First unsatisfied client

[PrincessClaire]

i started a new job about a month ago now after finishing college in june and i am starting to build up my clients. i literally have been thrown in the deep end as a junior stylist so now the clients i get i just get on with them without any help. its been going really well and i was starting to feel more confident until yesterday. i had 2 bad situations. firstly, i shaved this mans hair, normally i would just use my scissors to get to length he wanted but he asked for the clippers and my manager said i had to start somewhere i must have flicked the clippers up too hard and left a little bald patch...luckily he was ok with it and told me just to take it to a 2 instead of a 3 and luckily the situation was solved. later on in the day a woman came in for a total restyle and brought in a picture of the desired cut she wanted but was picking parts out she liked and parts she didnt so basically she was trying to design her own cut from a picture and was explaining the rest. i had a picture in my head and when i had finished she said it came out nothing like she had expected..my next client was waiting so one of the more experienced stylists took over and finished my lady but it made me feel like rubbish. im dreading going in tomorrow i just want to crawl in a hole i have never been so embarrased. do you have any advice for me im only new to this thanks :hug:

 

[persianista]

My poor darling!! We have all done it. I remember clearly the rising panic, going hot and cold, and my stomache doing backflips.
I recall sobbing in the staff room after sodding up poor peoples hair.The shame of having the manager step in!
Every single one of us goes through it. Nobody is born knowing how to cut hair, it's a skill thats learnt over many years through practice.
Every manager knows that a freshly qualified hairdresser is gonna screw up at some point, and makes allowances for it.
Watch the more experienced stylists that you work with, listen to them.
Most importantly don't give up. Take a deep breath and onwards and upwards!! x

 

[minky]

Hi, been there too, done that and got the T shirt too ,
don't worry Sh*t happens , :green: if clients start to change the picture to much then I ask them to look through the style book again
until they see the exact picture they want!... because mixing and matching cuts usually thows them way out of balance and usually it just doesn't work out ,
as persianista says just watch listen to the top stylists and chalk it all up to experience

Ps there is a great site on here called myhairdressers.com with all the top hairdressers on it
and you can brushup on all your top cuttting techniques online at your own lesuire over and over agian ,
lots of people on here are joining it ,
its not much for a whole year to join , and would give you loads of cutting and styling confidence :hug: x minky

 

[Lady_Nightshade]

Bless you. :hug: :hug:

Ive actually been on the receiving end of a mistake by a hairdresser, I get the feeling she had been thrown in at the deep end and after lopping off a chunk of my long hair at the back the look of horror on her face said it all.

I ended up with the pob do that year lol. Its all grown back nice and long now though.

At the end of the day its the people you work unders main concern if they have left you in out of your depth, your still learning and mistakes happen. At least its hair and it grows back. :green:

Dont let it shatter your confidence, just learn from any mistakes you may make and try not to do it again.

Best of luck to you.

:hug:

 

[jotommo]

you can only learn from your mistakes.... it happens to the best of us, the attachment once fell off the clippers and it left a huge patch, i could of died, plus i had about 20 people waiting behind me for theres done! i laugh about it now... :lol:
i now keep my finger firmly on the attachment...
don't be afraid to get back into your game....... xx

 

[scottydolly]

awww we have all had this, i remember my first major bad experience was a cut on really long hair and it turned out alot shorter than intended and i needed sum1 to step in too. . . wasnt fun LOL. .

but u really will get over it and always look back and laugh xx

 

[liana kay]

IT happens to the best of us , if someone says it hasnt ,then they are lying . People are funny things and even really bright intelligent ( phd type) can sometimes not understand simple english when it comes to their hair . Or sometimes you can do a great cut , perfect suits them and all that , but they just dont like it ,and cant explain why.
Take it with a pinch of salt , hair grows , but hopefully you will never get it so wrong that it cant be adjusted in the next cut . Or you can be like me and have a hysterical client because you havent cut enough off their hair and refuse to have a recut .
People are all differant and sometimes people clash for no apparant reason , it can have not a lot to do with their hair its just the way it is . dont lose heart and be confident and polite next time when dealing with her ( even if it is just at reception) dont sculk about and hide in the back room like i used to.
I take it that the salon explains to the clients that you are ajunior stylist when booking people in?

