To expect hair appointment to begin promptly?

[kirkland1]

Salon always cuts my hair well, although is expensive, but it drives me mad that at every appointment I’m left sitting for a minimum of 15 minutes before the hair cut actually starts. Sometimes longer! I wouldn’t mind occasionally - can understand that perhaps some clients hair has taken longer than expected etc. but every time just seems like poor management.

I also had an appt cancelled due to illness when I’d already arrived at the salon, they were apologetic but no offer of any compensation or for someone else to step in. I’d taken annual leave from work and travelled a fair distance, and had to rebook at an inconvenient new time to get a new appt (having waited months for the cancelled one!) and take more leave.

Is this a bit poor, or am I being unreasonable?

Drives me mad too! At my salon the usual lady who does mine is always running at least 15 mins late and never apologises. I stopped tipping for this reason, so maybe now she doesn't prioritise me for that. So it's a vicious circle! If I get one of the juniors they are usually on time but never do it quite right. If it's cancelled though they do always ring ahead, so that's poor OP.

Why are you still going after the cancellation? Hairdressers are 10 a penny, I agree it's a slog to find a good one, but I would have voted with my feet before now

Sounds disorganised, I’d try somewhere else!

I had similar with repeated late appts and once turned up and was told I couldn’t be seen. I stayed at the same salon but changed the hairdresser. It’s unprofessional behaviour.

If you had cancelled on the day you would have been charged at my hairdresser so pretty poor of them. Definitely time to find a new one, it's hard but they are out there!

This used to drive me insane (and also had experiences of cuts being cancelled the day before due to ‘staff availability’.

I voted with my feet and love my current hairdresser. It’s expensive but they are always bang on time, provide nice coffee and chocolate.

The one time they were running 10 mins behind they gave me free shampoo and conditioner to say sorry which was incredible compared to experiences elsewhere!

Not calling you in advance is pretty poor. But I can see how they couldn't have given you much of an advanced notice if the stylist called in sick that morning. But definitely calling you as soon as they were aware would have been the correct thing to do. They may not have had anyone else to do the service if other stylists were fully booked.
As far as appointments starting 15 minutes later, it can be for a variety of reasons. Having worked as a salon receptionist, I can tell you that clients run late quite frequently too which, of course, affects every subsequent one. Generally, we have to rebook if someone shows up more than 15-20 minutes late which is not very popular with clients either. Plus, it is never possible to estimate exactly how long a service will take. If someone fails to mention that they have extra long extra thick hair when booking highlights, it can put a stylist 45 minutes behind before the day even properly started. An experienced receptionist/manager is able to see more or less where the stylist is at each point and calls the next client to make them aware that we are running late. If your salon doesn't have someone who is switched on in charge of reception, communications with clients may be less efficient.
It really has very little to do with personal feelings towards the clients, not valuing their time etc. It's the nature of the business where you never really know what client may walk through the door, how long the colour will take to process, whether a child brushed their hair in the last year etc. Generally, salons try to do their best and I don't know a single one who runs perfectly on time every time. In our salon, we at least try to make our clients comfortable with a nice cup of coffee and, sometimes, a quick hand massage or mini-manicure if a beauty therapist is available.

This does all make perfect sense, I do know why they run late, but seems as if it happens every single times perhaps they’re not allowing enough time for each appt? I’ve probably been a dozen times and it’s been every single time. They’re all really lovely and I’ve never complained, just wondering if that’s the norm and to be accepted - or if I should look elsewhere.

I once had a hairdresser who'd I'd been going to regularly for about a year. One day I turned up for an appointment and was told he was on holiday. My name had just been crossed out in their book. They didn't seem to give a shit and didn't even apologise - said I could have the cut done by someone else and go back two hours later for the colour. I voted with my feet.

I don't blame you OP - another thing i hate is when they wash your hair then leave you sitting waiting for half an hour with wet hair. Just horrible.

Occasionally i could understand but every single time? I'd be off

I once had to wait FORTY minutes. When I went in the hairdresser said she'd be running over by about 10 minutes and apologised and I said fine.

What got me even more was that there were 2 other hairdressers just milling about and only after I was there for a half hour and asked how much longer would it be that one of them said she could start me by washing my hair. And when I finally got seated by the original hairdresser she didn't apologise for clearly underestimating how late she'd be!

I left then a scathing review as it was so unprofessional, received an email offering me a free service. I ignored it and never went back, didn't want to waste more of my time, free or not.

Infuriating.

Out of curiosity @Catza or anyone else who has worked in a salon - if a client turned up to an appt and it had to be cancelled (no prior warning for whatever reason), what would you do? Would you just apologise and rebook? Or would you offer some form of compensation? Particularly if your salon would charge if the client cancelled at short notice

YANBU

I accidentally turned up three hours early for my last appointment - had it in my head it was 11am but it was actually 2pm. They still managed to fit me in.

I had a hairdresser like this a few years ago - very good cut & colour but ALWAYS running late. I turned up to a locked salon once (I think I arrived at 9.20-9.25 for a 9.30am appointment). She turned up at about 9.35 but by the time she'd unlocked the shop / faffed around it was almost 10am with no apology / acknowledgement. I used to try to get early appointments to fit in with my work at the time as I could work flexibly and start as late as 1pm if I needed to. But even with this I was always rushing / worried that I'd be late.

