Dear Hairdresser, Your time is not more valuable than mine!

Have you ever found yourself waiting forever on your hair stylist to style your hair, even after you had a scheduled time to arrive at the beauty salon? I had this unfortunate experience last week. 

So, I texted the hair stylist and asked if she could take me as a walk-in. It was last minute, and I've been going to beauty shops to get my hair did (I'm being sarcastic folks) since I was in my teens, so I know that one must be very patient when it comes to beauty salons, which is why I made sure she was available before I just walked in. She responded and told me to come at 12:30. Cool. I ran a few errands, and went to Walmart while I waited. My hair was in desperate need of a relaxer, so I would have been fine with whatever time she'd told me to come. I was just happy she was available. I was in the check-out line, when I got a text from her to make it 1:30 instead. Okay! I was fine with that too. That gave me more time to finish doing some things I needed to do. 

I finished my shopping, then grabbed something to eat, then went home and waited until it was time to go. After spending about fifteen minutes frantically searching for my lost car keys, I hurried out the door, because I had about 2 minutes to be there on time. I know that some stylist are very punctual and if you aren't there on time, your spot becomes lost and you just have to wait until she can get back around to you. I made it to the beauty shop about two minutes late, only to find that the sign on the door still said, "Out to lunch, will be back at 1:30". I was happy, because I'd beat the stylist there. So I sat in my car and I waited...and I waited...and I waited. 1:30 became 1:45. 1:45 became 1:50, then 2:00. I didn't want to text her and ask where she was, because I didn't want to seem as if I was rushing her. She finally sent me a text saying she was almost arriving in town and was on her way. Huh? Almost in town. Umm, okay. So I waited some more. She sent another text, saying she now had to go pick her son up from school, but she's still on her way. So I waited about another five minutes. Then, I get another text saying, I'm pulling into the parking lot now. The beauty shop is in like, a shopping center, with a lot of other businesses. But, I'm glad she's finally there. I saw several cars pulling in and out of the parking lot, but she never got out of any of them. It's now about 2:15, and I realize that she's NOT pulling into the parking lot, as she'd said. As much as I needed my hair done, now I've gotten impatient (rightfully so) because I've sat here waiting all this time, while she gave excuse after excuse. Had she just said she wasn't sure what time she was going to arrive, that would have been better. 

Finally, I decided I wasn't going to wait any longer, so I texted her and told her thanks, but I wouldn't be able to keep sitting and waiting. Her response? "K. Sorry!" K??? That's all you have to say to a paying customer who sat waiting almost an hour after the time you told me to arrive for my appointment? Not only was it unprofessional and not a good look for her or her business, I got the feeling that she didn't really want to do my hair anyway. I would imagine that a REAL PROFESSIONAL would have had a little more to say than, "K". 

Newsflash to you salon owners. We know your time is valuable and many of you are in high demand, but your customers are who keep you in business, so it would be wise to treat them with the same respect you would want. How would she had felt if she'd sat and waited forever on me to get there after she gave me a set time for an appointment. Who am I kidding? She wouldn't have waited, especially not nearly as long as I did, nor would she had been as patient. Obviously, my stylist doesn't realize that bad customer service can have a negative impact on a business. All it takes is one bad review or complaint to someone else, and that could ruin her. I realize that in this day and age, finding good customer service is like finding a needle in a haystack. 

Here's what DailyVenusDiva.com had to say about customer service: 

"Without customers there would not be a business. Therefore, customer service must be a priority for every hair salon. 

Now, I'm not going to put her name or salon on blast, but I definitely won't be considering her for business anymore in the future. (side-note, this in't the first time I had a similar experience with this particular stylist). Luckily, I found a different stylist the next day. We've all heard the slogan: Time is money. Well, my time and my money are just as important as the next persons. I'm not an unreasonable person, nor am I insensitive and I didn't mind waiting, but this was totally unacceptable, IMO. And her nonchalant response after I got tired of waiting, only made the situation worse. In my mind, she gave the Kanye shrug when she read my text. Honey, I will never beg anybody to do anything for me. There is always someone else out there willing to make these coins, so it's her loss. F.Y.I., if you own a business and you want to be successful, please treat your customers like they mean something to you, because you need them, just as much as they need you.