Leadership Film Study #005: Before You Respond to That Review…

A viral perm video triggers a flood of one-star reviews and threats, forcing us to confront what leadership looks like when the internet decides you are the villain. We break down how to care for the guest, respond in public with calm clarity, and build consultation systems that protect your team long before something goes wrong. 
• the real problem with online pile-ons and missing context 
• addressing the guest experience privately before posting publicly 
• deciding on refunds based on facts, mission, and safety 
• separating private resolution from public review responses 
• writing short public statements without arguing in comments 
• leading your team through stress, screenshots, and spokesperson rules 
• strengthening consultations with hair history, strand tests, and documentation 
• using service plans to align expectations on results, risks, and maintenance 

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Transcript

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The Viral Review Nightmare

SPEAKER_03 0:32

Imagine waking up tomorrow morning and discovering that your salon received 2,000 one-star reviews overnight. You know, your team is getting threats. Strangers who have never walked through your doors are attacking your business. And thousands of people have already decided exactly what happened, even though they've only heard one side of the story. That's what happened to the salon we are talking about today. A guest posted a viral video after receiving a perm, and the internet immediately chose its villain, the salon.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yeah, but then the salon owner responded and more information began coming out. You know, there had been a consultation. The stylist, um, from what I saw had performed some kind of test strand. And according to the salon, the guest had not been truthful about her previous hair history. I mean, we've all been there, right? Can I get an amen to that? Right. And then suddenly the internet changed its verdict. You know, the same people who had attacked the salon were now attacking attacking the guest. And um, today's episode is not about deciding who deserves to be bullied, is about what salon owners can learn from what happened.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

Yeah, because we may not be able to control the story someone tells about our salon, but what we can control is the experience we provide, the systems we follow, and the way we lead when something goes wrong. And that's the real leadership film study today. What do you do when the internet has already decided who the villain is, but does not have the whole story?

SPEAKER_01 2:13

So we're gonna watch the guest original video, followed by the salon owner's response. And then we'll break down how to care for the grit for the guest privately, you know, how to respond publicly, and how to lead your team through a crisis and how the systems you establish before a problem can protect everyone involved. So, first, let's watch the guest original video.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

This is my hair.

Watching The Guest’s Perm Video

SPEAKER_02 2:47

But I genuinely am so scary. Like guys, this can't be good. Like, okay, there's maybe a potential girl kind of thing in there. I paid two hundred dollars for this. Like we're it just looks frizzy, right? It doesn't imp like somebody tell me that when I wash this and should I even wait the forty-eight hours? Should I even wait the forty-eight hours? I'm so mad. I'm so mad. I'm so mad. I'm so mad. Like, do I just do it? Like, do I do one now in hope that like it loosens the crawl pattern a bit? What do I do other than hide it? Other than hide it. Oh my god. So okay.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

Before we play the salon owner's response, I'm just curious, what's your first initial reaction after watching that video, Jen?

SPEAKER_01 4:21

Yeah, you know, I can I can understand from both perspectives. I put my shoes of it being in a guest, you know, being a guest. And if I asked for perm and it it looks like that, I'd probably be thinking, you know, what in the world just happened or what can I do for this? Um

First Reactions From Both Sides

SPEAKER_01 4:37

and I definitely probably wouldn't take it to the internet, but that's okay. And then from I think about it from a salon perspective. You know, if I was a salon and a guest put that um video out on the internet, I would first think, man, what is going to be the best way for us to respond to this?

SPEAKER_03 4:57

Yeah, I agree. I think, you know, you're not in control with what message people put out there. Um, but then trying to come up with a win on the other side then becomes kind of the game that you get immersed in. You know, that doesn't always mean it's who's right or wrong. It's like, how can you just get to that win on the other side? So now let's watch the salon owner's response to that.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Oops. Vanity Salon and Color Bar in Garner, North Carolina. For 15 years, I have proudly owned and operated Vanity with dignity, integrity, and a commitment to our clients. Most of our stylists have been with us for eight or more years now, and I am incredibly proud of the reputation that they have helped us build. First and foremost, I would like to sincerely apologize to Millie for her experience. I

Hearing The Owner’s Public Statement

SPEAKER_00 5:57

take what happened very seriously. The matter has been addressed internally. The stylist has refunded Millie her money, and the stylist involved is no longer with our salon. While we sincerely regret this experience, one unfortunate incident does not reflect the standards, talent, or integrity of our salon as a whole. It should not overshadow 15 years of hard work, loyal clients, and talented professionals who take tremendous pride in the services that they provide. We respect everyone's right to share experiences, voice concerns. However, fraudulent appointments, harassment, death threats to myself or any of my staff have crossed a line and are now affecting our ability to serve our clients. These actions are unacceptable and they will be handled appropriately. We will not engage in online arguments or negativity. We will continue to operate with the same integrity and dignity that have guided Vanity Salon for the past 15 years. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 7:50

