Knowing When It's Time to Part Ways with a Client

Hey there! Picture this: you wake up in the morning, full of excitement for the day ahead. You grab your phone or sit in front of your computer, ready to check your schedule. And there it is, waiting for you. THE CLIENT, scheduled to spend two or more hours with you. You know the one I'm talking about - always running late, constantly venting about her life or indulging in gossip, questioning your pricing, and never satisfied with her hair. Instantly your energy takes a nosedive. That good mood you had? Poof! It's gone. You find you're talking to yourself like a crazy person, mentally preparing for the inevitable conversation you'll have with her. And here's the kicker - despite knowing how draining it is, you'll reluctantly schedule her for another appointment six weeks from now. Just the thought of that future appointment fills you with dread. So, why on earth do we put ourselves through this? It's definitely not because we enjoy being treated poorly for heaven's sake! The reasons are actually pretty simple, but I'm here to help you navigate your way towards what's best for your business and YOU.

1. Financial considerations always play a big role. 

Raising your prices makes room for those who value you and your work, and will organically knock out those who do not. My next blog will run through pricing structures, and how and when to raise your prices, so stay tuned!

2. We tend to be people-pleasers.

Raise your hand if you dread confrontation and saying no. We'd rather be miserable for two hours than have to deal with confronting a client. 

Before identifying when it's time to break up, do you have these in things place?

Personal Boundaries: 

What are your personal boundaries? Ask yourself "if I was dating/had a relationship with this person and they treated me the way a client does" would they still be in my life? These should always be a guideline to how you run your business.

Business Boundaries: 

Are you specific on your expectations with every new guest? Do you participate in the drama? It may be tempting in the beginning of a stylist-client relationship to jump in on a gossip train or ignore the 10-minute late arrival, but those behaviors set the stage for bad results down the road.

Procedures and Systems. 

Do you have your procedures and systems in place? All new clients should be filling out and SIGNING a form or contract that specifies your policies. Do you have a website? If not, you at least need a linktr.ee. Do they clearly state your pricing structure? Do they clearly state your late, last minute, and no-show policy? And does it clearly state your redo and refund policy? I highly suggest a no-show policy where a credit card is on file. Do you send out an email before every appointment with the details of their appointment and your policies? Because I do. Every time. Once these are in place, you will feel much more at ease letting a client go.

Speak In Person When Possible - You don't want to be broken up with via text or letter, so don't do it to your client. Unless volatile or abusive circumstances are at play, then feel free to write an email and document everything.

Now that I’ve put a few guidelines in place for you for you to follow, here are some examples of clients you may need to break up with:

THE ALWAYS RUDE CLIENT - whether it be to my team or front desk, on the phone or in person. This is a non-negotiable and I don’t even entertain keeping them.

Script: “Clearly, we can’t make you happy. You’d be better suited with another stylist or salon. We cannot tolerate any behavior that abuses my boundaries. I wish you luck.”

The Always late and Always Cancelling Client - These clients can cost you thousands in a year and you have to be able to rely on them showing up. Once OK.. Twice, it's time for a conversation, three times You’re Out!

Script: "I've noticed that you have been consistently running late for your appointments and I wanted to address this issue with you. I'd love to keep you in my schedule but I do need to make sure you understand the impact of you not arriving on time. What I can do is adjust what we can accomplish in the time we have left today, but the price will remain for the original service.”

The Drama Queen and Life is Always Over Client - They usually feed on attention and drama.

Disengage and redirect. This is a hard script so I just don't respond and feed into it. I will never ask how they're doing, I stay on the subject of hair, what I am doing, and while they're  processing I will say, “I am going to let you process in quiet and calm space today and let you decompress. We'll rinse you in thirty minutes and you’ll feel like a new person!”

My rule of thumb is three. Clients have bad days just like we do and I need to give the benefit of the doubt, but after three times of any given situation as stated above, I can promise you, you have a repeat offender that will probably not change their ways. Our mental health has to be more important than any paying guest. I always say there’s more than enough clients to go around and creating space and creating your dream client has to be your MANE objective!