Dry Cuts,Wet Cuts,Cut and Finish?

[CHarvey]

I have just returned to a salon after 18 months off having my baby girl. I did not return to my previous salon, which was rather 'exclusive' due to them not wanting me part time and have instead returned to another 'less exclusive' salon. The salon is really great but the owner has been in the industry for 35 years and doesnt take my suggestions (or that of that of the rest of thr teams) well. I explained that i had never offered dry trims or wet cuts in the 17 yrs in the industry as i have various reservation about what a 'dry trim' implies. To me it implies a dont give a f*** i want a cheapy quick haircut or i want a complete re design but dont think hour or hour and a half with a new client to sit with them disgussing their needs, personally wash their hair and talk all the time about potential colour work, products etc and i just dont feel right gowning someone up and taking 20 mins to trim the ends.

The salon owner refuses to remove them from the price list and i now find i have at least three heads of dirty, chip fatty hair a day and i hate to say but i always think 'please dont tell anyone it was me that cuts your hair' when the clients walks out!

Its a nice salon but has failed to move along with the time in some areas. We have a great team, he spends money on training, we carry Redkin and paul mitchelle. I just dont see how he can equate charging £41.00 for a cut and finish on one hand and yet still have £18 dry trims walking out the door?

What are your opinions please? Am i just a spoilt snob? or am i right that this affects my reputation and is 'underselling' the salon and his team?:evil:

 

[Bluerinse]

I don't do dry trims!! I didn't spend my money on kasho scissors to use them on dry hair! I'll slice through the hair to remove weight after cutting it wet but I use another pair of scissors for that lol so I guess I'm a snob!

But I don't get why he charges that like that either ;s x

 

[CHarvey]

~His price structure is everywhere! £30 for a full head tint? £52 for full head h/ls? but only £60 for full head tint and full highlights? Its like he pulled his numbers out the air!
I just dont like cutting dirty hair, it pisses me off when a client looks at the price list when deciding whether they want dry trim or cut and finish and yet want to walk out with a redesign for £18! ive taken an hour over a dry trim before!

 

[mm29]

well i must be a snob too. Im the same as blue i use different scissors for dry hair cutting techniques. I wouldnt cut dirty hair for £41 never mind £18.
If he wants to still offer this service thats up to him but can you not explain that ur not happy and dont want them booked in with you.. If he wants to keep you in his team he might agree with this.

 

[CHarvey]

I said that to him but he said if i wanted my own price structure and to pick and chose services then i could rent a chair! i need to be employed as i have a family :-( only salon in town that offers employed so dont wanna pee him off!

 

[persianista]

Nobody likes dry cuts. It's his salon, and his prices and rules.

From a salon owners perspective, a stylist who gave me the impression she was used to much better, and had lowered herself to work in my salon due to being desperate for a salary would make me very unhappy. If the salon doesnt suit you, maybe you should move onto another one. There are loads of salons around.

 

[CHarvey]

I do not feel I have "lowered myself" at all! The owner is a lovely guy but the salon has gone from having the best rep in town to being known as a "cheap" salon! Mainly down to poor staffing choices. I think I should explain that 6 of his stylists have walked out and he approached myself and four other stylists from the best salons in the area to give their creative input and help it recover. As he says he wants an "elite team", I and the other team members all feel that the practice of "dry trims" negates all our other efforts to get the salon back where it deserves to be which is at the top! I love the owner, I really do, but the team have all worked at prestigous salons and know more about the current Market, he provides us with up to the minute training and then has us doing £18 dry trims? Surly he is undermining his own training?

 

[persianista]

I do not feel I have "lowered myself" at all! The owner is a lovely guy but the salon has gone from having the best rep in town to being known as a "cheap" salon! Mainly down to poor staffing choices. I think I should explain that 6 of his stylists have walked out and he approached myself and four other stylists from the best salons in the area to give their creative input and help it recover. As he says he wants an "elite team", I and the other team members all feel that the practice of "dry trims" negates all our other efforts to get the salon back where it deserves to be which is at the top! I love the owner, I really do, but the team have all worked at prestigous salons and know more about the current Market, he provides us with up to the minute training and then has us doing £18 dry trims? Surly he is undermining his own training?

Do the others feel the same? If so, could you not request a staff meeting and put this to him?
Be aware though that if financially, he has his back against the wall right now, he may be nervous of turning away any trade. It's ok to have standards, but not if it means you go bust.

 

[Pip]

Finish is style. All stylists for adults in this region do wash hair at the onset and it is not affirmed as part of the service as it is indirect. This is amazing I would propose you check with your salon although it is likely built-in. if you are having it blow directly they’ll go in excess of it with a flat iron and place finishing crop in it so the hair look even.

What????

 

[SteffiMc]

What????

Thought I was the only one with that thought :-/ xx

 

[Perry_Althair]

What????

Someone foreign using a language translator i suspect lol

 

[SteffiMc]

Someone foreign using a language translator i suspect lol

Ah yeh probably!! Never thought of that! Must be a good one then lol x

 

[classixuk]

In my opinion, dry trims are an invaluable service to clients in-between appointments, especially in these cash strapped times.

Imagine if McDonalds took their pound saver menu off the price list as the staff said it "made them feel cheap", and you, as a customer, had to spend a minimum of £5 just to eat there?

