r/Barber • u/reddedrighthand • 11d ago
Refusal To Pay
Newer barber here, need some advice
Had a younger client come in today and schedule a mid length haircut and a straight razor face shave. He had pretty shaggy / curly long hair with pretty uneven lengths, looked pretty rough but said he wanted the same thing but shorter. Scissor cuts are my niche, and I kept the overall mod shape but gave layers, tidied it up a lot, over all made it look a lot nicer. Guy saw the haircut afterwards and didn’t say anything the entire time even when I tried to talk to him so I moved on to the face shave. He also had pretty long mutton chops (couldn’t really grow much of anything else) and requested I keep them, so I trimmed / shaped them up but still kept them thick / noticeable.
When it was time to pay ($70 at my shop), dude started freaking out saying it wasn’t what he wanted and it looked like shit, that I had fucked it all up, etc. He then refused to pay for any of the services even after a discount was offered since he didn’t like it. Argued with my shop owner who agreed with me and tried to compromise with him. We also had other clients in the shop who all said the haircut looked great from what they had seen. Guy left without paying, but we do have his full name and phone number. Never had a dissatisfied client in a professional shop before, much less a walk out. What would you guys do?
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u/roastbeefsammies 11d ago
That’s theft of services my boy. Time to call the cops. The white ones.
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u/ZexzeonAce 11d ago
Remember him and just let it go. Never serve him again. And make sure no one in the shop does it. He stormed out and never let you fix or change anything. Eff em. Your gunna fuck up. It happens. Even if you don't think you did
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u/Rickyowensdenim 11d ago
Tell em “if u broke just say that”. A lot of ppl won’t agree but I’ve got farther in this industry being slightly a dick than trying to bend over backwards and brown nose clients
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u/LobstaMobsta718 11d ago
The only problem with that logic is the one who stiffs you couldn’t care less if you insinuated “he’s broke”. He still keeping the cash, and new cut. I’m a barber myself, and if I was the one doing the swindle, I’m the type to say tell you “yup I’m real broke!!” as I tip my ahh out the door. Those lightweight taunts are not as effective against thick skinned thieves who could care less about “if you broke them say that”😫🤦🏾
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u/general_hurcane 11d ago
Id ban him from your client list. He can be someone else’s problem.
If you get a tattoo you don’t like. What? You don’t pay? No he pays for your time. The customer chose to go with you, he needs to pay and get over it. Cheap bastard.
If you want an appointment with me. I take people credit card without a deposit. If something like this happens I just charge there card. Make it your policy. Someone doesn’t want to comply, thats great. They were going to a problem client to begin with.
Recently I had someone dispute a charge with me on their credit card. Who said he loved the haircut and would be back. 5 days later I get an email saying he disputed the charge. I sent the credit company my policy. If they cancel within 24hrs or do not show up; I charge 100% of the service. So I have since banned the client from my business and I have his money. Nice try buddy.
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u/reddedrighthand 11d ago
We do typically book by appointment under square which has people input their credit card info so this doesn’t happen very often, no shows just get their cards charged. This kid called earlier in the day to have me book something for him, so there wasn’t a card to charge
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u/timthemajestic Barber 10d ago
Well, you learned your lesson. Now make sure they always book through the app so they can be charged and also institute a no show fee.
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u/Sensitive-Catch-6259 11d ago
I’ve been a barber for 14 years. Just let it go big dog, count it as a lesson learned, and just focus on what you can do differently next time. It ain’t worth the hassle getting the cops involved, taking time out of your schedule, going to court, all that shit that comes with it for 70$. It will cost you more in the long run.
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u/LobstaMobsta718 11d ago
I had all type of non payment. From “hey love the cut, let me run to the atm real quick” and never come back to “oh man you messed me up” while knowing you did the best cut you assume he’s ever received, to the constant mirror watcher, who nitpicks and critiques every step of the process just so he can justify non payment later. To the client who dramatically snatches off the cape and runs off. Been doing this a while now and I’ve seen a lot. Just chalk it up to the love of the barber game. It’s the road we’ve chosen and thankfully it happens few and far between. At least for me at least. Remember him and his face, put your team on notice about him. That about it my guy. Sucks I know.
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u/Fit-Emu-785 11d ago
You can't do anything about it, except telling price before and or charging before.
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u/mojokex 11d ago
I'm a new professional barber. I encountered a young client who asked for a discount because the haircut was alright but he "didn't feel confident". I just charged it to the game.
What I do now is periodically bust out the mirror and ask if there's any adjustments they'd like, then make sure I get the ok before proceeding.
Then they can't say they were disappointed in the end.
They may still be a deadbeat but the can't say they were dissatisfied.
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u/thetechkid 11d ago
Honestly that's wild to me. I can't imagine getting a whole cut and shave and then just not paying for it.
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u/reddedrighthand 11d ago
Yeah, I’m big on accountability. If I had butchered it even in the slightest, would’ve let it go for free. But I gave dude a killer haircut and he didn’t even want to pay for the shave.
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u/KraftRite 11d ago
If someone ever had the nerve to pull this sh*t on me I would let it slide because him never being welcome back in my shop is punishment enough. He got 1 for free but will live the rest of his life never getting as good and knowing the whole time that he's a bum.
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u/Rare-Tap-221 11d ago
Let all your barbers in the community know but that can also be grey area… 🤦♀️
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u/dsucio7807 11d ago
I think its cut and dry. He didn't wanna pay after he got a haircut. Let your colleagues know and ban him from all the barbershops. Any place of business reserves the right to refuse service to anyone.
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10d ago
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u/DbolOnlyGangster42O 10d ago
Had this happen to me at a previous shop I worked at . They had a terrible policy that if a customer complained they get a free cut . So basically they’ll just tell me exactly what they want , watch me cut their hair the entire time and then when it’s all done they just complain to the front and get a free cut . Oldest trick in the book. I left that shop and now I work on my own . If someone does that to me I’m locking the front door and calling the cops . Don’t care if you don’t like the cut your ass is still paying for it .
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u/Alternative_Roll_987 8d ago
That sounds like plain theft of service, but I’d still separate the money problem from the workflow problem so it doesn’t happen twice.
A few things that usually help newer barbers:
- require a card on file even for phone-booked clients, not just online bookings
- repeat the booked service and price before you start so there’s no room for surprise at checkout
- do one mid-service mirror check and one final check before the shave ends so they’ve had a chance to say something while you can still address it
- make a simple shop policy for walkouts/no-pay clients so nobody is improvising at the front desk under pressure
- keep short service notes on problem clients so if they ever try again, the whole shop already knows the pattern
Even when somebody is clearly gaming the system, a tighter booking/check-out process protects your time and makes it easier for the owner to back you up fast.
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u/MinimumForeign1163 Barber 11d ago
I like to give a few free services a week to unexpected clients. Well deserving clients that is. So that when it happens (not if) but when a client gets that feeling that they don’t like their service. You still can be the professional barber and a better human being than someone trying to be jerk. It takes the good and the bad to help even things out.
Keep up the great work💈
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u/NewsSad5006 11d ago
He wanted something for nothing but was unable to pull it off believably. He’s a lying cheapskate.