Don’t you decide you’d never step into a salon again if they’ve messed with your hair? And don’t you wish you should have known better than stepping in, in the first place? A good hair day can make everything seem right in the world whereas a bad hair day or a bad haircut is disastrous. A haircut or a hairstyle gone wrong is a nightmare coming true for a lot of people so choosing the right stylist and salon is very important! Well, after going through some of the common mistakes & tips, you will most likely never have a bad hair day again so read on!
So how do you decide whether the salon isn’t right for you? Some really easy ways to do that would be-
- If the staff is impolite to you over the phone when you make an appointment.
- If the stylists are better gossipers than hair stylers and they make that easily evident!
- If you see a customer unhappy with their service and/or indulging in a verbal bash with the staff.
- If after the above happens, the staff denies responsibility and is discourteous.
- If a stylist leaves a customer waiting in his/her chair indefinitely to attend an “important” phone call.
These are a few quick clues to keep you away from a potentially bad salon. Below are some of the common mistakes that people make while choosing a salon:
- Picking a salon with the lowest price
Often, people opt for a salon that offers services within a low price range as they think they are getting the same kind of service and saving money too! However, keep in mind that a salon offering its services at a low price CANNOT guarantee good quality of service. Practically thinking, it has to pay all its employees, pay the rent of the place, buy styling products & equipment and take care of resources like electricity, water etc. In order to be able to take care of these costs and still make profit, it WILL compromise on the quality of the products used which could be a threat to your hair & skin. It will hire less talented employees or employees with no experience so that it can pay lower wages to them. Looking at the low prices, a lot of people will want to try out their services and getting an appointment will be difficult (if they do take appointments that is). Even after getting one, it might hurry up to make sure the next appointed customer is served on time. For instance, the stylist might just give you a haircut without washing your hair first. That said, the overall experience will be far less than satisfactory. - Changing salons every time
Salons respect customers who are loyal to them because they know that these customers are always going to come to them because they like the experience. Building a rapport with the salon staff is important and being a loyal customer gives you a lot of privileges such as after-hour service, a quick fix-up to make your previous haircut (done at the same salon) look prominent, an emergency service without an appointment etc. Some salons also provide discounts to their regular customers, and they ensure that they are given the best service.People make the mistake of going to a new salon every time as per which salon is currently offering the lowest price, which one is closest to where they stay, which has the least crowd so that their hair treatments get done quickly. Be aware that a salon is not going to respect you if you run to it to fix a cheap haircut done at another salon. It is not going to entertain you even if it’s an emergency. Building loyalty is very vital.
- Shortening salon time
When you make an appointment, make sure you ask the salon staff how much time the process might take, and keep an hour of buffer time at least. You don’t want the stylist to hurry up with your hair cut because you have to get to another place in the next hour. Your hair might get ruined in the process without it being his/her fault. Give enough time to your stylist to complete his/her job and to do it well. When you have enough time, you are also much relaxed and can talk to the stylist while he/she is working. This builds rapport as well as gives the stylist a better understanding of your likes/dislikes. - Not asking to see enough examples/photos of the salon’s work
Other than talking to your friends who’ve been to the salon about the salon’s quality of services, you should also ask the salon staff itself to show you photos of their customers with their respective hairstyles, to give you their website address so that you can go through testimonials by their customers. You also may want to browse through the feedback book and in case you don’t have any friends who’ve been there, you may want to try requesting them to connect you to a couple of their customers to get to know their experience. - Judging solely by the license
A good stylist possesses a diploma from a reputed school in addition to other course certificates. Ask to look for those if you must. Anyone can get a license and start styling but real talent requires skill, passion and experience. Only having a license does not suffice. Remember, anyone can bake a cake, but only a few can make it look & taste delicious!
So, the next time you choose a salon, look for:
Quality of Service: As mentioned before, quality comes first. Ask your friends, ask previous customers, go through testimonials/feedback books, find out if they give good customer service, if they take responsibility for their faults, if they give good after-service etc.
Cleanliness: A good salon is clean without doubt but there may be a few exceptions where proper sanitation & hygiene may be neglected. Avoid such places. A salon should look, feel and smell good.
Time & attention: Even if they do their job well, make sure they give you enough time and are attentive to what you have to say. It is important for a stylist to understand your needs well. A stylist needs to possess these ‘people’ skills to do full justice to his/her job.
Remember, a good salon doesn’t just give you a good haircut or a hairstyle, it leaves you with a great experience!
