Saturday, October 30, 2010

Got phones?

Yes !   I finally have the phones at Hair.Comb back up and working.   A really nice guy named "Mel".    Don't you just hate it when someone is so kind and gentle (not to mention competent) that it just takes all the mad out of you.    I finally had a real person representing AT&T that I could take out my frustrations on and he just ruined it.   He really diffused me and that was no minor thing, I must say.     Oh well,   all's well that ends well I guess.   I'm still looking for a resolution to my phone issues.   If it happens one more time,  then I'm truly going to take my business elsewhere.  AT&T must realize that even a 3 day wait for phone service in a business like mine is completely unacceptable.      Well that's all for now.   Gotta get to bed and back to the shop early tomorrow.   Saturday ya know.   A few weekly regulars and alot of monthly colors and cuts.  
Yesterday, a customer was complaining about the smell of a perm that one of the older ladies was getting.   I replied that it "smelled like money to me".   That's probably not a good business move,...you know, being a smart aleck...but it comes so natural to me so I stick with what I'm good at, and not necessarily with what works.
And speaking of smelly old perms....I really do love the stinky old smell...it reminds me of when the money was easy to make in the salon. Yep, I really miss the late 70's and 80's.   That was easy money....Just curl em up and send them out.   No blow dry,  no irons, maybe just get that bang in the front to stand up with a bit of hairspray,  (remember "mall bangs"?) but no real fussing with the finish.  It was easy money.   Now we spend more time on the finish than we do on the chemical service or the cuts.    AAAARRGH!!  The customers even used to go out of the shop with their hair still wet....it was a great time for hairdressers....easy money....those days are gone.  I really do miss the 70's and 80's. 

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Now I remember why I wanted to blog...

Sometimes one just needs to vent a little.   So here I go:

I got into work this afternoon after being out of the shop for the last two days.  I was well rested and ready to start another week at Hair.Comb.  I love my salon and most of my customers.  I still look forward to starting another weekafter I've had a resting weekend.  So soon after I got the lights on, coffee started, irons warmed up, towels out of the car and into the shelves, I began "turning heads", ( for those of you unfamiliar with the hair biz,  thats barber & hairstylist jargon for working on customers).   What a beautiful day it was turning out to be.   I was scheduled just right...not too busy,   not too slow.  Just me and my customers... a rather quiet day actually,  Sandy was off babysitting her grandies,  Rujen was working in late afternoon, Cathy was off and likewise with Teresa... So it was just me and my customers.   Getting quieter by the hour. It usually starts ramping up, but  the storm was on its way and the sky was getting darker.   I was rather enjoying the slow pace of the day.  Then I realized the phones hadn't rang all afternoon.   I picked up the phone and there was no dial tone.  About that time, one of my friends stopped in to tell me they had been trying to call me for the last 3 hours to no avail.   I couldn't receive calls and I couldn't call out.    I immediately got on my cell and called the beloved AT & T.   After 45 minutes of pushing buttons and still not talking to a real person, I get a message that I will have my phones back in working order by the end of the working day FRIDAY !!!
Unbelievable.   How does one run a hair salon with no phone for 4 days?    I spent another 45 minutes trying to get to talk to a supervisor or anyone who might listen to my problem and maybe be of some help.    Nope, that wasn't going to happen.  Still had to push buttons and wait on the line, etc. etc.   You all know what I'm talking about. 
The real problem is not just the fact that the business now has to run on it's past bookings for the next few days and I can't communicate with my business phone,  but  I can't use my charge machine, I can't receive cancellations,  I can't book appointments.  I'm sort of screwed really. 
It's hard to believe that a telephone company cannot see the urgency of another  business to have their telephones working.   As soon as I get AT&T to fix this problem,  I'm going to fire them.       So there you have it.   Now,  I feel better already.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

My first attempt to blog (a disclaimer, if you will)

Because I've created this blog, some may believe that I think I  have the ability to write well.   Let me be the first to say,  I do not !    I just want to capture some of  thoughts and happenings in and around my life...put them in some kind of documentation so that when I am old, I will be able to look back and remember that I did actually have an interesting and abundant life.  Will this help?   Time will tell.  And time is running out. For whatever reason,  I feel the urgency,  so I decided I cannot wait  to become a good writer in order to start a blog.  I've been thinking about it for a few years and have been just too intimidated .

You see  I am married to a genius in the media world....he really is a "wordsmith".  He's absolutely brilliant with words.  And the funny thing is,  I don't think my family ever heard him speak until we were married for about 12 years.  It was something about my coffee....but that's a story for another time.   I also have a very gifted daughter in law who is an established poet.   So, even with that kind of intimidation,  (unintended of course, this is all self-inflicted, they are really kind and wonderful people) I shall plod on.   Hardly a week ever goes by that I don't think there is something worth writing down.  Either something hilarious, or conversely, something serious, that happened in the shop with a customer, or something in life outside of the shop (I understand there IS a life out there now). Life has it's ups and downs and I think those are worth capturing here.    So without further ado, and in spite of the intimidation I feel, my inadequacy with grammar, sentence structure, spelling, etc...I shall bravely press on.  Here we go:

Now that I have adequately, though not eloquently, put forth my disclaimer,  I can't think of a darn thing of interest to write.   I will have to get back to you on this.






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