Part 2 Spotting Red Flags as a Hairstylist
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In this episode of 'The Mane Event,' hosts Tara and Rachel delve into the second part of their series on identifying red flags during client consultations in the beauty and hair industry. We discuss various red flag scenarios, such as clients who can't find satisfaction with any stylist, unrealistic expectations based on filtered or AI-generated images, and manipulative behavior to receive discounts or dodging payment (we've been there trust me!) We emphasize the importance of setting boundaries, effective communication, and trusting one's instincts to handle potential problem clients effectively, ensuring a positive and professional working environment. Tune in! It's a must watch
Key Takeaways
01:07Â Red Flag: Unrealistic Expectations
06:58Â Red Flag: External Influences
13:05Â Red Flag: Pinterest and AI Photos
17:48Â A Gullible Mistake
18:16Â Learning from Experience
18:55Â Protecting Yourself from Scammers
20:21Â Handling Payment Issues
23:34Â Red Flags in Client Behavior
25:16Â Dealing with Discount Requests
27:52Â Trashing Previous Stylists
32:58Â Navigating Salon Environment
Memorable Quotes
"underpromise, overdeliver."
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Welcome to the Main Event, the ultimate podcast for hairstylists who are ready to build a thriving career and be a part of a supportive community. We're your hosts, Rachel and Tara, and we're so thrilled you're here. With over 40 years combined experience in the industry and multiple beauty businesses, we're your mentors to help you navigate your journey as a hairstylist where you feel supported, seen, and heard. This is your safe space to connect, relate, and elevate your career. We're here to keep it real. Sharing expert insights, personal stories and strategies to help you grow behind the chair and beyond. Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, we've got your back. So turn up the volume and get excited because we're sharing the latest challenges and trending topics about our industry. Let us know in the comments if there's any topics you want us to cover, subscribe now and enjoy the show. Welcome back to the Main Event. We're your hosts. I'm Tara. And I'm Rachel. And this is part two of the Red Flags that you need to look out for dialogue edition during consultation. So one of my favorite ones that is. Probably a no brainer. That's a red flag throughout the years of experiences. No stylist can ever get my hair right, a red flag away, runaway. So usually what this kind of tends to mean is like even after going through the whole consultation, whether that be color or or be extensions, there's usually. An insecurity with themselves and they're just not happy with themselves in general. And you know that you can't take that personal, and not every client is going to be your cup of tea, and you can't make everybody happy as much as you want to make everybody happy. There are just some people out there that aren't happy with themselves. And then they're going to project that onto you. Yes. And project that onto the stylist. And sometimes too, the things that they want done. Aren't achievable. Yeah, one of the girls worked for me. She had a client who kept coming up with these like pictures that were, definitely filtered. And she's like, but I want this, and this little hue of pink. But then there's some orange. And she actually came up to me and she goes, can I fire this client? Would you be mad at me? Am I said, no. I said, S sanity. Absolutely. I go, this is ridiculous. And it was like every appointment and. It was just like some of the stuff they want is just not real. No, absolutely not. Sometimes like you have to understand that the no one gets my hair. Right. We'll see, like we're in a lot of different hairdressing groups and also we're on different community pages and you'll see somebody saying that I can't find anybody that can do my hair and I need this, and I need within this budget and blah, blah, blah, and people are commenting. I'm like, oh. Stylist? No, I will not even, I'm like, I don't want any part of that. I've been burned by that before. And like you said, usually it's something that's going on within themselves where you know, or something in their lives. Yeah. And there's only so much we can do. Right. So it's. You can't change somebody's face, you can't change the head to hair they necessarily have. We could add extensions, we could do treatments, but there's only so much like they have to be happy with themselves. First I always take that as a red flag. That. And sometimes though it happens, they're in your chair, you're already far deep in this, right? So you can't be like, oh, I don't want to necessarily do this. Mm-hmm. But I always recommend if the hair is compromised and everything, then absolutely just say, I don't feel comfortable. I feel like your hair needs to heal. I can do a treatment today, or I can do this. So you can refuse the service, but sometimes they tell you after the fact, I had one that. Oh my God, she's still burned