she can 'come back in'. this time. She wants to go darker too now! I know I need to have a bit of back bone and tell her straight. Is it worth just doing again for free and keeping her happy for the sake of a tube or so of colour? I'm feeling really anxious about this. Whilst we are on this subject..do any salon owners her have any policies they could share that I could print out and hand to customers before they commit to a colour service.Thanks in advance!

 

[daydreams01]

It's always difficult to know what to do and if they are genuinely unhappy or just trying it on, but it seems a lot of time has passed and you haven't had the opportunity to even look at the hair to see if she has a valid complaint or not!
I have a terms and conditions that I post on my website and have displayed in a little photo frame on desk.
It states they we do not provide refunds on services. If a client is dissatisfied with their hair, they have 7 days in which to contact us giving details of the problem and we will do our best to resolve the issue and redo the hair at a mutually agreed time.

With your client, if she had been that unhappy, would she have walked around for a month with hair that she didn't like?
I had a client a while back who was particularly difficult, not that pleasant to deal with and had a real sense of importance about her. Anyway, she felt her highlights weren't close enough. I thought they were fine but I want to give a good service so I thought, well what would John Lewis do if they had an upset client? I feel they provide great customer service and want to do the same so I invited her back in, did a few more foils for her as close as I possibly could ( was praying they wouldn't bleed!) and I also gave her a voucher for 25% off her next set of h/l for the inconvenience. Anyway, she was really happy 2nd time, I didn't expect her to come back again but lo and behold 3 months later she did and used her voucher! So if you can turn it around so that your client leaves happy, you may gain a new long term client.

Maybe you could say that as she didn't turn up for the scheduled appointment and so much time has passed that you can do a redo at a reduced rate as a gesture of goodwill but let her know that normally, any complaints have to be dealt with with in 2 weeks to qualify for a free redo! I also would make sure you don't change from the original colour as otherwise you are providing a completely new service!

 

[Bingfairy]

Hi Parkervp

Im not a hair geek so i dont really understand about levels and colourings and things however I do have my hair cut and coloured on a regular basis. If I was ever unhappy i wouldn't wait 4-5 weeks before complaining, id be wanting to get it it sorted asap.

I think you should do it as a consultation for free, find out exactly what she wants/expects and then give her a price if she wants to go ahead she will have to pay, you could maybe give her a bit of a discount if you felt it warranted it, but i certainly wouldn't be doing it for free. At the end of the day its not just a tube of colour, its your time, your expertise and your experience she is paying for.

People used to do this to me with their nails you wouldnt see or hear from them again till they were pretty much grown out (a good 3-4 weeks worth of wear) and then expect me to repair for free and like a fool i would, just to keep the peace but once you get into that habit its very hard to suddenly grow a backbone and stand up for yourself.

Good Luck xx

 

[wonderwoman]

No! This person in question sounds like shes taking advantage and wanting a freebie. Just cut your losses here and say along the lines "ok so you want to go darker, im doing a colour correct for this amount £xxx before we proceed." (its letting her know you will be charging regardless of her choice.) if any strop attacks happen, just say well i could have rectified it at the beginning of the month. Yes you do need to have some faith in yourself! Make sure you bring up that your working on a BANK Hoilday to fit her in!!! cheek! xoxo

 

[parkervp]

All very good advice thank you to all of you for taking the thought and time!

I'm just curious to all of your thoughts on this..... I know many salons have a policy that complaints have to be rectified within one/two weeks.....what if a problem presents after a week-two weeks? How long can a client expect a colour to last? hers was very porous...I applied only a Demi as we should....I explained to her I was applying a Demi as it would last longer on her hair as her hair is over processed...

 

[daydreams01]

I don't specify time in weeks, If doing a Demi, During consultation I explain it should last approx 15-20 shampoos as per manufacturers guidelines before gradually fading and that if hair is particularly porous,pre- lightened etc that it will fade quicker. Also tell them to use colour care shampoo, cooler water temp and heat protector if they use heated appliances regularly.
My retailing is terrible, I'm just not pushy enough and they all say yes I Use colour care shampoo etc but it is a good opportunity to show them your retail products and explain how they protect the colour. I need to take my own advice with this as its so easy to say but harder to put into practice when you know your clients are on a budget!

 

[parkervp]

Hi Parkervp

Im not a hair geek so i dont really understand about levels and colourings and things however I do have my hair cut and coloured on a regular basis. If I was ever unhappy i wouldn't wait 4-5 weeks before complaining, id be wanting to get it it sorted asap.

I think you should do it as a consultation for free, find out exactly what she wants/expects and then give her a price if she wants to go ahead she will have to pay, you could maybe give her a bit of a discount if you felt it warranted it, but i certainly wouldn't be doing it for free. At the end of the day its not just a tube of colour, its your time, your expertise and your experience she is paying for.

People used to do this to me with their nails you wouldnt see or hear from them again till they were pretty much grown out (a good 3-4 weeks worth of wear) and then expect me to repair for free and like a fool i would, just to keep the peace but once you get into that habit its very hard to suddenly grow a backbone and stand up for yourself.

Good Luck xx

I don't specify time in weeks, If doing a Demi, During consultation I explain it should last approx 15-20 shampoos as per manufacturers guidelines before gradually fading and that if hair is particularly porous,pre- lightened etc that it will fade quicker. Also tell them to use colour care shampoo, cooler water temp and heat protector if they use heated appliances regularly.
My retailing is terrible, I'm just not pushy enough and they all say yes I Use colour care shampoo etc but it is a good opportunity to show them your retail products and explain how they protect the colour. I need to take my own advice with this as its so easy to say but harder to put into practice when you know your clients are on a budget!

Ah, see she told me after first shampoo it had faded! I sold her colour care shampoo too! But then again I still haven't seen her hair.. So I still have no idea...4 weeks on what it looks like!