Wait, Wonder & Pay

Wait!

How many times have you turned the television on to see a comedy skit about someone waiting in a salon for hair appointment with cobwebs growing on them? How many times have you tuned into our favorite radio show and the topic of the hour is about extensive waiting in hair salons across America?

Many women are fed up with waiting. A percentage has resolved to do it themselves, some have moved on to other salons where there is no waiting and there are still those who simply sit, complain and pay.

Like staying in a bad relationship, many have an ear full of excuses as to why they sit, complain and pay. Many have a familiar scenario of arriving to the salon on time with their iPad to kill some time until their name is called. Thirty minutes pass, they check the time on their iPad and keep reading the funny posts on Facebook. Forty minutes passes, another social network is being browsed and they are still waiting. Moments later they decide to ask the stylist how long before she will get started on their hair. The stylists smiles and responds, “Fifteen more minutes.” In the end, the fifteen more minutes has turned into thirty five more minutes. Approximately one hour and half after your arrival, your stylist has her assistant start your salon service.

As you lay back in the shampoo bowl to have your hair shampooed, you think to yourself, “Something about this feels all too familiar.” Is it a bad relationship or that awful cell phone contract you previously signed? You know, promising you something and not following through? What about, baiting you with something wonderful as you sign the agreement; only to be left void? Or how about getting all excited and anticipating something new; only to be disappointed with their mediocre tokens let downs and nothing. You question, are you being un-grateful? Are your expectations too high and so on and so forth?  As your stylist begins to blow dry your hair, you have an “Aha” moment! “Who waits,” is your incessant thoughts as you gently nod to yourself. Your stylist pauses and asks if you are okay. You respond, yes with the undertone of why wouldn’t you be? The stylist proceeds with the service, your hair looks magnificent. You pay her the money; thank her for the service and leave.

On the drive home, initially you want to call someone and tell them of yet another wretched salon visit as a result of waiting too long. You tap the end icon on phone’s screen and say to yourself. “If I can end a bad relationship that went awry and terminate a cell phone service based off of lies, empty promises and thrill-less frills; surely I can end this business relationship with my stylist who has very little respect for my time, sense of importance and hard earned dollars.” “I’m paying for speed and accuracy and that is what I expect.” At that pivotal moment, you know you will not be returning to that stylist and you have no reason why you will not let her know.

The scenario above is an all too familiar experience for many who visit hair salons. Many people have often referred the relationship with their stylist like one of a dysfunctional relationship and a bad cell phone contract. In the end, you conclude that you stayed in it (the business relationship with their stylist) too long. Many had crossed the lines of customer to stylist relationship by way of disclosing personal challenges and triumphs and lost focus of the business relationship that was in place due to monies being exchanged for services. “That's my girl,” became the unspoken contract between the stylist and their customer. For many as long as the hairstyle (man/relationship) was intact; all was well, right? Wrong.

As a licensed professional cosmetologist, I am often perplexed by cosmetologists that makes their paying, returning and referring customers wait. Where does my perplexity come from? Um, in case you did not know; cosmetology is a time conscious career. We need certain things to arrive, sit, develop, process and pay on something called….ahem, TIME! I urge you to attempt to not have payment in full at the end of that salon visit. Oh boy. It is like the Incredible Hulk. "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I get angry!"

In the world of work, time, speed and accuracy is what gives work and pay value. The more you are on time, the faster you are, the more intelligent your application is to your job; more pay on time is expected. When a cosmetologist does your hair, they expect to be paid on time. And when you as the customer arrive; you expect to be seen on time because you are going to pay on time. Gone are the days of waiting. Everything is quick, instant and fast. Salon services are not exempt from what makes things worthy of their price tags. Rather it's a BMW, a cell phone or a credit card transaction; today timing, speed and accuracy is what gives things (expensive and inexpensive) value. Imagine waiting twenty seconds for a phone call to connect, or twenty five seconds for your computer to load, or thirty seconds for McDonald's to pass that Fish Filet through that window, oh and heavens to mercatroy if your debit card transactions takes longer than five seconds. The first thing that comes to a cosmetologist's (excuse me, a person's) mind is, "What, why is this taking so long?"

Wait, wonder and pay; who does that?