into my brain. But it was after how it sticks with you? Oh yeah. After she had processed, she told me that she had the cops, the police called on her at multiple salons, throughout the past few years. And I'm like. Oh my God. This is like a bomb in my chair. Like I don't, I wanna get this outta here. You want nothing to do with it. Yeah. And I'm like, okay, and you're already going with it. And she was happy with her hair and she rebooked and, but I kept seeing things. Now this again, I mean, it could have been a mental health thing. I have no idea. But I could see the things playing out and the way that she would be and. She's requesting something that is not in style and I don't wanna put my name on it. And so I was like, okay, if you can show me a celebrity that has their hair that way, then I will do it for you. And of course, knowing she couldn't because it was an very outdated look. So that kind of got me out of that. But she was really happy. I forget what I think it was. The color. Right. She loved the color, but she wanted this cut. And I said, listen, I'll continue to do your color, but I am not, I I'm not the right stylist for your cut. And she had a little meltdown and I said, then I just don't think we're the right salon, let alone any of my girls. Yeah. I wasn't gonna subject him to that, but that again, is a red flag. And I had known about the police. Being called on this woman, I would have dodged that, like you would not have believed. There would've been no amount of money in the world that would've had me put myself and my salon and my personal reputation on the line like that. So sometimes, again, I know the money can be tempting, but it's not worth it, and you're not gonna be this, magical unicorn that suddenly makes this person love and be with their, happy with their hair, especially if they're in your chair and you're seeing nothing wrong with it. You know what I mean? And you're like, this is a beautiful color. This is nice. Yeah, yeah., I've seen that too. Yeah. And you're like, oh, I really don't know. You know what this lady's issue is, but I don't know. For me, I'd say red flag and move on to somebody else. 100%. Because that's like a bad review waiting to happen. They will tarnish your business all over the same social media sites that you found 'em on. They're gonna be blasting you. And if you're a salon owner, that review stays there forever. And whether that girl working for you is there or not, so. Mm-hmm. And they don't really do anything to help us get them removed, so I just dodged that one. I think we both have an incredible amount of patience, especially Yeah. After all these different scenarios and experiences that we've encountered. And you're right. I am not the stylist for you. Yep. And that's okay. And it seems like we're not on the same page here, so I think you're better off going somewhere else. Yeah. But man, does that feel like. A boulder lifted off of you, oh, I developed my Lady balls test. Yeah. And that these, it's, you feel empowered and I think more as stylists are now working together, talking together, we have more platforms like this. I feel like that's a building that up where when I started it was like you had to take every client and. It was not really talked to or told to you that you can fire a client and you can say, I don't feel comfortable doing this service. It was more about, Nope, you have to do it. You have to do it. You have to do it. And I feel like this has been so great because now being able to be connected with so many stylists, we're all supporting each other that we don't need to deal with this. We don't have to take on this client. It's okay to say no, it's okay to fire a client. Mm-hmm. So I'm loving that because I think that is huge and I think it. Younger stylists are coming out understanding that as well. Yes. And I think that's also going to give you longevity in the industry, especially if you are new and being around a supportive community to, really lift you up and if you're unsure of the client experience that you had. As well. So yeah, it's good to have that feedback of being like, no, you weren't wrong in that situation, or Yeah, you, we'll rally around you. Exactly. It's just good to to hear that and everything. Yeah. So I'm loving the way this is all taking and all the platforms we have now to stay connected with stylists all over the world. I think it's great. I'm so grateful for that. Yes. Be able to be so connected to so many people. I agree. All right, moving on oh, I need to check with my mom, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, before I decide. So whoever's paying for the service, essentially. Mm-hmm. Red flag. It's a red flag. It's a red flag. If they're paying, it's a red flag. If. Someone's like, well, I don't know. My husband only likes me this color, whatever, like I had, or My husband likes my hair long, and it's three strands no, I think your husband would like you better with Fuller, but. So sometimes yes, if they're putting so much more importance on other factors than what they really want people, others. Yep. And if