Salon Rising: The Podcast

Summary

Welcome back to the inner sanctum lovers. In this episode, we delve deep into not one but two pain points that we can all relate to. When clients leave, and when you receive a bad review. We've all been there, we've all had that ick feeling, you are not alone! Join us as we break it down.

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and Podcast Introduction

00:48 Diving Into the Topic: Client Departures

03:53 Personal Stories of Client Loss

05:59 Dealing with the Emotional Impact

10:55 Learning from Client Departures

15:09 The Importance of Communication and Feedback

19:04 Reflecting on Client Relationships and Growth

23:39 The Impact of Consistency and Feedback

24:18 Navigating Negative Reviews with Growth

24:45 A Personal Story of Receiving a Harsh Review

29:19 The Importance of Not Reacting Immediately to Negative Feedback

30:11 Responding to Reviews

31:32 The Emotional Journey of Handling Criticism

37:40 Building Resilience and Positive Practices in Business

43:09 Encouraging Positive Engagement and Reviews

46:31 Concluding Thoughts on Business Vulnerability and Support

Transcript

Hey lovers, just a quick one. If you listen to us and you love us, could you please hit that subscribe button? I know it's a pain, but that little button means the world to us and our podcast and means that we can get more great guests on like we know you guys love listening to. So. Do a girl a favour, hit subscribe, and we would be so grateful.

Do you want to do the welcome or shall I do the welcome? No, you're doing the welcome today. Okay. Welcome back everybody. I just need to check because sometimes when I go to do it, you're like, I wanted to do the welcome. I do the welcome. Welcome back to the Salon Rising podcast, everyone. It's so nice to have you here talking today about clients.

Yup. Leaving. I actually feel a little nervous about this one. We haven't discussed it at all. We just know that it needs to be a conversation. So I actually feel a little bit, this is the first podcast I think I feel a little bit giddy about because. Really? Yeah. Is that because I said to you, do you think we need to discuss this beforehand?

Maybe. Um, sorry. It's more so the rawness of it, like, and this is a rawness for anyone that knows this conversation. True. Um, and it's like. I don't know. It's a sensitive topic. I also want to talk today on reviews. I think I'm just going to be really open and a little bit heartbroken about things so that you guys understand, like, That doesn't matter where you are in business, like how these things look.

So I think for me, it's just more, it's a little bit raw and I just want everyone to feel a little bit heard and you know, how I deal with things and you know, is that necessarily right? Maybe not, but like, this is how I do it and this is how I feel about it. And it is raw. Like it's, it's still raw. Like. At the moment, because this all came from a conversation where we're like talking about something.

It's like, shit, that needs to be a podcast. It does. Yeah. Um, so yeah, let's just feel this out today, Jen. I've just said to Jen, like, just come at me with whatever you think needs to be discussed and I'll just be as open as I possibly can about how I feel about what happens and this whole process. Okay.

Okay. So. Oh, see, I had where I wanted to start, but I feel like I really want to know what you feel like is making you feel nervous about this. Like what do you think? Is it the underlying, is it that, you know, if people know that a client has left that perhaps I'm not successful? No, it's just the hurt that I feel like it's, I guess just that being no, because everyone has clients that leave like, and it's not that, cause again, I'm very transparent, but no, I definitely have clients that leave.

I'm not. The guru that has no clients ever leave. If that was the case, you know, that's never going to be the case. Like we, we can talk about the reason why clients leave and, you know, talking through that, we've had a conversation on our members. Actually, we, one of the questions was client retention and we had a really good conversation on, you know, the things that we work towards and stuff, but nobody.

And I mean, nobody is not have anyone like, yeah, like this is, this applies to our entire industry and you know, we should also have clients that leave, like you shouldn't have the same clients forever, but it's just an interesting topic and how I used to take things and how I take things now are really different.

So more so just like I am still human and things still hurt. I don't, it's not that I am completely switched off to it now. Um, but it just, I feel like the hurts gotten. More manageable on a lighter side of the hurt to start off with. I feel like so, so that people can comprehend the level that the hurt used to sit at a really good conversation to share.

And I wonder what is she's bringing up? I feel like I know. So there was a time when during a lunch break, you happened to look on Instagram stories and saw a client of yours. I knew you were going to bring this one up. Getting her done. Yep. And just spiraled off the deep end, like it was a lot, wasn't it?

Oh, she'd been into, so, okay. All right. Let's preface this. We're to go into all the different types of this has happened, but this, I remember this one specifically because she was a very, very good client who loves me and is obsessed with me. So, I had done her hair two weeks earlier. And then two weeks later, I see her having her hair done again at another salon.

And pretty much it was all burn it to the heart. Oh my goodness. I don't have jobs anymore. Just close the doors, you know, tools down. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm terrible. And I, this is when I started stepping into, I was like, I need to send her a message because I don't want to spiral about this and I need to know like what's happened and how I can improve it and what do I need to do in the future and how is she feeling and blah, blah, blah.

