alexw75•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Question about handling a client who wanted a cut that just wouldn't work

About two months ago, a young guy came into my shop in Portland with a picture of a super complex, disconnected undercut. The problem was, his hair was fine and thin, and he had a cowlick right where the disconnect was supposed to be. I told him straight up, 'With your hair type, this is going to look messy in three days and you'll hate it.' He got really annoyed and said, 'Just do what I'm paying for.' So I did. He came back a week later, looking frustrated, and admitted I was right. It was a total bird's nest. He ended up letting me fix it with a much softer, blended version that actually worked with his hair. It taught me that sometimes you have to be the bad guy to be the good guy later. How do you all handle it when you know a client's request is a mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

felixfisher1mo agoMost Upvoted

You're a service provider, not a parent. The client pays for a specific cut, they should get it. Your job is to execute their vision, not talk them out of it. Learning from a bad haircut is part of growing up and figuring out personal style. Sometimes people need to see the mistake for themselves.

clark.robin1mo ago

But what about the client who blames you for the bad result they insisted on? You gave the exact cut they asked for, but now their social media post says you're a terrible stylist who ruined their hair. That reputation hit is real, and it's not always fair to say "they paid for it" when your name gets dragged. Sometimes steering someone away from disaster is just smart business, not parenting.

rileynelson27d ago

@clark.robin you're totally right - reputation is everything in this game.