somebody is the one in control of paying, don't get me wrong, I think all of our styles can relate. I've had plenty of women come in that are, I'm putting this on this card, I'm gonna pay you cash for this, because they don't want their husband to know what they're spending on their hair. It's like hiding your Amazon package. Exactly. It really is. And it's like I totally get that. I will buy things and leave in my car, even though. I can buy whatever I wanna, and I'm sneaking in as I want to. No one's telling me no. But it's still that thing where you're like, oh my God, this is a lot of stuff. But, so I have had that. But if somebody is just saying oh, I gotta check with this, or I check with the mom is a good thing too, where you can get burned. I always feel like, especially with. Proms. There was a whole thing too that I was watching, and it was basically how, I guess certain states have certain ages where you can perform a service on this child or whatever. Mm-hmm. So, I don't know. The laws are different, but it was interesting because, if a child's oh, my mom dropped me off and she's like a young teenager and I can get X, Y, and z, I never will do that without speaking to the parent first and speaking to the parent about pricing. Because I have had that, where that is blown up in your face. So definitely the mom thing and also your consultation at that point should be with one of the parents there. So that they know what they're doing. 'Cause kids lie. They lie and maybe they wanted, the mom agreed to a few sun kiss highlights and they're trying to get platinum, right? And they're like, oh no, it's fine. That's now gonna blow back on you. So when you're in those situations where there's other people that have a say, whether that's the look, the price, the whatever, you need to talk to the one that's in charge. Yeah, every time or even, some of my past experiences with doing proms where the client that's going to the prom and has to wear the style wants something totally different than what the person who is paying, whether that be the mom or the grandma. So it, it's again, the parent is paying or the grandma is paying, but they're wearing the hair. Yeah. I don't wanna give them prom trauma. I wanna make them both happy, but I do feel like I would listen more to what the client wants. Yeah. So that I don't give them tears and them walking outta the salon Exactly. They're unhappy. And you have to put them in the, in their place a little bit. You do. This is, and just say politely, this is for, mm-hmm. Your daughter, your granddaughter, and I wanna. Do my best work, and I can't do that if I am trying to meet both of your expectations. It's definitely true. It's, again, it's tough. We talk about how our job is so hard and so much more stuff, like we have to do, we have to be like negotiators sometimes almost. Yeah. And it is trying to work with both of them and meet in the middle, yeah. And I find too, some of the kids are very strong in being like, no, this is what I, want this. And then I'll try to be in the middle and be like, okay, so I know you wanted to have hers down, but having her up it really be good because it's she's not gonna be hot, she doesn't have to worry about all night. So I try to get everybody comfortable, which again is, you wanna just be able to go and do your job, but sometimes you can't. You have to be in the middle of their Yeah thing, which honestly should have been decided beforehand, but. We get stuck in that all of the time. Yes. So I don't side with one or the other. And, you can't really be controlled. You also still have to be true with who you are as a stylist. Yes. Maybe that one look that someone wants is not gonna work on their hair type. Or like the Shirley Temple rings that aren't even brushed out, that are, an eighties style or something. And. That's what grandma wants. And that's not what the client wants. Exactly. So it's so you can meet in the middle by just doing a full head of curls and some pieces back or, yeah, You figure it out. You figure it out and you navigate it the best way that you Absolutely can, and you gotta steer the ship and Yeah. You hope the client that wants it has a voice, and can defend themselves and their look and you try to. Blend both of them together, but it does definitely happen. I feel like whenever there's somebody else involved in it, it makes it more complicated. Absolutely. So besides a child or something like that, but I feel like if it's the spouse, I really, I would red flag them and I wouldn't want to do them because I am not here to appease you or what you want, so I steer clear of that. Or again, you can help to be in the middle and being like, well, this is the look she wants, but I can do this, which would be in your budget and Yeah. Go from there. If let them do it out the, if it's the spouse, I'll be like, no, I'm gonna listen to the client. Yeah. I wanna make her happy and I'm gonna do whatever she wants me to do. Yeah. I have had it with a wedding. A wedding trial. Yeah. And the future groom was there and he was dictating how he wanted her makeup and he didn't