SITUATION: I received my first client complaint call and I’m hurt and ticked off. First, the client complained about her color and she also threw in that she doesn’t come to a salon to listen to everyone’s drama. I’m hurt because she didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell me and frustrated because it is NEWS to me! She was happy the night she left, we had great conversations and she even joined into conversations with other technicians and their clients. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves…or so I thought. Then to top it off she asked for her money back because she had to go to another salon to fix it. This is a longtime client of the salon and I’ve done her hair many times over the years. There has never been a problem, I used the same color, I did a great job and now I don’t even have a chance to fix it yet my boss wants to take the money from my paycheck to reimburse her. What should I do?

SITUATION Review: An unhappy client is never fun to deal with especially when you don’t have the opportunity to fix it. I feel your pain. Every situation is unique and although I don’t know all the particulars of what happened I hope I can give you some answers and advice as to how to deal and let it go.

SOLUTION: In every client situation there are a multitude of ways to rectify the situation. If she had said something the night of her service you would have gladly fixed the color and/or refunded her money. If she had stopped back in to show you the color you would have done everything to make it right. But now that she’s fixed it you’ve got nothing to see and worse yet she’s communicating through the mail vs. face-to-face. However, that doesn’t mean that what she experienced isn’t true. I would thank her for her valuable feedback and apologize that her expectations weren’t met and send her a check for her services.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITY: Of course you are mad and hurt, rightfully so. Your ego has taken a hit and pride has reared its ugly head. But, if you step back for a moment a read the letter for what you could learn then you could salvage this mishap and use it to fuel your future consultations, conversations, and customer service as a whole.  This is one of those difficult but necessary learning experiences. Good luck.

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