That client who told me my $85 haircut was 'too expensive' really got under my skin

I was doing a consultation last Wednesday for a woman who wanted a full cut and blow dry. She sat down, I quoted her $85, and she literally laughed and said she could get the same thing for $35 at the chain down the street. I asked her when the last time she had a haircut she actually liked was, and she said 'maybe six months ago?' I held my ground and she walked out, but it made me wonder how many clients just don't understand what goes into a good cut versus a cheap one. Has anyone else run into this kind of pushback lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

simonmoore1mo ago

$85 is fair if they respect your time and skill, the chain cuts are just different.

ruby5611mo agoTop Commenter

@simonmoore yeah $85 sounds about right, I guess it depends on how desperate you are for the work. Last time I charged someone $70 for a cut they kept asking me to redo it because they thought the layers looked uneven, turns out they just had a weird cowlick they never mentioned. My rates went up after that just to cover the headache tax.

henderson.kim1mo ago

So your "headache tax" ended up being $15 extra? That feels low honestly for someone who pulls the "redo it" card over a cowlick. @simonmoore $85 sounds like a steal if you factor in the emotional toll of dealing with clients who don't know their own hair quirks. Did you ever actually tell that person about the cowlick or just let them think you messed up? I guess either way you learned your lesson about charging for the hassle upfront.