So I wrote that whole message I remember and spiraled about it for like hours. Because she didn't reply. Because she didn't reply. And then what happened, Jen? And then, as you were leaving, having just said, like, burn it to the ground, there's no point. There's a for sale sign across the door. Yeah, just put the for sale sign.

done. You were walking out to your car and I came running, saying, Samara, she's replied! And she had to go blonder than I'd given her because she was having hair extensions and it wasn't blonde enough. Yeah. And she was like, I love you. Absolutely not. Like you're the greatest human ever. And I was just like, Oh my God, I've just spiraled about that for so many hours.

And, um, Sam will know, I'm going to tell her to listen to this episode. Cause you'll know it's her and she's still such a beautiful, amazing client of mine. But this is not always the case. Sometimes it's in the other way and it's like, how do I deal with it? How have I dealt with it in the past? How moving forward do I deal with it?

So I can remember, obviously we've all had it over our careers many times, but there's a specific one for me that I always remember her because she was a really, really great client for years. I'm pretty sure I know who this is going to be too. One. Oh no, that's the second one. Okay. That's another one I can think of.

This one was years and years ago. I literally can't even remember her name, but it feels like she, every time I think about her, it feels like that was my first hurt and I, she just disappeared one day and. I don't know why it's always for me, it's the ones that like really love me and what I do that it's really personal, you know, like I know we're going to have clients leave and I've looked over our clients that have missed and I, there's some of them that I'm like, Oh, I wonder where they are.

And, you know, and I'll tell you the process we do shortly on that. But there's certain ones that are like. It feels like real friendship that those ones are the ones that like break you as a human, you know, those are the ones that you're like, what have I done? What could I have done better? Is this the one that read a lot of books?

That one's the other one. So I knew you knew that one. So yeah, the first one, it just happened and I have never got closure over it. The one that Jen's talking about again. So she was a client of the salon every two weeks. And the same time every two weeks and we frothed over her and loved her. And, you know, she was always a massive part of our salon and I can even remember the appointment that was her last appointment.

Like, and I remember what happened and all of it. Like I remember the service being there, but then she just canceled her next appointments. And we had all, I'd messaged a long message saying, um, like, I'm checking in to see how you are. Like, how are you? How is things? Like, we haven't seen you. We miss you.

Just letting you know, like, if there's any, anything you want to, any advice we need or any, you know, just like, we're always open to any feedback. And I never heard back. And then I think I messaged her again a couple of months later. And then when Tegan got moved home, she also messaged her cause she used to be a client and we never ever heard back.

And one day her, her daughter, yeah. And again, I was like, how is mom? Like, and no closure ever again. So that, That one story I've never gotten closure from, like I never knew what happened, what we did. So isn't it interesting in my head, I'm like, I've done something wrong. I didn't, I wasn't enough. And it's, this is this story that we play all the time, you know, like I'm not enough.

Something's wrong. Like I could have been more and done more. And this is stuff that I'm working on. Like, you know, I have spiritual coach and, you know, we're talking to her on an episode. So this is stuff that I've certainly done that has definitely given me more peace over the, over the years, because. I generally just want people to be happy.

Yeah. I generally want to try it. We want to do our best and you know, our salon is so, we're so about that, you know, we want our clients to be happy and I hate it when something goes wrong. I hate it when they're unhappy. And you know, sometimes we just have to listen to. Sometimes to like, Life happens and things will go wrong.

Yes, but I hate when people feel like they can't tell you that something's gone. Agreed. Like that's like people just disappear. If we actually, you know, took stock on this and and how many different ways people can leave us. And also when we do it, you know, like I have done this in the past where I have just smoked bomb someone and they were probably thinking, where have they gone?

Not because I am doing it to be rude, but generally they're not thinking about it. They're just like, Oh, I'm just going to go here. Like, because our attachment to them. I think is more fierce than their attachment to us. And I think what we have to do is remind ourselves that we are still hairdressers.

Yeah, we are still Browtex. We are still facialists. We're still salon owners. They pay us. So as much as it feels personal for us. It's still a service for them. Yeah, that's true. Because I think about, I've, I've had a new accountant and my old accountant was like family friend. He was great, but I had to ring up and say to him like, Hey, just so you know, and again, it's, I always would love people to feel like they were comfortable enough to do that.

But for me, it was like, I needed a change, like, and I needed. Different eyes on my business. It wasn't anything personal to do with him, but I still did the right thing and kind of rung up and said, Hey, just so you know, like, this is what I'm going to do. But. You know, to a degree it's that feeling. It's like, it's not enough.

I'm not doing enough. I'm not being enough, but there's a lot of people over the years that have just smoke bombed and I can think of them, but on this flip side to this, there is also so many people that have left. And I think how we handle people leaving all depends on how they're coming back into our lives.

Yes, I totally agree. And I think I've learned that over the years. Like, I think if there is somebody that you are thinking about that has gone. Send them a message. Send them a message. Like, and it needs to be a message, not like, where are you? It needs to be a message like, Hey, I've noticed you haven't been in.