want her to have lashes and this red flag and that and red flag for the marriage. And so I did take him aside and I did explain to him, 'cause sometimes I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut. But I did say listen, this is her day and I appreciate that you love her looking natural and you love her for the way that she is. But she wants to just feel her best. And if a few little eyelashes extra is making her feel that way, then, I feel like it's then let have the lashes, it's a deal. Let her have the lashes, so sometimes you do have to kinda put 'em in their plates. Yeah. And she ended up deciding to wear lashes on that day and she was walking with confidence and she said, I don't care what he says. So it was nice. Amen. Amen. So I feel we had to navigate that one. Okay, we have the next one. Can you replicate this exact Pinterest photo? Mm mm. It's a red flag. I think what people don't understand is these pictures, they're seeing this artist picked the perfect model to showcase that look. Whether it was a style, an updo, a color, you know that their hair type, they don't understand that not everybody has the same hair type. Not everybody can achieve the same look. Everybody has different natural pigments like. You don't really know. So first off, I think you should never guarantee, even if you can do it, don't put a guarantee on it. I think it's always better to, what are they, what does that say? Or under promise. And under promise. Over deliver. Over deliver. Yes. Yes. So I think you're always better off that way. If you can get them there, great. If it's a look they're showing you and there's no way in hell that hair is getting like that. You need to give them other options mm-hmm. And be like, I understand. I can see why you like this picture. Do you like the, maybe it's the placement of the highlighting, but maybe realistically, you know, they're not going to be that. White, blonde, you might then come up with a picture that shows that type of placement, but more in a tone that would work for them. Yeah. So again, this is a client that is going to be a little bit more harder, but it's kind of setting expectations and being realistic about it. But communicating that, I think that's huge. I feel, especially if you're a newer stylist, you get nervous and you're like, okay, I'm just gonna do it. I'm gonna do what they want. I gotta do what they want. And you set yourself up for failure and it's anxiety and it makes you not enjoy it and you're nervous and it, you can come up with other problems. That could arise. I feel like it's staying true to who you are and doing what you know would be the best for the client, but telling them that don't just go you have to communicate this and be on the same page where that client's like, okay then let's do that. I think that would be great. Maybe it's a look they're showing you that, they don't want that maintenance. So you need to convey to them that one's gonna be a lot of maintenance. You told me you only wanna come in two, three times a year, that you're looking at more coming in every six to eight weeks. Is that something you really want to do? So it's really all just communicating and getting on the same page. And also, I like to add in that it's getting a little bit more difficult because mm-hmm. Of, ai Yes. And we can totally tell that it's ai. Yeah. That these people do not look real. They are too perfectly perfect. Yes. And that's how you could tell that it's an AI photo. but having to set those realistic expectations with your client is, yeah. So key. I've seen it even with, wedding in SPO photos. This girl had this big braid that carried off the screen. Yeah. And it looked like she was. Part of anime and Yeah. Like in a fairytale. In a fairytale. And I was like, okay, so we want a fairytale like style. We can do that, but we need to add more hair for this. Yeah. And her hair is like unrealistic where it's literally to the floor and dragging across the photo. Yeah, so course I would say the AI photos are not realistic inspiration. That would be another, red flag. The AI photos are definitely hard. I had it the other day. Yes. With a client I've been doing forever and it was showing off a cut and she said, I don't know, I don't think my hair would do this. And I said it is an AI photo, so every, it had those little waves in the hair perfect. Yeah. It doesn't look real. And I'm like. Yeah, luckily she was cool. She's like, ah, I thought so. I'm like, yeah. I'm like, and I pulled up a picture more realistically, we could do something along this lines and that's what would, how your hair would be styled with it. And I also know she doesn't. Doesn't like to sell her hair. It's not what she enjoys doing. It's not what she has time to do. She struggles with it. So it was giving her kind of the best look, but luckily she was cool with it. Okay. It's ai, but yeah, and I'm thinking, oh my God. Like, you see it with color all the time, especially with the white and the black and taking people back to their gray. A lot of it mm-hmm. Is ai. I always like. Or the super, super platinum