diverted stock

Yes ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is time for that girl in the red coat’s tales of truth. A few months back I decided to change my “tales of truth” series to “full moon monthly” but with the holiday retail season in full swing, I have decided to bring back my original title, since full moon daily, well, doesn’t make sense and may disappoint certain internet users…wait for it…there you go. On with my tales of truth.

“Do you work here?” – a question posed to me as I am pricing and setting up our Christmas display of nail polishes and hand creams, while wearing my shirt with the Salon’s logo. “Yes, I do. I am the manager. Can I help you?” to which she answers “How do I know you are the manager?”…..sigh

A woman comes in asking if I carry Nioxin. I let her know that I do and that I carry the complete line. ( *a GREAT hair care line for anyone suffering from hair loss – check out http://www.nioxin.com – Mario Lopez is the new spokesperson – he is nice to look at…) As I show her my Nioxin display she tells me she just saw it at a department store for $10 less. “That sounds like a great deal, be careful though. When you see professional salon products at the department store it is diverted stock, so you cannot be guaranteed you are getting the real deal. We don’t know what is in those bottles or where they came from.”, to which she said “Oh yeah! Well….how do I know where your product came from huh?!”. – still find it amazing that a 50 year old woman reverts back to school yard tactics. I took a breath and told her I deal directly with the company that supplies Nioxin and I have the invoices to prove it to which she said “Well, I’m going to call Nioxin to find out if you are telling the truth!”, so I gave her their number.

As I am sitting at the front desk merrily humming along to the Christmas tunes echoing from the radio and making up some festive display signs, I hear the chirp of the shop’s door and before I can raise my eyes a woman is leaning over the counter and is about 5 inches from my face “CALL ME A CAB WOULD YA?”. I roll back on my chair – my savior from the close talker. “Pardon me?” I ask. “I need a cab. I just got out of a cab and I need another one.”. Alrighty. So I ask if there is a cab company she prefers to which she says “any one but the one I just used.”. I ask which one she used and she said “the one with the white signs”. …in my town, all 3 companies have white signs. So, I flip through the yellow pages, say a prayer and hope I choose the right cab company. As we are waiting for her cab to arrive, as she darts from my counter to the front door every 10 seconds awaiting her new cab, I was fortunate enough to get to hear all her lovely views on humanity, from cab drivers being lazy to her landlord being an ass to not giving to the Salvation Army because it’s not her fault that people are homeless. I went to correct her, then I remembered, you can’t fix stupid.

The phone rings. I answer with my standard cheery greeting.”Umm,,,yeah…like do you have anything that with help my friend’s hair?”. So, I ask what seems to be the issue with her “friends” hair. “Well….I…I mean she dyed it and it kind of looks funny.”. So, I let her know that I can’t give out color advice, especially over the phone and that I can’t see her “friends” hair. She offers to explain the color to me. I let her know it is best to come into the shop and I can introduce her to one of my stylists and we can go from there, to which she replies “How about I text you a picture of my hair…I mean my friends hair, ‘cuz thats what I did last time and you guys told me what to do”. This is how I found out, and then she found out, she had called the wrong place. ***IMPORTANT TIP*** Never, I mean EVER, take color advice over the phone. Until a stylist is applying color onto your hair, there is no way possible to know what is going to happen to your hair or how that color is going to process. Sure , in theory someone can guess at what will happen, but until it is being applied, there is no sure way of knowing.

A woman, whom I have never met, came into the shop and actually said “I need to pop into the grocery store…can I leave my son here with you? It’ll only be a minute.” …there are no words.

I have a bowl of candies at the front desk for our customers and clients. It is usually filled with Jolly Ranchers and Starburst. One day I didn’t have time for my usual stop for my candy pick up so while I was getting supplies for the shop I grabbed some flavored Tootsie Rolls since the store I was at didn’t carry Starburst. Later that morning as I was ringing through a customer, she made sure I knew that she was quite disappointed in me and my service because I no longer had Starburst in my candy dish and she was looking forward to one. Note to self – always have Starburst.

With that holiday season in full swing I am sure I will have many more festive tales coming your way.

As you know, I manage a retail shop/salon. The shop carries over 25 professional hair care lines. Yes, the same products that stylists use in salons. So, I am sure you can understand my frustration, not just for myself but for every consumer out there, that our products are showing up on department and drugstore shelves. In the beauty biz we refer to these products as “diverted stock”. For instance, when you see Joico at your local supermarket, Joico did not sell it to the local grocer. I don’t know who nor how it ended up on their shelves, all I know is it doesn’t belong there. You cannot be guaranteed what is in those bottles…why do you think the disclaimer “only guaranteed when purchased at a salon and or from a professional stylist” is written on every professional hair care product? For that exact reason.

At least 3 times a week I hear someone tell me that they saw Matrix Biolage or KMS Silk Sheen at a discount department store (won’t name names…you know who they are) for a lower price than mine. I explain that it may be old stock and tell them what I have just explained to you and tell them they cannot be guaranteed the quality of the product. What I really want to say is “better go get it then if it is such a hot deal!”, but I behave myself and remember to practice what I preach (see…told you I wasn’t perfect) and ask them “If it was such a great deal why didn’t you buy it?” to which the usual answer is “I opened it and it smelled funny”. Mmhhmm.

Ladies and gents, when purchasing any professional hair product, look left, then look right, look up and then look down…if you don’t see a Salon, you may want to rethink your purchase and here is why; (you know me…gotta make a list)

– the product may be professional but may not be right for your hair type or scalp condition. A cashier can’t tell you that. A stylist or a manager extraordinaire (like me) can.

– you don’t know what is in that bottle. It may look the same, it may even smell the same, maybe you could get lucky and it’s the real deal. If you have just spent $150.00 on your color – is it worth the risk?

– if you have an allergic reaction, the company will not help you out. Now you are out your $2.50 savings off suggested retail price and you have a rash.

– any electric appliance from a curling iron to a flat iron to a blow dryer has a warranty against defect, when purchased at a Salon. Purchased any where else…your warranty is now in question and may very well be void.

When making your purchase at your Salon, not only are you supporting your stylist and the local business’s in your area, you are supporting yourself as well. You are protecting your biggest investment, yourself. ( I’d say You’re worth it…but L’oreal …you know).