Um, Um, this is no pressure on you. I just, if you have any feedback for me to, you know, if there was anything maybe wrong with your service or something you are unhappy with, I'm open to that. Just so you know, I've always adored our relationship and I hope to see you again soon or something like that.

Yeah. Especially the ones that like sit, sit. Like in your chest, like those ones are the ones that I will get personal with. You can see them. Yes. You're like, Hey, I can see every single one of these ones I'm talking about. I can tell you where they sat in the salon, everything. Like those ones are ones that run deep.

And I also think we need to be okay with feedback on both sides because sometimes we do get feedback and sometimes I think, not granted, I'm not taking that like, and other times I'll take feedback in and take it really in because, and that's what can change us fundamentally as people. But it's also okay, I think on the other side of that, we always want growth, but it's also okay not to look at something and not take it on and not pick yourself apart about it if you feel like you're being who you need to be.

And I think also, sometimes people will leave and you need to sit there and as much as you might have loved that person as a human or something like that, like you really need to evaluate. Like we talk a lot about, Who is your ideal client? What do they have? And you need to sit and think, maybe this was for me as well, because maybe this person, if I really look at it, is not my ideal client.

I love them as a, like fundamentally as a human, but what I'm seeking to grow in what I do and with my business. It's actually not that person. Yeah. Great. And by them moving on, it is then allowed a space for that person to come in. Agreed. Which is, it doesn't mean like, Oh my God, well there, you know, you just go because we'll find somebody.

It's not that. It's like, Oh, okay. If I actually sit down and look at this, what if I, if I said my ideal client is this, this, this, and this is that person that, Oh, okay, well, and if they like, again, they might be, and that's still, someone still might move on, but there's those. Oh, hang on. Maybe they weren't.

Maybe this is where I'm heading. And that's why that's happened. And I think too, we don't have ownership over our clients and they need change. At times they need, we have had many clients that have come and gone back and come and left and come and left and come and left. And if I can do that in the best way that never makes them feel like they can't come back in, like this space is always for them.

I think for me, one of the things I had to learn is that. It's not personal. It's not me. Mate, had to tattoo it on my arm just to try and get it across. I feel you. It's like, it's cause I, you know, you know, I used to take those things really personally. We both did like down a dark spiraling hole. I cannot like, again, Tegan's job is to go through the missed client list.

I can't do that. It really like gets in my soul because I am a really passionate owner of this beautiful space and my girls are the same way. And So, but exactly right. You were like, you know, you and I, we got down and dirty and it was just like, it just is not good for us to do that. Because, you know, it's funny when I reflect on this the other day, I saw, I've had a client that I've had for many years and many, many, many years, maybe 14, 15 years.

And. When I left to have Wilder, she stopped coming to the salon and she's been to other people, but when I came back, I realized she had gone and I messaged her just to check in and it was just like, I was like, you know what, I'm not going to mention her hair because I'm like, at the end of the day, I'm not there, I'm not going to mention it, I'm not going to make her feel awkward, like, I love her as a human, so I'm just going to connect with her as a human.

And I think this is where it changed things for me. And I was walking through the supermarket last week and I saw her and I haven't seen her in like 12 months at least. And we'd been through some pretty deep stuff together as well. And I was like, this is the opportunity where I either put my head down, pretend I don't see her and live out the awkwardness.

But I literally chased her out and like hugged her harder than I've ever hugged her. And I was like, I've missed you. Like, how are you? Like what's happening? Like our kids were all running around another child and she was like, Oh, are you back? And I was like, yeah. And she was like, Oh, I would love to come back and see you.

And I was like, my chair's open, especially like for you always. But again, it wasn't so much about. my chair because I have lots of clients. It was more so I missed her as a human. So it's like that for me, I needed to reach out and just be like. Oh my, like, you know, again, I think we let it get so awkward and we had a situation like last week where we, we realized something.

There was a, you know, unfollow and for Jen and I and from a long time client and I don't think it had anything to do with the hair. Like I really don't. You and I have spoken about this because the hair was many months ago. There's just been. Yeah, it's like hard to explain, but yeah, you know, with Jen moving on, I think things kind of got a bit awkward with where she went and not for Jen and I, you know, not for us.

Um, and it was just like a realization the other night and I text Jen and Jen was like, Oh my God, I didn't realize that either. And I went to reach out and because I was like blaming myself. Yeah. Yeah. And I thought, actually. No, like, no, do I always try my best? Do I always love my hardest? Have I always given the most?

Have I always done this? Yes. So I think we also have to be okay with sometimes just being like, all right. And I know this isn't the easiest information. I'm not like, this is how I handle things, guys. But like, I really think you need to listen to your gut and your intuition and your heart. Um, where you go with that.

And I used to spiral, but I think after, I think speaking it through with someone is really important. Like if ever this is the case, Jen and I will speak through it or I'll speak through it with Tegan or one of the girls. And afterwards I feel lighter because otherwise I take it all on myself. And it's a really hard job because again, clients aren't thinking like they think they're one too many.

