A Hard Joke to Miss

I worked in a shop where one of my co-workers was a very sexy, curvy gal—and very popular with the male clientele, as you might imagine. Well, one day she walked by with her client and said to him, “Basil, you smell nice, what do you have on?” Without missing a beat, he replied, “A hard on, but I didn’t know you could smell it!” I almost fell to the floor, I was laughing so hard!

Steve Bachner

Steve’s Hair Studio

Highwood Illinois

BTC Member Since 2005

Prom Bomb

I will never forget the time in beauty school when another student did a great updo on a young woman. She had sleek, one-length platinum hair down to the middle of her back, and it looked gorgeous in the updo. All of a sudden, the student pulled out his shears and snipped away every flyaway on that poor girl’s head! Needless to say, she was probably pretty sad after she took her hair out after prom.

Jenna Wade

BTC Facebook Fan

Not-So-Sweet Treat

During the holidays, our salon owner decided to have Baileys Irish Cream on hand to offer to our clients as a little holiday “treat.” After I draped one of our clients for a color service, I asked her if she would like a coffee with some yummy Baileys in it. She looked at me with no smile on her face and said, ever-so-smugly, “Are you licensed to do that?” Seeeeeriously, it wasn’t like I was offering her a long line of hard shots!

Monique Harrison

BTC Facebook Fan

Spotty Judgement

I have a client who gets a clipper cut with a 3.5 on the sides. One day I cut her hair and she looked at me and said, “Did you mess me up today? There’s a bald spot here.” I looked at what she was talking about and had to hold the laughter in. “That’s not a bald spot—it’s a patch of grey.” She laughed and turned red. “Oh my God, I didn’t mean to accuse you!” she said. We laughed about it for weeks!

Jeffrey Lance

Styles by Jeffrey

Chicago, IL

BTC Member Since 2007

Mahoney Mix-Up

I had a newly-referred patron who knew exactly what cut she wanted. “I want my hair just like Mrs. Mahoney’s hair,” she said. I started the cut, but then my client mentioned Mrs. Mahoney by her first name…and I realized I made a huge mistake—she was talking about a different Mrs. Mahoney, and a COMPLETELY different cut! Luckily, it wasn’t too late to quickly make adjustments to the cut!

Jo Janoe Fannin

Riko Coiffures

West Palm Beach, Florida

BTC Member Since 2007

A Percent Off

I owned a few salons in the ski area communities of Colorado, and ski resort employees often liked to come in and ask for discounts. One day, as I started a haircut on a young lift operator, he asked, “Do you give local discounts?” I replied, “Yes, we give 50% off—which half do you want me to cut?” He said he would be happy to pay full price, and he never asked for a discount again!

Sue Frank

Sue Frank Freelance Hair

Kremmling, Colorado

BTC Member Since 2009

“I’ll double YOUR entendre…”

I was finishing a men’s haircut and was about to walk him back to the shampoo bowl for a rinse. I was trying to tell him I planned to blow off some leftover hair from the cape with my blowdryer…but instead, I said, “Let me blow you really quickly!” Yikes! I was mortified!!

Megan McLaughlin

Estilos Salon

Grand Junction, CO,

BTC Member Since 2007

Flop…Stop…Cop

A few years ago, the new stylist our manager hired went to lunch and came back drunk. While she waited for her client, she fell asleep in the chair…so she obviously got fired on the spot. To top that off, she got pulled over that afternoon by another stylist’s son-in-law, who is a local cop! What a story we had that week.

Georgina Hosler

BTC Facebook Fan

On a Roll

My newly hired stylist took on a customer who wanted a roller set. The client’s hair was cut into a blunt cut bob, and she told my stylist she wanted a tight curl. The stylist decided to use yellow Velcro rollers, which are the size of a white perm rod. Once the client was dry, the stylist started to take the rollers out. Well guess what? Yep, they were stuck! The stylist called me over and I tried to take one out. I tried to gently remove one and the lady kept whelping in pain because it was ripping her hair out. Well, after a few attempts she told me to STOP and said she would try to do it herself. As she ripped them out she moaned in pain and the customers in the waiting area had front row seats as this lady went through this. I BUSTED OUT LAUGHING so I went back to my chair where my client was and all I could do was laugh. As I cashed my client out, the woman was still moaning, and I laughed so hard I spit at my client!

Roxanne Longstone

BTC Facebook Fan

New Year, Same Hair

I remember when it was New Years Eve before Y2K, and I was so worried about the water turning off and other bad things happening. This girl came in with dark blonde hair requesting super bright highlights because she had just broken up with her boyfriend and wanted to “turn heads.” Well, after I spent two long hours creating these gorgeous highlights she said it was WAY too light! I bit my tongue (and tried to think about the lobster I was going to make after work) and fixed her hair. She walked out happy as a clam with the EXACT color she came in with!

Mary Brooks

HAIR dESIGN By Mary Brooks

Naperville, IL

BTC Member Since 2000