A dry trim in my eyes is a quick, easy service that enables a client who is short on time or money to remain a customer of your salon. It's a trim. Should take no more than 15 minutes from start to finish and just tidies up the hair cut.

If the client needs more than just a trim, and you need to work on all of the layers etc. obviously the hair would need to be wet and then styled afterwards s you can finish the cut. You can give the client this option and advice, explaining why you can't perform everything they are asking for dry.

If a client pops by in-between appointments for a quick fringe trim, we have no problem doing it. Try viewing a dry trim as an 'extended fringe trim' where you also sort out the length at the back and tidy up the layers slightly. You could do 4 in an hour at £18 x 4 = £72. That's more profitable than one cut and blowdry.

 

[CHarvey]

My problem is it's often more than an 'extended fringe trim" many clients expect you to still use products, to still straighten and style and in some cases I have found myself doing a complete redesign. Fair enough if a client has health problems and can't use a back wash or if they are a regular client whose hair you know then I am happy to meet their needs, but more often then not it's a client who has walked in off the street and picked the cheapest thing off the menu with no thought to what they actually need (or to even wash their hair) I don't think I like the idea of being compared to a cheap, multi national chain of restaurants which provide sub standard food and services. :-(

 

[CHarvey]

And the day I do any cuts I'm 15 min is the day I have stopped caring about my finished result and have started seeing clients as £ rather then people.

 

[classixuk]

My problem is it's often more than an 'extended fringe trim" many clients expect you to still use products, to still straighten and style and in some cases I have found myself doing a complete redesign. Fair enough if a client has health problems and can't use a back wash or if they are a regular client whose hair you know then I am happy to meet their needs, but more often then not it's a client who has walked in off the street and picked the cheapest thing off the menu with no thought to what they actually need (or to even wash their hair) I don't think I like the idea of being compared to a cheap, multi national chain of restaurants which provide sub standard food and services. :-(

McDonalds is one of the most successful companies in the world. Their business model is one to be admired. They changed the way fast-food worked forever. Can't knock their success!

It seems to me that your problem lies at consultation time. Never in a blue moon would I wet down a dry trim, attempt a restyle or use any products whatsoever. It's literally a 15 minute "touch-up" between cut and blow appointments.

And the day I do any cuts I'm 15 min is the day I have stopped caring about my finished result and have started seeing clients as £ rather then people.

Why? If you finish a basic fringe and baseline in 10 minutes, what do you do afterwards? Surely you don't keep cutting off the hair?

 

[CHarvey]

I always put my baseline in washed hair and style I then adjust to suit the way it falls taking into account hair growth patterns etc. If a client has come in with a greasy pony tail then it's obviously not gonna comb down flat and into any natural quirks.

If a client phones up wanting a dry trim, you consult and they describe a complete redesign do you say "no sorry what you need is a redesign so I can't do your hair today'? And send them on their merry way? Genuine curiosty not sarcasm or cheekiness lol
Yes mcdonalds Is very successful but so are a lot of salons and very few offer quick dry trims...

 

[classixuk]

I always put my baseline in washed hair and style I then adjust to suit the way it falls taking into account hair growth patterns etc. If a client has come in with a greasy pony tail then it's obviously not gonna comb down flat and into any natural quirks.

If a client phones up wanting a dry trim, you consult and they describe a complete redesign do you say "no sorry what you need is a redesign so I can't do your hair today'? And send them on their merry way? Genuine curiosty not sarcasm or cheekiness lol
Yes mcdonalds Is very successful but so are a lot of salons and very few offer quick dry trims...

I'm hearing you. I really am. But a salon/stylist's success isn't based on him/her 'not' offering or being fine with offering dry trims. It's about the skill of the stylist to interpret the client's needs and fulfill them.

You asked about a client who called up for a dry trim and then described a complete redesign at the consultation, would I say "no sorry what you need is a redesign so I can't do your hair today"? Yes, that's more or less what I'd say except I'd try to give them a choice if I could. Say it was yourself (as the client), I'd repeat back to you what your needs are so that we're understanding each other and then I'd let you know if the service you've booked in for is suitable. e.g. "Ok Charvey, so you need your hair to look a little less frizzy, and you're thinking about some layers to add versatility to your style? I can do that for you, but not as part of a dry trim. It will take me a little longer to do, and I'd need to cut your hair wet and then style it to finish the layers. That would be £X and take about an hour. Would you like me to do that for you?"

If you said no, I would explore again what is achievable via a dry trim vs the redesign service (and why) and then leave you with the choice - the dry trim or the redesign.

I guess if you think about it with colour, you'd see that you already do this almost all of the time. Client books via the phone for highlights, but when she arrives she has colour build-up through the ends and a natural root. She'll need to be lightened in 2 stages and then toned for an even result. You have no problem letting her know the cost and time implications, and that it won't be the price she was originally told over the phone?

I guess I am saying you could do the same with your dry trims. Clients don't mind you being honest (even when they're short on cash), and to be honest, in the last recession (1990's) it was dry trims that kept us alive ... you had to struggle to upsell to a wash and cut, nevermind a cut and blowdry. As for colouring, it was about 10% of your business, as people just couldn't afford to have their hair coloured in the salon.

Just be thankful we've moved on from the mid-week 'comb-up' - now that's something to make you balk! LOL

:lol: