Games Stylists Play

The state our our economy is bleak. President Obama is working his hand to change things around. Companies and businesses are struggling to gain and maintain their momentum. To keep themselves in the game they are using the art of vying to make their business boom. They are using all kinds of gimmicks to get customers in their doors with hopes of them spending big bucks. As a consumer and business owner, trust me their are a lot of them out there. Of all the gimmicks they can come up with, none of them will work or will be as effective as good old fashioned Customer Service.

Because so many humans refuse to consistently be polite, punctual, reliable and friendly; some companies have replaced humans with machines, automated this, touch screen that, self service here, self check out there and of course the now famous, "press pound." to offset humans who will not effectively and happily do what they are paid to do. While those may be nice options for other companies and businesses, replacing hairstylists and salon services with automation is not an option in the cosmetology industry. "Human" customer service is our art of vying to get customers to patronize us.

Yes our industry wants gain and maintain in this economy as well. Yet, for some odd reason, according to polls, opinions and complaints; customer service in the cosmetology is at an all time low. Customers feel that because some hair stylists/salons know they can not all together be replaced with automation, they continue to be tardy, un-knowledgeable, unkempt  and rude. In other words, they see the game. Replacing a hairstylist with a machine is highly unlikely, therefore, all a customer can do is complain and switch hairstylists/salons.

Let us examine some popular complaints. These complaints could all together be avoided or remedied with great customer service to prevent loss of customers, credibility and profit for the beauty industry.

Waiting, cutting too much off, the wrong color and unkempt hair stylists/salons are the most common complaints customers have about hair salons. Remember things have changed. In an era of Do-It-Yourself, the cosmetology industry needs to beware. For example, remember bank tellers, customer service representatives, laborers and full serve? All replaced via some form of automation or do-it-yourself super stores.

Customers value customer service! Get it? Who would of thunk it? I am most certain that every hair stylist is a customer of some sort. So I propose the question, "What is more annoying on the receiving end or giving end than waiting?" Customer service does not start with a "c." No sir-ree. It starts with promptness. Waiting gives way into too much of what is happening and what is not happening in the mind of a hair stylist/salon. Waiting implies lack of preparation. Customers conclude that when they are made to wait, you are not ready for their dollars and their time is not important. Customers also conclude that time management is no where in the practice of customer satisfaction on behalf of the hair stylist/salon who makes them wait. That irritant can be remedied with a pre-booked service.

Cutting off too much hair is like cutting off too much fabric when hemming a pair of trousers. There is absolutely no way to re-attach the material you cut off. Honesty, listening and a mirror eliminates this pet peeve instantly. When a customer comes to the salon and request a hair cut, honesty is the best policy. There is nothing wrong with admitting you do not know how to do something. Look at this way; a burger can be prepared well done, medium or rare. Right? Yet, when you go to Wendy's, there is only one way they will prepare it, well done. If a customer prefers a rare burger, they have to go to another restaurant. Is Wendy's at a loss? Of course not. They are sticking to what they do best. Whenever faced with a service that you do not feel comfortable doing, or do not know how to do it; borrow some customer service skills from Wendy's. Be honest, tell them you can not do it; thus giving the chance to go some place else. Customers appreciate honesty.

Hair coloring and chemical straightening services are the equivalent of plastic surgery. Chemical services like plastic surgeries are best done by experts to ensure best results. Though most hair stylists and salons do not display certificates received to verify their level expertise; like plastic surgeons, they do have photos! Ask to see them. Most hair stylists/salons have photo books, websites, Facebook page or some sort of stock of photos for you to see their work. Customers gauge the reputation, availability of the hair stylist and cost to determine how good or how horrible the hair stylist might be. "At Your Own Risk," is the mantra of those who receive those services without a consultation, a price list and some sort of guarantee. If ever there was a time to practice the art of "discriminating taste," now would be it when it comes to selecting a colorist.

Last but not least, the unkempt professional hair stylist/salon. Is that not an oxymoron? If image is everything and first impressions are everlasting, the best a hair stylist/salon can do to ensure great customer service is to look nice and be clean. I read Donald Trump's the "The Art of the Deal." He credits showing immaculate property as the most consistent thing he did that contributed to his extreme success in real estate. He said he did not always have property in illustrious communities, he did not always have sprawling mansions and fancy tall sky scrapers to sell. Nope, but he did always have clean and neat properties to sell. Obviously a billionaire later, that works! Though all hairstylists/salons do not aspire to ascertain Donald Trump status in their business, no one is at a lost for being on top of their "A" game when it comes to image. Customer love patronizing beautiful attractive hairstylists/salons. After all, we are in the beauty industry.

Hairstylists/salons are well aware of what it truly takes to satisfy customers. McDonalds etched out a place for a way of eating out in a food industry that was established for sitting down in the likes of Emeril, Moxi and Lola's. They snobbed fine dining. They made a billion dollar universal business on "fast food." McDonalds may not prepare food with the finest ingredients, their food may not be prepared by renowned chefs or served in the fanciest environments, but you have to admit they have done something phenomenal to the food industry. In addition, they are clean, their employees are uniformed, their service is prompt, and they the kings of "fast" food. So with that, a hairstylist/salon do not have to be in the SOHO Districts of the world, they do not have to service Hollywood's and Milan's elite nor do they have to be clothed with the latest by Prada, but they do have to have an image that compliments their customer service.

Customers are vital to what we put into how we want to serve them. They are the reason and motivation for why we want to do what we do in the first place. To pretend as if the experience of calling, browsing or walking into your business is not as important as the product or service that is being sold is a bad game to play. Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley's are in the business of making, designing, creating and selling games, but they have no game when in comes to customer service and customer satisfaction.

We have to take pride and practice reverence to everyone who calls, walks in, browse or patronizes our business. Eliminate hubris from your repertoire'. Customers know the rules of the game in our business. Customers know the rules of the game to being a customer as well. So the next time a customer sits in your chair, play fair. Be prompt, be knowledgeable, dress for success, have your salon clean and be nice.  While game peeps game. Keep in mind, good game peeps all game.


5000 G

Lose the Race

So here you stand in front of the mirror. Your hair is a mess. It is thick, wavy, curly or wait, is it kinky? At least that is what your mother told you. It is difficult to comb. You search through your drawer and under the cabinets looking at your arsenal of hair care products and tools. You say to yourself, “I must have spent well into a thousand bucks and I still can’t do my hair.” You are not in the mood to drive somewhere to have someone do your hair, let alone sit to wait and have it done. So off you go, back to the beauty supply store. Upon entrance the first image you see are the products for the “Whites”. Their isles are bright with hues of green, yellow, maroon, orange and the likes. The photos are of different textures. The information is so specific. But those images do not look like you.  “Hmmm,” you sigh. Off to the “Ethnic” isle. How confusing. The only images you see are relaxed straight hair or coiled to perfection curls. The photos of all the models seem to have an undertone of the infamous “brown paper bag” test. The information on every bottle reads, “For women of color.” “Hmmm,” you sigh again and your search for hair care according to your race continues.

While my scenario may seem a bit off center for some, it definitely centers for others. The problem with the above mentioned scenario is not the challenge of caring for textured hair, but the whole segregation of hair care products. As a cosmetologist, I just do not technically see the importance of race in hair care. Why? Because race has about as much to do with hair care as it does to dental care. Most people of every race have teeth. Granted, there may be a set of unique characteristics that are common for varying races. Yet for the most part, regardless of your race, teeth are the focus. So, when the dentist begins to exam you or work on your teeth, I doubt your ethnicity is important. I doubt your dentist has special toothpaste for Latino teeth. I also highly doubt he has dental floss and Novocain for Russians. No sir-ree! That dentist has products and dental instruments that can be used on anyone of any race who have teeth, even if they are artificial.

Race needs to be removed from hair care. The advertisement should always be on the hair itself. Nothing is more heart wrenching than servicing a person who has horror stories of how poorly they are treated because of their hair or their loved one’s hair.

To show the hair care companies, salons, barbershops, spas, hairstylists and barbers you mean business, make it a point to only do business with businesses who emphasize hair. It is very important to use visuals when trying to sell a product to someone. However, when that advertisement and marketing strategy lends itself to stereotypes and pigeon holing people…I do not think that is suitable or user friendly to the consumers.

The days of buying hair care products based on race has to come to a screech and halt. Companies who use images to sell their products do not last long and end up with a “bad” reputation at the end of their stint. Ultra Sheen, L’Anza, Biolage and Prell are a few companies that come to mind as I refer to the consequence of using race to sell a product. Those hair care companies probably thought they would be around till the end of time. I am sure they were surprised to see such a big drop in their sales and demand as time went on. CEO’s and trend experts have blamed recession, diversion and competition as the reason for such drastic decreases in sales. In the infamous words of my favorite Flinstone character Barney Rubble, “A likely story!”

Remember the era of “Buyer Beware?” Well this is the era of “Companies Beware.” Consumers are smarter, more confident, and more knowledgeable and they are exposed to so much more information. If you want to win the hearts, loyalty, money of hair care consumers and get your piece of the billion dollar ever growing industry, I suggest you give me a call at 216-321-1101 oh and of course…loose the “race” in the marketing and advertising strategy in selling your goods.

5000 G

Customer's Know Best

Upon making the decision to merge my previous career of Social Work with Cosmetology, I questioned if I would be truly successful. I had three major doubts. The first doubt was would someone actually patronize me, the second was my limited hair styling skills and the third was could I make enough money to maintain my standard of living.