What set out to you, Jen?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Yeah, I love that she did acknowledge that. And then it was like, it's almost like you create a lose-lose situation here. Like, because then she went into, you know, we will not do this, we will not handle bullying. I can't even remember exactly the words she says. So it's like in both situations now, both people are losing. The guest is unhappy with her hair, and now the salon owner is getting attacked, or the salon itself is getting attacked from the internet, and people are doing death threats and things like that. So, like you mentioned earlier, Lindsay, like that win-win situation. And so, like,

Why The Internet Picks A Villain

SPEAKER_01 8:27

I just heard both people losing um in that situation.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Yeah, I agree. It was both people losing. And so, um, you know, I think there was another video then that they posted later. I didn't watch the full video, Jen. Maybe you can fill in any details that you remember as well. But just from my understanding, they talked about that the stylists did offer um a strand test, like they did a strand test, and it seemed to do okay during that strand test. Um, and that maybe there wasn't enough of her hair history that was divulged. Was that how you remember that?

SPEAKER_01 9:03

Yeah, I think so. Because, you know, people, I think the girl, the the guest, she started with just a few thousand followers and then after it went viral, she's now like 147,000. I think I don't know the exact numbers. That doesn't even matter. But um, you know, as people started to watch it, I think they it's like going to trial, right? It's like they're looking for data, they're looking for that evidence, and I think, you know, later on, who knows if it's true or not, but later on during the consultation, it was discovered that maybe she didn't uh share her full hair history, which that's happened to us all, right? It's it happens in our businesses, you know, more than we think.

SPEAKER_03 9:42

Yeah. And you know, I think the truth is like the internet didn't have enough information to be the judge or the jury or the executioner, really, in this case, you know, is kind of what it came down to. Um, and so I think really the, you know, a couple of things that stood out. I'm not sure what the salon model was exactly. It looked like maybe it was kind of in a hybrid salon. I just am noting that based on the language that was used, like the stylist is no longer with us. The stylist refunded the money. Um, you know, there was a lot of stuff just kind of placed on the stylist. And I think, you know, first of all, one thing that stands out that that is a beautiful part of being in a team-based salon experience is that you can have those standards together as a team. And you can say, like, hey, what does it look like to set up somebody for success for a perm? Um, you know, do we need to have a release of liability in certain situations? Um, you know, there's just some different things that you can set up because I do think, hey, there is a time and a place to offer a refund for somebody. And there is a time and a place where maybe you don't because, you know, there was some missing context and you would have made different decisions in that place.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Yeah. So that brings us to our lessons today that we can pull out of this uh leadership film study. And lesson number one is address the guest experience first. So, you know, think about this. As a salon owner, you need to decide what to say online. The first conversation should be with the guest. Um, so you know, when you think about that, I think about my mission here, Lindsay. Your mission is very similar, and it's an experience so exceptional that everyone leaves feeling beautiful inside and out.

Lesson One Put The Guest First

SPEAKER_01 11:27

And then when you're very crystal clear about what you're here to do, your why, that mission becomes the filter when something goes wrong, right? And so, like you can ask yourself those questions like, did the guest give the salon an opportunity to address the concern privately? Did we listen to understand her experience before defending ourselves? Right? There's power in listening. Um, what was discussed during the consultation? You know, was the final result different from what both people agreed was realistically achievable? Or, you know, was the hair compromised because of the service or incomplete hair history, or even a combination of factors? And you know, is there a uh is there a safe correction or treatment or an alternative solution? And then asking yourself, hey, would a full refund, a partial refund, a complimentary treatment or another resolution be appropriate? And then also to look at is the guest looking for a reasonable resolution or is she using public pressure to defend a particular outcome?

