What to do when something traumatic happens to your client.

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Posted on October 28, 2010

Article by Christopher Box

When you have been doing hair as long as I have it is inevitable that you have a client have something traumatic happen to them. When my clients come into the salon I turn into Martha Stewart. They are after all a guest in my house, right? My clients want for nothing from the minute they arrive in the salon. I want them to have a fun, happy, relaxing time.

The question I have today comes from a client I did yesterday. I'll call her Jill because this is a sensitive and painful situation. I have been doing Jill's hair extensions for almost 10 years. Even when I lived in San Diego, I would fly back to Dallas to do her hair extensions. Jill has become more than a client. She is a friend for sure. We have seen each other grow up and truly become adults. I really was sweet young and innocent when we first met!

When Jill arrived at the salon I could tell she was not herself at all. I didn't make a big fuss about it. I led her to my chair and got my station ready. I offered up some more bererages and went  to mix up color. When I got back she was sitting at my station with a hallow blank stare. Okay, now I am starting to get an icky, weird vibe. I am like, " Jill, your freaking me out.. what's up". Jill proceeds to tell me she lost her baby yesterday and starts to cry. Jill was 2 months pregnant when she came in last time.

My heart froze. I set the color down and swooped in to give her a hug.

I kick into Mom mode real quick. I pull away and ask if getting her hair done today is a good idea. She says yes. I then ask her if she wants to talk about it. Her eyes glaze over and I interpret that as a no.

I proceed to give her an amazing foil and keep the chatting to a minimum.

The question I have for you guys today is, What is the proper way to deal with something like this? After she left I just couldn't help but feel that I should have done more. It hurt my heart to see her this way.

As a stylist, I deal with all kinds of painful situations. I have shaved clients heads that were going through cancer, I have lost clients in car accidents, and now have had a client lose a pregnancy.

What would you need in a moment like this? Silence, a hug, a cookie?

I am serious, I am a "fixer". When something bad happens I need to "do" something. I swear if the salon had a kitchen I would whipped back there and started making soup!

Please leave me your comments.