Firing Clients: Should A Hairstylist Fire A Guest

Firing Clients: Should A Hairstylist Fire A Guest

Firing clients is a necessity when the guest/hairstylist relationship becomes toxic. When do you know it is time to fire a guest, and how do you go about it are what’s covered in this week’s Hair Police with Ask the Pro Stylist.

Happy Monday gorgeous, and welcome to Ask the Pro Stylist’s Hair Police column of the week! Sorry for the lapse in articles last week, I was intently focused on color certification for Paul Mitchell, and am happy to confirm I completed. So, now I am back to impart some sort of hair wisdom (LOL), and this week the focus is on firing clients after a future professional had to deal with a difficult guest.

Some of us have more patience than others, and sometimes money speaks louder than annoyance. However, sometimes the stress just isn’t worth it.

Hairstylists and guests oftentimes form long-lasting relationships. The union is important for both the stylist that wants to have a firm clientele, and the guest who has placed an intense amount of trust into the hands of the professional. But as in life, not all relationships are healthy.

Some people are just generally miserable, and won’t find satisfaction or happiness with anything or anyone. Some guests cause the professional a great deal of anxiety just thinking about servicing that client and the amount of stress that guest brings. Some guests never listen to our advice, consistently ruining their hair, expecting us to fix it, while others, take the “friendship” too far and delve deep into our personal lives, not taking silence or no for an answer when we want to keep things private. And the list goes on and on for the reasons why some stylists feel it is necessary to fire our guests. So, what’s the best way to go about firing guests?

The simplest, most passive aggressive way is to just say you are booked. Eventually, they will get the hint, and this avoids a difficult conversation. You could recommend someone outside of the salon you are in so as not to deal with the individual at all, or you could just be completely honest and say, “I’m sorry, I don’t feel I have the ability to give you what you need going further, but please let me recommend someone who I think is a better fit for you!”

Getting off the topic of firing clients, I chose the meme of Donald Trump, because he made the phrase popular with The Apprentice, not because I am a fan or plan to support him in his run for office. As a matter of fact, his bad hair is reason enough not to vote for him, but if you need a valid point, how about the venom that spews from his garbage trap of a mouth? This man should not represent this great country as our leader, president or commander-in-chief.