Some clients are never happy

[babychops]

Why are some clients never happy! I had a client today who kept telling me "I won't like what you do!" (Thanks). In the consultation she wanted full head blonde highlights with 8b flooded. Her daughter told her to get 5b flooded. Anyway we settled on doing a 6b. She kept saying she hoped it didn't come out to dark, she doesn't like it dark! Well when I had finished... It wasn't dark enough! She wants a 4b instead! What...!? I don't understand what she wants? Lol x

 

[princesstinx]

I have clients like that I had one who brought me a pic of hair that was platinum she had virgin base 8 hair I tried to convince her to have highlights to break it up but wanted a full bleach then when I'd finish she said it was all one flat colour and now wants lowlights!

 

[SarahW64]

I've got one of these clients whole way through colour I get its going to be light isn't it? And I won't go ginger? .. then the cut is I want it in a grad Bob nice and short but long at the front.... then after I get oo no why does it get longer toward front and is short toward back and oh I want some copper pieces through.. and I have asked for photo before to double check what she wants. I've had this client now for the past 2 years she keeps coming back so I guess she can't hate it that much right? lol xx

 

[LouBaby]

I had similar this week a regular who I know fancys changed then when done hates it. She told me 6 weeks ago when I dine her roots she wanted to go from bleach blonde to lilac. So I told her to think about it, then her next app came and she was dead sure, done it. Taken 2 applications to look even. Then she hated it, then few hours later loved it, then hates it so told at I had to get her back blonde (poor hair!) just happens with some people xx

 

[Eviestyle]

I had a one. I had suggested gold but no she wanted red like the pic that she showed me when she was young. Pic was pretty red . Then she showed me another pic she liked. It was more golden. But when we looked at swatches she kept wanting red. It was so confusing. When I did a test strand with red, she asked me to mix just a bit of gold in. I told her that the red and gold together is exactly what her color she has now and since she seemed so scared of the red, gold would be a good start. But she insisted to mix gold/red. So when I was done with her full foil, it didnt look any different than what she had like i already told her.
When I redid it, it was too red for her. Later I discovered she liked the gold she said no to that I had suggested IN THE BEGINNING!!

 

[persianista]

I think you learn through experience how to handle these clients. I call them 'negatives' because they'll tell you all the things they don't want, but when you ask them what they do want, they don't know.
I also think that some women think a change of colour/cut will alter areas of their appearance or life that are more deep rooted than just a hairdo can solve.
Eg, going blonde won't turn you into a bay watch babe if you're 15 stone. A diet might.
Going red wont turn you into Cheryl Cole, it would take a time machine, a diet and a plastic surgeon.

I think the way to handle them is to take charge, don't give too many choices, and reign in their expectations. They will still look like themselves, but with different colour hair.

 

[babychops]

She used to go to a salon for two years and she was never happy with it.. But she kept saying to me "it doesn't look the same as how the other salon done it?" Yes that was the point! Lol x

 

[faerififi]

I have a client whos never happy either, last thing she complained about was the day after i'd done tsection hilights, flooded with a warm 6 and a graduated bob, the same as ive been doing on her for over a year. Her boyfriend came round and said she looked like a medieval king, think richard the third, so she wanted me to change the shape when it was perfectly fine, and again exactly the same as I had been doing for months.
The funny thing is that i fired her temporarily a few months ago for coming an hour late and not paying me on time, so i refused to do her hair for a few months and she got it cut by a trainee at a salon, which when i looked was so wonky and badly cut, her boyfriend didnt have a thing to say about it then!
Poor womans insecure as anything, she even wanted to go darker after her boyfriend said her eyebrows didnt match her hair.. needless to say she hasnt bothered following up coming to get it reshaped.

 

[lucielu]

I think you learn through experience how to handle these clients. I call them 'negatives' because they'll tell you all the things they don't want, but when you ask them what they do want, they don't know.
I also think that some women think a change of colour/cut will alter areas of their appearance or life that are more deep rooted than just a hairdo can solve.
Eg, going blonde won't turn you into a bay watch babe if you're 15 stone. A diet might.
Going red wont turn you into Cheryl Cole, it would take a time machine, a diet and a plastic surgeon.

I think the way to handle them is to take charge, don't give too many choices, and reign in their expectations. They will still look like themselves, but with different colour hair.

