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How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 5 – Value is different than Price

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 5 – Value is different than Price

by | Jun 27, 2020 | Just for Salon Clients!

How did your interviews go? Hopefully you have a standout candidate already, but if you haven’t had time to do them or are still scratching your head wondering how you choose you are in the right place!  Today we are talking about the ????

It absolutely pays to be picky about personal services which is definitely why I’m writing this for you! A salon experience should be more than money due for services rendered.  You should receive far more value than the amount of money you paid. 

So what exactly does that mean? 

What else did you get out of your hair appointment besides the hair?

Example:

  1. Thelma goes to Salon ‘A’ for a cut and style and pays $45 for a great service.
  2. Louise goes to Salon ‘B’ for a cut and style and also pays $45 for a great service.

They look exactly the same right?

Hold up ? We have may more to talk about besides price!

Thelma’s appointment at Salon ‘A’ took around 30 minutes.  A quick in and out with lots of time to run a few errands after! 

Louise’s appointment at Salon ‘B’ on the other hand was 45 minutes since there was a lengthy shampoo and scalp massage included for a little extra pampering as well as some in-depth problem solving for the issue she’s been having with getting enough volume.

With both appointments priced at $45 which one has greater value? The one that saves you time or the one that takes time to pamper and help you? 

There is no ‘right’ choice, only the choice you see the most value in.

Personally this is why I love how many Salon/Stylist options there are locally.  That may sound backwards to you as I am an owner of one of those salons, but it’s so true!  We all offer something different making the odds of finding somewhere that aligns with what you value most that much greater.

One more example:

  1. Betty goes to Stylist ‘A’ for a full head of foil highlights, toner, cut and style, and pays $165 for a great service.
  2. Veronica goes to Stylist ‘B’ for a full head of foil highlights, toner, cut and style, and pays $195 for a great service.

Sure, if you are measuring on price alone Stylist ‘A’ would be a clear winner because her price was $30 lower but  here’s how it breaks down keeping value top of mind. 

Stylist ‘A’ has been licensed for 2 years with no additional education.  Stylist ‘B’ has also been licensed for 2 years but has completed an additional year of continuing education, and uses very high quality products.

Do you place the most value on price or do you see the value in paying an extra $30 for your service knowing that your Stylist has had more training and you receive the benefit of top of the line products?

Again, there’s no right choice – just your choice. 

Here’s a list of some common things you may want to check out in order to fully compare value:

  • How long the service takes
  • Perks of being a client (promotions, giveaways, etc)
  • The experience provided during your service
  • Quality of products used during your service
  • Total price and the cost of future maintenance
  • Your Stylist’s knowledge on how to keep your hair healthy doing the services you love to have
  • Your Stylist’s level of Education
  • Involvement in your community – does part of the payment you leave get put directly back into your community?

Just think about it.  The relationship you develop with your Hairstylist is very unique.  This is the person that sees you through getting married, births, deaths, sickness and celebration! That’s no ordinary relationship! ?

I’ll be back to wrap up this blog series with part 6, which in my opinion is the most important one!

 

Thanks for listening,

Carrie

www.cihairstudio.ca 

 

 

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 4 – Time for an Interview

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 4 – Time for an Interview

by | Jun 11, 2020 | Just for Salon Clients!

You’re armed with your inspo pictures, you’ve window shopped, done your online sleuthing and you’ve found some Stylists and Salons that have sparked your interest. 

The next step is to schedule an interview. Yes, an interview! 

What you were really doing while window shopping is looking at a resumes. Between Facebook, Instagram and a website you’ve got a good feel for the Salon vibe and standards, been able to read a biography of a Stylist (or two!), discovered their education and training, and maybe even read a little diddy on their outside interests and hobbies.  Kind of sounds like what you’d read on a resume, doesn’t it?

While many, many clients choose to skip this step, I really, really recommend you don’t.

Interview ALL your potential Hairstylists.  In Hairstylist terms this is called a Consultation but for you it’s nothing more than an interview.  I highly suggest you meet more than one candidate before filling the position and here’s why…….

Things can be made to look shiny and magical online but at a consultation, there can be no smoke or mirrors.  It’s just you and the Stylist, in the Salon, talking about what they have to offer you. 

Here are some questions you’ll want to know the answers to after your ‘Interviews’:

✔ Who did you immediately feel comfortable with? Intuition is an amazing thing

✔ Who gave you their full, undivided attention and stopped talking long enough to listen to everything you were requesting? 

