7 Tips for Handling Hairdresser and Barber Shop Complaints

Name a stylist who’s gone their entire career without a single hairdresser complaint or barber shop complaint. It’s tricky—perhaps even impossible. People can be challenging to deal with, especially when it comes to something as personal and identity-forming as their hair. More than half of women in the United States report that a good hair day has a huge impact on their positivity and self-esteem. 

Meanwhile a salon’s study of 1,000 Americans found that one in 10 have been so disappointed by a haircut, they altogether refused to pay for it. One percent of the poll’s participants threatened to sue their salon. Other research shows that more than half of today’s consumers will switch to your competitor after just one bad experience.

No one wants an angry client. It’s upsetting for everyone involved. 

But it happens. Bad cuts, overprocessed hair, and hairdressing injuries like slips and falls can be the stuff of hair salon nightmares. When it does, it helps to come prepared. A Consumer Rage study found that more than 70 percent of upset customers will recommend a company after having their concerns addressed. So how you deal with criticism can have a huge impact on your bottom line. Here are 7 ways to handle hairdresser and barber shop complaints with ease.

How to Deal with Complaints in Hairdressing

1. Don’t ignore an unhappy client.

If you receive a harsh hair salon customer review, your first instinct may be to withdraw. You might ignore the flustered voicemail or feel tempted to delete the inflamed comment from your Instagram post.

Don’t ignore hairdresser complaints or difficult hair clients. Customers remember all manner of service experiences—and they reward response with loyalty.

A study of more than 400,000 customer service-related tweets found that customers who receive any kind of response from a company were willing to pay that company more. This was true even if that company already cost more than its competitor. It didn’t matter if the customer was happy, furious, or sad. All of them were willing to recommend a brand for at least six months after their Twitter interaction.

Takeaway: Respond to all feedback, good and bad. Engaging with even the most confrontational, difficult hair clients can positively impact their relationship with your brand.

2. Respond fast.

Remember how we just told you to respond to happy and unhappy clients? Yes, that’s important. But even more important is how quickly you respond. 

The sooner you reply to a barber shop complaint, the more value your brand captures, the above study explains. It observed that after 20 minutes, customers only saw the brand as $3 more valuable. After five minutes or less, many customers were willing to pay almost $20 more for that brand (an increase of 85 percent).

3. Stay calm.

The best hair salon customer service requires you to stay calm. Hairdresser and barber shop complaints often come from clients who feel emotional about their experience with you. Don’t match their emotions. Don’t raise your voice over the phone or post a heated reply online, either.

Instead, take deep breaths. You can also remind yourself to smile—yes, even if you can’t see your client’s face. In his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” Dale Carnegie says customers can “hear” your smile through your voice. If you don’t feel like smiling, force it, Carnegie writes. Put on a good show. By acting as if you’re happy, you’ll influence your inner thoughts and change how you respond to unhappy clients.

4. Practice the HEAT model.

People panic in stressful situations. How do you handle an unsatisfied customer as a hairdresser when their emotions are rising? 

A mnemonic device like the HEAT model can help you remember how to handle difficult hair clients every time. Specifically, it reminds you to Hear, Empathize, Apologize, and Take ownership.

First, people who feel heard, feel better. In a de-escalation study, authors wrote that a one percent increase in active listening can boost customer gratitude by up to 14 percent. Meanwhile, a one percent increase in empathy can generate up to 90 percent more customer gratitude.

So listen actively to your hairdresser and barber shop complaints. Take notes. Use people’s names. Don’t interrupt. Give verbal cues over the phone. For example, you might repeat information so the customer knows you’re paying attention.

Additionally, apologize and take ownership. While you don’t want to admit fault, you can express how sorry you are for the inconvenience or the trouble. Myra Bryant Golden uses her LinkedIn platform to share a list of phrases you can borrow. This includes phrases for expressing sympathy and empathy without admitting fault.

For more specific steps to taking ownership for hairdresser horror stories, reference this guide from the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association.

5. Instead of refunds, invite them back.

One way to take ownership of a bad haircut is to offer a solution. If you’ve managed customer service in a salon, you’ve probably been in this position. Perhaps you’ve handled hairdresser complaints or barber shop complaints and felt inclined to offer a refund.

Instead, Salon Services encourages gift cards or a free appointment. It gives you and your stylists the opportunity to provide a stellar second experience and earn an unhappy client’s loyalty. In other words, it allows you to make things right at your salon, not someone else’s. 

6. Learn from your mistakes.

Whether you own a salon or you work at someone else’s, never miss an opportunity to learn from yourself. As Carnegie writes in “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” learning from the past is way more productive than getting defensive.

“When we are wrong—and that will be surprisingly often, if we are honest with ourselves—let us admit our mistakes quickly and with enthusiasm,” Carnegie said. “Not only will that technique produce astonishing results, but, believe it or not, it is a lot more fun, under the circumstances, than trying to defend ourselves.”

7. Set and practice your beauty salon complaints protocol.

Hairdresser complaints and hairdressing injuries shouldn’t catch you without a plan.

Be prepared and write a complaints policy for your salon. Even better, set a hairdressing complaints policy for all kinds of conflicts: in person, over the phone, and online. 

Furthermore, give every customer-facing employee an opportunity to practice. If someone manages your reviews or social media, let them write practice answers to your hair salon’s Google reviews, reviews of your hairdressers, and other customer feedback for your salon. 

For how to deal with a difficult hair client in person or over the phone, try roleplaying. Practicing your salon’s policy keeps everyone calm and confident during conflicts.

Make insurance part of your procedure.

There are some difficult hair clients who don’t back down easily. If your hairdresser complaint turns into something serious, like a lawsuit, make sure you have an insurance provider who’s in your corner. Not currently insured? We’d love to help! Fill out our application to start your coverage journey.