Is Your Hairstylist Ripping You Off?
The same methods of selling retail products also apply to selling salon services, like perms, color, or highlights. Beware of hairstylists that are pushy. If you say no when they try to sell you something, an ethical stylist will drop it and move on, instead of trying to pressure you. If your regular stylist insists on selling you something different every time you visit the salon, then maybe its time to change hairstylists.
Prices are another issue. Most salons have a set price for services, like haircuts. Many others have vague and complex pricing structures. I've seen alot of stylists overcharge clients because they were difficult clients, or offer discounts to clients who were "cute" or "good-looking". I know of a hairstylist who charges foreign or minority customers more than caucasian customers. If you frequent one salon, yet get charged different prices for the same service, then it's time to find a new place to get your hair cut.
Salon owners always seem to raise prices every few years, always citing "increased costs". Theoretically, the prices of chemical services should increase, and haircuts should stay the same. If you have to pay more for a haircut because of "increased costs of business" then you've probably been duped. There are no costs when it comes to haircuts because there are no chemicals or products used. One salon I worked at raised haircut prices from 21.00 to 32.00, citing an "increase cost". Exactly what cost does a salon owner incur for a haircut? It costs nothing to cut hair other than labor, and beleive me, the salon owner didn't exactly turn the profits over to the one's who actually cut the hair. And from experience, when they say "we must raise our prices due to the increased cost of materials and supplies" it is, 90% of the time, a downright lie. I know because I'm usually the one who has to order the supplies from the distributor, for the same price we've always paid. But you wouldn't expect the salon to post a sign saying, "we must raise our prices because our salon owner wants a Mercedes instead of a BMW" now would you?
I don't want to imply that the business of hairstyling is a dark and dirty one. I imagine any business that relies of retail sales probably uses the same kind of tactics. But the next time a hairstylist tries
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