That’s one of the things I’ll never miss about doing hair. In some ways, I’m a very stereotypical Italian–even then, I know better than to gesticulate like an orchestra conductor when I’m being worked on, lol.

Definitely not fair. The client sounds like a typical scammer.

You should have a refund policy informing clients that service sales are final. I also recommend implementing a consultation record that the client must sign which goes over what they’re asking for, what results they can expect, and any potential complications that may arise. The form should also detail the final price and explain that service sales are final.

I spent the first three years of my career in this industry as a color specialist. All I did was formulate and apply color. In that time, I learned valuable lessons.

1.) Clients lie. Always.
2.) Clients need to be talked to directly so they understand exactly what kind of results to expect.
3.) Signed consultation forms are a must.
4.) Always patch and strand test…because they lie.
5.) If they seem like trouble, don’t let them in your chair.

My employer at the time was frustrated with my refusal to just “slap the color on and take the money,” but soon realized that my results were more consistent, my clients were more appreciative and less likely to throw a fit at the register, and my insistence on patch testing likely kept us from being sued when a patch test revealed a severe allergic reaction on one of our new clients. Additionally, I turned away a few clients just like the one you described. Those constant complainers will NEVER be happy with ANYTHING. If they walk in the door bitching, I send them right back out, lol.

This really helped me today I had a young woman come in with 5 different colors, so I told her it was a color correction. Turns out she had box color, previous color, and lighter that had sat for 2 hours the previous day. She claimed her cousin did her hair. It was terrible Nd she had a total of 3 balayage highlights at her scalp. I balayaged her ends with multiple money pieces, but in the end there were still some dark spots like her mid shaft which I anticipated and informed her of. He root came up very light like a level 9-10 and her ends more like a 8 so I toned her with a level 8 and he top still looked lighter even thought it sat twice as long. I recommended going back over it and darkening it, but she did not want to do so. Entire time she was with me she complained about her services elsewhere and customer service experiences as well beyond hair. From start to finish I was clear on expectations, I was knowledgeable, and informed her that it was a process to go lighter. I wanted to quit so bad when she made a scene saying it was not what she expected. People forget were hairdressers, not magicians. Going lighter is a process, and even more so with 4 other contributing pigments!

Personally, I’d let that client be that professional’s problem. If she’s willing to chase her down and kiss her ass when she had nothing to do with anything (and it certainly wasn’t her place to do so) she’s welcome to deal with the fallout of that poor decision, lol. I also utilize client consultation forms and work agreements (well, I did when I was a colorist). It states the swatch colors chosen, my warnings and disclaimers to the client, the patch test results, and requires the client to sign the form and agree to the fee before the service begins. So, changing her mind in the middle of a color service wouldn’t have been acceptable. I’d have stopped the service and told her to return when she was certain about what she wanted.

It seems like in every article, there’s one commenter that takes things completely out of context or doesn’t seem to actually read the article before commenting.

First, there’s a difference between a person who cannot be satisfied no matter what you do and a person with a valid complaint. People who complain chronically about everything are part of the former group. A client with a valid complaint isn’t.

Secondly, you can’t and shouldn’t fire every single client–nowhere did I suggest that all professionals should fire all clients (just those who constantly present problems that interfere with our ability to earn or are far more trouble than they’re worth).

Finally, there’s nothing wrong or objectionable about a client who asks why a price is what it is. If you’re drawing parallels between someone who simply wants to know how much they’re spending and what they’re spending it on with someone who busts into the salon demanding to pay 10% of what you charge for no other reason than “I don’t want to pay what you charge, but I still want your services,” then you’re likely looking for something to object to.

I thought I made it pretty clear these different types of clients are people who are unreasonably difficult, toxic people. Exceptions to this list absolutely do exist, however, I’m not going to write each article with a full list of disclaimers detailing every exception out there, lol. We’re talking about DIFFICULT clients in this post, not normal people with understandable questions or complaints.