Hair Extensions How To

Earlier this week a successful salon owner asked me this question:

“I was wondering what your opinion is of cancellation charges for missed appointments?

On one hand charge them (even if they cancel/not turn up reasonably regularly) and they will probably not come back and you risk the lifetime profit from that client.

On the other hand don’t charge them and they are allowed to not respect your time (which is a bit of a personal raw nerve of mine) and they have no incentive to respect your time and business next time they are ‘asked to work late’.

I bet you would suggest ‘find clients who respect your time in future’… however I find in the recession customers are starting to take more of the ….as they now feel they have the upper hand over businesses as we should be desperate for their custom. What is your take on it?” Great question! A real challenge. And just like lady, this can drive me nuts – it can feel like a constant battle between wanting (sometimes needing) the business and yet not ending up like a ‘door mat’ being trampled on by time-wasters and people with less integrity than a ‘losing’ politican. Yet, it NEVER, EVER happens to me (and I’ll tell you why in a bit)…

But, today, I’m going to give you some REAL techniques you can use to dramatically reduce ‘no-shows’ AND increase client ‘compliance’.First off we’ll cover a few actions you can take. THEN, I’ll cover the way to stop it happening forever (or pretty much). Here we go (this is a kind of menu of things to try – I’ll flag up my favourites):

Whatever policy you choose here are a few things you MUST DO:

And FIRE YOUR CLIENTS If clients consistently abuse your policy then your response is simple. You SHOULD FIRE THEM. Say something like:

“Mrs Bloggs, I value your custom, you’ve spent a lot of money with me – which is nice. But I cannot afford for you to keep not showing up for appointments. So, I’m afraid if that happens once more then I recommend you find another salon or spa to serve you…” Following that – you’ll usually find they are never late again.

Here’s the ULTIMATE NO SHOW STOPPER And this is what I do (and I eluded to it earlier). Most salon and spa owners are so ‘desperate’ to attract and please clients that they kind of ‘roll-over’ and take anything their clients throw at them. This is a very ‘weak’ position. Instead you need to craft a position of POWER. Where clients HUNT you OUT. Are DESPERATE for you to serve them. Want YOU and NOBODY else. And in turn are so pleased to get an appointment wouldn’t miss it for the world. How do you create this position? Through marketing. Consider this.

And the answer is of course… The first 4 actions I listed at the top of this artice (take deposits etc) to combat no-shows and lateness are really ‘reactions to the problem’. 

A MUCH better way to solve the problem is to NEVER have it in the first place. 

And that comes through the ‘POWER POSITIONING’ I speak of above. And that comes through

MARKETING.  Marketing that positions your salon/spa head and shoulders above the competition as THE place people talk about and the ONLY place you clients and prospects want to go…

Good luck! Henry Baker.

Copyright Magnetic Salons 2009

Earlier this week a successful salon owner asked me this question:

“I was wondering what your opinion is of cancellation charges for missed appointments?

On one hand charge them (even if they cancel/not turn up reasonably regularly) and they will probably not come back and you risk the lifetime profit from that client.

On the other hand don’t charge them and they are allowed to not respect your time (which is a bit of a personal raw nerve of mine) and they have no incentive to respect your time and business next time they are ‘asked to work late’.

I bet you would suggest ‘find clients who respect your time in future’… however I find in the recession customers are starting to take more of the ….as they now feel they have the upper hand over businesses as we should be desperate for their custom. What is your take on it?” Great question! A real challenge. And just like lady, this can drive me nuts – it can feel like a constant battle between wanting (sometimes needing) the business and yet not ending up like a ‘door mat’ being trampled on by time-wasters and people with less integrity than a ‘losing’ politican. Yet, it NEVER, EVER happens to me (and I’ll tell you why in a bit)…

But, today, I’m going to give you some REAL techniques you can use to dramatically reduce ‘no-shows’ AND increase client ‘compliance’.First off we’ll cover a few actions you can take. THEN, I’ll cover the way to stop it happening forever (or pretty much). Here we go (this is a kind of menu of things to try – I’ll flag up my favourites):

Whatever policy you choose here are a few things you MUST DO:

And FIRE YOUR CLIENTS If clients consistently abuse your policy then your response is simple. You SHOULD FIRE THEM. Say something like:

“Mrs Bloggs, I value your custom, you’ve spent a lot of money with me – which is nice. But I cannot afford for you to keep not showing up for appointments. So, I’m afraid if that happens once more then I recommend you find another salon or spa to serve you…” Following that – you’ll usually find they are never late again.

