Beauty, Business, communication, Uncategorized

When you see crazy comin’…cross the street

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So there I was, having a pleasant conversation with one of my regular customer’s about her new grandson when I hear the familiar chirp of the shop’s door chime. I look over to see a woman tapping her foot and in her hand I see a box (oh boy…here we go). I say my goodbye and congratulations to my customer and as she is walking out she looks over her shoulder at me and frowns. I look over to the tap dancer and ask her if I can help her. “You better help me! I bought this product because you made me and I hate it!”. (Did I mention that we are in the middle of a heat wave and it is a full moon this week?). I smile and ask her what exactly she doesn’t like about the product to which she responds “I don’t like the way it feels in my hand when I am holding it”. I know right? Hard to believe, but this is my life. “Unfortunately that does not qualify as a manufacturer’s defect, so you are not able to return it.”.

It was at this moment I swear I thought her head was going to spin around. Her face went red, her feet were a tappin’ and now she was shaking the product in her hands…actually she started to look like someone who had just found their savior. Yeah, I said it. “You made me buy this! You told me it was a great product!” and then she said some other things but it all blurred into one big temper tantrum. When she stopped, I asked her if she was finished. She just gaped at me. I proceeded to tell her that it was not my policy, but the policy of the company that they only take back products with a defect to which she said “There is a defect, it doesn’t feel good in my hand.”. (Oh, there’s a defect alright but it ain’t with the bottle honey) is what I wanted to say, but alas I must behave. I told her I understood why she thought it was a defect but I didn’t think the company would. I gave her their phone number and told her to call them and maybe they could do something for her. Then she said “Why didn’t you tell me it wouldn’t feel good in my hands?”. This is when I actually looked over my shoulder because I truly believed I was being Punk’d. All I could say was “My hands are different than your hands” to which she replied “yes, that’s true”.

The moral of today’s tale…when you see crazy comin’…cross the street.Oh…and we all have different hands.

Beauty, Business, communication, Hair Care, health and wellness, Uncategorized

Tales of truth…part 4

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So, we are havin’ a heat wave…a tropical heat wave….Seriously though, it has been a little warmer than usual and we have a full moon upon us, so I thought I was prepared for what may walk through my shop door. Guess I should have been a boy scout.

I hear the chirp of the door chime and look up to see a woman with desperation in her eyes. “I need extensions!Do you have any?” as her lip trembles. I assume she must have an occasion or special event that she is running late for. I take her back to our selection of Human Hair extensions, let her know they already have the clips attached so all she has to do is style them and clip them in…Voila! She is set. Then I am asked something I have never been asked before. “How sturdy are these extensions?” she asks. I had to take a moment because my mind took the first off ramp to the gutter, then I matured a bit and collected my thoughts and I told her that she should take them out at night so that they don’t get knotted up. To which she responded “No, I need to know if they can be pulled out…I am a “dancer”.” (So I guess she did have an occasion she was late for.). So, I told her “just tell them hands off your hair”. I bet Magic Mike never had these worries.

I was yelled at because I didn’t have “you know..that shampoo that used to be in a white bottle”.

I have a customer I see on a weekly basis. She comes in with the same complaint every week. She “hates her hair” and “it doesn’t do a thing she wants”, “it’s always all over the place” (like her thoughts I can safely assume). The problem you see is this…she will not use any styling products. She doesn’t like the way they feel in her hands. Yep…seriously, doesn’t like how they feel in her hands. I told her “trying to do your hair without product is like icing a cake before you bake it.”. She just looks at me. Good thing she married rich.

The phone rings. My part time girl (my p.t.g.) answers with our happy go to greeting. On the other end she hears a woman who has the nicest voice ask if she could get in for an appointment in the Salon. We check the book and unfortunately all my stylists are fully booked for the next week, not even time for a cut, so my p.t.g. gets back to her and apologizes that we don’t have time this week but the girls have time next week. Her name must have been Sybil because the nice lady went away and we were now listening to a woman yell “I need my F#$!in’ hair done now!!!”. Oh yeah, that’s a great way to get an appointment.

A well dressed woman walked into the shop. I asked her if she needed a hand, to which she said she was “just looking”. I turn to check the invoice of the order that just arrived and I hear “SSSTTTTT”. I turn to see her using a hairspray from the shelf, put the lid back on, and put it back on the shelf. She was about to walk out and I asked her if she was going to buy the hairspray, to which she said “What hairspray?”. Yep, I kid you not. So I say “the hairspray you just used” as I am reaching for the can in question. She looks at me and says “I didn’t use that!”. (are you kidding me?!?! Seriously lady!”). So, I had to say, “Well you did. I saw you and by the way, your hair is still wet from where you sprayed it. You will have to buy it, it was not a tester.”. She actually touched her hair, felt that I was correct, her hair was wet and bought the hairspray.

The temperature is supposed to reach 38 degrees (100.4 F), so I can’t wait to see what comes through the door today.

 

Beauty, Hair Care

Ya got the right attitude…ya got the wrong person

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At our Salon, I have printed out a calender of when the full moon will rise each month so we are prepared for what will come through the door. I can honestly say that a full moon makes people a little crazy.

Today’s tale begins. “Hi There! How are you today?” ( from yours truly) “Do you sell toner? My daughter needs it!” ( Guess she didn’t see yesterday’s blog). The first red flag pops up. Now, in her defense, she has seen all the commercials that truly are not so easy and nice so of course it seems like an easy fix. So you all know – Toner is not just one bottle, nor is it one color. Applying a toner is a science and an art form – you must know the color wheel, you must know your color line, you must know the porosity of the hair…in other words, you should be a hair stylist. Getting back to my tale.  After explaining that we needed to see the hair in question, that every color line is different and that she should really go back from whence she came and speak to the stylist in question because she knows what she used and because she would probably want to know her client wasn’t happy and would probably fix it. Then it happened. A grown woman started with the shakes, the quivering lip, the sighs, the gasps, the anger – I was waiting for “NO MORE WIRE HANGERS” to be shouted, I kid you not. “She won’t go back there! No way!!Why won’t you tell me what to do?” (kinda just did). Yes, she had a reason to be upset – WITH THE STYLIST, not with me – right attitude, WRONG person.

I understand the frustration of bad hair. I know the pain of dealing with a teenager after a bad hair experience. Be the parent. Keep your cool. Show your child the proper way to deal with life’s misfortunes. Teach them how to ask for what they want and how to tell someone that they are not happy with what they received (without pouting, shaking or swearing). Save the drama for the Oscars and be kind.

The full moon will rise in a few days, I wonder what today will bring?