Can we talk about that one client who made me rethink everything?

A few years back, I had this older lady, Marjorie, 68 years old from Dubuque who came in for a perm. She sat down and said 'honey, I've been getting my hair done since 1975 and you're the first stylist who actually listened to what I wanted.' That stuck with me because she was right, I just took the extra 5 minutes to ask her about her daily routine. Has anyone else had a client say something that totally shifted how you approach consultations?

2 comments

2 Comments

dixon.ryan21d ago

Oh man, that's a good one. I had a guy once, truck driver, came in for a quick trim and told me he'd been to 12 different shops in the last year because nobody could get his cowlick right. I spent an extra 10 minutes just watching how his hair dried naturally before cutting. He became a regular for three years after that. It really drove home for me that half the battle is just paying attention to the little things they're not saying.

leobrown21d ago

That thing you said about "half the battle is just paying attention to the little things they're not saying" hit me hard @dixon.ryan. My buddy works at a barbershop in Philly and had this kid come in, maybe 19, super quiet. Just sat down and said "short on the sides." But my friend noticed the kid kept touching the back of his head when he thought nobody was looking. Stopped and asked if he had a bad cut before back there. Turns out the kid's barber had been jacking up his crown for years but he was too shy to speak up. My friend spent the whole cut just fixing that one spot and the kid left saying it was the best haircut he'd ever gotten. It was all about noticing that one little thing.