that's like way too perfect. Yes. And then like a foreign root. Yeah. No, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing all that work to make you platinum. So then gimme this dark skunk group. It is really getting them to understand it. Some will hold strong. Nope. This is what I want. Okay. Well then I. Maybe, you should find somebody else because it's not the stylist for you. They have to, it is, it's a working together. It's a back and forth and forth Effort. And effort. Yes. And making sure you're both on the same page and. Being able to achieve those good results, yeah. Well the good thing is AI's never gonna take our jobs? No, no. Definitely not. They might send us AI inspo photos. Yes, exactly. But they're not making robots that can do hair like us. And we've been dealing with filters so we can handle ai. Exactly. Exactly. Okay, next red flag. God, this happened to me in the beginning of my journey. And, it's, I left my card in the car. Oh. And I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I like to see the good in people. I was extremely gullible at that point. I was like, oh, no problem. Mm-hmm. Go and grab it and I'll be here waiting for you. She never came back? Nope. She never came back. And this salon that I was working at, at the time, they're like, what do you mean? She didn't pay. She said she left her card in the car and she didn't come back. And they go, well, this is why we tell people. Mm-hmm. So leave something of importance at the desk so that they are going to come back and pay. Some people really do truly leave their card in the car and they will come back. That has happened too. So redemption there. Yes. But those are, the good loyal clients that continually come back to you. But if they say, I left my card in the car and they haven't paid, and they're a new client. That is a red flag. Red flag. And you're probably not the first one they swindled. No. And they're You're not gonna be the last, yeah, actually, I've been hearing more and more about this kind of stuff of. People either trying to run. People again pulling, oh, I gotta go, I gotta get this out of my car. Or people like, you had a relationship with them, right? Like they've been your client for a while, and they might just be like, oh, time's really tough. Can I pay you in a week or something? And then they just never come back. I've had some. That would write on the check a different date. So you can't cash it till such and such time And I had one that I ended up not even realizing it was in my wallet and never cashed it. And I got beat outta that and that was a lot of money. So it's like you can't, you give an inch, they take a mile. So it's like really be leery of those people because I wouldn't be able to, I hate owing anybody like a dollar I know, let alone, doing something like that. But people do, and somehow they justify it. So definitely protect yourself. I've had where people have, I left my car in the car. Okay, your kid's staying in the salon. Like they have left their kid, they have left their rest of their wallet, their driver's license. Anything like, you'd said of importance. So if they really left the kid, then I would've been beaten in the kid now on top of it, but, so don't fall for the same thing that I did. Don't fall, don't fall for it. No. They would leave like their purse there or something, or somebody walks them out. Mm-hmm. You just wanna protect yourselves. Now, I mean they're, I hate to say it, but there are people that are scammers. Yeah. And sometimes they're people that are financially okay and fine. Hairdressers are really understanding people. If you really were down and out and you need to do this. They might change the look that you have something low maintenance or something that isn't as expensive, so you can still look good and feel good, but just communicate that. Don't try to rob 'em. And like we have good conscious where we're like, no, like we could never do that to somebody. When those types of events and experiences do happen to us, it's what the Yeah. It's like you were just taking a job. I would never do that to somebody. No, and it, and that's why we tend to be trusting. 'cause it's like you don't think someone's capable of doing it until you were burned, but, and it's hard 'cause each state again has a different thing. So a lot of these people posting that the client left without paying or said they were gonna pay and never did. I guess there's different state rules. 