Dealing with difficult people

A crowded Virgin flight was canceled after Virgin's 767s had been withdrawn from service. A single attendant was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said,

"I HAVE to be on this flight and it HAS to be FIRST CLASS".

The attendant replied, "I'm sorry, sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these people first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out.."

The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear,"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?"

Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone:"May I have your attention please, may I have your attention please,"she began - her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal.

"We have a passenger here at Desk 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Desk 14."

With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the Virgin attendant, gritted his teeth and said,"F... You!"

Without flinching, she smiled and said, (I love this bit)"I'm sorry, sir, but you'll have to get in line for that too."

What it's like to live in a "dying" city

Recently, for those of you who don't know, Grand Rapids was listed as number 10 in Newsweek's list of “America's Top Ten Dying Cities”.

Interesting perspective. As a seven year resident of Grand Rapids, I can see nothing but growth. There's the obvious-- “Pill Hill” (as I call it), the DeVos Place Convention Center, the restaurants, pubs, bars, and grills, the J.W. Marriott and Amway Grand Plaza Hotels, the newly remodeled Civic Theater...the list goes on.

So are we “dying”.....?

Only when we want to, one day a year, when Rob Bliss organizes a Zombie Walk.

So take that, Newsweek.

Some articles of interest:

Michigan Success Story

A "Dying City"? Residents beg to differ.

Grand Rapids: Alive and Kicking


Mayor George Heartwell's heartfelt response to the editor of Newsweek:

To The Editor

Remember: It's not what people say about you, it's that they care enough about you to have your name on their lips.

Love, peace and hair grease,
LC

Why I always confront an issue and move on

One of the highlights of the Maly's Midwest Hair Show this year was the special VIP classes and events Paul Mitchell Pro lined up for Paul Mitchell Focus Salons. Perhaps my favorite special feature was guest speaker John Paul Dejoria, CEO and co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems. He shared a story with us that I found incredibly moving, and gave me a new philosophy in life:

There once was a young monk and an old monk. They decided to go on a religious pilgrimage across many miles, a journey that on foot would take them several days. They set out very early in the morning on the first day, and not too far from the monastery, had to cross a fairly wide river. The current was fast and the water was cold, so the crossing would be very difficult.

The monks looked at the river, looked at each other, and started across. It wasn't easy, but the young monk made it to the other side. The older monk glanced to his side and saw a woman struggling to make it. Even though he knew he wasn't having much more luck, he knew he needed to help her, so he waded over, picked her up, and carried her to the other side. The woman was moved to tears, thanked the older monk for saving her life, and they parted ways.

The monks walked the rest of the day and well into the evening, stopping deep in a forest to build a campsite. They started a fire, dug in their knapsacks for the provisions they packed, ate a nice dinner, and soon were discussing retiring for the night. Just as they were about to lay down and close their eyes, the young monk said to the old monk, "Do you mind if I ask you something? I've been thinking about it all day, and it's been weighing heavily upon me. When we entered our spiritual journey as monks, we took a vow against touching women. That woman in the river today....not only did you touch her, you picked her up!! You held her against your chest!! You carried her across the river!! How could you do such a thing?"

The old monk thought for a minute and looked slightly amused. He looked at the younger monk with a more serious face and said, "You know the difference between you and me? I left that woman at the river. You carried her around all day."

Why I refuse to rush your service.

I have had several interesting conversations over the past few days and thought they were worth sharing.

Yesterday, a favorite guest of mine (who am I kidding...they're all my faves!!) called me with an odd question. "Lauren, I love the salon and I love how you do my hair, but it takes SO LONG. The stylist I went to before you did it much quicker. I don't understand what's taking so long."

Legitimate question, right? I told her I'd do some homework and we'd chat before her appointment today. She has been going to a chain salon, and though I don't have anything against these salons, in my personal experience I have found them to be more "numbers" oriented than "quality" or "customer" oriented. I have a good friend who works at a different location of the same chain my guest had been visiting, so I called her up. I found out some very interesting things, and when my guest came in, here is what I shared with her:

1.) PROCESSING TIME: Many of the commonly used color lines in West Michigan (Matrix, Redken, etc) take 20 minutes to process. Since Paul Mitchell the color has a gentle lift and a thorough depositing time, it takes 35 minutes to process. Pretty simple.

2.) TONING: More importantly, my friend revealed that most stylists working at this chain don't tone their blondes. For those of you who don't "speak hair", here's what that means: Toning a blonde refers to applying a demi-permanent topcoat (Diamond Shines) or a deposit-only hair color (Paul Mitchell the color) after rinsing lightener off the hair. Why is this so important? I have my guests think about lightening hair as they would refinishing a hardwood floor. When you lighten it, you're sanding it down.....you remove any existing "stain", much of the buildup, and existing tones. A lot of times, it looks great, but if you leave it unprotected, it's dry, damaged, and unhealthy. Since we don't use polyurethane on hair usually (haha!!), I ALWAYS INSIST ON TONING A BLONDE.

I told my guest all of this information, and she actually surprised me. She was a bit angry. Not with me, but with her old salon. "Why didn't they tell me any of this before?? Why is this the first I've heard of the importance of toning??" Not only did she tell me she understood why it takes a little longer to do her hair color, she said she greatly appreciated the knowledge I shared with her and the time I take to deliver the best I possibly can.

SO......here's what all the blondes out there need to be saying: "SHOW ME THE TONER!!!!!!"

Love, peace, and hair grease,
LC

What I'm blessed with this holiday season

Irving Berlin wrote a great song called "Count Your Blessings," in which he suggested that whenever you're down, counting your blessings helps you realize how truly lucky you are.

As we sit and reflect on the past 365 days or so, I think we all can agree the past year has been incredibly difficult for many of us. I am an incurable optimist, however, and while I don't forget the negative or not-so-great things that have happened, I strongly believe that the good outweighs the bad.

That being said, here is a (brief) list of things I'm thankful for this year:

-Seeing my dream grow here at Ecouter with lots of successes, happy guests, and great team members
-A supportive family
-A growing "chosen family" of close friends
-Three smiling faces and wagging tails (my pets!!) that greet me at the door every day when I come home
-Seven years spent with a cat who's now an angel
-The smiles on my guests' faces when I spin them around and they see great color, beautiful cuts, and fabulous makeup
-An expanding network of amazing, inspirational leaders through John Paul Mitchell Systems and Business Networking International


....and most of all, I'm blessed with a career that I love more and more each day.

I hope all of you feel just as blessed as I do, and that everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.

Love, peace, and hair grease,
LC