✔ Who asked questions? Thoughtful ones, focused entirely on you

✔ Who said ‘No’? Don’t take this one the wrong way but don’t you want someone you can trust?  Someone willing to tell you why a different option would be more complimentary for you or to let you know your hair could really use a break from colour and needs some tlc? You want a professional.  Professionals take their responsibility to you seriously even if that means recommending a lesser service because their job is to get you the best result possible.

✔ Who surprised you? Who did you learn something from that you didn’t know before?

✔ Who would you have to wait to get an appointment with? This one is twofold.  The longer you have to wait to get your service done the more people there are that already love that Stylist’s work.  This one will either be a positive or a negative for you but since this is about you and your perfect Stylist, you get to decide!

✔ Who made pricing part of the consultation? You have to see the value in the cost of the services.  Again, this is something that only you can decide but you are going to need to know the price before you’ll know if it seems reasonable to you based on your experience so far. So much more about this topic in Part 5!!

✔ Who did you just genuinely enjoy talking and being with? This matters! If you are putting the effort in to find your perfect Stylist I’ll guarantee you’ll want to choose them for all your future services too. Wouldn’t it be nicer to do that with someone you actually like, in the environment where you feel most comfortable? 

The key here is to gather the same information from all the Stylist’s you interview.  You’ll have enough information for a comparison so you can then make an informed decision.  Informed decisions get the best results! 

I’ll be back soon with a deep dive into the rabbit hole of salon pricing.  You do NOT want to miss it! ?

Thanks for listening,

Carrie

www.cihairstudio.ca

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 3 – Look at the Salon

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 3 – Look at the Salon

by | May 28, 2020 | Just for Salon Clients!

How was window shopping?

In part 2 of this blog series on How to Choose a Hairstylist, we talked about the wonderful online world that makes it super easy to get a really good look at your potential new Hairstylist’s portfolio. Hopefully you’ve had an opportunity to check out a bunch of different Hairstylists which brings us to part 3 of this series!

It’s time to look at the Salon.

What difference could the Salon possibly make? First, let’s make a list of what you really want from a hair appointment. Sort of like your ‘must haves’!

Let me guess at a few:

  • Makes you feel welcome and comfortable
  • Might be a bit edgy and trendy
  • Gives great customer service
  • Has knowledge and new things to try since they are constantly learning
  • Might be super upbeat and bubbly
  • Makes you feel pampered
  • Stays consistent from visit to visit
  • Knows the latest colour techniques (think back to when balayage first started) and current trends
  • Might be calming and relaxing
  • And most importantly gives you GREAT hair

Have I hit a few? Can you relate to some points?

I’ll be frank.  The points above can be met by any Stylist at any Hair Salon, but as you may well know that isn’t always the case.

A great Salon creates a blueprint for the type and quality of hair services, the customer experience and the level of education required of any Stylist who chooses to work there.  In other words…..

★ If you want a party of a hair appointment with music in a busy, upbeat and fun atmosphere, find the salon like that.  That’s where your perfect Stylist will be.

★ If you want a quick dash in, dash out hair appointment find the Salon like that.  That’s where your perfect Stylist will be.

★ If you want individual one on one services with no other clients in while you enjoy your service, find the Salon like that.  That’s where your perfect Stylist will be.

★ If you want a quiet, calm, relaxing hair appointment to feel a little indulged and pampered, find the salon like that.  That’s where your perfect Stylist will be.

★ If you want a high end, uber professional, chic, knock your socks off experience, find the salon like that.  That’s where your perfect Stylist will be. 

Human nature reveals the following to be true:

‘People like people who are like themselves.’  

Find the type of Salon experience you want to have because your perfect Stylist will also want to be there too. 

I’ll check back in soon with part 4 ?

Thanks for listening,

Carrie

www.cihairstudio.ca

Ideas are born by the emotions we experience!

Ideas are born by the emotions we experience!

by | Feb 27, 2020 | Hairstylist Life

This is a personal story but one worth sharing since I know it’s relatable. This is my experience, my light bulb moment, when I realized it was about so much more than the hair.

My name is Carrie Robinson and I am the proud owner of the Studio.

Here is my story…..

I loved playing with hair from a very young age but it wasn’t until my teen years that I knew I wanted to be a Hairstylist.

Whenever I was having a rough time as a teen, or when I wanted to take a break where I couldn’t feel guilty for doing ‘nothing’, I would make a hair appointment.  I’d look forward to that appointment from the day I booked it until the second I walked in the salon door.