So they're not thinking, Oh my God, they're going to be so upset. So, the way that we handle it on the other side is I think really important and I had a client who left and I realized she left and Wilder was only a baby and I sent her a message and she said, Oh, I was going to have a chat to you when you come back.

And I said to her, do you mind if I call you? And I called her and we had a long conversation and I just pretty much said to her, like, I understand how you feel. My door is open. Always open. Like she just, it was a different service to what she's had in the past because she was used to me in the little salon where she got all of me.

And now I don't have that capability. You know, I am only in the salon one day a week and I'm still running a salon. So I said to her, the salon is always yours. I'm going to pop a credit on your account. Like I'm always going to be there. Like you let me know. And it was 12 months, but she's back. You know, because I've let those lines of communication open and let her know that.

And she's not back with me. She's back with one of the girls because that's a better fit for her right now. Like she needs that connection. Yeah. I don't, I can't give that to her. So I think that when it comes to that, that's big too, right. It's remembering that. So just because you can't feel what that person needs at that time isn't necessarily a reflection on you.

It's a reflection on what they need. Yes. And it's okay to not be what someone needs. Yes. Agreed. Yeah. I just think it's, yeah, I think in, in all ways we need to just honor what we think and how we know. And I think it all always needs to be with like love and kindness and respect, but I also think we need to be cautious on beating ourselves up about it because.

It is a still a paying client that is paying for your service. If they're ready for something different, that's also okay. But I also think if you can get provided feedback, if something has gone astray. It's all so pretty. Yeah. It can be really helpful. Really helpful. So we now, so we have a, um, like on your computer systems, you can go in and see, like we go back like six months.

So any client that hasn't been back, been in from like six months back. And that's quite a big space, but that's because of the nature of the work that you do. Like there's people who, you know, businesses and business models that would maybe want to look at that sooner and be like, okay, well three months, four months.

Yes. Yeah. But just because of the lived in type of work that you guys do on the show on six months is a good time. Yeah. Unless we know someone's not come back because we know how often they come. And yeah, so I, so we send them a message saying like, we've missed you. We offer them a credit in Salon and we also say like, alternatively, if we're not the Salon for you, that's okay.

But if you can provide us with any feedback that will potentially help our service, that would be incredible. And majority of people aren't going to respond to that, but if you do get those little snippets, That's also really nice. And it feels more personal. It's not just like this massive text message to every single person.

Like if I read something like that from someone, I think, eh, but you know, we make sure their name or name is in it. We make sure that if there's something personal we can put in it, there is because these people also still mean a lot to us as a salon. And you know, we always want to do right by people and, and that's why I think it's so personal because we generally really, really care.

I think too, like the benefits of. Sending those messages as well is that sometimes you've also got feedback. Like it's so easy to think, Oh my gosh, this person's left because they hated the service or they hate the hair. Are they just hate us? Cause you know, spiral, but you know, we've had feedback like, Oh my gosh, guys, thank you for the message I've.

Um, I've moved, I've got cancer and my hair has fallen out. I'll be back when I've got hair again. Like there have been some big, big things like my husband's lost his job, you know, such and such. We were down to one cut. Like there's, there's different feedback that we've had that has had nothing to do.

with the salon. But you and I have spiraled about it. Yeah, totally. I remember putting a post up once about it and one of your clients, you know, who I still talk to now because it was like, you don't have to not hang. And ironically, that's the thing, right? That client messaged me the other week to ask me to recommend someone to do her hair because there is a specific way she wants her hair done.

And I know people who. Cut in that method. Yeah. So I was like, sure. And I recommended someone, she's like, I've already looked at them. They're too expensive. I'm like, okay, leave it with me. And then came back to her. I was like, okay, try this person comes, you know, and when we put that post up, she wrote a really beautiful message underneath saying like, just so you know, like, I love the salon and I love who you guys are and I love everything about it.

It's just like, I'm in this situation right now. And I was like, thank you so much for getting in touch. But also guys. If you guys think about you leaving and someone's sending you a message, are you going to generally reach out? No, because you're going to feel awkward. So a lot of the clients aren't going to respond because of the fact they feel awkward and they feel a bit sticky about it.

And everybody's journey is everyone's journey. Not everyone's going to pick up and be like, well, this is why I left or whatever. Like you're going to get some people respond and you're going to get some people that don't. When we spoke into our tap in members. You know, we spoke about the importance of consistency.

Yeah. So for client retention, the importance of consistency and how the salon runs in the consistency, not in everybody has to be the same artist. Cause absolutely they don't, but like, is your basin experience the same, is your check in experience the same, is your, um, seeing a client out the same, is the, you know, drinks the same is because I think, you know, when I spoken to one client in the past, she didn't feel her consistency was there.

And that's what made, you know, that experience luck for her. So it's also being okay to. And it's crazy, right? Because it depends on what's happening with someone at the time, but sometimes it's the littlest thing like that one. It's like, Oh, my massage didn't feel like it was as long as it normally was.

That can be the catalyst for someone on that particular day. That was just the one thing that tipped that person over the edge. You know what I mean? So then we implemented the timers, you know, so that we could get more consistent because I think the consistency. Yeah. It's really important. And see, that's feedback that was really helpful.