Here’s the ULTIMATE NO SHOW STOPPER And this is what I do (and I eluded to it earlier). Most salon and spa owners are so ‘desperate’ to attract and please clients that they kind of ‘roll-over’ and take anything their clients throw at them. This is a very ‘weak’ position. Instead you need to craft a position of POWER. Where clients HUNT you OUT. Are DESPERATE for you to serve them. Want YOU and NOBODY else. And in turn are so pleased to get an appointment wouldn’t miss it for the world. How do you create this position? Through marketing. Consider this.

And the answer is of course… The first 4 actions I listed at the top of this artice (take deposits etc) to combat no-shows and lateness are really ‘reactions to the problem’. 

A MUCH better way to solve the problem is to NEVER have it in the first place. 

And that comes through the ‘POWER POSITIONING’ I speak of above. And that comes through

MARKETING.  Marketing that positions your salon/spa head and shoulders above the competition as THE place people talk about and the ONLY place you clients and prospects want to go…

Good luck! Henry Baker.

Copyright Magnetic Salons 2009

Are you one of those wishing for the ultimate salon experience? Somebody who has kept her long hippy hair for decades and just dying to finally chop it off in favor of some new and trendy do? Why not release your inhibitions and just make that trip to the salon and having yourself dolled up with an edgier cut done by professionals with hair thinning scissors?
Whether its a shag or layered or fringed this thinning hair shears will do just the trick to give you the look that you want to achieve. Want to try a style that is truly different. Try an emo-style cut with these tips from Brooke Hayles.
Typical Emo haircuts are characterized by asymmetrical lines, bold highlights and jet black hair. Emos don’t move with the herd and their haircuts are simply an extension of this belief. In most cases, Emo haircuts are one of a kind experiments and not the type that you can get at an ordinary salon. In fact, it is perfectly acceptable to create your own Emo style with a pair of scissors, razor and dye.
There are is no set technique to an Emo-cut. It maybe described as more of a personal art-form, an expression of one’s deepest emotions. In other words, any style can pass off as an Emo hairstyle as long as it doesn’t look like one of those “dos” that you might wear to a prom or a club.
Both Emo men and women dye their hair jet black and the bolder the effect, the better. You don’t have to worry about the dye looking unnatural and can even shade the edges with frosted highlights, blue or purple.
However in her article Best Celebrity Hairstyles for Your Face – Part 3 of 6, Periann Rodriguez warns that in order for us to pull of a great, new hairstyle aided by a professional hair scissors, we ought to look into the following queries.
1. What aspect of your hair would you like to enhance? (i.e. texture, volume, wave, length, color) These aspects have an important role in fine-tuning the hair style that best suits you.)
2. How much time do you spend styling your hair every day? If you get a hair style that requires more styling time, will you be able (and willing) to put in the time?
3. Are you good at dealing with your hair, or do you struggle with getting it to do certain things? If you struggle with your hair, you would not want to pick a high maintenance hair, i.e. lots of layering, curls as they will require extra work.
4. Are you more comfortable with long or short styles? Sometimes we see a fantastic celebrity short hair style and desperately want the look. Remember that once you cut the hair off, it will take a long time to grow back. Of course there are hair extensions!
5. How often do you shampoo/condition your hair? Referring to hair extensions above, if you want long, beautiful hair with hair extensions, be aware of the extra time needed to shampoo/condition your hair. And every time you shampoo/condition your hair, you will be re-styling it.
6. Is your hair extremely dry or oily? Very dry hair may not hold up to constant flat ironing, curling irons, etc. If you need these appliances to create your celebrity hair style, be sure to deep-condition your hair regularly to combat the dryness. Extremely oily hair may not hold a curl, and will definitely cause issues with many hair extension methods. Be realistic about what you can do with your hair.
7. Are you experiencing any type of unnatural hair loss? Hair loss can be camouflaged by your hair style. Don’t pick a hair style that will accentuate your hair loss or thinning. Be sure to look into various hair loss treatments. If caught early, many hair loss situations can be reversed or at least halted.
8. Do you have any cowlicks or a natural and persistent part? No matter what hair style you get, you will need to consider these issues. Adapt the hair style you are looking for to accommodate any imperfections in your hair.
9. You have picked a celebrity hair style that you want. Do you know what the styling requirements are to get your hair to look like that every day?