We asked a hairdresser, eyebrow artist and stylist how they’d like to be ‘broken up’ with
YOU’VE got two options: be upfront or avoid them. We asked a hairdresser, a personal stylist and an eyebrow artist about what you should do.
BREAKING up with your hairdresser is honestly just the worst.
You’ve got two options — be upfront about why you’re dissatisfied with their work or avoid the confrontation and never book another appointment. It’s a lose-lose situation.
If you confront them, you have to explain to their face how they screwed up. If you don’t, you risk running into them and having to awkwardly explain who is responsible for your fabulous new locks.
But how do the people we’re breaking up with feel about all this? And do they even care?
We asked three professionals — a hairdresser, a personal stylist and an eyebrow artist — to dish the dirt.
THE HAIRDRESSER: Anthony Nader, owner of Raw by Anthony Nader in Sydney
Q: How do you deal with negative feedback?
A: “There’s no point in getting angry about it. Years ago I used to really torture myself over what went wrong, but over time you just have to not overthink it and let it go. It comes with experience. I want everyone who sits in my chair to have a wonderful experience and to walk out feeling incredible.”
Q: How would you prefer a client end their professional relationship with you? Do you prefer to have it out, or to be ghosted?
A: “I just think you need to be a grown up about it and be upfront.”
Q: How do you deal with bumping into former clients in public?
A: “I think it’s really uncomfortable for both parties to ignore it. Maybe it’s because I’m from a really small town with a population of 3000, so I would see eventually those old clients at some point. If I ran into them in the supermarket, I would be the first one to say ‘Hey, you know what? It’s really cool and let’s be friends. And I think your hair looks great’. I don’t ever take vengeance.”
Q: Have you ever broken up with a client?
A: “The main thing that happens is the client wants to look like a celebrity. If they want a certain fringe that is not going to suit their face shape, I’m not going to do that because it’s my reputation on the line and it’s not going to look good.
“A client goes to a hairdresser or a salon for their expertise. They should trust that hairstylist to recommend and to execute what is going to suit them.
“If they want to go ahead with that hairstyle, I’ll say with a friendly smile ‘You know what? I don’t think I’m you’re man. I wish you the best of luck and take care’. Life’s too short to have a bad haircut or bad colour.”
THE PERSONAL STYLIST: Sally Mackinnon, owner of Styled by Sally in Melbourne
Q: How would you prefer a client end their professional relationship with you? Do you prefer to have it out, or to be ghosted?
A: “It happened to me recently actually. I’ve been working with someone for a good four years. She wasn’t one of my easy going clients, she was quite needy. When she called to make an appointment it was like ‘Oh, here we go’.
“One season came and went and I didn’t hear from her. That sometimes happens. People go away on holidays or they forget. But then I didn’t hear from her the following season.
“I sent her an email just to check in and see how she was and she said ‘Thank you so much for following up, but I’ve started seeing another stylist’. I was like ‘Oh, that’s a bit disappointing’. It’s not a nice feeling.”
Q: How did you deal with that negative feedback?
A: “My instinct was so take it quite personally. Professionally, it make me think about myself. Then you start overanalysing things that happened and going through every interaction in your head. But it made me reflect on the way I worked and maybe I needed a kick up the bum.
“What I do is very personal. You’re spending hours with someone and you get to know them, their families. Clients are in quite a vulnerable situation. They’re inviting a stranger into your home to pass judgment on their clothing. You form a connection.
“I’m just about to go shopping with a client who comes down to Melbourne from Wagga Wagga twice a year and I’ve been working with her for nine years. We’ve aged together.”
THE BEAUTICIAN: Sharon-Lee Clarke, owner of Sharon-Lee Brows in Sydney
Q: How do you deal with negative feedback?
A: “I don’t take offence to it, because it’s such a personal service and you’re dealing with people’s heads. The service that we’re providing is quite interactive and often people will just prefer a particular personality. They might prefer a male over a female. It’s not personal. It doesn’t have to be. In some instances it is, but it’s a fickle thing.”
Q: How would you prefer a client end their professional relationship with you? Do you prefer to have it out, or to be ghosted?
A: “We’d much rather have the client continue with us. No business owner prefers not to know if something’s wrong, because everybody wants the opportunity to rectify the situation. We can only fix what we’re told about.
“For instance, a few weeks ago a woman who has been a client for forever came in for a lash service and after her appointment she pulled me aside. She said the result was amazing but one of our girls had long nails and was accidentally pinching her eyelids. She said ‘It’s just I’ve been with other girls and not had that. That girl’s nails were a little bit longer.’
“I’d be more upset if I found out she was going somewhere else because of that girl, whereas we were able to have that fixed in five minutes. The girl went and had her nailed filed down.
“If somebody has bad breath or whatever, these are things that are hard to say, but as a business owner you want to be able to deal with it. Always be open about it. I just think it’s much better than feeling you have to duck and weave and cringe.”
Q: Have you ever broken up with a client?
A: “I’ve been in business now for 25 years and I’ve broken up with nine clients in total over that period of time. It’s been because there have been difficult circumstances because we work in a really open forum. If we have clients who are really disruptive, I’d just rather not have them there. All but one have gone elsewhere, have tried to have them done and have had bad experiences and then pleaded to come back.
“Just recently this lady came in with quite wiry, almost John Howard-style eyebrows. I’d explained to her how much of a change it was going to be. We had to pluck them and lighten them and I told her it would take her two days to get used to them. As soon as we finished them she said she hated them and she asked for a refund. I said to her ‘I promise in two day’s time you’ll love them’. She said ‘No no, I’m appalled. I want my money back’.
“I said to the receptionist, ‘Give her her money back, but I will never service you again’. It was about how she conducted herself. The following day, my booking manager had said ‘She’s called twice, she’d like to speak to you’, but I refused to call her back.
“She called again and I wouldn’t take her call. Three days later she walks into the store with cash and she insisted on giving us the money back and she was really apologetic. She said ‘I want to book again’. They always come back.”
rebecca.sullivan@news.com.au