Yeah. And you have to be able to sit sometimes and go like, okay, yeah, I probably need to think about this. Yes. And as you said, some things you're going to take on and go, absolutely like, Oh God, I feel that as well. And other times you're going to have to go, I need to let that go. Yeah. Because. that felt picky.

And, oh, see, this is something that we need to talk about as well, because I really love, cause we're talking about responding to negative reviews as well. And I really see like how much growth you've made in this. Like I genuinely get joy when you send me a template of what you're about to post and reply to a review.

Please tell me how do you do that? I still haven't, I've got one there that I've got to reply to that I haven't yet. So. There was a situation, you guys can see it on my bloody website, go for gold, but you know, while you're there, five star review me at least. Um, there's a risk, there's a, I think the hard thing for us too is we're humans behind these reviews, right?

Like we're the human that's behind this business. And there was a review that came through. Now let's put it into context of where Samara was at that time. I was away in my caravan. I had had a newborn baby. I was struggling in relationships. It was a Friday afternoon. I had, you know, Wilder attached to me.

I was pretty emotionally kind of broken when this one came through. Okay, I'm going to read it and I feel like I can read it because if this person's publicly writing this on my website, on a bloody, then I can respond to it, right? Sorry. I'm going to let you guys know that we didn't actually take care of this client.

This client came into the salon, the girls had a consult with her, and we did a test strand. When we did the test strand, the hair lifted within 10 minutes and then melted off 5 minutes later. So there was a big, big, Uh, calcium buildup, big, big bad shampoo buildup in the hair. So we were very serious about what we did because of the fact that we were seeing what she was doing.

So just let's preface that at the fact that she wasn't a client. So it says, I mean, yes, the space is beautiful, but I think this is what you pay for. If you have hours to invest into crystals, tarot cards, and talk about self love, go for it, pay for it. There is a strange business model here that takes Way too seriously for a hairdresser if you enjoy being taken from for a long expensive hair ride Then this is your hairdresser They'll be quick to push alchemy cleanses three week investments of product sales before they even touch your hair with any color Again, if you buy into all this stuff and want the crystals and instagram pitch def go here For me personally instagram choice Not the intelligent choice went to a reputable hairdresser the next day They prepped colored and gave me post hair care and I survived my hair survived So when this happened, again, I was quite broken because it had been a hard time.

The girls had told me about this experience in salon and said, like, we don't feel comfortable coloring it, which I was so proud of my team for because because we are advocates for that. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, don't do it. Do it. Yeah. And turns out she's. I, I went deep on this one, turns out this person is friends with one of my friends.

So I like got all the inside gossip because she doesn't know, my friend doesn't know anything about it. Anyway. I also, funny enough, this was a year ago, also found out where she actually went the next day, only a couple of months ago and actually know the true story behind that as well, which is interesting, which I'm not going to go into because it's hearsay, but guys, I didn't respond to the message that day.

Had I responded? It wouldn't, it wouldn't have been the response that you got explosive because I was feeling it really deeply. So I spoke to the girls about this, you know, supported them cause I obviously also didn't do anything wrong. I just sat with it. Um, there's actually another one that I need to respond to again.

This happened. Um, so again, two reviews in 12 months. Like everything else is five star, but we've got to be okay with it because this is what I was so afraid of in the past. I remember I was terrified. I like, I would never open it. Cause I was like, what if it's a bad review? And I just would get sick about it.

I'd close my business for it. And I just realized I'm not everybody's cup of tea. And if there is last roller, this explains it. So we, I had to be okay with the fact that it could happen and that's okay too. And also. Keyboard warriors, like people are very easy to write horrible things online and would never say it to your face.

And I think that's a hard thing too, is, you know, is how kind we can be in all aspects, because as I said, behind those business, There is people like there's mums and dads and people that are struggling and just trying to do their best. And this is something to take into consideration if you're ever considering leaving a review as well.

Like so often I read through things and this doesn't necessarily mean our business, but others and it's like, well, okay, you've just pointed out four things that were okay, but one thing you didn't like. So how did that end up being a one star? Yeah. Yeah. Why is it not a four star? Yes. Why do you know, like, why is it like, Oh, it's amazing.

Or good to take it all the way. There was just one thing you said that you didn't like. The reason also that I don't respond to it straight away is if someone feels like they can be this vicious and nasty, if I respond straight away, they are coming back to do the same. So I'm like, okay, Joan, if it's a Saturday afternoon at 2 PM and you feel the need to write me this horrible review, I'm not getting back on there and responding to you straight away because You're going to come back at me and I don't need that right now.

So funny enough, when I responded to this message, it was about a month later and I'm okay with that because I need to do it in my own time as well. And there is another one I have to respond to, which I've written, but I've written it and now I need to look over it when I'm, Now that everything feels okay and more landed and I waited and I remember I was sitting in front of my fireplace and I was just in a really happy place and it was a Sunday afternoon.