SPEAKER_03 12:25

Yeah, it's like when they are demanding that outcome, you know, like I think it's like you can ask yourself, like, what does this guest need now to feel cared for? Um, because you know, we've had guests where perms, you know, I think sometimes in our mind perms are gonna be one way. And then when we get it, like you still get to style that hair, you know, it's not like you wake up and bam, you look um like curly cue Barbie, you know, it's like you have to style it. And so we've had times where people have said, like, hey, this isn't what we expected. And even when you go through like, hey, this is what your styling routine is gonna look like, this isn't to eliminate styling, you're just gonna your styling is now gonna look differently. And, you know, so so when you get all of that information, then you can decide, like, hey, because a refund should be based on the facts, the experience, and truly what aligns with the company's mission, not simply how loudly somebody complains online. And because like one online bullying does not automatically warrant a refund, you know, and we we can care about the guest feelings without immediately accepting fault. We can show compassion without allowing threats or public pressure to make the decision for us. You know, I think one of the saddest things in that experience is like when it's somebody's first bad review from a guest. And hopefully, just those words of the stylist is no longer with us. Hopefully she didn't leave the industry altogether. Hopefully she knows, hey, you know, one piece of bad feedback does not determine who I am. It just gives me the next lesson that I need to learn to become better, you know, because now, hey, she'll probably ask some additional questions next time, or she'll look at what size rod differently, or she'll talk a little bit about that styling with the guest more, you know. And I think as salon owners, we get the opportunity to educate our team on what that looks like as well. I love that, Lindsay.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

And so when you think about what's the other lesson that we can learn here. So lesson two is the private and public responses have different purposes. So the private conversation is about caring for the guest and finding a resolution. You know, the public response is for every reasonable future guest who may read the review. And so most of the time, the salon does not need to prove every detail or win an argument in the comments. That goes back to our lose-lose, right? You know, a strong public response can be as simple as like, hey, you know, we are so sorry to hear that you're unhappy with your experience. You know, creating an experience where every guest leaves be feeling beautiful inside and out is incredibly

Private Care Versus Public Response

SPEAKER_01 15:12

important to us. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you privately, you know, better understand your concerns and determine how we can help. Please contact us directly at the and then stop. Period. Put the period there. There's no need to go back and forth in the comments. You know, you do not need to match the guest emotional intensity. You know, they say when emotions are high, intelligence is low, so keeping that in mind. And you do not need to release private information to embarrass or discredit the guest.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

Yeah, I think that that truly helps you stand out as a leader in that situation. And, you know, lesson three that stands out here is to lead your team through the crisis. Because when everyone else around them becomes reactive, the leader has to become more grounded. You know, if something involving your salon goes viral, choose one spokesperson for the company, you know, ask Beauty Pros not to respond from their personal accounts. Preserve your consultation forms, your just any kind of documentation, just keep that for yourself, you know, take the screenshots of the threats and fraudulent reviews and go about those accordingly. Um, you know, and you can report some of those as well. I know we've received fake reviews over the years that are just weird and wild, you know, and um sometimes when it's like that or there's like the spiral moment, it's gonna be okay, you know. But I think the most important thing here is to communicate directly with the team so that they're not learning everything through social media, you know. Check in on the beauty pro that was involved. Like the worst thing in the world that you can do in this, um, you know, she's already being publicly attacked by thousands of strangers, that can feel emotionally devastating, you know. Think back to the first time you got a one-star review at your salon, or maybe you've received one as a beauty pro. Um, you know, that can feel emotionally hard at first. And for that girl, if she got thousands, like wow. Because I mean, just me even seeing the video of the perm, I was thinking, gosh, if I could get her hair wet and teach her to style it, honestly, I it didn't really look that it looked so dry, like it didn't have the right products in it. There was so much that I was like, I think that we could help her right away, you know, have a win. Um, and you know, but we've all seen legally blonde, so we're all afraid about the washing within that 44, 48 hours. But that means shampoo is gonna stop that ammonium cyglacylate or whatever the the active ingredient is. That doesn't mean you can't get it a little wet and you know, get some more moisture and some more gel and stuff back in there. Um, and so I think helping coach that beauty pro from it, like you want to help them start to see, like, hey, this one thing does not define you. And because that's the truth, and like everybody's gonna have something go wrong. And so you having like a debrief that you can go through with your team, like, hey, what

