Salon Top Tips

S J Forbes Co-Director Offers Advice On How To Deal With Customer Complaints

Working in the hair and beauty profession means there isn’t anything quite as satisfying as watching a client leave the salon delighted with their new look. However, even salons with the highest standards will still experience an unhappy customer from time to time, and dealing with these clients needs to be carried out in a compassionate and professional manner. S J Forbes salon group Co-Director, and all round business expert, Hayley Gibson Forbes, offers advice on how to effectively deal with unhappy customers and ensuring your staff follows the same procedure.

Listen and Don’t Interrupt

It’s important when a client complains to listen to the problem and what they have to say, without interruptions. Often when people complain they have worked themselves up to do so, so make sure they can vent their anger or annoyance without being cut off mid sentence. Constructive criticism is all part of running a business, so listening is essential; the complainant may have a case and it could potentially be something you can work on in the future, to benefit your business.

Understanding Is Key

After a complaint has been made, it’s important to show empathy and then clarify what the problem is with the customer. Showing that you are being understanding will also help to calm the client down. Working with customers all day means you will already have great communications skills, so make sure you show this by being empathetic, yet authoritative. You understand the problem and you are in a position where you would like to rectify it.

Hold Your Hands Up

If the problem has been caused by you, or a member of staff, then the best thing to do is hold your hands up and take the blame. Even if you believe it’s not your fault, you still have an unhappy customer on your hands. There is no need for aggression in these situations and you shouldn’t take any either. Unfortunately most complaints, in a salon, will take place in a public space, in front of other customers, so be aware of the people around you and don’t try to win the battle, as you will end up loosing the war – and the customers. If a client starts to act disrespectfully, or their anger is increasing, calmly explain that you want to try and rectify the situation. If the anger – or on the rare occasion abuse – persists, you are perfectly within your right to terminate the conversation. You can only solve the problem with some co-operation from them.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Customers who complain often do so because they want to continue doing business with you, with some changes. So once a problem has been raised, tell the customer calmly that you personally want to solve it and lay out how you plan to do so. Ask them to return to the business, and when they do, make sure you or a senior member of staff takes care of them. This will help relieve any anxiety they may have when they return and assures them that the problem is unlikely to be repeated.

Learn From It

When a customer has been dissatisfied with their experience, the best thing you can do for your business is to stop it happening again. Ensuring staff have an in-depth and thorough consultation with their client, at the beginning of an appointment, before any hair colour has been applied or any locks have been cut, will guarantee that everyone is on the same page. It is much easier to retain clients than it is to recruit new ones, so make it a high priority within your team that if a problem has arisen, everyone knows how to minimise the risk of it happening again.

1/30/2017

Smoothing and straightening hair is nothing new, as evidenced by the sudden boom of hair straighteners on the market around 15 years ago. Everyone began sizzling their hair with flat irons in order to keep it poker straight and the trend was very much for eliminating even the slightest kink, and almost all movement, from the hair, keeping it entirely flat and perfectly straight. In recent years, however, people have wanted to move away from both the arduous task of styling their hair every day and the damaging effects that high heat can have on locks, moving, instead, onto something more natural and easy to maintain. Yet one of the biggest hair issues for clients – frizz – often prevents them from foregoing the straighteners. While clients may want movement and texture in their hair, they still want to eliminate the frizz that flat irons seem to so easily eradicate.

After examining extensive research, we discovered that 86% of female clients suffer from frizzy, damaged, dry or unruly hair. That means that if you were to speak to 10 clients in one day, only one or two of them are unlikely to suffer from this issue. With numbers like that, it makes sense that a viable solution to frizz is something that clients will enjoy and salons stand to benefit from. But suffering from frizz, particularly when the weather and elements come into play doesn’t necessarily mean wanting a poker straight mane. At Kebelo, we encourage women (and men) to enhance and make the most of their natural hair, rather than trying to change it into something it’s not. Similarly, clients shouldn’t have to go to extreme lengths or frequently put huge amounts of effort into their hair just to keep up with trends, celebrities or even their friends.

The great thing about hair today is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ style, but even when you see a celebrity on the red carpet with a wavy mane, or a model on the catwalk with flowing tresses or a slightly kinked style, the one thing they seem to have in common is that the hair almost always looks and feels smooth – and that is the secret to achieving a manageable and stylish mane, whatever the natural hair type. By investing in a professional smoothing system for your salon that produces long-lasting results, your clients can recreate these kinds of styles with ease. The main selling point for clients is not just on the results they get from these kinds of treatments, but the impact it can have on their whole lifestyle, saving them time in the morning, for instance, and not having to worry if there’s a sudden downpour outside.

