The Relationship Between Artists and Guests
The relationships we, as stylists, build with our guests is one of the main reasons we decide to get into the beauty industry. Sure, it is fun to style hair like we did our Barbie(s) growing up. And sure, it is an added bonus we get paid to do so. However, most of us chose this career to make the people we serve look and feel good. There is nothing more gratifying than the reaction a client makes when we reveal their new look. It truly is amazing to see the instilled confidence it gives them.
We genuinely enjoy people, and we relish in the relationships and connections we make with them. We remember the trips you take and your child's birthday more so than what we ate for breakfast yesterday. (Wait! Did we eat?)
And of course, we are beyond grateful that you support us in our career by making appointments with us, paying for the services we provide, purchasing retail, and referring your family and friends.
We know that you value the relationship and connection you have made with your artist as well. You trust them to be able to meet your expectation of the look you desire, give you suggestions to maintain your look at home sans them, and well... be your therapist in a way as we create a "safe place" and lend you our ears and an occassional hug (Not Amanda. She hates hugs).
So why the PSA?
As most of you may know, lines of relationships can sometimes be blurred. Relationships, at times, can be taken advantage of- consciously or unconsciously.
Listen... We know you think of us as your friends. WE LOVE THAT! Trust us we think of you as ours too. But... here is the BIG but... the professional relationship side of our connection has to come first. That is always the best for all parties involved.
Here are some of the issues that arise when the line between professional and personal relationships becomes blurred:
Broken Limits & Boundaries
The artist's and guest's time should always be valued.
Let us repeat that...
The artist's AND guest's time should always be valued. Both person's time is important.
This means when you are late, it affects us (and the other guests). When we are late, it affects you (and again, our other guests). When you cancel or reschedule last minute, it affects our time.
We all have lives outside of the salon's walls.
Let's use this as an example...
There is this like unspoken rule when living in a neighborhood that you should not make a lot of noise before 9 am and after 9 pm. This means if you decide to mow the lawn before 9 am some neighbor is not going to be so happy and probably for many reasons.
We, as artists, have working hours. They may not all look the same but when we are at work, we work. When we are at home, we don't. There has to be a clear separation of "church and state" to ensure work/life balance. Personal messages to artists via text or social media forums need to be watched and regulated. Our artists have lives including their family time, their own appointments, and other personal doings. When messages occur when on "life" time for artists, it does not allow them to be present. If you do message them personally outside of their scheduled working hours, they should and will not answer. Please be patient. Have respect and value their personal time. Calling or messaging the salon is a better idea. There is always an available staff member who will answer you in a timely manner during the entire salon's operating hours.
We also try to mindful of your precious "life" and personal time. We would never call or message you before we are open or at 10 pm. It would have to be an emergency if we did.
We ALL Have to Make a Living
Most of us did not choose the beauty industry as a profession "just for fun" or because we could not "cut it" doing anything else. We chose this profession to have a lucrative career while having fun and a creative outlet.
But let us repeat that one part...
We chose this profession to a lucrative career-
To support ourselves.
To support our families.
To have a good life.
When the line between professional and personal relationships of artists and guests becomes blurred, we discount ourselves and/or we are asked to discount. We're friends, right? What's $10 off?
We know the economy sucks. We know that everything in the world right now is more expensive than it ever has been. But it is for both you, the guest, and us, the starving artist. Joke... we do not starve.
The cost of living has risen. The cost of goods has risen. That means our supply costs have risen and our business and own household bills have too. We have to charge correctly, and we have to charge our worth. There really should not be any ifs, ands or buts about it.
We invest a lot into our education, tools, services, and products to ensure you have the best experience and are offered nothing but the best. We know that your finances are just as important as ours which is why we invest so much of our time and own finances to ensure there is value behind spending the money on your beauty services here and with us.
Trust us when we say, we do not take finances lightly- for any party.
Which takes us to the next parts...
Emotions & Attachment
Good God! We love you. We know you love us too. We are in the business of giving and receiving some real positive emotions. It makes us feel good when you are happy. It makes you feel good when we take care of you and give you some badass hair.
We know LIVE SALON has created a unique and comfortable culture that you can feel like you are just hanging out in your friend's living room. We cuss. We drink. We laugh. We cry. WE LOVE IT!
However, ...
Sometimes we, as artists, value our self-worth on our guests' doings and thoughts about us.
For instance-
We are sometimes afraid to charge what we should to put food on our own tables and pay our own bills because what if our guests don't like us then? We hold such emotional attachment on the relationship we have with them that we will sacrifice our own pocketbooks for the sake of our guests to feel a sense of validation.
We will answer the personal texts and messages at 12 am with one eye open for the sake of the relationship with them because, again.... what if they do not like us? What if we lose them as a client if we don't?
We will feel immense pain following through with enforcing salon and personal policies because of the blurred line between professional and personal relationships even knowing that they are in place to protect all parties.
We will push well past our personal boundaries and limits because we are so engulfed with pleasing our guests.
Would our guests do the same?
For clarity.... we do not want you to. We do not want anyone to.
Disregarded Policies
As we mentioned above, enforcing policies makes are skin crawl when we put the personal relationship with our guests first above the professional relationship. And when guests, forget that there is a professional relationship as well as a personal relationship, the expectation that there will be exceptions in policies placed is apparent.
Policies and structures are always in place to protect the health of the workplace and to protect the emotional, physical, mental, and financial wellbeing of both the artist and guest. Policies are not developed on a whim. Policies are developed with reason.
For instance,
When the Cancellation & No-Show Policy is disregarded by a guest, the artist is not paid for that time. The time of that appointment could have been filled with another client to ensure the artist's financial needs are met and to feel as if their time is valued. When the artist disregards such policy because of the emotional attachment of the guest, fear of the "what if", or need for validation of their worth, they are sacrificing the health and financial wellbeing of their own personal household and are not living within work/life balance since their time was not best spent.
When the Honesty Policy is not followed, the health and integrity of the guests' hair is at stake. Oooo, so you did not tell us about the black box hair dye when you wanted to go blonde so now you have mushy, spaghetti noodles for hair.
See what we mean?
To sum all of this up... Listen, we love you and we know you love us. Shoot, we would 100% go and have drinks with many of our guests. What this PSA is all about is that all of us, artists and guests, should have mutual respect for one another. We all need to remember that there is a professional relationship and be cognitive of where the lines can be blurred. We want to stress this because it is a way that we can ensure exceptional service here at LIVE SALON for our guests and to be the dream makers and assist in goals for our artists. We all want to continue to make, keep, and nurture our connections and to...
Live Beautifully, Live Confidently, & Empower
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