I thought I'm going to respond to that review because I feel really happy right now. Yeah. So my response went like this. Hi, name. Firstly, thank you for saying our space is beautiful. We're in love with it too, and that's really kind for you to say. We do take ourselves seriously when it comes to hair.

We're obsessed by it, and we always want the best outcomes for our clients that we can possibly give. I'm sorry that the little touches we have with our crystals and angel cards aren't for you. It's something we are all passionate about, so it works for us, but understand it's not everyone's cup of tea.

We never intended to make you feel like you would be on a long, expensive hair journey, but after doing a test strand on your hand, we just didn't feel comfortable with the result of the silicon buildup to your color. We've seen it. Um, we've seen too many scary things to happen to hair when lightener is added in with silicon, and we just don't want to risk that for you or for us, which is why the Urban Alchemy is always recommended because it rectifies this.

And yes, we are very passionate about amazing hair care products, not to take your money, but because we generally are obsessed with the goodness it gives your hair. We spend a lot of time studying and learning and how we can help our clients. We're Best and hair products is one of the ways we can do this, but we're sorry if you felt this way and wish it was a different outcome.

We are so glad you found a salon that suits your needs and you and got the results you were after. It sounds like a perfect match. All the best, Samara, salon owner. So that anybody that is now going through and like reading what is going on, they know how We feel and how we are on the back end of that.

And that's okay. Exactly. So again, this other review that I was just saying about, I'm going to respond to it because in the beginning of that review, she talks about, I was happy with my stylist and my hair, but then puts in how much she paid and how she doesn't feel that's justified. even though she was quoted before she started and she bought a hundred dollars worth of product, which she was recommended and she decided herself to take.

Yeah. And it's a one star review. See, see, I know, but again, I felt really mad about it when it happened. So I was like, even though I wrote a response and that's what Jen's talking about when I say I send it to her. I really love that response. I wrote a response and now I'm going to, it's actually like that.

It's just, it's clear. Yeah. It states the facts on what has happened like it's Cause that's, I often find with people's reviews, the facts about what has happened can be lost. Well, it's the same with this. She said, I spent this much money, which was like 370 bucks. No, no. You actually spent like 263 because you decided to buy 200, 100 worth of products, which you were recommended and decided to take.

So you didn't actually spend that much money. Yeah. And it's also inflated. Like, if it was like 250, they're making it 280. So I'm like, let's go in with the facts so that we are also, we also get to have a voice, but I always make sure it's done in a way that doesn't feel attacky because I also don't like that either because I don't like it when you read someone's review and then the owner's gone in.

And being like, and it's gnarky, gnarky, like I don't like the gnarky. So I always make sure that I do it. I don't do it straight away when it's on a bad review. I do it in a very calm way when I feel great and I make sure that the facts feel good and I feel like it feels soft. And yeah, I really like you reiterate the positives.

Yep. You acknowledged the, you know, the issue. Yep. Because you do have to acknowledge it. Yes. In a respectful way and, and an accepting way. It's never trying to justify. Yes. And then, and you state the facts. And we've had it before. I remember we got a, uh, maybe a one star on Facebook. I don't know. Don't even think I have it on Facebook anymore.

And. I ended up messaging her privately and saying like, if you ever have any issue, like we've actually written you a message to say, jump in contact, please get in contact. And she was like, Oh my God, I'm so sorry. And literally removed the review because we just had a conversation about it and I took care of her and it was done.

Yeah. Like, so I think so often people are just in this, I don't know what makes them spiral. I don't know why this happened on this day. I don't know why they want to attack us, but I also have to, yeah, I, I'm very conscious of how I come back across so that if anyone is on our website, they can see who I am when I respond to a review as well.

And that's why it's not responding in the moment. Yeah. It's, you know, coming back to yourself and, you know, feeling good within yourself and then responding. Yeah. Because then you're responding and not reacting. Yes. Yeah. If you're going to react, do not send that message. Yeah. It's the same way. If anything ever happens to you when it comes across from a client, like if something's happened and they're angry, like you don't get to take the anger away.

Like you don't get to say, well, that didn't happen. Like I think we have to honor people's feelings, I think in that situation and people are like allowed to have the feelings they have about it. Like full stop, the client that was pissed off that we didn't do her hair. And you thought our salon was Instagram salon.

Like she was having a hard day. Yeah. She's had things going on. Like, so I saying no to her probably was just this spiral. You know, she's not thinking, hold on, there's a mom with a brand new baby who's literally struggling right now. That's going to read this and it's going to break her apart because she's built this salon on the love that she has.

Like she just feels like being a bitch that day, you know? And she feels like going at me like, okay, I'm going to, like, I respect your feelings in this. Like, because the funniest thing about that is I, cause she's friends with a girlfriend of mine. I rung her and was like, I rung my girlfriend and was like, We're not friends with this person anymore.

Like what the hell? And she was like, Oh my God, if you met her, you and her would be like the best mates ever. So it's really interesting that I had this connection through another person when she was like, she's not like that. So for whatever reason, she just needed to have a go that day. And again, I am a business.

