Drama at the salon

[Scrapper]

First post, yay me! I don't work right now so have no current stories, but this one definitely stood out!

My family and I all needed haircuts so we decided today was the best day, considering pictures with Santa and the kids are next week. Anyway, we got there and there was a bit of a wait so we settled in. Five minutes later, we hear this LOUD wailing and crying from a woman at the register with her husband and two children. Apparently they told the stylist that they wanted her to use a certain size clipper attachment for the top and a different one for the sides of her son's head, but they reversed the numbers so that the top would be really short with longer sides. She asked them if they were sure and they said yes, then when they saw the result they started freaking out telling her she has no business cutting hair, that she shouldn't be doing this, they are NOT paying! At this point hubby and I are holding both kids so they are nowhere near the commotion and the husband kept getting louder and louder. Finally another stylist told them if they can't quiet down that the police will be called.

We felt so bad for them! The stylist that did the cut fixed it the best she could, of course, but it wasn't her fault at all. She looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. When it was our turn she said, "If you're comfortable with me cutting your hair, I can take whoever is next."

The father will be calling the owner of the salon (he was ranting about that very thing) so I'm thinking I should make a call of my own or send a letter to the owner complimenting her staff on how well they handled the situation. Thoughts?

[Sedorna]

So, the hairdresser gives the "lady" the haircut she asks for and she complains? I really wish that still surprised me.

As for your question, by all means call or send the letter. SCs'll complain at the drop of a hat, but compliments...ah, they're far more rare and precious. It's also, IMHO, good to have a neutral third party say something in case the SC decides to embellish the truth a bit.

[Scrapper]

So, the hairdresser gives the "lady" the haircut she asks for and she complains? I really wish that still surprised me.

It was actually the lady's son that got the cut. I think he was maybe 7 or 8 years old? BTW, he was acting more mature than his parents! You could tell he was upset too, but it wasn't the scare-the-other-kids-in-the-room type of upset.

[powerboy]

Oh give them a call. It will do the hairdresser good.

[kibbles]

Just to be fair, the hairdresser should have explained what their hair would look like using these clipper sizes. Asking are you sure, really doesn't explain much. For me personally, I wouldn't know what the sizes or color codes meant unless the hair dresser specifically said, this will do this to your hair and so on.

The parents were way out of line and total SCs with the yelling and shouting since there is no need for that at all, but the salon does hold some responsibility IMO.

[Boozy]

Who the hell cares about what an 8 year old's hair looks like, anyway? These people need a massive dose of perspective.
This is not your son's medication.
This is not your son's food.
This is not your son's shelter.
This is not your son's education.
This is his HAIR.
They should sit back and take a minute to be grateful that they have the goddamn LUXURY of worrying about his hair. Millions of kids are not so lucky.

This is a bit of a downer (I hadn't planned it to be) but I think I'll post it anyway.

[kibbles]

First off, like I said before these two were major SC's and acted totally stupid and it was not called for at all. But, why is it deemed wrong lately to actually expect quality of services or products we purchase. No, it's not the most important thing and that's what this couple made it seem like, which was wrong. But sometimes it seems as if it is wrong to just expect quality anymore.

[LIW]

I'm SO glad I quit doing hair!!!! I still, five and a half years later, have nightmares about it.

[Boozy]

First off, like I said before these two were major SC's and acted totally stupid and it was not called for at all. But, why is it deemed wrong lately to actually expect quality of services or products we purchase. No, it's not the most important thing and that's what this couple made it seem like, which was wrong. But sometimes it seems as if it is wrong to just expect quality anymore.

I should have clarified that I actually very much agree with what you were saying in your first post. The hairdresser should have known that what the parents were asking for wasn't exactly what they THOUGHT they were asking for. I hate it when a hairdresser asks me to "build my own haircut". If I knew how to style my own hair, I wouldn't be here asking a professional to do it! The salon in this case is definitely at fault for the bad haircut.
My point was what you just said yourself - that the parents acted totally stupid and it wasn't called for. I can't help but think about the few times that I was yelled at when waitressing for screwing up someone's lunch order. Some people would get so enraged I'd worry they were going to have a heart attack. These people have to understand that life doesn't always go as planned. And if your lunch isn't absolutely perfect today, you'll get another crack at the bat tomorrow.

[Primer]

Apparently they told the stylist that they wanted her to use a certain size clipper attachment for the top and a different one for the sides of her son's head, but they reversed the numbers so that the top would be really short with longer sides.

The father will be calling the owner of the salon (he was ranting about that very thing) so I'm thinking I should make a call of my own or send a letter to the owner complimenting her staff on how well they handled the situation. Thoughts?

It sounds to me that the SC told the stylist what number attachment they wanted, not that they wanted a certain lenght, and let the stylist choose the proper attachment. Heck yes, call the owner and tell her what you witnessed! If somebody were to talk to me using the jargon of my trade, I'd assume they knew what they were talking about also. When the stylist asked if they were sure, they should have thought for a second to be sure they really were sure! uh huh...suuuure.....

[kibbles]

My point was what you just said yourself - that the parents acted totally stupid and it wasn't called for. I can't help but think about the few times that I was yelled at when waitressing for screwing up someone's lunch order.

LOL, we were agreeing and I didn't even know it, cool! Thanks for the reply

Kibbles

[Zombi]

I sort of don't know what to think here: maybe the hairdresser should have explained to them what would happen if she used that combination of clippers. That's what my hairdresser always does when I ask her to do something weird with my hair (but she's used to me ). Then again, it's usually easier for all concerned if you tell them what you want the final result to be, and let them decide how to do it.

Like when I got my undercut:
Hairdresser: "Now, you're absolutely sure?"
Me: "Yep!"
H: "Really? Absolutely!"
M: "Really sure!"
H: "OK then" *shaves* "Hey, this is fun!"
M: *spazzing, like dogs do when you scratch their bellies*

Undercuts are great, but it was too much work to maintain it.

Anyway, thread hijacked!

[AFpheonix]

Ah well. Nothing a set of #40 blades can't fix (those would be the blades you'd use to get a patch or hair cut down suitable enough to do surgery on, say if you were clipping a horse or a dog)