'cause some people are like, oh, report it to the police as theft. In some places it is considered theft. You got a service, you stole it, it's theft. Other ones are like, well, you let her leave, so there's nothing we can do. But going back, I'm sure all of you saw that video of the one stylist that pulled the girl back in and then cut out, the work she had done. What are you supposed to do? Obviously you're never supposed to put your hands on somebody, but in this instance, the, whatever, I forget what state it was, but the police officer was like, you let her leave. I can't physically retain her 'cause look at what happens there and what am I supposed to do? Mm-hmm. Like maybe lock the door and guard the door. I don't know. But it's like there's gotta be, we gotta figure out a better way here. Absolutely. With these rules there are stylists all over getting burned right now, unfortunately. So the best thing I think people could do is protect themselves. Maybe it's having them sign a waiver. Maybe it's they have to pay in full before we do the appointment. Maybe it's have to lock the appointment in and that's their deposit. And then. It, maybe it's they have to pay before we actually do these big services to protect ourselves. Absolutely. If this is gonna continue going on, especially, hair color, you already did it. You already did it. It's already done. Extensions they're in. Yeah. Can you take 'em out sometimes? You know what I mean? But again, you paid for the hair. It's your time, everything. So I feel like maybe going forward, there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe it's, they pay for their your hourly rate, and if you did something extra, then they would get charged out at the end. But I think big services like this then I don't think there's anything wrong with paying. Yeah. We need to beforehand watch. Yeah. We need to protect ourselves. I mean, think about it too with like contractors. Mm-hmm. They want their deposits before they even step foot into your house and do a remodel. And sometimes those contractors will shade out and be like, Nope. I haven't heard from 'em. Exactly. Usually they'll break it up into like three payments, leaving the end as the smallest portion. Usually they'd be like, okay, I'm fine with if I had to walk away right now. I just, or some it's like it's enough to cover the punch list of whatever little things they need to do, but there's nothing wrong with that. A lot of industries, tattoo hours, everything you're paying the bulk of it upfront to lock it in. Our industry shouldn't be any different. And yes, we wanna help people and yes, we wanna work with people, but we also have to take care of ourselves, our families, our businesses, and being able to know we can support our people? So I think that's what we should totally start doing going forward. Next, red flag. My friend might do it for free. I just wanted to see your prices first. Yeah. That's someone just wasting your time. You're really, you're going back and forth. You're maybe doing a consultation over the phone, you're giving pricing, or maybe they've even come in for a consultation. And it also just shows in the back of their mind that they're not serious about you. They're not serious, and they're on a budget. And I get it, we're all on a budget, right? We all have budgets. We all know what we can and what we can't do. I would say to myself, okay, am I gonna do this once? And then her friend's gonna be touching this up? where's the relationship really going? So it's, I just don't, yeah. You don't know how serious they are. Maybe they're trying to find out how you would achieve it, and then they're gonna have their friend do it. I don't know. Just, I think with that, it's a case by case thing, and I think if you meet them, you can gauge it and really trust your intuition on it. If you feel like this is not gonna be the right client for you mm-hmm. And that it's a red flag, then it is a red flag. Yeah, always listen to your gut. Yes. And also in my back of my mind, I'd be like, oh my God, what is on this girl's hair? Because if. Her friend has been doing it for free. She's probably played around with her hair. So I'd be thinking, what am I getting into? What's really so my consultation with her color history would be massive because I would find around like, how many hands have been in this pot here? Yeah, what's underneath her hair? What products were used? It could be like overtone, or it could be an nightmare. It could be a box. It could be an absolute nightmare. So that might be that client that you're doing a test spot on to a test strand to see. How she's lifting before you go and spend all this time, and then a big color correction on your hands. But yeah, red flag. Okay. Again, we had covered this topic in the first episode in part one of the red flags, but again, do you offer any discounts? Yeah. So of course it's like you wanna. Respect yourself and stick to your guns. Mm-hmm. Like you are talented and you are worth every penny. And anybody that tries to nickel and dime you mm-hmm. Is not worth your time and does not respect your boundaries. No, I think that's definitely, and if there is, if you had tuned into another episode we had, we did talk about certain discount days that. We did back in oh eight that we recommended. If that's the situation that you're in mm-hmm. And you need to do that client, then make sure that when you're having a discount, it's not because they asked, it could be. Okay. I don't, we don't offer discounts on this day or this service. Right. However, maybe there's another stylist that's a lower price point or on, Mondays we offer, whatever it is, 10% or 20% off of a particular service. So that way it's not like you're giving in, you are giving them an option if you have that option. And if you don't, that's okay. We don't have to give discounts and make sure if you are giving a discount that you're still mm-hmm. Making money off of this service. No one's here to work for free. Making sure that your color costs and everything and your time, you are being profitable. It's not worth it if you're not. So that would just be my recommendation to the discounts. And also in 2008, like we were talking about two episodes ago, that was a different economic climate. It was. So that was survival mode. Yes. And working with your clients to, keep them coming back like it was a totally different world. And you had more wiggle room, right? Yeah. 