Seriously, though. Why do hairdressers always seem to cut off way more than they are asked to? Or is it just my sensitive psyche exaggerating the damage?
Well, I don’t know about the always cutting off too much, but it seems like they never get the right amount. If you just want a little off they cut too much, if you want alot off they get conservative and you need to keep telling them shorter, shorter.
Well you’ve got your Hairdresser, and you’ve got your Barber.
Hairdressers want to make your head a work of art. They have ten or twelve people in a day, all wanting different styles or amounts cut off, while the ‘artiste’ wants to make a stattement or something. Resistance to bend on each end creates a compromised hairstyle that neither wanted.
Barbers want their ten bucks and their floor swept up.
I don’t know if that really contributes anything, but I figured it needed to be said.
:::ahem:::Please don’t group all hairdressers together. Yes, I know that there are scissor-happy ones out there. Yes, I know some don’t take off enough.
There ARE places that will do what you ask. I happen to work in one of those places. We always find out what the client wants, and always repeat what they just told us. That way we make sure that we understand what they are asking for. If that’s not it, then they should tell us that. Example…the client says to take off an inch. I show them what an inch is (our combs are marked by inches). You’d be surprised at what people think an inch is, and what it really is. They usually think it’s less than what it is.
Yes, I do about 10-12 people a day, but I spend the time talking to and pampering them, not doing any old thing I want to do to them. Even when people tell me to do what I want to do (it’s rare, but it happens), I still tell them what my plans are. Ninety-nine percent of them freak at every single suggestion I make and end up leaving with just the ends trimmed, then wonder why their hair looks the same.
There are what I call “chop shops” out there. They pay their workers based on how many haircuts they do per hour, and if they go below a certain number, they get in trouble. The number is quite high. They are more concerned with getting you in and out of their chair so they don’t get in trouble. It affects their work. I do know this because I know people who work in those kind of places (one guy told me he did 10 haircuts in ONE HOUR!). I like where I am, because my boss is more interested than quality than quantity. I can actually talk to the client and give them great service without looking at the clock. And I NEVER do just what I want…I do what the client wants me to do (that is, if it’s doable. If it’s not i give them alternatives, but they are free to tell me if they want me to do that or something else). Everybody who works where I do follow the same routine with every client.
So, just shop around. they aren’t ALL like what you guys described.
MaryAnn
Sometimes life is so great you just gotta muss up your hair and quack like a duck!
10 Haircuts an hour does seem out of line for a hairdresser but not a barber. In my neighborhood, it is number one clipper on sides and back, and number 3 on top. Boom 5 minutes you’re done.
I have also notices that Hairdressers charge rediculous amounts for their services. I have gotten a barber haircut for $11 and the Excat same haircut cost me $45 at a salon. Hell I’ll shampoo my OWN hair for $34, or I could at least find someone who’d do it for me for less!
Don’t let the loveless ones sell you a world wrapped in grey.
I have very thick, wavy hair. I am a woman. I do not wear a crew cut. I do not trust my hair to just anyone. It’s worth it to me to pay $35 to get a haircut that looks good.
At times, I have worm my hair in very simple styles. At those times, I have happily gone to “barber” type places, or even had my friends give me a trim.
See the difference?
Back to your original question, Sofa King: I’d sure like to see how you get away with this–I mean carrying around a yardstick and pulling other guys’ pants down! Awwwkkk!!!
“If you drive an automobile, please drive carefully–because I walk in my sleep.”–Victor Borge
I use the same hairdresser for about 15 years now. I don’t have to tell her how much to cut, she already knows. $10 cut, $3 shampoo.
Thanks, MaryAnnQ, for that testimonial. I’m particularly intriqued by your statement that many customers underestimate the size of an inch. That would imply that its the client (i.e. me), not the professional, that is making the mistake.
I’m one of those rare-again-for-the-moment long haired guys, and if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s having my hair cut too short to put in a pony tail. Society has relaxed enough that I can run around Capitol Hill without getting strip-searched at every corner, but the cave-man look is still not met with approval.
And I don’t go around measuring other guy’s penises. Just my own, every single day. My Growth Chart unfortunately leveled out ten years ago, but there’s still hope…
Guy walks into a barber shop, looking for a specific barber by name. The barber on duty looks up and says, “Can I help you, sir?”, and the guy asks, “Yeah----you Bob Peters?” and the barber says, “No, buddy, I only cut hair.”
I am not a hairdresser.
Peace,
mangeorge
Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
Dance like nobody’s watching! …(Paraphrased)