When my brothers and I created Kebelo six years ago, our ultimate aim was to fill a gap in the market, which stemmed from customer’s wanting smooth, frizz-free hair. We wanted to create something that would fulfil our customers’ needs without being damaging to the hair, filled with nasty chemicals, or resulting in them having to frequently spend hours in the salon chair. After two years in the making, the ADVANTAGE treatment was born – a pioneering three-step process that contains carbocysteine smoothing technology, takes just one hour to complete in-salon and leaves clients with a smooth, glossy, manageable mane that lasts up to 100 days. With an RRP of £99, it provides an affordable solution for clients, yet gives salons the same return on investment they enjoy with colour services.

As new advances in technology such as this only continue to thrive, and clients are given more access to treatments, products and solutions that move them closer to their ideal hair without compromising on flexibility when it comes to their style, it’s not hard to see why more and more clients are indulging in smoothing treatments, and why an increasing number of salons are continuing to offers these kinds of revolutionary services.

8/10/2016

Benjamin Shipman, Marketing Director at Kebelo, shares his expertise on fusing science and nature to create the ultimate haircare plan

Haircare has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, with first-class products and treatments becoming ever more accessible to consumers. Science and innovation are increasingly growing, but the health-conscious consumer is also keen to use products that don’t have any nasty chemicals or harsh ingredients in them.

Here at Kebelo, we’ve found there are some select ingredients that harness the authenticity of nature with the power of science to give hair the strength, shine and vitality it needs:

Coconut Oil: Rich in fatty acids that nourish the scalp and hair, coconut oil helps to promote hair growth and combats frizz in curly hair to create extra definition. Coconut oil is also a rich source of nutrients like vitamin E, vitamin K, and iron, which are essential for maintaining hair softness and shine.

Keratin: With a unique strength and protective quality, hydrolysed Keratin particles are known to fill in the cracks along damaged areas in the hair shaft (which is made up of around 80% Keratin), strengthening the hair and increasing elasticity and volume. If that’s not enough, hydrolysed Keratin protein increases moisture in hair, restoring its lustre and volume, and making it more manageable.

Amaranth: This wonder ingredient is packed full of minerals, calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamins B and C. It also contains nine amino acids, 20% protein and is high in carbohydrates, which help convert protein in hair cells, as well as being rich in fibre, leaving hair fuller and thicker.

Guar Sugar: A unique hair conditioner derived from the tissue of the Guar bean, Guar Sugar is part of the legume family, grown in India. Through several stages of grinding and sifting, the sugar is separated and further ground to a fine powder called guaran. The result is a cleansing and conditioning ingredient containing protein, fibre and lots of moisture, perfect for dry hair.

Quinoa: A world-renowned superfood packed with vitamins, minerals and amino acids, Quinoa contains vegetable protein to gently cleanse and nourish hair while aiding hair growth and preventing breakage. It coats the hair shaft with a protective barrier, creating shine, eliminating frizz and generally conditioning the hair.

Jojoba: Brimming with benefits, jojoba oil is extracted from the seeds of the jojoba perennial shrub, and has the unique ability to balance sebum production from the scalp. It helps to remove build-up from excessive sebum, environmental pollutants and styling products, while creating amazing shine and increased elasticity. Clients are left with hair that feels soft and healthy, with locked-in moisture.

Chamomile: Extracted from the chamomile flower, this essential oil helps to protect the hair from adverse environmental conditions. It’s also very effective at treating oily hair that is responsible for dandruff, acting as a great colour protector and invigorating hair growth while strengthening roots.

Grape Seed Oil: The ultimate oil for moisturising and conditioning dry hair, grape seed oil is ideal for addressing weakened hair, hair loss and dandruff, as it’s lighter than other oils and doesn’t leave hair feeling greasy. Used as a deep conditioner to help create soft, glossy locks, it also seals in moisture, preventing frizz, split ends and brittle hair.

Soy: Elasticity is what allows us to style, stretch and manipulate hair without breakage; hair that breaks with little tension or stretching is a sign of too much protein and not enough moisture. Soy proteins give the perfect balance, strengthening and mending hair fibres while increasing the hair’s ability to retain moisture and creating a marked improvement in texture, gloss, elasticity and strength.

Hydrolysed Wheat: A protein extracted from wheat, this liquid substantially improves the way that hair retains moisture and adds volume to hair, while also reducing porosity, providing nourishment, and improving lustre and overall smoothness.

Argan Oil: Dubbed a ‘miracle oil’ because of its ability to hydrate hair in a natural way, Argan oil is extracted from the kernels of the Argan tree, grown in Morocco. Perfect for uncontrollable hair, it eliminates rough cuticles, frizz and unruly curls, treats split ends and is proven to make hair softer, silkier and shinier.

Look for these ingredients in hair products and treatments to offer clients something that is backed up by science, yet is easily communicated in terms of nourishment, strength and wellbeing. All of these ingredients can be found in one or more products in the Kebelo range, which offers prescriptive solutions for specific hair needs, from frizz to curls to moisture.

8/10/2016