Should Every Chair be the “Quiet Chair?”
Photo credit: Flickr user James
Last week UK Salon Bauhaus announced their “quiet chair” option, which basically means clients can specifically book an appointment where the stylists will not speak unless spoken to. It started with the intention of keeping the salon a relaxing place for everyone because they realized how many people were really uncomfortable with small talk, although the owner, Scott Miller, still recognizes talking as an essential part of the business. But that’s where many other stylists would disagree, and ever since the Quiet Chair was announced, both salon clients and hair artists have started speaking up about their disapproval of salon small talk and its easy acceptance in our society.
The Talk-Free Hair Stylist
Hair artists like Mario Russo have actually been talking about this for years. In his view, he’s a working his craft at the salon, and it’s a very delicate craft, requiring complete concentration to accomplish to his standards. Which means no talking. At all. That’s not as uncommon a practice as you might think, and there’s scientific precedence for working with the “No Talking” rule.
Lots of studies show that when we try to multi-task we don't do anything well. Despite what you might feel, we can only concentrate on one thing at a time. Multitasking slows us down because it requires more power and concentration to switch your attention between different tasks. A single task includes listening, by the way, so just by trying to pay attention to your client’s words, without trying to respond is taxing your brain and making your work suffer.
Are there Benefits to Small Talk?
At this point the choice should seem easy. If you care about your craft then he quality of the work always comes first. But on the other side, many stylists believe small talk is the key to good customer service and retaining clients. It’s the cultural norm for the stylist to be willing to chat it up with everyone, and some clients really do come to the salon for that kind of interaction. And good business isn't the only thing that can come out of building a rapport with your client. Movements like Cut It Out rely on salon professionals who are close enough with their clients to recognize and report domestic abuse.
So what do you do? Stop talking to improve your work, or let your work get slipshod in order to create and maintain an attractive and even life-saving relationship with clients? And on top of that, wouldn't not talking throw out the essential element of human interaction that makes hair art unique from everything else?
Understanding Your Client
The instinct is to assume that the key to a close relationship with your client is through talking. But it would be more accurate to say it's through understanding. The client who is comfortable not talking the entire time but can still tell you if you did something wrong without hurting your feelings is just as close as the one who relates every detail of her home life to you. Part of the art is in knowing your canvas, and the really beautiful thing is that your canvases are living, breathing people with unique likes and dislikes, which means you need to adapt your technique, both physically and interpersonally to attain the best result with each one.
If you’re a natural chatterbox and you're satisfied with the quality of your work, by all means, continue. But when you find yourself wanting to push forward in your craft, or if you notice something off in your client, it might be time to turn the chatter down. So here's what we're asking of all you fat chewers:. try, for just one day, to talk as little as possible while you're styling, and see how it affects both your work and your relationships with your clients. You might be surprised how it changes how you see the work you’re doing and the people you’ve been doing it for.