'cause the products and your overhead wasn't as high as everything is. That's high. You have your groceries, every bill has gone up, right? So you had more wiggle room to be able to still be profitable and offer a discount. Now it's a little harder. So you have to make sure that your pricing is on point. Mm-hmm. With what you need it to be. And not that you're selling yourself short. I think a lot of hairstyles, it's very easy that you're thinking on that. Just that, oh, I gotta get this person in and I just gotta do more by volume, but. You actually have to break it down because you might actually be paying out of your pocket to do someone's hair. So really just keep evaluating your product cost, you know everything, the total of insurance or whatever. If you're a salon owner, if you're a booth renter, all that. Make sure you're adding in all of your overhead so that you're making your prices be profitable. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Okay, this is our last red flag. Which is kind of similar to the first one. But when a new client comes in and they are absolutely trashing the last stylist they talked about red flag. Red flag, for me and stylist. Red flag for me in life, I don't like anybody trashing other people. Mm-hmm. I usually. I feel like it discredits them when they're trashing them. And then I don't really believe a hundred percent of what they're saying. So for me, I've always just, I was always raised, you treat people how you wanna be treated. Absolutely. I don't like to bash other stylists. I don't want someone to sit there and bash a stylist. The way I look at it is you're not a stylist, like you don't know what it entails, or it takes or you don't understand color. You don't understand color theory. So for me, them bashing them, I just feel like there's usually a big part out of it, and there's always what. Mm-hmm. The three sides to every story, there's the stylist and the truth. I take it with a grain of salt, but I just know that person is capable of badmouthing somebody. And then who's to say they won't do it to you and the next one they'll do it to you. That's a person you know is gonna write a bad review. That's a person that's gonna blast you know, you all over the place, dragging you through the mud. So now you have that hanging over your head and yes, you have a chance that they might love it. But you also know that they're capable of being that person. So for me, I just, and I don't like to be around that energy. I don't like to be around someone because if they're bashing the styles, granted they're gonna probably be bashing their friends. They're gonna be bashing, whatever, their family. I don't wanna listen to that. I know some styles are all about the drama and the juicy and gimme this and gimme that. And they like hearing that stuff. I don't. I just feel like that's the point I am in my life. I don't like really get into my life's busy enough. I got too much on my plate to be worrying about who's doing what or who's sleeping with who I don't really get into it. So if someone's bashing a stylist, I usually try to again, steer the ship, and kind of. Go around of what I might be seeing in their hair. I might look at what they have compared to the look that they want. And I can go from there and yeah, there might be things that happened, right? I've seen where people have cut into the hair and over texturized it, and there's pieces everywhere. I have seen, maybe there's some bleeds in a foil. And you know what, sometimes that happens. I think every stylist at one point or another in life, you're gonna get a bleed. You could be doing it 30 years and you might just get a bleed that day. I don't knock people for that. I was always taught though, that you fix that right away before the client leaves, so you'd fix it at the sink. So if anything, I might, reference that, but I feel like again, I kind of just try to diffuse the complaint and get to what I'm there for. I'm here to see what I can do for your hair. Hear what you don't like, but I don't need to hear the, all the drama of this stylist. I don't, and I don't contribute to it. And I hope other stylists also don't contribute to it as well, because we've all been there. None of us are perfect. None of us are just hitting it, hitting it out of the field every time. Like we are gonna make mistakes. They're gonna have off days, there's