I'm guilty of this. There's lots about me I'd like to change, but the hair is the easiest! If I was 2 stone lighter I'd love my hair all the time!

 

[wonderwoman]

You know alarm bells should ring whenever someones "daughter" wishes to tell you how to do your job.

I inhale and say lordy.....! Tell them what my professional opinion is- If i still have "overbearing" client or "daughter"--- lets reside all the blame on her eh?! Helps diffuse a situation at the same time- i can actually get away with it. Service with a smile! xoxo

 

[NiCshairstudio]

I had one of these fairly recently I think about 6 weeks ago, I do all 3 of her daughters, one for the past 5 years, they're all older than me, around mid 30 ish somewhere, anyway they are all happy, know what they don't want and have room for manoover (ok someone correct that word I can't figure it out please) anyway daughter number 1, says i wanna tone it down, (but is very wary and seems scared of this idea so as I agree and say I think that is the best thing to do, I point out 7B to put through 1-1 so not too much leave it a little litre around parting so not too much this time and if like let's flood it next time in between the highlights, she then decides no she trusts me and to do as I like, she wants it different but the same, so I decide lots of highlights, flood 7B and tone highlights if need be, she loooooved it, daughter number 2. Is so easy going I don't think I could do anything wrong, shes had all sorts through but all nice and suit her lifestyle. Daughter number 3. Normal hi lights fairly easily pleased... Then the mother: (who I know never stays in one place long enough)

She comes in are loving daughter number ones hair and likes the others, she wants to tone it down, very grey and old salon always just doing bleach highlights, I show the colours used on her daughter and 7B is too dark, so I show 8B, no no still too dark, I advise the 9s won't break the colour up enough and with highlights will look lighter as her natural she has coming through is 7 (65% grey) but no she settles on the 9s. I advise this wont tone down, and she decides ok a few 7B this time and more next time if likes, i take strands so I can show her, on the day she decides her daughters is too dark and want to stick with the lighter tones, I show the strands anyway in the hope I can convince her otherwise but no, wants it light. So we do full head highlights with a few 9s through, I decide to do more of the 9 through the top to bleach as I really don't think baby beach blonde will suit a 60+ lady very conservative dressing too. Wash off, sit down, its too light, 'and I can't see any of the darks' so I explain as advised 7 is verging dark blonde, 8 would have just been seen 9 is blonde. But if she would like I can go through and break it up with a few 7s, she agrees, and the whole time its on says i don't want it too dark. It won't be will it. Comes off, says happy but I can tell shes not.

Her daughter is in a couple weeks later and says shes like it everywhere, doesn't know what she wants but doesn't know what she doesn't want either, says wants a change but points out all the things that keep her the same or lighter.... She's booked back for the 3rd time, so maybe 3rd time lucky with this one lol.

 

[Srmorg]

I've had clients argue that apparently their hair doesn't grow that fast enough to get roots in like 8 weeks. Well clearly it does otherwise the roots wouldn't be there!?

 

[Eviestyle]

I have realized something very interesting about those kinds of clients. They all seem to have bad energy. I can tell usually if there will be a problem when they first sit down. I think they do it to themselves. With their lack of faith in life, they tend to try to overcompensate during the consult which can be confusing. And if they arent thankful and joyful in life, neither will their hair be sorry to hear about your frustrating client babychops!

 

[babychops]

I had another awkward client yesterday that wouldn't take any of my advise about her hair. She had a graduated bob but the top layers were an inch long and thinned out to much! She also owns her own thinning scissors and does it herself! I told her I wasn't going to thin it out anymore but she wasn't having it! I refused in the end! X

 

[NiCshairstudio]

I had another awkward client yesterday that wouldn't take any of my advise about her hair. She had a graduated bob but the top layers were an inch long and thinned out to much! She also owns her own thinning scissors and does it herself! I told her I wasn't going to thin it out anymore but she wasn't having it! I refused in the end! X

Lol one wonders why she doesn't do people's hair herself lol

 

[babychops]

Found out today she loves her hair! I'm chuffed x

 

[divalou]

Tell me about it! I have one of *those* clients and she's been a regular for years! In fact I just did a blog post about this subject:

I need your advice…. | girlbehindthescissors