how to deal with negative reviews & refund requests | hairstylists business tips

how to deal with negative reviews & refund requests | hairstylists business tips

We’ve been taught the customer is always right and that can make handling a refund request extremely difficult. Dawn Bradley is no stranger to refund requests and difficult clients as a stylist behind the chair. She’s sharing her tips on how to deal with negative reviews and refund requests. This post is perfect for stylists, salon owners, booth renters and any beauty professional who deals with customer service.

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[justinbrown]

This was a good post. I’m in the photo booth industry and I have a client requesting a refund and I’m definitely using the advice “what do you think is fair” response. Thank you.

[Iammiarocky]

Yes its very difficult, but i feel like its not fair when a client is cheap and want refund and talk down on my work but i know i did a good job im a nail tech for 6-7 years these scammers need to be stopped i feel like they just want to take advantage of kindness of people, its very frustrating

[soots-stayingoutofthespotl]

This is interesting because I had a bad experience as a new customer earlier this year but can't let it go in my head, although I never did anything about it. Why? It's a combination of things: the salon is a shared space so the stylist in question isn't actually employed by the company/ owner (who works there herself), and I was e-mailed disclaimer-upon-disclaimer just before the actual appointment about how *the salon* isn't responsible for any problems, so don't go dissing them online etc. That was actually quite disconcerting, but as a result I feel that I would just get fobbed-off if I were to call the owner, or not really listened-to because she/ they are effectively making excuses before you've even walked through the door. And the salon itself is barely big enough to swing a cat in, despite having three-or-four chairs, so there's no real space away from all the "non-employees" to talk things over with the owner if I were to just go in.

I'm not after a refund really, but when a professional stylist is using a salon's name and social media channels to basically tell people that she is a very experienced artist who's worked all over the place and done it all, it grates when they can't even cut hair properly, cutting it way shorter than discussed at the consultation, leaving it totally uneven, and in worse condition than when I walked in. I mean, I went to another salon straight away and the stylist there said: 'What are these (dangly bits at the sides) all about?' 'I don't know, ' was my reply, 'I certainly didn't ask for that'. From what I can tell, the owner of the salon in question seems really nice and I'm not really into slinging mud online despite being a journalist in a former life; but if people in my position do nothing at all, then other potential customers will think it's an amazing place to go to. It was far from that for me though.

In fairness, the stylist in question does seem to be able to do great-looking balayage after balayage, but I'm a guy with medium-length hair, not a female with longer hair, which in my layman's thinking is easier to cut (the latter) partly due to the stylist not having shape it at ear-level/ taper the sides etc etc due to the length. And not to be disrespectful to an entire trade, but it seems to me that most stylists these days can do a pretty good job with balayage and colouring, so I don't think that's anything to sing about compared to how things were ten years ago. Of course there will always be those professionals that stand-out, but I hope you get my point, even if I'd better stop short of suggesting that 'anyone can do it'.

Now, before anyone suggests that I should have contacted the individual stylist, I did do that tentatively to give her another chance after leaving it a few months for my hair to grow out. I didn't say anything at that point, but after presumptively replying: 'I'm glad you loved your cut', she claimed that she hasn't got time to do men's hair now, despite it still being a bookable option. So, I'm not sure if it's true that she's stopped doing guys and it's just an oversight online, or if she realised that she'd messed-up my hair and can't be bothered to sort it out moving forward. Or perhaps she outright lied just to get rid of me because I'm not a cool-enough dude for such a talented "artist" to spend their time on? And yes, that IS sarcasm.

Of course, it could be that doing men's hair isn't anywhere near as lucrative as doing women's hair, but I have a feeling that it's actually illegal in the UK for salons to discriminate against either men or woman by witholding services, even if that's not commonly-known info. I've only just found that information out BTW, and I make that particular point because I'm keen to paint myself as a guy who just wants a decent cut, not a troublemaker. In other words, I was polite and not overly-demanding at the consultation (when the sylist talked a good game) and also during the appointment, so it's not like I was a nightmare client from the off.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear what stylists/ salon owners or members of the public think I should have done in this scenario, if anything at all. Obviously I've moved-on in terms of finding a new salon, but frankly that isn't exactly an easy thing to do, mainly because no-one seems to be regularly doing medium men's cuts whenever I've looked online to try and find a new hairdresser over the past few years; it's all about women's balayage or men's fade cuts at the dozens and dozens of salons within a 10-or-15 mile radius from my home. I was going to say flippantly: 'How hard can it be to cut men's hair that isn't short?', but clearly the answer isn't straghtforward!

[kristenlandon]

I’m definitely trying that “What do you think would be fair?” Thanks bunches!  ❤️

[brittneym]

This was a fantastic raw video . Thank you for all you do Dawn.
I almost had a scenario to ask a client the " What do you think would be fair" question. However it was the clients mom who sees my co worker who had spoken to Co worker about wanting refund (a little complicated) so I wasn't able to try it out.
But I definitely will be in the future. It has helped me feel very calm about situations. You are awesome for sharing this!

[thecuriousstylist]

I can say from taking her" Rock Your Business" program. It is an amazing course I highly recommend it! If you have any questions just ask! I am making much better money since taking this course

[o]

Thank you so much for sharing 🙏 I so needed this ✨

[miaajanine]

Thank you so much for this video. Exactly what I needed today especially the part where you take time to get out what you wish you could say 😂

[dawnbradley]

Did these tips help? Do you feel more confident about handling your next refund request or difficult customer?