| It's just about good service |
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| My Salon Drama |
| Thursday, 28 January 2010 11:07 |
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Photo credit: iStockphoto
Style bait-and-switch fuels client's resolve to be a change agentIf only stylists kept in mind what it is like to be a client, they would always remember to give great service.
Rolanda relocated from Miami to Atlanta for a new job. She left behind not only her family and friends, but also her favorite hairstylist.
She decided to find a new hairstylist like she found her new favorite coffee spot by walking around her new neighborhood. Two blocks away from her home, she found a salon to try. She walked in and asked the receptionist a few questions about the services offered. In Miami, Rolanda rocked the flat twists with ponytail hairstyle. The service menu included a flat twist with style.
"You can go down the block and buy some synthetic hair at a beauty supply store. Your stylist today, Latoya, should be ready to take you in about 30 minutes," the receptionist said as she motioned to the stylist at the first station finishing up a weave client.
Rolanda had already brought along some human hair that she wanted for her ponytail but thought maybe the stylist had a preference for twisting. She found the store, grabbed the hair, and quickly returned to the salon.
Upon her return, Rolanda saw that Latoya was still working with the same client. So, Rolanda quietly took a seat in the waiting area and started thinking about the other errands on her to-do list. The 30-minute wait stretched into a two-hour battle of nerves. She observed a few tense verbal exchanges between Latoya and her client. Rolanda wondered whether she walked in the wrong salon.
At the two-hour and 30-minute mark, Latoya finally motioned to Rolanda that she was ready for her. Sensing frustration on the part of her new client, Latoya said, "I apologize for the extra delay, but my client before you wanted me to do something different to her hair at the last minute." Latoya said apologetically. "What would you like done today?"
Although still a little put off by the extended wait, Rolanda decided to proceed since she had been cradling the hair in her lap for almost three hours. As Rolanda explained her desired style using hand gestures, Latoya nodded knowingly.
After washing and deep conditioning Rolanda's hair, Latoya began parting and twisting with her own interpretation using the purchased hair. Despite the fact that Rolanda explained that she wanted a ponytail, which would allow her hair to move, Latoya created a style that was in tight bun.
Latoya spun Rolanda around to the mirror to see her new style. Latoya beamed asking, "Do you like it?"
Looking in the mirror, Rolanda thought her hair looked cute, but the style had not totally hit the mark.
"It looks good, but it is a little different from what I expected coming from Miami," Rolanda admitted.
"I thought you said you wanted a flat twist with style," Latoya said with a hint of attitude.
Rolanda assumed that the display of frustration really emanated from Latoya's previous client. "Yes, but I thought you understood what I wanted for the ponytail, but this will work," Rolanda said, slowly easing out of the chair to look closely at herself in the mirror. Rolanda did not want to get into a debate about what she knew she said.
Rolanda took her ticket from the stylist and mustered up a fake smile. Latoya barely waited until Rolanda walked up to the front desk to pay before nudging one of her co-workers. "Those sistahs from Miami are something," Latoya said. "Could you believe that chic?"
Rolanda overheard this exchange and walked back over to her one-time stylist. "I did not complain about the style. I just said that this was not exactly what I requested," she asserted. "If you having a bad day there is no need to take it out on your clients." Before Rolanda left, she left one more nugget of truth, "It's just about good service."
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