To ease my doubts, I began an intense process of researching everything I could about the Cosmetology industry. The research eased my doubts. There were endless possibilities. There were many possibilities for me to build a consistent clientele, continue my education, training and achieve excellent income earning potential.  Though the Cosmetology School I attended taught me a lot; it did not teach me half of what my research revealed. So, I was not all the way at ease. Yet, I pressed on full steam ahead with excitement to bring something new to the world of Cosmetology.


One of the first things that shocked me about growing into my new career was the equal level of excitement from potential customers being flattered and overjoyed at being serviced by a Cosmetologist who was punctual, honest, charismatic and educated with a smile on her face. I can recall people asking me did I have my Doctorate in Cosmetology! Now that was funny. I was amazed that the last "thing" they were concerned about was the actual hair style and it's cost. The first time I worked a full 8 hour day, I laughed at the amount of money I made. I even went as far as to look over my shoulder, laughed to myself and jokingly asked God, "Is this legal?"

My career excelled so fast, I did not realize the vast amount of success even as it glared me in my face. Yet, I still questioned the validity and longevity of it all. So, I peered a bit more. This time I decided to solicit the help of the customers. Let me tell ya, I was floored at what was being disclosed to me. On a few occasions, I contemplated calling the "Hot line." Only to realize, "Fool, this is not social work." Exactly what was being disclosed to me? Women, teens and children from all walks of life, nationality and so on were basically telling me stories of how horribly they were being treated by their professional Cosmetologist. 99.9% of every customer I serviced never had a consultation that included  a questionnaire, an analysis of their hair and scalp or told in ADVANCE what the cost would be. After so many horror stories, my social worker came out. I thought to myself, "something must be going on with this group of professionals." So, I looked in my DSM IV and there was no diagnosis (it's a social worker thang...you wouldn't understand...lol!) for such behaviors.


Day after day,  customer after customer; they were disclosing to me their fear, embarrassment, emotional and psychological abuse inflicted on them by their licensed Cosmetologist. Since I could only be a sounding ear that would actually listen to them, I decided I would label those unwanted and unprofessional practices as the "Hair Stylist Oppositional Defiant " disorder. What is that? Basically, it is defined as a very moody, mean, fake, disrespectful, self absorbed, habitually late, over the counter purchasing, only CEU (Continuing Education Units) getting, attitude of been there seen that, you better not go to another hair stylist threatening, weed smelling, telling bar hopping stories, disclosing too much hanky panky, cocaine snorting, switching salons to work at every 1-5 years, disrespecting the salon owner, degrading and gossiping about their booth renters/employees, don't know any of the Ohio State Board rules, half sanitizing, working in a dirty or uberly clean salon, thinking that having their salon in a suburb is better than ones in the city, snobbing city salons, spreading eagle/crawling across the advertisement and don't know they are being exploited and their kids are embarrassed of them, never have their hair combed, never wearing their own hair, never applying the relaxer correctly, bleaching/highlighting the hair too often, round brushing the customer's hair off their head, re-using processing caps, not sweeping up the hair after they have provided a hair cutting service, cutting too much hair off, getting upset when the customer is upset that the hair stylist cut off too much of their hair or/and over processed their hair, using too much glue, never teaching their customers what to do when they leave the salon, intimidating their customer into never telling them that they honestly do not like the hair style the hair stylist just gave them, not answering their cell phone, referring to their customers as the "one o'clock is here," referring to the new cosmetologist as the "assistant or shampoo girl" knowing damn well the State of Ohio license us all the same,  never or half giving back to the community, charging too much just because they have been, excuse me, "in the game for a long time," charging what every body else is charging, limited English speaking LICENSED by the State of Ohio Cosmetologist.

While the "Hair Stylist Oppositional Defiant" disorder is not recognized by the psychology profession; trust and believe it is very real. To think that the extreme success of my career actually lies in my abilities to have a standard of exceptional customer service, fair pricing and honesty kinda makes me say, "Ooooh mother was right again." You remember the childhood golden rule, "honesty is the best policy." When I received my license from the state, I was intimidated and afraid because I was much older. I had very little hair styling skills, dressed way too something and had only been inside a salon twice in my life prior to becoming one. Another childhood golden rule comes to mind, "nothing to fear but fear itself." So, I rolled my sleeves up, jumped and "the net" actually appeared!

If you are a customer and your Cosmetologist displays 3 or more of those behaviors listed above, speak to your stylist in private. This will give them a chance to do a check up from the neck up. If you do not see a change in two weeks, try another hair stylist. If  you are a Cosmetologist reading this and you can relate to 3 or more of those behaviors defined in the "Hair Stylist Oppositional Defiant Disorder," you are not alone. Remember, "nothing to fear but fear itself." The solution is to stop isolating yourself with your own kind. Find a mentor that you can shadow and follow. Challenge your "feel good" area. If you always feel the same the minute you stand behind that chair; I assure you, you are not growing. The only thing that will grow is the ego. Therefore; pray, read more and attend different kinds of training. Do not think for one minute that customers from: varying ages, religious backgrounds, sexual orientation or income brackets are not aware or is tuned in to what is going on around them. Why? One last childhood golden rule to help you along the way; "You can fool some of the people some of the time. And you can fool some of the people all the time, but you can't fool mom's the CUSTOMER!"