Leading Your Team Through A Pile-On

SPEAKER_03 18:17

did you learn? You know, what would you do next time? And helping them get reconnected to who they actually are in this industry is huge, and helping your team see that too. Like, hey, this could happen anybody in the industry. Um, I mean, you there's just some things that you just never see coming, you know, and I think that there's gonna be freak fluke things like this that are gonna happen. And so your job as the leader is not to become the loudest voice in the crisis, it's to become the clearest and the calmest voice, keeping in mind your outcome that you're hoping to help this team member expand back into what's truly possible for them.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Lindsay's, I love that you said the clearest and the calmest voice. I remember working with a salon owner one time who got a perm, a bad review on a perm. And her solution to it was we're never doing perms again, right? It's like cancel all the perms, we'll send them down the street. Actually, people call our salon, and like, yeah, they said they don't do perms that we could check here. I'm just a believer. If somebody wants a perm and it's really gonna be best for their body shape and their face shape, give them a perm. That's we're here to serve. And so um, I think that's just something else to think about. It's being the clearest and calmest voice is gonna create peace for everyone. So then we move on to lesson number four, which is your best defense is the experience you create beforehand. So the best time to prepare for a bad review is not after someone posts it. You know, it is during the consultation. You know, in this situation, the stylists reportedly asked the guests previous hair history, they performed some kind of test strand, and those steps became incredibly important once the service was questioned publicly, right? So performing a transformational or high-risk service, you know, BeautyPro should consider like what does the guest want to feel like when she leaves, or what inspired this change? What does she hope people notice first? You know, what is her desired results and what is achievable today? You know, what's that hair journey gonna look like? And what is her um complete color and chemical history, you know, and how she used those box colors, those smoothing treatments, those relaxes, those perms, and then being that doctor, that hair doctor, and diagnosing the current condition, looking at the density, the length, the integrity of the hair, and then asking, you know, is this is a strand test needed? And then what are some risks or limit limit limitations that need to be explained?

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Yeah, I love that. You know, and I think um really the guest and the beauty pro should both understand the vision, the realistic outcome, the investment, the maintenance, and the risks before the service begins. And a signature does not replace professional judgment. So if you have them sign a form, you know, um releasing liability, which we do recommend for high-risk services, you know. Um when they sign, it does not make an unsafe service safe. Um, you know, but it does document that of what happened and what both people have agreed upon. Because here's what we know a crisis does not create your decisions or your systems, but it reveals your system specifically, you know, it also re reveals some of the decisions you make, you know, but really it reveals what systems you have in place because when something goes wrong, you discover whether your salon has a thorough consultation process, you know, clear documentation, a test-strand protocol, a service recovery process, a negative review response, a crisis communication plan, and a mission that's strong enough to guide difficult decisions. And that is truly why

Systems That Prevent Crisis Spirals

SPEAKER_03 22:27

in Salon Business School we recommend the mission of an experience so exceptional. Leaves feeling beautiful inside and out because it makes it so easy to make your decisions. Like, hey, did we do everything we could to help, you know, create fulfill that mission? You know, that just gives you a clear path because you cannot guarantee that a guest will never be disappointed. Wish you could. That would be no good. Um, you know, and you also can't guarantee that someone's gonna tell you the complete truth about their hair history, and you can't control what they're gonna post online, but you can make sure that your beauty pros ask the right questions, you know, explain the risks, document the plan, and make decisions that protect the guests' hair.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Yeah, so this is why we created the Salon Business School Success Plan. You know, inside our own salons, um, these are branded as the um is it branded as your name.

SPEAKER_03 23:24

Yeah, you just say your name success plan, and there's like a whole bunch of different ones inside and they're so great.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

So they're a collection of plans for the different transformational services a salon may offer. So curl transformations, vivid colors, blonding, extensions, and so more. And so these are not just liability forms, you know, they guide the beauty pro and guests through the entire consultation. So the guest visions, her desired result, her color and face shape considerations, lifestyle and styling routine, uh, hair history, professional assessment, what is realistically achievable, the beauty pro's personalized recommendation, professional home care, maintenance, investment, and then acknowledgement and authorization. And the purpose is not to prepare for a fight with the guest. Do you remember lose lose? The purpose is to slow the conversation down, ask better questions, and make sure the guest and beauty pro are truly on the same page before moving forward.

SPEAKER_03 24:22

Yes, and here's the biggest lesson for us as salon owners. You cannot wait until the internet is angry to decide how your salon handles an unhappy guest. You know, the time to create your consultation process is before the service goes wrong. And the time to decide how you respond to negative reviews is before someone leaves one. And the time to teach your team how to document hair history, risks, expectations, maintenance, and investment is before you need that document.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Yeah, and that's exactly why we're giving you the complete salon business school success plan today. Um, uh, you know, again, these plans help your beauty pros slow down, ask better questions, explain what is realistically achievable, and make sure everyone agrees on the plan before the service begins.

SPEAKER_03 25:15

Yes, the success plans will not prevent every unhappy guest, but and you know, they cannot guarantee that someone will give you a complete hair history or control what they choose to post online, but they can help your beauty pros create magnificent consultations, you know, have clearer conversations, make better professional decisions, and confidently document what was discussed and agreed upon. So to receive your free copy, go ahead and DM us on Instagram the words success plan, and we'll send it over to you that way.

unknown 25:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

You can also email us at hello at salonbusiness school.com with the words success plan in the subject line, and we'll send it to you because your reputation is not protected by winning an argument on the internet. It's protected by the experience you create, the systems you follow, and the way you lead when things do not go as planned. So we'll see you next week for another episode of Salon Success Secrets.