According to ABC News, a stylist working out of her home in Pennsylvania shot a client after she complained about her haircut. 

 

As she was completing the service, the stylist, Monique Reed, and the client began to argue about the finished look.  Reed went into a back bedroom, returned with a gun, and squeezed a warning shot off into the ceiling.  The client ran for the door, and Reed shot her in the back.

 

Reed was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, then jailed.  The client’s injuries weren’t life threatening.

 

So, as salon industry professionals, what can we learn from Monique’s client relationship management strategy?

 

We could talk about complaint-handling, but this actually struck us as a better example of the importance of the consultation and setting expectations.  The consult is a key step in what, in our salon, we called the service cycle (the steps the client goes through from the time they book the appointment until they leave the salon).

 

The consult is about aligning vision.  The client has a vision of what she wants.  The stylist has a vision of what’s achievable based on factors the client may not have considered or doesn’t have the expertise to evaluate:  hair type, hair color, face shape, age, skin tone, lifestyle, and time required to maintain the look, among others. 

 

Here’s how Danielle Kelly, Master Stylist, New Talent and Education Director of the John Dellaria Salon in New York, manages the consultation process to ensure that she and her clients have an aligned vision. 

 

Danielle says she likes to shake hands and make physical contact at the beginning of the appointment.  “It goes along with the introduction to new clients, and it’s a way to quickly re-engage with existing clients.”

 

With new clients, Danielle recommends a little levity.  “Many people are intimidated by hairdressers.  Even a small joke can go a long way toward making them feel relaxed.”

 

She continues, “For the consult, I simply ask them to describe what they have in mind.  While they’re talking, I always maintain eye contact to show that I’m listening and what they’re saying is important.”

 

Danielle will also always ask about the client’s everyday routine with their hair, and take that into account when she’s giving an opinion on what she sees as the best way to incorporate what the client has described into a great style.

 

“During the consult, I’ll often compliment a feature – hair, eyes, jawline, skin – that can be brought out by what we’re trying to accomplish,” she says.  “But, I never force my opinion.  The client’s vision is the important one.  The key is to make sure that we are both comfortable with what is going to be done.  I make sure we’re in complete agreement before the shampoo!”

 

With a consultation approach like this, Danielle doesn’t need a gun.  Check out her work at http://www.hairismycanvas.com/.