Beauty School Directory Blog

The Pro’s and Con’s of Salon Image

I’m totally hooked on Bravo’s Tabitha’s Salon Takeover. If you haven’t heard of it, Tabitha Coffey, who was a contestant on season one of Shear Genius, now has her own show. She goes to salons that are in dire need of some help. She works with the owners and staff to do a head to toe makeover. We’re not just talking about décor and atmosphere, oh no. We’re talking about stylist habits, attitudes and management styles. In the first half of the show she identifies the pro’s and con’s of a salon, and decides the things that need to be improved upon.

This weekend I went and got a hair cut. I had a Tabitha moment when I walked in and decided to find both the pro’s and con’s of this particular salon. Who better to judge your salons performance than a client, right? Here were my observations:

Pros:
• Extremely friendly receptionist – She greeted me at the door, asked my name and offered me a drink or a snack. She made me feel welcome and it was a great start to my salon experience. First impressions are everything, ya know.

• Waiting area – The waiting area was very clean and comforting. There were comfortable chairs that matched and new magazines that were neatly laid out on the table. I felt comfortable and relaxed in the 10 minute wait I had before my appointment, it seemed to fly by. This is a far cry from some salons where the waiting area seems to be hap-hazzardly thrown together with any available furniture and 6-month old Better Homes and Gardens magazines that are strewn across a table that clearly hasn’t been wiped down in weeks!

Cons:
• Stylist Stations – My stylist’s station wasn’t the picture of cleanliness. There were bits of hair floating around and you could tell that she has spilled some hair color earlier in the day and hadn’t cleaned it up properly. The color didn’t bother me, but the floating hairs were a little disgusting.

• Hair brush – Here’s where I got really turned off. The stylist picks up a brush that had someone else’s hair in it, and used it on me. She clearly hadn’t made an effort to clean out her brush from her previous appointments before she used it on me. That’s really gross! I don’t know how well groomed the other clients were!! Had she taken the time to clean out her brush after her last appointment, I would have never known the difference.

• Conversation – For the first 5-10 minutes of my appointment, I sat there in awkward silence as my stylist washed and combed my hair. She made no real effort to talk with me or get to know me as her client.

It’s all about the details! Most stylists on Tabitha’s show scoff at the idea that hair in a brush is a problem. “No one will even notice!” they say. And as Tabitha says “Yeah, but you’re clients will!”.