So, finally I have done it. I have become that girl. Paired with a laptop, a new notebook and overpriced cup of coffee I sit in a coffee shop. I don't really know why I hadn't started this sooner! I mean- probably getting a couple of weird stares as I'm sat in a shop that lacks the basic necessity of WIFI but honestly writing in notepad form is seriously underrated.
I'm sat her waiting to meet the editor of Amble but that is not what I want to write about. I want to write about before.
So, I just went to get a haircut and the story of the salon surrounded me. I don't really go often as I don't really like to spend money on something I reckon a good pair of scissors and a youtube channel could do myself. My previous hair stylist Keira was amazing. She was so intelligent and funny and incredibly beautiful (there's something about sitting in a wet towel that really makes you look like an ugly guppy fish). But one thing I noticed was this: she was also incredibly sad. She lacked the fulfillment and excitement of her job because she was faced with the harsh realities of her working environment. I’m one of those people that really feels what the people around me feel- I can't help it! I suck it all up like a guppy fish (promise that is my last reference of me and a fish).
Someone happy? Yeah girl I’m with you! But it works both ways sadly. So this girl I could tell was sad. After a little prodding (always easy with a hairdresser) she basically confessed her life story.Moving up to Chester to be with her boyfriend she had left her family behind and was completely out of touch with her friends. That alone would make anybody sad but she wasn't finished there. After hours of applications, interviews and even trial shifts she had finally landed a role in her current salon and she was on a mission to tell me about it.
First seemingly nice- the girls around her were eager to befriend Keira. The owners daughter managed the salon and there were a number of colleagues on shifts. The issue was their status. The girls were either renting chairs or employees of the owner. Renting chairs meant they had to draw in their own clients and pay for their chair by giving the salon owner a cut of their profit. Being an employee meant the owner regulates your wage as is most common in any business. This is where the cutthroat culture of beauty salons come in. Girls fight to keep clients and even steal clients to ensure they can profit and pay for renting their space. With this in mind you would think the girls that were employed by the boss would be in the better position huh? Wrong. On meager wages starting at £4.30 and going up to at most £8 an hour the girls watch their clients pass over £50 plus on one treatment and see their fellow co-workers pocketing the full amounts. Self employed girls come and go when they have appointments but the full timers had to pick up the work around clients 8-7.
I get why this could make anybody sad. I think at the time I sort of just moved on and forgot about it and Keira moved back to Bradford shortly after so I didn’t really think much more until today. Today I went to a new hair stylist! I wanted to look great for my meeting with my editor from Amble and I really wanted to cut off a good length as I wanted to get stuck into to the curly girl method. My new hair stylist Jessica was once again a gorgeous little thing! So fashionable and perky I swear that must be one of the conditions of the role (sadly it probably was). She started off with the same chit chat as you do, asking about my previous hairstylist, what I wanted to do and even what my job was. Then I was led to the wash basins and a really really young girl took over washing my hair. She asked me about my job too and that gave me the opportunity to question her. Was this her full time thing? Yes- apprenticeship. One day in college each week. What did she do here? Clean, wash hair, make tea and clean some more. I couldn’t help but feel put at ease with her as she was so innocent. Led back to the styling chair I commented as much to Jessica. Jessica sort of laughed and gestured me to look around. At this point I realised there were three super young girls running around cleaning up hair, asking customers if they’d like a drink and even scrubbing the floor. Jessica told me the girls were all apprentices on trial. One was permanently here but the other two were working for free to try and get the other place available. Jessica said so herself, they were basically spending 8 hours a day licking peoples arses whilst fighting amongst each other to earn a place to do the same thing for the next two years.
It was then that I realised the way that Jessica spoke reminded me of Keira. With this in mind I quizzed her about her position. Jess had worked as an apprentice with a different salon since she was 14. She them passed her course and moved to Chester on her own as she loved the idea of working in our beautiful little city. She was 18 when she started at this particular salon and the clock basically started ticking as soon as she walked through the door. She had six months to gain her clientele portfolio working as an employee of the owner on £6.50 an hour and after this time had to declare herself self employed and rent her chair. If she fails to do so she would be asked to leave. This to me seemed insane! It is difficult for anyone to work for themselves and the thought that most hairstylists are forced into it astounded me!
This was not where her main issues lie. Jessica told me that she has to cover reception when she didn’t have clients as she was paid hourly and had to work her whole time there. When she did have clients though the self employed girls would take turns covering the desk and as they were all fighting for clients would genuinely move the hourly paid stylists new clients to their own booking form. Jess told me that was exactly what had happened literally as I was sitting down. She witnessed one of her clients being sat by her fellow self employed colleague at someone else's chair. Her voice honestly shook with anger as she was four months into her six months and doubted she had managed to secure the necessary amount of clients to be able to financially declare herself to be self employed.
I was in shock. I couldn’t believe the nice smiling guys and girls around me were forced into undercutting each other to just do what they loved. I had asked Jess why she worked there as surely she could do something else but she replied that this was her dream and yes the reality sucks but she didn’t know what else to do. At this point in the conversation I had to remind her that she was only nineteen for goodness sakes and can clearly manage finances, clerical work, admin work and telephony work from just working on reception part time. Yes that may not be desirable to some but experience is everything and it is so easy and there are so many opportunities to learn god knows what that she shouldn't tie herself to a role that was causing her to be stressed and sad. With this little pep talk under my belt I then offered her my email. Send me your CV and I’ll send it to my boss as a referral. Yes my full time office job may not be glamorous but it supports me as I do what I love on the side: Write. And that is exactly what I said to her- work you hours in four days weeks and spend two of the other three building your own client list even if it is from a tiny flat or as a mobile hairdresser because in this world you truly do have to push yourself to make difficult choices when something is making you sad or angry or panicky!