47 Most Common Complaints in a Salon | Improve Your Salon

Dealing with client common complaints in a salon on a daily basis is a fact.

A good company policy is to have a complaint procedure in place the day the salon opens. This can help a great deal in settling issues amicably that arise between a salon and unhappy clients.

There are many common complaints that are shared by all salons. The grievances provided in this article are some of the more common ones.

Thankfully, many clients take their complaints to salon staff or management and can be resolved in-store amicably. 

The article focuses on the most common complaints in a salon and gives advice on how to effectively address and resolve them.

Table of Content

1. What Is a Complaint In a Salon?
2. What Are the Main Steps to Resolving a Complaint In a Salon?
3. 47 Examples of Common Complaints In a Salon
4. How to Best Handle Complaints In a Salon?
5. Conclusion

What Is a Complaint In a Salon?

Many clients walk in the door with issues that are the result of poor styling or treatment at another salon. They are either too embarrassed to return and have the matter settled or have just given up with trying to resolve the complaint.

Many salon clients have stories of bad haircuts, indifferent hairdressers or stylists, and just plain poor service. As terrible haircuts and botched styling are often immortalized in client photos, hairdresser's mistakes stick with them long after the client exits the salon door.

What Are the Main Steps to Resolving a Complaint In a Salon?

A good salon always recognizes complaints.

They are usually made first to the stylist involved in the service but should be handled by a service manager or owner. Remember, resolving a customer complaint is part of customer service.

One of the first steps for any salon is to have a complaint procedure in place. If you do not have one, the following steps can be useful to handle complaints:

1. Listen carefully to the client.
2. Don't interrupt.
3. Let the client have their say.
4. Every complaint deserves a full reply.
5. If the complaint involves a staff member, get the staff member's point of view and take notes before sitting down with the unhappy salon client.
6. The complaint should be handled by just one person to avoid the perception the client is being ganged upon. It also avoids mixed messaging and confusion.
7. If the complaint is about an individual hairstylist, it's best for both you and the client to move to the privacy of an office in the interest of clients and staff.
8. Keep in mind, body language is very important. Don't cross your arms and stay relaxed. Ensure you have a look of interest and empathy.
9. All complaints need to be resolved quickly but don't rush the client. Think about turning a negative into a positive.
10. At all costs, avoid arguing.  This only makes a bad situation worse. Your goal should be improved customer service.
11. After all the facts are in, provide the client with a choice of several common-sense solutions to resolve the problem.

47 Examples of Common Complaints In a Salon

1. Not listening to client request
2. Not looking like the hairstyle in the photo the client brought in
3. Using too much bleach or dye
4. Cutting the ear with scissors
5. Water too hot or cold for the client when being shampooed
6. Quality of extensions and glue / clips
7. Conduct of other clients in the salon 
8. Booking not in the salons appointment calendar
9. Music too loud in the salon
10. Poor hygiene and cleanliness
11. Rude or disrespectful staff member
12. Overuse the dryer
13. Not accepting credit cards and being cash only
14. Ignored when arriving in the salon
15. Treatment feeling rushed 
16. Stylists and other staff consistently chatting to each other
17. Staff member not showing up for the appointment
18. Tip being added to bill without clients knowledge
19. Staff member not talking to client
20. Not being told about charges for service add-ons such as deep conditioning etc
21. Treatment cost more then what was booked for
22. Poor blending of roots when applying color
23. Cutting the clients neck with clippers
24. Inconsistency across stylists in a salon
25. Double booking so client doesn't get their appointment
26. Damaging the hair through over bleaching
27. Late running stylist 
28. Cutting hair too short
29. Servicing too many clients at the same time
30. Calls to make a booking go unanswered
31. Salon too hot or cold making it uncomfortable
32. Botched perm job  
33. Uneven cutting
34. Bad color corrections
35. Wrong opening times online, such as Google My Business or website
36. Treatment taking too long
37. Skin redness due to no spot testing
38. Fake reviews on Yelp or Google my Business
39. No response to complaint
40. Being too pushy with retail sales
41. Client going to old address as new address not update online
42. Email & SMS marketing when they did not opt-in to such marketing
43. Getting burnt with hair dryer or hot irons
44. Highlights too heavy
45. No refund / gift vouchers of a poorly delivered service
46. Styling to difficult to look good when home
47. Being sold the wrong after care products by the stylist or front desk

How to Best Handle Complaints In a Salon?

Keep in mind it is always best to have a happy client leave the premises than an unhappy one.

This does not mean opening the vault to make a client happy after a botched or less than perfect styling procedure. There is nearly always a middle ground where the client is happy and the salon is happy and the solution is a win-win for all parties.

In summarizing the above, the high points are:

• listening to the staff member;
• listening to the client;
• taking notes;
• being empathetic;
• and if you value both the client and the staff member, arriving at a solution that keeps the staff member happy, satisfies the client, and provides you with a sense of satisfaction.

In other words, a win-win for all parties.

Common Related Questions?

• How do I deal with unjustified complaints?
• What is the difference between a justified and an unjustified complaint?
• How do I deny a refund to a client?
• How do I handle a client’s unfair complaint against an employee?

Conclusion

Addressing common complaints in a salon quickly and satisfactorily is a big plus for a salon brand.

All clients are important to the success of your salon and a happy client is a repeat client.

Do you have questions or responses to this article? Connect with us today. We’ll respond to your queries or concerns as soon as possible.

We also recommend you to check out our other post on how to handle salon bad online reviews.