I am big on honesty and transparency. Often to the point that it is detrimental to my business and relationships. The truth is that I am just not smart enough to keep track of lies or fabrications I may tell others so I believe that if I just tell the truth, everything will work out.
Had a call from a gentleman this week inquiring about my services in cleaning and styling his hair system. He said he had been purchasing his systems for many years from a competitor that now was leaving the business, and was looking for someone that could provide exactly what he had been buying from his former replacement specialist.
After asking a few questions I realized this man had been taken advantage of by his provider and had no idea of how the market has changed and that better products with much lower price tags were now available. This man was paying $1200.00+ for his systems, and then paying several hundred dollars to have them re-ventilated (new hair added) when the hair fell out in small areas. I told him that I could provide top quality systems at 1/3 the price and that it was best to just replace the system more often than to re-ventilate it for years on end. I explained that the hair used in these systems gets old and damaged, and just re-ventilating an area still leaves the rest of the piece with old, damaged hair. I also explained that if his base was thick enough to hold up to these repairs it could not look natural. Today's bases are very thin and look like natural hair growing from the scalp.
Unfortunately this was not what the man wanted to hear, because I could not even get him to come in for a consultation so I could show him the new products. As I went for my daily walk with the dogs, I thought to myself if I should have just kept my mouth shut, given the man his cheap system and charged him what his provider was charging him now. He was happy with what he was buying, who am I to tell him it is all wrong?
I would have made much more money by keeping the client in the dark, and he could continue to believe he was buying the best and looked great.
My conclusion was that for my own peace of mind, I could not take this client on and lie to him. I know that if a client does not look great and understand the downside to some hair additions, I don't sleep well. No amount of money will enable me to feel comfortable lying to my clients. It simply is not worth it.
In today's business climate, it is acceptable to use tactics that to me are just plain fabrications to get the customer's money. promise them anything and when you can't deliver, too bad! I personally can not live with that. I may never get rich, but I will sleep at night.
www.chrisforhair.com
Had a call from a gentleman this week inquiring about my services in cleaning and styling his hair system. He said he had been purchasing his systems for many years from a competitor that now was leaving the business, and was looking for someone that could provide exactly what he had been buying from his former replacement specialist.
After asking a few questions I realized this man had been taken advantage of by his provider and had no idea of how the market has changed and that better products with much lower price tags were now available. This man was paying $1200.00+ for his systems, and then paying several hundred dollars to have them re-ventilated (new hair added) when the hair fell out in small areas. I told him that I could provide top quality systems at 1/3 the price and that it was best to just replace the system more often than to re-ventilate it for years on end. I explained that the hair used in these systems gets old and damaged, and just re-ventilating an area still leaves the rest of the piece with old, damaged hair. I also explained that if his base was thick enough to hold up to these repairs it could not look natural. Today's bases are very thin and look like natural hair growing from the scalp.
Unfortunately this was not what the man wanted to hear, because I could not even get him to come in for a consultation so I could show him the new products. As I went for my daily walk with the dogs, I thought to myself if I should have just kept my mouth shut, given the man his cheap system and charged him what his provider was charging him now. He was happy with what he was buying, who am I to tell him it is all wrong?
I would have made much more money by keeping the client in the dark, and he could continue to believe he was buying the best and looked great.
My conclusion was that for my own peace of mind, I could not take this client on and lie to him. I know that if a client does not look great and understand the downside to some hair additions, I don't sleep well. No amount of money will enable me to feel comfortable lying to my clients. It simply is not worth it.
In today's business climate, it is acceptable to use tactics that to me are just plain fabrications to get the customer's money. promise them anything and when you can't deliver, too bad! I personally can not live with that. I may never get rich, but I will sleep at night.
www.chrisforhair.com
No comments:
Post a Comment