Client asked me for a 'simple trim' and I ended up cutting 4 inches off

So I had a client come in last Tuesday at my salon in Phoenix, and she sat down and said she just wanted a simple trim, nothing crazy, maybe half an inch. Cool, I can do that in my sleep. Well about 10 minutes in, I notice her ends are fried from a box dye job she did herself, like crunchy and splitting all the way up. I tried to tell her gently that we should take more off, but she kept saying no, just the tips. So I'm standing there with my shears, her hair is literally snapping off in my comb, and I make the call to take about 4 inches instead of half an inch because honestly it was the only way to save it. She looked in the mirror and went quiet for a second, then said it actually looked way healthier than it had in months. She tipped me $20 and booked her next appointment on the spot. Has anyone else had to make that judgment call when a client says one thing but their hair is screaming something else?

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wrenwilson13d ago

Man, that is such a tough spot to be in and it sounds like you handled it about as well as anyone could. But here is what I really want to know, did you show her the fried ends before you started cutting, or did you just kind of point at them and hope she got the hint? Because I feel like the whole thing could have gone sideways if she had not been so chill about it. What would you have done if she had freaked out and wanted a refund or something? Like, do you have a plan for that, or do you just trust your gut every time?

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