Hairdresser couldn’t cut toddlers hair but charged full price

[Bubblebather89]

I was recommended a hairdresser in my local area to cut my 22 month olds hair. She has a walk in only salon with one of those sit in car chairs for children. She was highly recommend from a mum whose child has ASD and she said she’s great with kids and makes them feel comfortable, is flexible etc etc. Anyway we visited his hairdresser on a number of occasions and all went well. My son sat better than expected so she was able to cut his hair with no issues.

Then last week I took him and it was particularly busy with it being near Christmas. My son decided he didn’t want to sit in the car so we moved to the chair with him on my lap. But he was particularly fussy and crying. After 5 minutes she said she wasn’t able to cut his hair. She had cut some at the back but literally hardly anything, of course I understood and I was fine with her not carrying on and I said no problem we will come back another time. It wasn’t a good time for my son and she had a line of people waiting I completely understood. As I was getting my son into his pram she said that will be £15 please darling, which was the full price of the hair cut normally. I was taken back because I thought she wouldn’t charge me anything as she literally only cut a small amount at the back and the rest of the time was me trying to hold him down as he tried to wriggle away. His hair looked worse than when we came in. Because there was a full salon of people waiting and looking at me I just paid. If I’d known she was going to charge me the full amount I would have expected her to try abit harder to cut his hair and been more patient with him. The whole appointment took around 5 mins so barely any time at all. Should I have paid full price or should she have discounted it/ let me come back and try again?

Well then the same maths applies for a full cut doesn’t it? It’s half an hour for a full cut, then clean up, take payment etc. So 15 quid per 35 -40 minutes. Maths ends up the same.

There’s no clean up after a failed cut. That’s the point. There’s no hair that’s been cut! So you can actually get someone straight in the chair quicker.

It’s goodwill. It wasn’t a difficult adult kicking up a fuss. It’s a toddler.

How else would you describe crying, wriggling and needing to be held in one place by his mum? Of course he was having a tantrum.

And "only a few minutes" with each customer soon adds up! I wonder if all the people saying she shouldn't have charged have ever been self-employed...

It’s not her fault that the customer gave her a hard time whilst she tries to cut his hair! She was right to charge you for her time and having to put up with the child squirming and making a fuss.

Right, and should she apply the same goodwill to every person who comes in with a wriggly kid who won't sit still and refuses to cooperate?

Her price is her price - £15. Whether it takes 10 minutes, 30 minutes or the child is unco-operative and she only manages 5 minutes. OP could always cut her kids' hair herself if she doesn't want to pay.

I would pay it but I wouldn’t be coming back again. As a regular customer I think she should have let you rebook for another time and not charged you.

My DS wouldn’t let a hairdresser cut his hair at all once, she didn’t charge us as a result and that was an appointment. We now take him to 1:1 appointments with a SEN specialist hairdresser and she’s great, very patient. We pay extra but it’s worth it.

Which is more likely on a busy pre-Christmas working day? You have an incredibly unlucky run of difficult toddlers all unable to sit and get their haircut meaning if you discount all of them you’ll lose money for the day?

Or one difficult toddler is the only blip on an otherwise successful day of cutting lots of people’s hair meaning discounting that one child isn’t going to be that impactful on your day’s earnings?

If she physically couldn't cut his hair I'd say tantrum or meltdown sounds likely. She's working at a child's head with sharp scissors.

I never took my son for a haircut until he was 4 because he hated anything done with his hair, I knew it wouldn't work so I cut it in his sleep. When we eventually went it took a few goes but he settled and watched a video while getting it cut. I til that point he had a head of long, tousled curls.

He had a recent haircut where he really struggled to get started (ASD) and I paid the girl double despite her not asking for it as he definitely took 2 slots worth of time a week before Xmas ina. Walk in salon.

Actually, yes it does. Some clients are easy and some aren't. In terms of time, there's no difference between an adult client that asks a lot of questions, scrutinizes every cut at every angle, asks for a bit more here, says it doesn't quite look even there and a child that might be a bit fearful and need coaxing.

You pay for her time 🤷‍♀️

Can you really not understand how businesses work OP…really?? 🤦‍♀️

You pay for her time, he's used up a slot of time, regardless of whether she was actually able to cut his hair. This is just something that happens with autistic children, sometimes we book stiff with them and can't do it. I've lost count of the number of times we've been to play sessions or bowling and she's refused to have anything to do with it. Its frustrating but just something you have to sigh and write off.

Yabu. It would have taken longer than 5 minutes if your child was being fussy. She's probably self employed and could have cut another child's hair in that time.

You can't compare unless OP also has an asd child, though. You have a completely different situation. I applaud you for however you get things done. 🩷

Did they have TV screens with kids shows? We used to go to a kid hairdresser with that and it mesmerised them so they'd get their hair cut. Worked well as they hated it usually

It's still a slot that someone else could have used.

She is not trained, leave a bad review and never go back.

You can't look at it in terms of one days' earnings, though

You're right that one discounted customer on a busy day is no big deal, but not everyday is going to be a busy pre-Christmas day. She needs to consider the bigger picture and what she needs to make across a month to cover her expenses and make a profit.

Probably glad to see the back of us then because I won’t be returning!

That's absolutely fine, but remember hairdressers do charge you for their time, which is only reasonable.

No, it doesn't.

One of the main advantages of being self-employed is that YOU get to set your own terms, your own prices and your own boundaries. She doesn't have to deal with a stroppy, wriggly toddler if she doesn't want to - just like she could refuse to re-book a picky adult client if she wanted to.

YABU!

This.

My window cleaner came just before Christmas. I was busy and left for work without leaving the side gate open so he could do the back of the house.

He only charged me half price for the front that he did but I paid him the full amount because a) it was my fault not his and b) he couldn't have filled the time with someone else's house because he books in advance so that people know.to leave their side gates open...

I pay for his time.

I do understand business. I have a business degree and run my own. I understand she needs to make money but in this instance I never received the service I paid for, although no fault of the hairdresser but keeping clients happy and being accommodating can go along way in keeping and running a successful business.

It’s a tricky one, she may have been better just asking for a token payment (£5), to keep your business. I personally wouldn’t have used her again after being charged full price. Especially as she was the one who stopped the appointment.