As soon as I stepped inside the salon I felt looked after.  I was the focus of my Stylists’ attention and I knew once I was finished, I’d feel confident and beautiful.

It was a boost to my mood, but more importantly it introduced me to what self-care truly is, and how vital it was for me.

Sometimes the Stylist would genuinely connect with me, invest in making me look and feel amazing, and other times not.  There were a few times things went south and I didn’t walk out feeling great about myself or my appearance at all.  Times where I had to stare at that bad hair service in the mirror for weeks, feeling the disappointment, while it grew out or while the colour faded. 

Those times taught me what I didn’t want.

My visits were frequent enough that even my Mom noticed.  After a particularly rough week in teenage drama land ?, I’d just hung up the phone from making a hair appointment and my Mom said…

‘You can’t just go and get your hair done every time you have a bad day!’

That was when it clicked. When I realized how much a visit to the salon actually did for me, and it really wasn’t about the hair. It was so much more than that.

In that moment I decided that I wanted to make other people feel the way I did when my hair service was amazing.  I wanted them to feel special and taken care of every single time they got their hair done. Not sometimes, every single time.  I wanted to provide an atmosphere where self care was simply part of the experience. 

I didn’t want to provide a simple service. I wanted to provide an experience.

Armed with a love for doing hair and an idea spurred on purely by an emotion, I knew in order to make it happen I had to accept responsibility to learn and do whatever necessary to provide a client with that level of service. The level where service truely does become an experience.

And the rest of the story? There are chapters upon chapters just waiting to be told ? but I’ll share the next one another time ?

 

Thanks for listening,

Carrie

www.cihairstudio.ca

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 2 – Window Shopping!

How to Choose a Hairstylist Part 2 – Window Shopping!

by | Feb 22, 2020 | Just for Salon Clients!

How did you make out last week?

After the intro to this blog series on How To Choose a Hairstylist, you were off to look at inspiration pictures to narrow down exactly what you want to show your new Hairstylist. Hopefully you’ve found some good ones and you’re ready for the first step in your Hairstylist search.   So here we go with part 2!

 

The world is online and your new Hairstylist should be too!

Career Stylists will be visible on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on a personal or salon website.  Just being there isn’t enough though! 

Now that you know what you love and have your inspiration pictures ready, what you want to do is find similar examples of the colour, cut or style you are looking for right in yur potential new Stylist’s portfolio.

Seriously, I can’t stress how important this really is! 

Every Hairstylist naturally develops a style and by paying close attention to their pictures you will be able to tell tell which style they excel at. 

 

Your new Hairstylist needs to excel in what you want!! 

 

Read it again: YOUR NEW HAIRSTYLIST NEEDS TO EXCEL IN WHAT YOU WANT!

The best thing you can do is find your inspiration picture right from that Stylist’s portfolio.  Loving a portfolio is wonderful but if you can’t see yourself with the hair in that portfolio, it’s probably not the right match.  Keep in mind we are definitly talking about the overall ‘style’ of the hair. If you don’t see your exact colour that’s ok! As long as you love the overall look of the images, the Hairstylist very well could be your match!

So it’s time to window shop! Take the time to really look at a bunch of different local Stylist’s portfolio keeping this handy little checklist in mind.

 

Window shop until you can tick off each item on this list:

✔ Your new Stylist is on Facebook and  Instagram

✔ Your new Stylist is featured on a Salon’s website or has their own site

✔ Your new Stylist posts work regularly

✔ Your new Stylist has multiple pictures that are the style you really like

BONUS:

✔ You are able to choose an inspiration picture for your appointment right from the the Stylist’s portfolio

 

The best thing about this is you can window shop to your heart’s content! Take your time with it, see what options are local to you and broaden your search from there if necessary.  

A word of warning…..you know the saying ‘Don’t grocery shop while you’re hungry’? Ditto for this.  

I can hear you saying…..’these bangs won’t wait’…..’I need a change NOW’…..or the dreaded situation that’s left you saying  ‘I HAVE to get this fixed, TODAY!!’.  

 

I hear you, I really do but it’s time. Time to get off the rollercoaster ?  

 

If taking a few extra days to make this decision means you can find your forever Stylist, the one who will get it right each and every time, wouldn’t you do it? 

Time to Window Shop.  

I’ll be back with part 3 in the series soon! ?

If you have any comments or questions as we go through this please pop them below! I’m happy to help! 

 

Thanks for listening,

Carrie

www.cihairstudio.ca

 

 

 

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