gonna be issues and situations that are not to our knowledge, we don't know. She might have had box tie on and maybe her highlights lifted, uneven because. Her hair was, was horrible to begin with. I don't know. So I'm not gonna necessarily judge the stylist on it. I just look at what I can do and I don't need to hear it. So, yeah, exactly. And again, it's the same thing like don't feed into, don't feed conversation. You don't wanna get sucked in like that. No. And I've heard stylists do get sucked in. I've heard 'em be like, oh my God, what salon was it? Where? Where was it? It was the stylist. Who was the stylist and like, was she someone Instagram? Yes. Or they'll start trashing the stylist too. And I don't get me wrong, there's some. Hairdressers out there, I always call 'em like the hungry, hungry hairdressers that will totally jump on it. 'cause they want you as the client. So even if you've like just went in for a blowout and you love your color and your stylist, they're gonna try to find something wrong with it to get you and steal you. So I don't like, like I said, I don't like any of that. I don't feed into any of that. But yes, there are gonna be some like, oh my God. And then they're gonna go and tell everybody else the song. Do you know what just happened at blah blah blah salon? And I don't like that. Let's, we need to all stick together. I simply try to diffuse it. But yes, it is a red flag. I feel, again, use your gut instincts, how you feel about this person. I mean, there's people I could be around that I think are lovely, but I just. Don't like their energy or I just don't feel like I have anything common but maybe you're like, no, I really like this person and regardless of her maybe complaining I know I can work with this person, then go for it. But if you feel like, mm, nope, walk away. Walk away. I usually, my go-to out on that is. I feel like your hair is just a little, too compromised at this point. I think we should work on healing it. Maybe if they have grays, I can do a touchup, I can do a glaze or, something simple. We'll do a treatment on it, helping, but you're not getting your, your hands in it. Yeah. Sometimes you're better off. I agreed. You just gotta know when to walk away. You do. And it's really hard in the beginning to, it's hard in the beginning and I understand to have the courage to walk away. Well, and I understand every situation. Stylist is different. Not all of us. I'm a salon owner, so yes I can. I can call my own shots. Not everybody is, sometimes there's a lot of stylists that are in a salon that the owner is telling. You have to do it. You have to do it. Sometimes there's. Quotas. Sometimes you have different things you have to hit. Sometimes that's not allowed, which, if that is the salon that you're in. Sometimes we stay all different reasons. We like the girls, we are afraid our clients won't leave. But I would really start thinking about if that's the place for you, because I don't think any owner would really want their stylist put in that position. And I think then the stylist, you should be able to come to your owner and just be like, listen. She hasn't been happy at the salon. That salon, I just have a feeling that she's a walking red flag. I don't wanna get a bad review for the salon. Maybe if you wanna come talk to her and see what you think, like you can do that. Use, use that. Because the owner might come over and the owner might be like, I think you'd be a better fit. I can, totally fix you up. Or they might have your back and say, Hmm, no, I, I think maybe you should give your hair a little time, a little breather. Yes, I understand. Not everybody can turn away money. The owner might be like, why did you do that? You know what I mean? 'Cause it come for that. So to protect my sanity, we get that a hundred percent. But there are different ways of handling that. And if you truly, truly, truly do not feel comfortable at the end of the day, it is your reputation. Then maybe, you just talk to owner. I know so and so has time. In her book, I talk to her, she'll gladly take it. You know what I mean? Do what you have to do, but no one should be forced to do something that they don't wanna do. Absolutely. And if there's other red flags that I'm sure we've missed, feel free to add the comments below and, tell us some of your stories and experiences 'cause we'd love to hear them and we'd love to be able to find solutions for them to help you and maybe even do another series with all of your comments. Absolutely. So thank you for watching. Thank you. That's a wrap on this episode of The Main Event. We're all about empowering our community and supporting each other, so if you love today's conversation, share it with a fellow stylist and let's grow together. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review and connect with us on Instagram. At the Main Event Show or our YouTube both linked in our show notes below, got a topic you want us to cover, send us a dm. We'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep creating, keep growing. And remember, you're a part of our family now.