You follow tons of different hair salon regulations and rules, beginning with organisational procedures from your carefully crafted manual, and ending with safety protocols that allow you to work, even during the most challenging times. However, it’s not only you who should follow certain guidelines. Yes, clients pay for your services and are entitled to having a good experience at your salon - but that doesn’t mean they should be allowed to do whatever their heart desires. As the salon owner, you not only can, but even should, set your own salon policies and require customers to follow them. What can you demand from your clients, how should you communicate your rules and what traps do you have to avoid? Let’s get straight into it!
Let’s begin with stating some important facts. Hair salon regulations are supposed to make your business a safe place for both your employees and customers. They include protocols for dealing with health hazards, rules for salon performance, disciplinary policies and so on. However, salon policies that focus on your clients’ behaviour are just as important. They safeguard you from treacherous, difficult or even dangerous situations, decrease the risk of accidents and promote the smooth performance of your business.
Now you may be asking - “what are my rights when it comes to expecting certain behaviours from my clients”? The main rule you should be aware of is that your policies cannot discriminate against anyone - meaning: you cannot treat clients differently because of their race, sex, gender, nationality, religion (or lack thereof), age or disability. You are in the right to create policies that are supposed to ensure the safety of your property as long as they are reasonable and not based on harmful assumptions against any group of people.
What does it mean in practice? Let’s take an example. You can (and even are legally obligated to!) refuse service to a person that is drunk, as they pose an immediate threat due to their intoxicated state. But you cannot refuse service to a person of another ethnicity, for example, just because you believe “they cannot be trusted”. It’s discrimination, which goes against the law and is frankly a horrible thing to do. Of course, if someone actually exhibits aggressive behaviour, you are 100% in the right to defend yourself and ban this person from your business, regardless of their race, nationality or sexual identification. But such things should always be based on a person’s real actions, not pernicious assumptions.
Another important example would be ageism. You are in the right to make your salon adult-only. Now you may ask - isn’t it discrimination based on someone’s age? In this case, you are justified, as this policy is not based on an unjustified assumption, but comes from a place of concern. A hair salon is an extremely dangerous environment for children, and therefore, denying them entrance is the right thing to do. However, if you were to disallow people 50+ from your premises because “they only want boring things done and I want my salon to be cool” you are, again, discriminating, and deserve a fat fee, as well as a few hours in the corner where you can reflect on your nasty behaviour.
Once we have the basics cleared up, we can discuss the specifics. What are the behaviours you shouldn’t tolerate in your hair salon?
Most hairstylists dread no-shows - and for a good reason. No-shows waste your time and bring financial losses, especially if the abandoned appointment was supposed to be long and advanced (nothing hurts like a three-hour balayage session that didn’t happen). However, you don’t have to just “deal with it” - you are in the right to demand that your clients let you know in advance if they have to cancel. What’s more, it's up to you to define the fee for failing to meet your requirements. Of course, sometimes no-shows aren’t intentional, being a consequence of an accident or sudden illness, so it’s important to stay sensitive, especially if the client is a loyal one. However, more than one instance of not showing up or the lack of a proper apology is enough of a reason to exercise your rights.
Psst - it’s not only salon policies that can safeguard your business from irresponsible customers. Did you know that using a hair salon software that sends automatic appointment reminders to clients can reduce the number of no-shows by up to 70%? Furthermore, Booksy offers No-Show Protection features, such as Deposits and Cancellation fees. Start your free trial with Booksy now and enjoy the additional protection!
Similarly to no-shows, late cancellations also make you lose time and money, the only difference being that you at least have some sort of information on what happened. Again, it’s up to you to decide the deadline for informing you about the cancellation, as well as the consequences of failing to comply.
Living our busy lifestyles, we all end up running late from time to time. Unfortunately, a significant delay on the client’s part may negatively impact the quality of their appointment and even mess with your schedule for the rest of the day. Once again, you have the power to decide which late arrivals you are willing to tolerate (usually it’s 5-10) and whether or not you are going to assign a fee for being a notorious offender in this matter. Consider allowing different delays for different services - after all, there is a difference between being 10 minutes late for a three-hour appointment and a 15-minute one!
A very important point. Some health issues (including allergies) can be a contraindication to getting a certain service done, as they may either negatively affect its final effect, or even be straight-up dangerous. This is why it is absolutely crucial to let your clients know that they have to give you heads-up if they suffer from these issues.
You need to explain that you are not asking for such personal information out of curiosity and how severe the consequences can be if they decide to hide their condition and go on with the treatment. Mind that customers may not be aware which health issues, allergies or medications can be the culprit - it is one of many hair salon manager responsibilities to deliver clients a list of possible contraindications. Failing to do so may result in a lawsuit for professional negligence.
Finally, keep in mind that it’s not only health issues that may affect the treatment you provide - sometimes it’s the previous services the client had. Of course, if the client is a regular and you are using Booksy, you have their entire appointment history at hand - however, new customers should be made aware which services are a big no-no if you had something else done in recent months.
Unfortunately, it’s possible that you had this situation happen before - a client wasn’t satisfied with the final result of a service you provided and they refused to pay. Is there a way to prevent such things from happening? It’s important to have a refund policy in place. This rule should clearly state that all service sales are final and thus have to be paid for, and any theft of services will be prosecuted. Such a policy needs to explain what type of refund is the client entitled to, what are the requirements for getting one and what is the deadline for informing you about the dissatisfaction from the visit.
This one is very straightforward. No one should ever be allowed to be aggressive towards you, your employees and other clients - verbally or physically! The moment the client starts harassing, calling names, threatening or becoming too handsy, you are absolutely in the right to stop performing a service and demand that they leave your premises with no refund. Client or not, no one can act hostile towards you, under any circumstances. Do not “suck it up”. Stand up for yourself, call for help if necessary and don’t shy away for reporting such behaviour!
Finally, let’s talk about people (and not exactly people!) whose company may not be welcome in your hair salon. We’ve already briefly touched upon the issue with children. For more details, read our article on establishing a child policy in your salon, but the most important fact to remember is that it’s you who decides whether or not you want your business to be family-friendly or adult-only (or anything in between).
It’s a similar story with pets - it’s you who decides if you want your premises to allow the fuzzy company (once again, for more details, check our article on pet-friendly salons). The only situation in which you have a duty to let an animal in, is when the pet in question is an Assistance Animal.
Lastly, you can also clearly state how many people can accompany your client when they are getting their hair done. No one wants an entire family hovering around your workstation and commenting on how good the colour came out - if you have issues with an unwelcome crowd, set a rule limiting the number of possible “extras'' to one, and restrict them to sitting in the waiting area.
You cherish your clients, but even the nicest of them can sometimes break your boundaries, even if unintentionally. Clear salon rules will help you maintain proper relations with them, make your working environment more healthy and allow everyone to have a much better experience at your salon. You and your employees included!
.png)