La sorella is a business. It's not my face. It's like, they're not coming at me on Instagram, but it can feel like it sometimes, right? It feels like that because La Sorella is mine. It's my heart. Like, so even if I didn't do it, like that's my heart. So, responding to stuff like that is, yeah, and it also goes in the same space if, you know, someone comes back and they don't like their hair, like, how are you guys actually responding to it?

How can you do it in a way that feels like, yeah, it's okay, like, You know, and everybody does things differently with how they respond to, like, to negative feedback, but it takes a thick skin to be a Salon owner. Yeah. And some of these you'll be okay with and other ones they feel like you've been punched in the gut and you want to burn Salon down.

Sometimes, I think no matter what you feel like you've been punched in the gut. Yeah. But it's just then where you go after that. Yeah. It's how quickly you process and move these two things. And like I've said in the past, it's like when a staff member leaves, like the first couple are always the hardest, but you kind of get conditioned to it.

It's, I feel like that's kind of where I've landed now. So if you're a new salon owner, it's killing you. It gets easier. Like I feel like now it's just easier for me, but I haven't had that in the new business yet. So, you know, like again, Like there's going to come to a point where I'm going to want to burn that down too because I'm sure it's, I'm not always perfect.

Is this a good time for me to, no. Never tell me Jen, just hide that, you and Rich hide that under the carpet. Um, but you know, it's always in the beginning, it's always the hardest because you're trying to give the most and I've just come to this ag This space now where it's okay. And I know I can't do things like look at who hasn't been in.

For me as a person, it's not healthy and I have a manager that can do that for me, or you could have a staff member that could do it. For your business it's healthy. Yes. But if it's not healthy for you and your mental health, find like delegate that to someone else who can do it. Agreed. Agreed. A hundred percent.

Agreed. And again, like Jen said, if you've gone through that list and there's quite a few people on it that don't align to being your perfect client anymore, And why are you fighting so hard to get that back when the universe potentially is clearing some space to allow those new humans, hoomans, allow the hoomans to come in, to allow the humans to come into your world as well.

Sorry, I'm caught up on the hoomans. The hoomans? The dog memes, the dog memes? So it's like, hello hooman. I am thinking that. So, it's more so like, You're allowed to feel seen in this, but, you know, reflecting on how you potentially show up in these spaces when this stuff happens. And this is how I deal with it.

Criticism is punch in the guts at the best of times. Yep. Yeah. It's how you can grow from it and how you feel and yeah, who you are as a person that You know, responds to that because you're going to have people that are going to be those type of people that are going to push you in different ways. Um, and it's how you can respond on the other side to make yourself like to know that how you've handled it and how it feels is okay.

And if you want to, like in that space, in that moment, if you want to react. Like write it down is, you know, like if there's, you know, like, Oh, if I was to say I would write it, just write it, don't write it right in the text message because you accidentally press it. Don't just do it on a physical piece of paper, nothing else is going to happen with it, but do it like, okay, like just write it.

Oh, this is what I mean about saying it sometimes, like for me, I have to like, I do have to vent it out still. And I think even when the last one happened, I rung you and was just like, and then I was like, okay, feel better. Move on. Yeah. Because in the moment it's just more so for me now I move through it much faster.

It's the processing. Like I used to, used to, you know, even that one we were talking about the other night that we both realized normally that would sit and eat me up. And now I just move through it faster because. It's still a business and I have to be okay. And if you guys think of that, it's still a business.

This is not a friendship, even though it feels like friendship. Yes. It's still a business. They're still paying for our services. How does that look? Yeah. Because again, like I have, I get my brows done. I've had my brows done with like a lot of the girls that I've worked with. Um, and you know, I, I'm podcasting in one of the girl's salons who has done my brows.

I love them. Like she's extraordinary, but she doesn't open on a Saturday. And now I see Shirelle and Holly, they open Saturdays and they open late nights and it's just easy for me because I know I can generally get in with one of them. They do just as extraordinary. So, you know, it's also that too. And see, that was something that we had to come to terms with as well when the hours changed for the salon.

It's like, okay, well I, and this is what you said before people like, but won't you lose clients? Like, yeah, yeah, probably, but we have to be okay with that. You have to be okay with that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To build the life that we want. It has to be okay that we are gonna lose some clients. Yeah. And that's okay too.

And it's just like, how are you still showing up as a person? And if you see them in the shops, would you run the other way? 'cause you can't handle the conflict. Yeah. And if you can't handle the conflict of what's going on for you. Yeah. Like how can you work on that for you and how can you work on being able to have hard conversations and that friends.

Is another podcast. 100%. All right. Is there anything else that you can think of? I'd love to know what other people were thinking and if they just feel seen in this, because it's really hard being a business owner and getting, yeah. And you know, for me, I've got 10 staff or 11 staff. So getting feedback, it's not just my feedback, it's feedback from Like, it's even though it's, it's my name.

