Whether it’s your weekly manicure or monthly hair color appointment, the best way to get the ultimate treatment and chance to get squeezed into a fully-booked day is to be nice. I’m not talking about the hairdresser or the nail technician but the receptionist at the front desk. Think of the receptionist as your way into the “VIP client” list. I was a receptionist during my early college years and I can tell you that rude clients go to the bottom of the list and stylists dread working with them. 

Another pet peeve is being late. We all get stuck in occasional traffic and run a few minutes late, but get on your cell phone and call the receptionist to inform her you will be late. If you do that, you can get there knowing that you are ok on time instead of panicking that you are late and risk losing your appointment.

As far as tipping goes, usually 20% tip is expected and anything more is just added bonus- that is if they did an amazing job and you just feel like rewarding them. Also during the holidays, I like to tip a little more, just as a way of showing appreciation. Don’t forget to tip any assistants, or the person who washed your hair. How much you tip them usually depends on how much work they did. Let’s say you are getting color and highlights, that means they are washing your hair at least twice, so add a little more in this case.

I recently went in for a few highlights but when I got home I wasn’t too crazy about the results. Hairdressers aren’t robots, some days they do an amazing job but just like everyone else they sometimes have an off day. If this is the case just ask nicely to come in and show them what you didn’t like. Most likely they will fix it for you, but if you act like a diva and yell and scream, don’t expect to get another appointment with that hairdresser. It’s so important to be specific about what you want to prevent this from happening. 

You are there to enjoy getting pampered, so walk in with a smile and leave with an even bigger smile!

 

Aline Agopian