Ramy Beauty Therapy
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Beauty Bullies
In: Uncategorized
13 Apr 2010
From the start of my career, I’ve noticed Beauty Bullies – the makeup artist who asks the frumply client who clearly has never worn makeup if she uses concealer and when she says “No”, he says, “Honey! You can’t live your life like this!” as she cowers in his chair, looking confused. I once worked with a very celebrated hair colorist who didn’t like his clients to disagree with him. If the client didn’t like his suggestions, he’d say, “Supercuts is up the block” or “Well, if you want to LOOK like you live in New Jersey…” and my favorite, “you don’t tell Picasso how to paint!” Yet he’s maintained a long and busy career, as have many brow experts, facialists and stylists who are reknowned for being mean and abusive to their clients.
As a nice guy, I’ve always wondered, would I be even busier if I gave my clients more attitude and less friendly banter? Clearly there’s a population out there that seems to enjoy being bullied. I think maybe they feel the expert must be fabulous if he or she isn’t worried about repeat business. I personally never forget that I’m offering a service. I want everyone to leave my spa feeling their most beautiful and happy from the experience. If I do criticise, I try to be constructive, like saying, “your brows are nice, but they’ve been underestimated“ or “You have great lips, but I think we can do better with your lip color” as I look at grandma’s flourescent hot pink nuclear lipstick. There is always a way to get your point across constructively without making your client shrink in the chair or feel badly about themselves. I think the beauty bullies simply don’t want to have to hear what the client has to say, which is a mistake, because even if you do know what’s best for a client, you should hear what they want and discuss the options. So, I’d love some feedback, Have you ever experienced a beauty bully? And if so, what did you do about it?
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3 Responses to Beauty Bullies
Tom
April 21st, 2010 at 4:24 am
I’ve met some beauty bullies. If they’re in the middle of the haircut I don’t leave, but I never come back and trust me, I let EVERYBODY know never to go there…
Jason
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:07 pm
I believe most people don’t want to be bullied, but that they still want the expert to decide for them some of the time. My thought if I was in your place would be to do what MY vision is on the client, and if they don’t like it, we can change gears…modify…but some people are in fact clueless but think they know what they want, or they want something that isn’t right for them because they can’t see that it doesn’t work on their type.
Diane K.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
I’d like to respond to Jason’s comment. If I went into a salon, received a consultation from the expert but disagreed with his assessment, then we would discuss other possibilities until we agreed upon something. together. However, if I wanted only one inch removed from my waist length hair, doing nothing to enhance my appearancere and ignoring my stylist’s suggestions, I’d be furious if he decided to ignore my wishes and do what he thought was best. Although the stylist has the expertise to judge what style and color would look best on a person, the client has the ultimate decision making authority. I would think you’d want your clients to leave the salon happy, feeling beautiful thus guaranteeing their return back in the future. The client has to live with her hair and if she hates it, you’ll never see her or any of her friends that she might have referred to you again.
Many years ago, I went to a high end salon for a simple trim and made it obnoxiously clear to my stylist that I only wanted an inch taken off the ends of my very long locks. I was tired and closed my eyes to take a little nap. When I awoke, I was horrified to see that he had cut off approximately 10 inches of my hair because HE thought he knew best.
The salon was full of clients who became alarmed when they saw me hysterically crying, yelling at the stylist holding all this hair he had just cut off in my hands, A few of the other clients waiting for their appointments were so disgusted that a stylist would do such a thing, they simply left. And obviously, I never set foot in that salon again.
So my point is this: Don’t try to surprise your clients with a complete make over unless they gave you Card Blanche to do as you thought best. A stylist’s job is to determine what would work for a client and relay that information to her. But ultimately, the client has the last say.