The other ten conversations you keep having

Your first week is for learning how this salon works, not proving you can guess. Here is who to ask, what to observe and what you are expected to handle by Friday.

Then actually write the three lists. A welcome message that promises structure and delivers “shadow me” is worse than saying nothing, because now she knows structure was the plan.

Your appointment is held once the [amount/percentage] deposit is paid. It is handled under these cancellation terms: [link].

Two sentences, both of which are facts. The moment you add a paragraph explaining why you have to do this now, you have invited a negotiation about whether you should.

Thank you for coming in today. If the experience matched what you hoped for, an honest review here helps another client know what to expect: [link].

“If the experience matched what you hoped for” is doing real work. It gives an unhappy client a door out instead of a public one, and it stops the request sounding like a favour you are owed.

You are [minutes] minutes past the start time. We can [reduced safe service option] or reschedule under [policy]. I will not rush a service past the point I can do it properly.

Say it at the door, standing up, before she has her coat off. Twenty minutes into a service you have already decided to absorb the loss, and she has already decided this is normal here.

I can move this to [options]. Under the notice policy, [fee/deposit outcome]. Which option works?

Options first, consequence second, question last. In that order it is an offer. Reversed, it is a fine with an apology attached.

I value the history we have, and I need to be clear about [behavior/boundary]. From today, [specific rule]. If that does not work for you, I understand that another salon may suit you better.

This is the hardest one to send and the one that changes a week most. Name the behaviour, not the person. Give the rule a start date. And mean the last sentence — if you do not, do not include it, because she will test it.

We discussed [plan], [price range], [maintenance] and [test/condition]. Reply if any part is different from your understanding before we book.

Send it within the hour, while she still remembers the conversation well enough to correct it. This message is the cheapest colour correction you will ever do.

It has been [period] since your last visit. If you are ready to return, here is the current menu and the best starting appointment: [link]. No pressure if your plans have changed.

Name the starting appointment. A client who has been away eight months does not know whether she needs the full thing or the repair, and “book any time” is the reason she does not.

Our standard is observable: [behavior], completed by [time], recorded in [place]. “Be more professional” is not an instruction.

If you cannot say where it is recorded, it is not a standard, it is a mood. I have written plenty of moods and then been annoyed that nobody followed them.

From [date], [service] becomes [new name/structure]. Existing appointments are handled [rule]. The change means [plain client-facing difference].

The third sentence is the one clients read. If you cannot write the plain client-facing difference in one line, the change is not finished yet.