After a long day in the salon, it’s less than ideal when a client makes a complaint during their hair appointment. Complaints can significantly knock your confidence, and like in any work environment, you’re entitled to vent about a situation to your colleagues.
However, it seems some stylists have taken their venting to the next level with over 424 million views for #SalonFromHell, 157 million views for #KarenSalon, and 129 million views for #SalonKaren on TikTok.
The TikTok trend sees hair stylists mocking customers for an array of common complaints, such as high prices or issues with their cut or colour.
Alice Dawkins, of leading hair extension supplier Milk + Blush, discusses why this trend could cost you business, and shares advice on maintaining professionalism in difficult situations.
What’s Wrong With This Trend?
Putting your clients on blast might be a way to gain a few extra followers, but it’s not a constructive way to convert those followers into clients.
Salons should use social media to paint their employees and services in the best possible light by showing off their skills and achievements. Complaining about customers on an online platform not only looks unprofessional, but it highlights all sorts of issues and mistakes that can be resolved privately – discouraging new people from booking appointments.
Meanwhile, publicly outing your customers for likes could be seen as a breach of trust and goes against client-stylist confidentiality. It could also be seen libellous if it identifies a single customer, which could prove costly in the event of a legal action.
So, what are the best ways to tackle customer complaints?
Listen and Respond Carefully
Regardless of the customer complaint, it’s crucial you listen.
If it’s an in-person complaint, let them explain what’s wrong without any interruptions to ensure you understand the issue in its entirety. Repeat the complaint to them and ask any additional questions you feel might help you find a suitable solution.
If it’s online, try and respond as quickly as possible, thank them for their feedback, apologise for any inconvenience or distress caused, and offer a solution. Refrain from using defensive language, as that is often mistaken for aggression.
Keep Verbal and Body Language Calm
No matter what your thoughts are about the complaint, remember to lead with empathy and remember that the customer is always right.
Exhibit calmness through your word selection and speech volume, and steer clear of hand gestures or raised shoulders that suggest confrontation.
Keeping this is mind will allow you to avoid aggravating the customer further and allow you both to come to an agreement on the best next steps that may encourage them to return.
Establish a Complaints Policy
Salon owners should supply a policy document outlining the procedure to follow if a complaint arises to ensure they are ahead of the game and stylists have a guideline to refer to.
This document should be easy to find by the public and staff, and should outline legal rights, the policy aim, ways to make a complaint, and the process to follow.
Having this in place will ensure all parties know how best to respond, protecting your salon and staff’s reputation while ensuring all clients get fair treatment.
Come Up with Effective Solutions
Rather than moaning about clients, salon staff should be coming up with effective ways to fix their problems.
Create a guidebook and offer training to educate everyone about ways to tackle different issues. For example, if someone is unhappy with their haircut or colour, offer to fix it, and if you can’t, give them some of their money back or a discount on the next treatment. Make sure your customer has plenty of choices and remember that what you offer will likely differ depending on the severity of the situation.
While each complaint should be dealt with individually, regularly updating the guidebook and sharing case studies within the salon environment will allow employees to learn best practices and learn from each other’s mistakes.
