Strange way to run a business!!

POPPYOSCAR

Recently a new hairdressers opened in our local high street. Got a flyer through the door with offer so myself and daughter tried it out.


We were both happy,so daughter booked to have her done on her birthday as she was going out.


However, when she turned up they said they had no record of her booking and that the stylist she had booked with was on holiday so they do not know what had happened.


Ok, mistakes happen, but they said they could not do her hair and that she would have to go back in the following week to see when they could fit her in as if they were doing her a favour.


Needless, to say she went elsewhere and will not be going back there.


I find this a very strange way to do business, especially a new one. They acted as if it was nothing, no apology, no attempt to sort it out, no offer of a discount etc. for her trouble.


Every time we go past they do not seem to have any/many clients so I will be surprised if they last long.

Double_V

For such business I pray that they don't last longer.
If you don't value your customers, you will not survive.

Sorry to hear about that.

I would not go there either.

Is it an independent hairdresser ? or a franchise ?

Azari

I think we just have to accept that some people are completely clueless when it comes to running a business.

They really do seem to think they are doing enough if they just do what's necessary when it's convenient to themselves.

Fortunately most businesses are not, generally, run that way, and those that are are fairly quickly weeded out by a sort of commercial natural selection.

boo_star

Azari wrote: »

I think we just have to accept that some people are completely clueless when it comes to running a business.

They really do seem to think they are doing enough if they just do what's necessary when it's convenient to themselves.

Fortunately most businesses are not, generally, run that way, and those that are are fairly quickly weeded out by a sort of commercial natural selection.

Perhaps, but ultimately the mistake was with the booking. Not being able to fit the OP's daughter in may have resulted in further problems.

It would, at the very least, have required other customers to be bumped out of their allotted appointments. For every single one that followed.

You then potentially have 10 peed off customers who vow never to go there again instead of just one.

Pollycat

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Recently a new hairdressers opened in our local high street. Got a flyer through the door with offer so myself and daughter tried it out.


We were both happy,so daughter booked to have her done on her birthday as she was going out.


However, when she turned up they said they had no record of her booking and that the stylist she had booked with was on holiday so they do not know what had happened.


Ok, mistakes happen, but they said they could not do her hair and that she would have to go back in the following week to see when they could fit her in as if they were doing her a favour.


Needless, to say she went elsewhere and will not be going back there.


I find this a very strange way to do business, especially a new one. They acted as if it was nothing, no apology, no attempt to sort it out, no offer of a discount etc. for her trouble.


Every time we go past they do not seem to have any/many clients so I will be surprised if they last long.

Did she book when you were still in the salon or ring up later?

Just curious - no excuse for poor admin and even less excuse for not apologising when something goes wrong.

Look out for the 'To Let' sign going up anytime soon.

skea56

We have a hair dressers near to where I now live - i have one at home that Ive been going to for years but thought it would be great for an upstyle or a trim as its so close. Unfortunately i've stopped going for a number of reasons:

*a booked app never started on time, always running about 15-20 mins behind. On one occasion they did not begin to wash my hair until 45 mins after the app time. Now I was not in an overly big hurry on most occasions, but the last 2 times I did explain to her I needed in and out in an hour for other apps, and yet still was there for almost 2 hours. Each app was made for a specific event and always booked at least 2-3 weeks beforehand if not longer. These apps were different days of the week and at different times, I could accept it being busy on a fri/Sat, but the last time was a Wednesday afternoon!

*through conversations with friends who had found the same thing, they had been told by the owner herself she never turns away a customer, which is grand, but if they specify a time when she already has a booking, she would take it as well, causing her to be double booked and therefore attempt to do two customers at the one time.

*I get that hair dressers are talkative - I am too, and enjoy banter and conversations to pass the time. However, the lateness of the app was added to as she felt the need to stop whatever she was doing and talk to everyone in the salon. Nothing was sacred - I heard about girls in the very early stages of pregnancy, a couple (who I did not know, but knew off who lived nearby) who were in the middle of a separation, and other details and information, which I would class as being private and was not comfortable with being included in conversations involving it.

*The salon advertises itself as child friendly, with toys etc for kids if they are waiting. However, you have to make an app for a child cut or trim. I called in with my OH's wee nephew who was 3 as he had managed to get chewing gum in his hair and needed it tidied up where we had cut it out. There was no one in the salon at the time, a Tuesday morning, and yet I was told an app was needed. Made one for Thurs afternoon and lo and behold she was double booked. We waited 30 mins before LO got unbearably restless, I left and went to a salon in town and got his hair fixed and trimmed in about 10 mins.

We havent been back since, which I find sad as it is so handy.

maybe I'm just strange but this is not the type of salon I am used to

sk56

Azari

boo_star wrote: »

Perhaps, but ultimately the mistake was with the booking. Not being able to fit the OP's daughter in may have resulted in further problems.

It would, at the very least, have required other customers to be bumped out of their allotted appointments. For every single one that followed.

You then potentially have 10 peed off customers who vow never to go there again instead of just one.

I did not say they had to 'fit her in'.

It's far more important that, when something goes wrong, you deal with it well, rather than expect to get everything right all the time.

In this case, a fulsome apology, some assistance in finding an alternative hairdresser, and possible an offer of a reduction on her next appointment would more than likely have had the OP's daughter well disposed to the business, despite their initial error.

POPPYOSCAR

Double_V wrote: »

For such business I pray that they don't last longer.
If you don't value your customers, you will not survive.

Sorry to hear about that.

I would not go there either.

Is it an independent hairdresser ? or a franchise ?

It is a franchise.

POPPYOSCAR

Pollycat wrote: »

Did she book when you were still in the salon or ring up later?

Just curious - no excuse for poor admin and even less excuse for not apologising when something goes wrong.

Look out for the 'To Let' sign going up anytime soon.

She rang up and booked about three weeks before.


Yes I am expecting to see the To Let sign going up.

POPPYOSCAR

Azari wrote: »

I did not say they had to 'fit her in'.

It's far more important that, when something goes wrong, you deal with it well, rather than expect to get everything right all the time.

In this case, a fulsome apology, some assistance in finding an alternative hairdresser, and possible an offer of a reduction on her next appointment would more than likely have had the OP's daughter well disposed to the business, despite their initial error.

Quite.


It was the fact that they were so matter of fact about it, no apology, just that they had no record of it and expecting her to go back in the following week to arrange another appointment.


We run our own business and perhaps why we have been going for over 25 years is the fact that we value our customers and when something goes wrong we do our utmost to put it right.


This is a new business trying to attract customers, as I said everytime we go past there is either one person in there or no one at all.There are at least 6 other hairdressers in the high street so treating their customers like this will do nothing to attract them away from them.


My daughter is now at the age where she has her own income and is starting to do things like get her hair done. They would have had a regular loyal customer in her.

POPPYOSCAR

boo_star wrote: »

Perhaps, but ultimately the mistake was with the booking. Not being able to fit the OP's daughter in may have resulted in further problems.

It would, at the very least, have required other customers to be bumped out of their allotted appointments. For every single one that followed.

You then potentially have 10 peed off customers who vow never to go there again instead of just one.

I think they would be lucky if they had 10 customers to pee off!!!


More like they could not be bothered.