Glacerella is my name on the door. It feels like it's got more, you know, I have to take, no, I'll have to take everyone. Yeah, no, it's just, I don't just take my clients. I also take 10 other people's clients. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. It's kind of creating a bit of a thick skin and being okay with it. Yeah. And also, can I just say. If you have one, I've got three bad reviews on our website on Google. I've been in business 14 years. Yeah. The fact that we even pay attention to three out of whatever, how many is on there? A hundred or whatever that is. And we look after the amount of clients. We look after 90 clients a week and all like we make so many people happy, but all we think about is the people that we haven't.

You know, if you've got a thousand clients and one person didn't necessarily like something and you hold onto that, we need to start conditioning ourselves to hold onto the good and not hold onto the bad. Because if I would say that to you, if a bad reviews come through or bad, some bad feedback or whatever it is, sit down, write all the ways that you're extraordinary.

Sit down and read all the good reviews. Yeah. Think about somewhere that you love. Or a service that you have enjoyed and go and leave a good review. Jen and I spoke about this at the end of this episode. We wanted that to be something that you guys do jump on and once a week or, you know, or jump on and spend an hour reviewing all the places that you love.

then review them. I need to do that for my smash other because I love my place. I go also do love my salad. I get from there. You go. It's a cracker because that business that we're talking about milk money, shout out to you guys. They are across the road from the salon and they're this beautiful little husband and wife and they've got three little kids.

Yeah. I moved from Sydney that opened this business and they've made this really successful little cafe and their food is delicious. Beautiful. Like we're nowhere near there today. And we went there to get lunch to have here, even though it's across the road from my salon, so like, why haven't I written a review, you know, because I don't think about it because it's not something that's sitting on my mind.

So just like we've said that gratitude piece of, you know, being able to tell someone that you're grateful for them every day or whatever that is, like, how could you once a week? Or how could you spend half an hour, you know, once a fortnight, just passing the love on passing the love on, you know, if you get a client that sends a message back that says they're not coming, you know, instead of spiraling, like the challenge may be, okay, we'll think of three clients that you absolutely love.

And for no reason at all, just send them a message and tell them how grateful you are for them. This is something that we love. Is sending love messages to our clients and it's not something that we are. We need to get better at it because we've been really busy lately and we haven't had that time, but like being able to send the client a message and be like, just so you know, Really, really grateful for you, really grateful for your loyalty and your love over the years.

Nothing other than that, you know, and those things can go all the difference and all the way for a client that potentially they need it. You know, so as much as I say, be grateful in your everyday life, make sure you tell your friends you're grateful for them and you know, do that every day. It's like, how could you do that in your business as well?

And we encourage like any clients that have sent us beautiful reviews, we encourage, can you please If you don't mind pop this on our web, pop this on our Google, because we love hearing it. And we feel so grateful when you guys do, because honestly it lifts our team. But you know, this is also a business.

So if you could share that online so other people can see how hard we're working, that would also be amazing. But if you just. Sat and celebrated other businesses. Like if you were just like, I'm just going to do this when I have a second, I'm going to jump on, I'm going to review somewhere I love because it's something I started doing and nothing other than it brings me so much joy that I know, um, mom and dad or a young girl who owns business or, you know, I, whatever it is, a single mom or, you know, two friends, like whatever it is, if I love something, like get on and share that shit, because every time that happens.

There is someone that owns that business doing a happy dance because that's how you guys feel. Like when a review comes through and I'm like, yeah, it's five star. It brings me so much joy because on the other side we are constantly fearing of the worst. So, you know, get on, send some reviews, make other people feel as loved as they should when you love their services.

Yeah, absolutely. Nice work girlfriend. Do we have anything else to say on that matter? I don't think we do. I don't think we do. No, I feel like we've covered it all. That was a raw one. Yeah. For me, especially being a business owner, because again, none of us want, none of us want to admit, well, actually clients don't like us sometimes because, you know, we want to do our best and be our best, but this is how we all feel.

It's like, this is how we all feel. So like, let's just get the elephant out of the room and everyone is feeling this way. Yeah. So let's talk about it and make everybody feel normal. And this is what this podcast is, is being raw and being like, okay. With the fact that like, This feels really shit sometimes, and I'm going to be open to share the fact that it happens to everybody and that's okay.

Yeah. Is this a weird time to say, but if you like what we're doing on the podcast, please give us a review. Feel free to leave us a review. This is a perfect segue. You know how you're going to start those reviews. Please start with us if you love it. Do not one star us, like can't cope, but if you, um, want to, yeah, give us a review, that would be amazing.

I didn't even segue that, Jen did that, so you're welcome. Also, start with us. If there's any questions that anybody has on this topic or any of the others, just send them through. It's also nice to, I really love when you guys send a DM and be like, I connected really hard. It's very cool. I connected hard to that.

Episode. I needed that episode or I've just had this happen or stuff because when you guys do that and it's okay for me to share other people get so much out of it as well. So being able to share that everybody's like, thank you. I needed this today or yes, I feel seen, or I needed that tip or whatever that is.

Like, please, please let us know because it just makes podcast even more. I agree. Wonderful. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. We'll see you soon. See you soon. Bye.