Do the right thing.


5000 G

Change Has Arrived

I love watching the Oprah Winfrey Show and reading her magazine. There are many reasons I enjoy watching Oprah and reading her magazine. The one thing that sticks out whenever I think of Oprah and her magazine, it's her school of thought titled, "What I know for sure." Now in the beginning when she started that I was questioned, aside from my name, address and social security number did I know anything for sure? Now that I have pontificated upon that question, I can emphatically with enthusiasm, may I add that I know quite a few things for sure.

In case you are wondering, exactly what do I know for sure. I can tell you I know hair. Not only am I for sure I know hair, I am also for sure that I know quite a bit about the topic. I can start my first E-Blog off with, I know for sure that "change" has arrived in hair care.

Change is a constant in the hair care industry as in everything and every place else. So it is not like it is anything new or surprising. But what I can tell you is that this time, this change is different and extremely challenging for the hairstylists of today. The history of change in the hair care industry starts either in the salon or on the runways. The salon and the runways are usually inspired from the streets themselves. So when the change arrived, the hair stylists and the fashion designers took credit for coming up with the trends. They gave very little credit to their source of inspiration; the streets. This time change in hair care has arrived. This time the inspiration did not come from the streets. It came from the "brains" of the people from the streets in everywhere USA and beyond.

That is right. Consumers are no longer sources of "inspiration" acting as a muse for licensed hair stylists and fashion designers to take credit for. Nope. Consumers are using their heads and are spending their dollars wisely. They are not using caution. They are not counting every penny. Hell, most of them, if any do not even believe there is a recession or that one even took place. Nope, they are not looking for credibility. Nope, they are not even looking for celebrity endorsements. They are simply looking for the truth. Money is not an issue and neither is putting the "designer" flair to it. What I know for sure is that this time when "change" arrives in the hair care business it better be true.

Gone are the days of telling hair care customers what they want to hear. Gone are the days of telling them to tie their hair down. Gone are the days of chemicals being the answer to time and cost problems. Women have come to the conclusion; no matter what, all the coiffuring will not eliminate me from having to re-do it in the morning. All the coiffuring will not out perform what sweat and steam will do to my hair.Women know that all the coiffuring in the world will not take away the other things they do no like about themselves. Therefore, the consumer has concluded, just be honest.

Hairstylists have not caught up with this "in your face" consumerism. When I was in college, I took a course in time management. I can remember my professor telling a story of businesses who waste their customers time. He said, you can either "dazzle 'em with brilliance or baffle 'em with bullshit." The customers in the hair care business are sick and tired of the cosmetology bullshit. What is cosmetology bullshit? Cosmetology bullshit is making customers wait, taking too long to style their hair, purchasing their professional hair care products from beauty supply stores around the corner, not dressing professionally, talking on the cell phone, texting, messing up their hair and telling them it is their fault. The cosmetology brilliance is Honesty.

What I know for sure? The paradigm shift of change, integrity and creativity is here to stay in the hair care business.

What's the Big Secret Anyway

Welcome to my blog site. Every Sunday I will post a blog topic about what they don't tell you at the hair salon.

Information in my blogs are not to be used in lieu of visiting your professional stylist or dermatologist as needed. While my blogs are informative, witty and practical; nothing beats having your hair analyzed and your issues addressed by a live professional cosmetologist.

Understand that "professional" cosmetologists may seem like something like a phenomenon; believe it or not, they do exist.

A salon visit should be much like a doctor's visit. NO SECRETS. Secrets of what is being used, how they are being used, when they are being used, who is applying what, where are they doing and where does the product go is never a good thing. Professionally, I see no harm in asking, teaching and learning.

Keep in mind when reading my blogs there are certain undertones to them. The first undertone is, if it's too good to be true, then it probably is. The second is, no two heads of hair are alike. While I like this whole ethnic marketing thang they have going on now. In real life, er'body's hair is different. The third is, do not be penny wise and dollar foolish. After all, really? It's just hair. Last but not east lknow your responsibilities in caring for your hair, skin and nails. Do not sit in a salon, pay your money; only to walk away feeling slighted or sorry for your hairstylist.

So what's the big secret about hair care anyway? Nothing. There is no secret. Read my blogs. I promise you will enjoy the simplicity and beauty of it all!


And as we say in the salon....."love, peace and hair grease!"


Five thousand G!