I’m sure none of us go into work and say, “I’m going to mess up some hair today. I can’t wait to make these customers unhappy.” But as much as we want that five-star review, those raving fans, there are times when we end up with a negative review. And it’s absolutely devastating because not only do we feel like we failed at our goal, but this person has gone on social media to talk about how unhappy they were with our service.

It’s horrifying.

It’s difficult to respond to someone who doesn’t like our work. We can’t help but take it personally because it’s our artwork. And if they don’t like what you’ve done, one of two things will happen.

1.     They tell you they don’t like it

2.     They don’t tell you, but they tell everyone else

And when they tell you, at least you have an opportunity to find a solution. But when they immediately turn to the Internet, there’s not much you can do because you can only say so many things to an upset customer online.

So it’s essential that we, as stylists and salon owners, have a system and policies in place. Why? Because there are going to be people who dislike your work, dislike your business, dislike the way you do things. And there’s nothing you can do about that—we can’t make everyone happy.

First things first: don’t serve everyone. While this may seem counterintuitive to business, think about it in terms of dating. If you go out on a first date with someone and notice a bunch of red flags, why would you have a second date? It’s the same thing with potential customers. 

You’ve probably had those people who are never happy with what you do, or who text you at 1:00 am about their hair, or calls you at 5:00 in the morning to set up an appointment. Set your boundaries and stick to them. If you see red flags from the beginning, don’t let them into your chair.

The next thing you need to do is have a refund policy. This doesn’t just mean that you have a verbal refund policy. It needs to be written down and posted in the salon, and it needs to be printed on the receipt that your customers sign.

For example, at our salon, we don’t give refunds for our services. If someone is unhappy with the product, then we’ll do what we can to make it right, but we rarely give money back. We aren’t robots; we make mistakes. So we try to fix the situation, but we have it clearly printed on the receipts that we don’t give refunds.

Having your refund policy printed where the customer can see it can save your business if they file a dispute with their credit card company to say they were wrongfully charged. But if you can show that you explicitly stated your policy, then there’s less of a chance that the card company will give the customer their money back.

And the last part of your system should include engaging with all of your reviews. Yes, you want to respond to the negative ones, even if you can’t say what you really want to say for legal reasons, but you should also take the time to thank the people who took the opportunity to give you the review you deserved.

Engaging with your clients online will show potential customers that you care about their experiences. Because, let’s be honest, you do. You wouldn’t be in this business if you didn’t.

I just want to remind you that you are amazing at what you do. I’m always here cheering you on.

Listen to the full episode here.