Bad Hair Cut Etiquette?

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Well - the final result.... because I know you all want to know...

I went into the salon this afternoon - much to my glee, the woman that did my hair was not working today. I explained the situation - actually completely omitting the part about the shortness (I've done my crying, it's gone. It'll grow back)...

I simply put on my sweetest midwestern smile (it works wonders) and said, "I had my hair done on Saturday and I'm really unhappy with my highlights - they turned out darker than I would have liked. If you have the time, I would really appreciate a touch up."

A guy that was working jumped on the case (he was actually "fixing" another lady's hair, too) - he jumped between the both of us for about 45 minutes, and despite the fact that my hair is much, much shorter than I would like - my color looks fabulous.

So, though I won't be returning to the Salon of Doom any time in the near future (I'll find a stylist at my old salon or call my old stylist and see who he says is best) I have no reason to say anything bad about the establishment.

I'm a quasi-happy camper (with shorter hair than expected).

 

[ph34r]

So I guess I should send word to the battalion of Zhentarim soldiers headed your way that they aren't needed anymore...ah fooey. :\

Congrats on the hair though.

 

[Goodsport]

Well - the final result.... because I know you all want to know...

I went into the salon this afternoon - much to my glee, the woman that did my hair was not working today. I explained the situation - actually completely omitting the part about the shortness (I've done my crying, it's gone. It'll grow back)...

I simply put on my sweetest midwestern smile (it works wonders) and said, "I had my hair done on Saturday and I'm really unhappy with my highlights - they turned out darker than I would have liked. If you have the time, I would really appreciate a touch up."

A guy that was working jumped on the case (he was actually "fixing" another lady's hair, too) - he jumped between the both of us for about 45 minutes, and despite the fact that my hair is much, much shorter than I would like - my color looks fabulous.

So, though I won't be returning to the Salon of Doom any time in the near future (I'll find a stylist at my old salon or call my old stylist and see who he says is best) I have no reason to say anything bad about the establishment.

I'm a quasi-happy camper (with shorter hair than expected).

I'm glad to read that all went well.

As it turns out, I too went to the barber shop today for the first time since mid-December. This time I more succinctly explained to the barber what I wanted ("just a trim on top but cut a bit more on the sides and back"), and now my hair is back on track and I'm back to my usual 5-6 week haircut cycle.


-G

 

[Amal Shukup]

So, though I won't be returning to the Salon of Doom any time in the near future (I'll find a stylist at my old salon or call my old stylist and see who he says is best) I have no reason to say anything bad about the establishment.

I'm a quasi-happy camper (with shorter hair than expected).

Good Customer Service in action. Better would have been to do the job right the first time and earn a new regular customer, but a credible job of damage control - even if all they accomplished was to keep you from dissuading one or two individual customers, that was 22.5 'man minutes' well spent. Not to mention, it was the right thing to do.

Hair grows! It'll be back to where you want it in no time.

A'Mal

 

[Rel]

Queen Dopplepopolis, I'm glad they were accomodating and glad that you're happier with the results. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that The Universe thinks you look lovely regardless of the haircut.

I got a chance to put my money where my mouth is today with regards to customer service. I got a call from a customer indicating that a DVD that I made for them (I'm a professional videographer) wasn't working. They wanted a VHS copy and I was making one within ten minutes of their call.

After talking with them some more we were able to determine that the problem was on their end (with the laptop they were trying to play the DVD on) and not a problem with the DVD itself. Regardless they needed the tape ASAP and their office is an hour and a half away from me. They offered to send a courier to pick up the tape.

I had some paperwork that I could have worked on but nothing too pressing. I offered to meet their courier half way to help them out. Particularly in light of the fact that the problem was not my fault and I was fixing it within three hours of them calling, they were thrilled. I'm pretty sure that they will be a customer for life and will hopefully spread the work about how helpful I was with their problem. If that translates into even one additional video then I'll make a minimum of a couple hundred dollars. Plus I get to bill them for the extra copy I made today.

I love it when doing good by my customers also translates into cash.

 

[Terath Ninir]

Darn! I was hoping to hear you had gone in and busted a cap in everyone.

Glad you got it fixed as much as is possible.

 

[fusangite]

Well - the final result.... because I know you all want to know...

I'm glad things went so well. Obviously, my advice was incorrectly predicated on you being as charming as I am (not particularly) when, evidently, you are much more so.

 

[Stone Angel]

Good finally, I was losing sleep over this lol

Glad to hear you are satisfied.


The Seraph of Earth and Stone

 

[Amal Shukup]

...I'm pretty sure that they will be a customer for life and will hopefully spread the work about how helpful I was with their problem. If that translates into even one additional video then I'll make a minimum of a couple hundred dollars..

Yup. Awesome stuff. May your professionalism and focus on delivering a quality customer experience be rewarded a thousand times over. Or at least once. It's useful to employ a few discrete strategies to help happy customers spread the word. The top two (of dozens):

One: Remind 'em occasionally that you exist: "thanks for the business" notes, holiday cards, the occasional notice of special offers ("for favored customers") etc.. Don't overdo this - it's BAD to annoy folk. No spamming! A business like yours could do this perhaps twice a year. Maybe quarterly if the relationship is solid...

Two: In any transaction (meeting, sending product, a thank you/holiday card etc.) include two (not lots - TWO) copies of your biz card. This gives them the 'tools' to help them spread the word...

I love it when doing good by my customers also translates into cash.

It's funny how often that happens!

A'Mal
(Who normally gets to bill $100.00/hour for this sorta thing )

 

[KidCthulhu]

I've got to chime in on the Iron Hand thing. I've worked a lot of retail in my life, and I can tell you that unless you're exceptionally charming or suave, the Iron Hand is never as subtle as you think it is. We've seen you coming a mile away.

Just tell the retailer the problem and make the issue clear. Don't harp, don't repeat yourself twenty times. We know you're upset, and believe me, the minute you started talking, we knew we'd have to fix the problem. And we will. Don't get clever and try the subtle threat thing. Anyone in retail knows the danger of an angry customer. You don't have to explain it.

I had a customer come in one day to the pet store where I work my second job. She had an empty bag of dog food. She'd noticed the bag was past its sell by date after she'd gotten it home. No problem there. But she'd fed the ENTIRE bag to her dogs, no problem with the quality. Then she came in and wanted a new bag of food, because the previous one had been past sell by.

And we gave it to her. That's how thin the margins are, and how much difference the happy customer makes.