I voted with my feet and haven't had an issue with my current salon (been there 4 years so it is possible!). I obviously don't mind the odd 5-10 minutes if someone is running over, and I was 10 minutes late myself once (I called when on way and was v apologetic and it was fine). But regular delayed / missed appointments is just poor time management and a lack of respect for your time / other commitments.

It's possible they don't allow enough time but, again, this is tricky. The industry standard is 45 minutes and there will be stylists who work faster and slower than this. Also, it takes 45 minutes for colour to process so, say, if they got 1h for appointments, then their colour client would be ready to be washed half way through the next haircut and then sit with wet hair waiting for their stylist to finish.
In more expensive salons they will have separate "colourists" and "cutters" and this is less of a problem, but then you will be looking at paying upwards of £150 for a haircut and roughly double that for highlights.
Ultimately, appointment times are a fine balance between keeping costs down for clients while still making profit for the business. I can't say that we run over time for every single client, every single day. But there will be points in a day where someone may need to be called to alert them we are running behind or someone may need to wait for 10 minutes. I'd say this probably only happens, on average, to 2 clients out of 20+ we see every day. Ultimately, we expect our hairdressers to work to the industry standard time and it is up to reception/management to sort out the diary and make sure everyone is happy, well caffeinated and kept informed. That's why a good salon manager is worth their weight in gold.
Sadly, I see far too many salons skimping on front of house staff to save costs which results in poor diary management and upset clients.

Sadly, I see far too many salons skimping on front of house staff to save costs which results in poor diary management and upset clients.

I think this is partly a hangover from Covid lockdown. When my salon first reopened only the stylists came in and they were doing everything including shampooing.

Our salon doesn't charge for missed appointments so we probably very much working on good faith and developing long-standing relationships with the local community.
I can't imagine a scenario where one of our clients wouldn't be informed first thing in the morning about sickness. We would always call and let them know, offer to see a different stylist if available. We had people showing up who thought they had an appointment but it wasn't in a diary. We always try our absolute best to see them. Someone may be generous enough to forfeit their lunch break to fit them in, we can see if any other clients may be happy to come in earlier/later. We wouldn't offer them money/discount as a compensation but are happy to throw in extra services if there is even a remote possibility that mistake was on our end.
But as I said, I just cannot imagine failing to inform the client about sickness ever happening in our place so it is really hard for me to tell what we would do.

I agree - happens to me too. It's annoying when I've rushed to get there on time.
I think hairdressers routinely overbook to maximise profits and, of course, if we don't complain then they get away with it!

Makes sense! My salon is expensive (mines well over £100 for cut and dry), and when you book you go through lots of options about hair type so I’m guessing they book you a slot the right length. They also make it clear if you book the incorrect slot for your hair they can’t do it. But it doesn’t seem to help in reality 🙈
Think I’ll do some research and try somewhere else

I've worked in this industry and you would be surprised how many people turn up 5-10 minutes late. One or two people do that and you can easily be running 15 minutes behind. Plus you get people who maybe chat more than others, faff around more, have more hair than expected, there's lots of things that can mean you can't work to the minute.
That said, more than 15 minutes late especially if it's a regular occurrence isn't good. Nor is cancelling when you have arrived at the salon (unless they have genuinely been trying to contact you.)
An apology, offer of a drink, alternative stylist etc can make a big difference. I think you know if you feel they are taking the mick, in which case it's time to go elsewhere.

Is it just like tradesmen where they adopt a "can't be bothered" attitude about timekeeping/reliability etc because they know that there are lots of other customers ready and willing to use them if they piss off the odd customer?

It's bound to happen when demand exceeds supply.

There's no reason for them to make an effort when they know that another customer will come along to fill your boots if you walk away.

I've just gone to a new salon. Because I know I have loads of fine hair and it's curly so takes ages I went in person to make the appointment. I explained it often takes longer but they still booked me in for a regular time. The stylist I booked with was then off for an op(it happens)so they had to split my appointments so I have to go back next week for the cut. The hairdresser was lovely and has booked in longer time...but it's frustrating when they don't listen to you. I've got crazy hair. I've been having it done for years. Trust me when I say you'll need more time no matter how skilled you are..it's chaos hair!

I'd go somewhere else too.

I agree about the cancellation. If you cancelled at short notice they'd want to charge you at least a % of the appointment fee, yet think if they cancel on the day it's fine.

Is that always true though? There are a lot of salons where I live.

Yesterday I got a last minute appointment with a 20% discount because they weren't busy. In fact they were empty when I went in.

However, they've taken to taking a deposit when you make an appointment and I suspect that is putting people off, see my post above. I usually use a different salon but went to this one because of the discount (still had to pay a deposit, even when making a same day appointment).

The long established reputable salons around here are booked up for 6-8 weeks in advance. Even regular customers can't get appointments sooner.

Yes, if you want to risk a new salon, or one of the older ones that aren't popular, then you can get sooner, but there's usually a good reason why they aren't booked several weeks in advance, so it's always going to be a risk.