 

[angel fingers]

that must be horrible for you.
my oldest daughter is nvq2 trained and she used to dread colouring and get really upset. she still does a few private clients but works in marketing now instead.

i went through a phaze like this with nails too. it only gets better when your confidence build with more practice.

when someone describes to me what they are expecting, i take it in , think it through and then repeat it back to them so that i'm sure we are both thinking along the same lines.

when i went to the hairdressers, i found it really hard to express what i wanted because i couldnt express things in professional terms. i definately think a picture is best. but non hair people dont understand that picking bits from one style and adding them to another doesnt really work because of how one part will blend into the other.

try not to dread going back, it wont be as bad as you think :hug:

 

[The Pink Orange]

i started a new job about a month ago now after finishing college in june and i am starting to build up my clients. i literally have been thrown in the deep end as a junior stylist so now the clients i get i just get on with them without any help. its been going really well and i was starting to feel more confident until yesterday. i had 2 bad situations. firstly, i shaved this mans hair, normally i would just use my scissors to get to length he wanted but he asked for the clippers and my manager said i had to start somewhere i must have flicked the clippers up too hard and left a little bald patch...luckily he was ok with it and told me just to take it to a 2 instead of a 3 and luckily the situation was solved. later on in the day a woman came in for a total restyle and brought in a picture of the desired cut she wanted but was picking parts out she liked and parts she didnt so basically she was trying to design her own cut from a picture and was explaining the rest. i had a picture in my head and when i had finished she said it came out nothing like she had expected..my next client was waiting so one of the more experienced stylists took over and finished my lady but it made me feel like rubbish. im dreading going in tomorrow i just want to crawl in a hole i have never been so embarrased. do you have any advice for me im only new to this thanks :hug:

Hi...I think some clients think that the hair cut will make them look like the model in the picture they bring in!! I once had a lady come in and ask for charlotte churches new hair cut! It was when she had just had a bob...so I chopped her hair off.....she had been talking about another photo she had seen talking about her new hair style....she had taken the page out of a magazine at the doctors!! shame she didn't bring the picture with her!!

Don't worry, I'm sure you will be fine and all the other stylist will have a story to tell aswell!

 

[natsel]

Hope your feeling better by now:hug:

I know you wont feel that great about it all, Ive had plenty of times when I first started out where I used to be worried sick about things going wrong, Ive made mistakes through out my time as a hairdresser but the only thing I can say is you do and will learn from them.

I hope your boss was not too hard on you everyone has to start somewhere .

Christ I remember when I cut a customer I litterally cut them nipped the ear but god did it bleed, and on another occasion I had a customer in (luckily I knew them family friend) well he wanted a number four all over easy right!! started shaving got to the crown and flip the comb come off and left a nice bald patch for all to see, AND he didnt wanted taken any shorter and being on the crown well what could I do, there was only one thing I could do and that was to get a red felt pen and draw pretend stitches on there... BUT all joking aside this was someone I knew so it wasnt the be all and end all .. this story is not meant to be sarcastic in any way to you princessclaire I'm only trying to say we all make mistakes and for a bit it will knock your confidence but you tried and gave it a go and thats the main thing..:hug:

 

[Curitiba]

Oh, I had a horrible cut yesterday.

I had a really long beautiful and back in Summer I had finally found a hairdresser that cuts it the way I like. But she charges a lot, then a I got this letter through the post saying that I had a won a competition and the prize was a free hair cut and blow dry at Rush in Woking. I was thrilled.

When I got there, a fella greated me as the person who was going to cut my hair. He was ok, but as a lady washed my hair I started remembering that all the times I had my hair cut by a fella it would go wrong. I decided to leave my scepticism aside and be open minded.

I knew exactly what I wanted (to maintain my style, just having 2 inches off, and making sure that my hair fell into a 'V' - not a 'U', a 'V').

Hair ended up in a U, he took 5 inches off, and not to cause a fuss in the salon I just stayed quiet, picked up my things and cried as I walked towards the station.

Now, my hair means a lot to me. I gives me beauty, confidence and makes me feel feminine. It will take a whole year not only for my hair to grow back, but for all those things to grow back too.

I appreciate it is not an easy job, but I wish there would more exact science applied to hairdressing so both client and hairdresser don't feel bad when things to go wrong.

For people cutting long hair, a ruled gown would, just like ruled paper, would bring the simetry and precision that is being asked. Using a few coloured stickers on the gown would work as a blue print of the style that existed from the new style.

xx

 

[beth1967]

The worst for me was when EVERYONE in the shop I was knew at,all left.... gone? Pee breakes lunch breaks GONE. I should have gotten the hint BUT no, so I got the next GUY, A real __S he was. He wanted a cowboy haircut wanting NATURALLLLLL nothing in his hair. So I was cutting sides and he is getting madder no ideas why. I really could have but my scissors in the side of his head. He just freakes and I did not do anything yet mad that I was giving him a boys cut??? What did I do .....walked away. I left him in the chair before I killed him:irked: And an hair stylist older lady little shorty, 5 footnothing full of p___ and vinager a real hoot of a lady came up an asked what was going on, told her, she walked over finished haircut(5 minutes flat) WITH GEL and he never said a word paid and left. Then I found out he was in jail for going after one the the girls nieces hence why they left before they went after him.

 

[rhiannonmarie]

dont lose confidence in yourself half the time i think the client has a picture in their mind of themselves looking amazing with their new do but we cant work miracles,also if the client doesnt give you enough ideas on what they want youve just got to work with what theyve told you
i hope you feel better about the situation:green: