My hairstylist now requires a signed contract before services are rendered.

[Anonymous]

If you had a business and people reserved time then cancelled and you didn’t get paid, you would want a contract too. It doesn’t hurt you to sign it if you show up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't had my hair colored since September of last year, so I reached out to my stylist earlier this week for an appointment. She followed up with a text scheduler confirming the appointment, and shortly after that, I received a second text with a service contract. In the contract, were about 15 questions. The first few pertained to Covid, which I thought were reasonable. However, the remaining questions involved deposits for service, retention of the deposits for no-shows, and a few other requirements that I found off-putting.

I will likely cancel the appointment and find someone else to do my hair, but just wondering if anyone else has encountered similar contracts for a stylist and if this is the new norm. For the record, I've been a client since 2019.

Maybe if she was Jose Ebert I could see this There are more tactful ways of doing this - like a cancellation fee of $50 if you cancel in less than 24 hours. That is fair. Most of the rest is BS.

If someone is significantly late, it ignited not be possible to provide the services that the client booked OR provide any services to another client. This is especially true for salons that, with COVID, no longer overlap client visits or have full waiting rooms. Do you feel there should be any penalty for this? Sure, the salon can blacklist customers one by one, but that won’t be good for anyone. If salons have to eat all of the costs for inconsiderate clients, there will soon be even more of them permanently closing their doors.

PP here - I guess if they're significantly late then you cancel the appt and warn them that if they do it again the stylist will need to get a deposit of $50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, below are a few of the requirements from the contract that jumped out. I'm not interested in being under contract for hair service so I will likely continue the at home haircare process. When I cancel, I am considering mentioning the contract and a few of the terms as being the main motivator. Another reason is that I've moved so I getting to her is now a 50 minute down the beltway.


4. I understand there is a 15 min grace period from start time *

5. I understand if I am more than 15 min late I will need to reschedule and will pay missed service in order to reschedule. This is to reassure all clients get their respected one on one time. *

6. I understand I must call/text soon as I am aware of my lateness or my appointment will be canceled. *

8. I understand that all services are non-refundable and prices are subject to change and are non- negotiable *

9. I understand and agree that if I need to cancel my appointment I will do so 48hrs prior to service time. If I do NOT cancel within time frame I will be charged 50% of service *

10. I understand that all color services require a deposit when booking and will pay invoice when sent. (New and existing clients) *
I agree
11. I understand that the cancelation fee is 50% of the service fee if appointment is canceled 48hrs or less prior to appointment and appointment will not be rebooked unless service is paid *

I think all of that is perfectly reasonable except (1) she should not be able to change prices on you AFTER you book your appointment and (2) most people have a 24 hour cancellation and not 48. That said, a lot of people will charge 100% if you cancel in that 24 hour period.

Are you routinely 15+ minutes late, OP? I think that's a perfectly reasonable grace period for late shows.

Op here, I've been late ONE time due to an accident on the beltway in the three years I have gone to her. However, she has been late multiple times.

Regarding the contract, I'm not taking it personally. My concern is that the terms don't make any sense. I agree with the pp, who said that they seem like random terms thrown together that she found online and does not fully understand, which could lead to misunderstandings by the client.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you had a business and people reserved time then cancelled and you didn’t get paid, you would want a contract too. It doesn’t hurt you to sign it if you show up.

I have gone to the same salon for over 20 years. I have been late 2 times and I completely forgot 1 appointment about 15 years ago. I am not signing a contract. It is a ludicrous idea and it is things like this that are turning me off of salons.

I have a suggestion. Rather than annoy and besmirch by association all of the loyal clients who are on time, pay their bills and who are good clients, the salon should look at its client base and decide who they can do without. If a salon has clients that are consistently late or who are consistently no-shows then STOP TAKING APPOINTMENTS from those clients. Leave the rest of us be. Don't make US responsible for YOUR bad choices.

[Anonymous]

There is no way I would sign a contract or agree to pay full price for a missed appointment at a hair salon. That’s insane. I would find a new stylist, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, below are a few of the requirements from the contract that jumped out. I'm not interested in being under contract for hair service so I will likely continue the at home haircare process. When I cancel, I am considering mentioning the contract and a few of the terms as being the main motivator. Another reason is that I've moved so I getting to her is now a 50 minute down the beltway.


4. I understand there is a 15 min grace period from start time *

5. I understand if I am more than 15 min late I will need to reschedule and will pay missed service in order to reschedule. This is to reassure all clients get their respected one on one time. *

6. I understand I must call/text soon as I am aware of my lateness or my appointment will be canceled. *

8. I understand that all services are non-refundable and prices are subject to change and are non- negotiable *

9. I understand and agree that if I need to cancel my appointment I will do so 48hrs prior to service time. If I do NOT cancel within time frame I will be charged 50% of service *

10. I understand that all color services require a deposit when booking and will pay invoice when sent. (New and existing clients) *
I agree
11. I understand that the cancelation fee is 50% of the service fee if appointment is canceled 48hrs or less prior to appointment and appointment will not be rebooked unless service is paid *

I think all of that is perfectly reasonable except (1) she should not be able to change prices on you AFTER you book your appointment and (2) most people have a 24 hour cancellation and not 48. That said, a lot of people will charge 100% if you cancel in that 24 hour period.

Are you routinely 15+ minutes late, OP? I think that's a perfectly reasonable grace period for late shows.

Op here, I've been late ONE time due to an accident on the beltway in the three years I have gone to her. However, she has been late multiple times.

Regarding the contract, I'm not taking it personally. My concern is that the terms don't make any sense. I agree with the pp, who said that they seem like random terms thrown together that she found online and does not fully understand, which could lead to misunderstandings by the client.

Maybe you could suggest that she refunds a percent of the cost if SHE is later than 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, below are a few of the requirements from the contract that jumped out. I'm not interested in being under contract for hair service so I will likely continue the at home haircare process. When I cancel, I am considering mentioning the contract and a few of the terms as being the main motivator. Another reason is that I've moved so I getting to her is now a 50 minute down the beltway.


4. I understand there is a 15 min grace period from start time *

5. I understand if I am more than 15 min late I will need to reschedule and will pay missed service in order to reschedule. This is to reassure all clients get their respected one on one time. *

6. I understand I must call/text soon as I am aware of my lateness or my appointment will be canceled. *

8. I understand that all services are non-refundable and prices are subject to change and are non- negotiable *

9. I understand and agree that if I need to cancel my appointment I will do so 48hrs prior to service time. If I do NOT cancel within time frame I will be charged 50% of service *

10. I understand that all color services require a deposit when booking and will pay invoice when sent. (New and existing clients) *
I agree
11. I understand that the cancelation fee is 50% of the service fee if appointment is canceled 48hrs or less prior to appointment and appointment will not be rebooked unless service is paid *

I think all of that is perfectly reasonable except (1) she should not be able to change prices on you AFTER you book your appointment and (2) most people have a 24 hour cancellation and not 48. That said, a lot of people will charge 100% if you cancel in that 24 hour period.

Are you routinely 15+ minutes late, OP? I think that's a perfectly reasonable grace period for late shows.

Op here, I've been late ONE time due to an accident on the beltway in the three years I have gone to her. However, she has been late multiple times.

Regarding the contract, I'm not taking it personally. My concern is that the terms don't make any sense. I agree with the pp, who said that they seem like random terms thrown together that she found online and does not fully understand, which could lead to misunderstandings by the client.

Maybe you could suggest that she refunds a percent of the cost if SHE is later than 15 minutes.

LOLOLOL. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You seem to bizarrely think that a hair stylist is making a ton of money with lots of buffer for no shows etc. Let’s say she does get $150 for an hour long haircut. $50 probably goes to rent her chair and other overhead, $30 to taxes as an independent contractor, leaving her with $70 as a high estimate for every 1.5 hours of work. In an 8 hour workday she can probably see 6 clients leaving time between for cleaning her station, 14min late arrivals etc. So if there’s a last minute cancellation - yes it’s a big deal.

And my colorist also only sees people being color. She’s very talented at it, so she charges more and can easily fill her schedule. Why in the world would she make any room in her schedule for less profitable haircuts without color. It’s wild to me you all would criticize a sept employed person with no leverage for trying to maximize and protect the income they can make with their talents.

Because most people don't need a color service. If the most elementary services are cut out because "they're not profitable", it's not fair to the consumer either. This is exactly what's happening in the building world, where contractors refuse everything but large builds, and woe to you if you urgently need smaller job.This happened to my friends in the middle of the pandemic. They had only bathroom and a roof to fix, because of leaks that had accumulated mold. They looked high and low for contractors willing to remediate and managed to get a canceled spot in a contractor's schedule by sheer luck. Of course it was way more expensive than it would have been a year ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You seem to bizarrely think that a hair stylist is making a ton of money with lots of buffer for no shows etc. Let’s say she does get $150 for an hour long haircut. $50 probably goes to rent her chair and other overhead, $30 to taxes as an independent contractor, leaving her with $70 as a high estimate for every 1.5 hours of work. In an 8 hour workday she can probably see 6 clients leaving time between for cleaning her station, 14min late arrivals etc. So if there’s a last minute cancellation - yes it’s a big deal.

And my colorist also only sees people being color. She’s very talented at it, so she charges more and can easily fill her schedule. Why in the world would she make any room in her schedule for less profitable haircuts without color. It’s wild to me you all would criticize a sept employed person with no leverage for trying to maximize and protect the income they can make with their talents.

Because most people don't need a color service. If the most elementary services are cut out because "they're not profitable", it's not fair to the consumer either. This is exactly what's happening in the building world, where contractors refuse everything but large builds, and woe to you if you urgently need smaller job.This happened to my friends in the middle of the pandemic. They had only bathroom and a roof to fix, because of leaks that had accumulated mold. They looked high and low for contractors willing to remediate and managed to get a canceled spot in a contractor's schedule by sheer luck. Of course it was way more expensive than it would have been a year ago.

You seem to think these people exist to cut your hair as opposed to exist to support their families / themselves. If they can make more money focusing on doing color OF COURSE they should do this. Just like you’d take a raise at your job if someone offered you more to focus on specific parts of it that you enjoy more. You have a very weird disdain for a service worker trying to make as good of a living as they can

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hairstylists are wilding out lately, I swear.

Mine just upped her prices for a one hour curly cut from $85 to $100. That was hard to swallow, but she does a good job and I hate finding new stylists.

THEN she announced if you go more than 16 weeks between “maintenance haircut” appointments, you have to book a $150 “new client cut.” I think that is a disgusting way to wring money from your clients who can’t afford a $100 haircut every 8 weeks, told her so, and canceled my next appointment.

That is WILD.

Yeah, I would move on to a new stylist too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like she's gotten last minute cancellations and no-shows, all of which result in loss of significant money.

+1

Well that’s part of doing business. Fire those no-show clients. Don’t penalize good clients

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like she's gotten last minute cancellations and no-shows, all of which result in loss of significant money.

+1

Well that’s part of doing business. Fire those no-show clients. Don’t penalize good clients

+1 Don't penalize OR ANNOY good clients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hairstylists are wilding out lately, I swear.

Mine just upped her prices for a one hour curly cut from $85 to $100. That was hard to swallow, but she does a good job and I hate finding new stylists.

THEN she announced if you go more than 16 weeks between “maintenance haircut” appointments, you have to book a $150 “new client cut.” I think that is a disgusting way to wring money from your clients who can’t afford a $100 haircut every 8 weeks, told her so, and canceled my next appointment.

Haircuttery is taking appointments

Best thing about the pandemic is that I learned to cut my own hair. Curly hair is especially forgiving to cut.

My hairdresser charges $95 for a haircut, it is expensive, but he does a great job. However, I am really trying to save money and just cannot afford to go to him every 8 weeks. I let my spouse cut my hair from the back and trimmed my bangs/sidelines. I actually got more compliments at work for my haircut when I and my spouse did it then when my hairdresser did! So I'm just hesitant to even go to any hairdresser anymore.

[Anonymous]

A basic cut and color costs me over 300 bucks after the tip. I now go every four months instead of every two or three.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no way I would sign a contract or agree to pay full price for a missed appointment at a hair salon. That’s insane. I would find a new stylist, OP.

So you feel you can not show up/cancel at the last minute, and the stylist loses income because they held that time for you? Seriously? If you hadn’t booked that time, someone else could have booked.

And to the person who said stylists aren’t the “ brightest”: WTH. Outrageous and ignorant stereotype.