A Day in the Life of!

I can’t completely remember her face, and I certainly don’t remember her name. I do remember it was the early 90’s and how I never, to this day could wrap my brain around what happened.


She called for a bikini wax. As usual, we recommended she wear something old in the way of panties or a bathing suit bottom. I was much younger at the time, yet if I had to guess, I would say she was either in her late 40’s or mid 50’s.


The appointment went well. Pretty much un-eventful. She listened to our phone consultation and wore what I remember calling at the time “Grannie panities”. Cotton, worn out, dirty white and just plain looked like they were 100 years old.


A day after her appointment she called in anger. “You got wax on my underwear”! What? Really?

I wasn’t the one who answered the call but I did instruct my girl who did to suggest she wash them in warm water…..and all should be fine.

One would think she would have done that already, NOOOOO. She simply stated “she would try that”.


The next day she calls and explains the wax spot did not come out.  Honestly, I can’t make this shit up. We expressed our concern and told her to bring them in and we would send them to the dry cleaners.

The craziness of that part of the story is enough to make your head shake. What happened next is truly unbelievable.

She brought them in. Not wrapped in anything, just holding in her hand. I remember getting up to greet her and truly trying to hide the look of disbelief on my face. I grabbed a bag and let her drop them in.

NO….we didn’t send to the dry cleaners. We couldn’t even see where the spot was. We simply washed them in the washing machine. She picked them up and we never heard from her again.


Around the same time period, I was still back and forth between my Salon and my office supply Business. Consequently, I wasn’t at my Salon from open to close.

I remember coming in and noticing fast food drinks, half empty in our facial room. The chair slightly adjusted. There were a couple of other “signs” I would notice, yet at the time I remember thinking “I wish these girls would pick up after themselves”.

Then one day my next door neighbor at the strip we were in, asked me if I ever showed up to the Salon “unexpected”? I never did. I always called ahead to see if my team needed me to stop and get anything on my way in. At that time, I worked mostly later afternoons into the evening.

Long story short, it turned out that one of my girls would invite her boyfriend into work and as Sheldon with the Big Bang Theory would say “he was invited to have coites”.

It didn’t take me long to terminate her services.


My inspiration for this article comes from reading post and stories Technicians post about their day at the Salon. Questions on how to handle a specific situation with a client and maybe complaints about not being tipped, or late clients etc.

I feel your pain. Truly I do. The two stories above are the mild ones. In 24 years of Salon ownership, these two stories are NOTHING compared to the drug addict Technicians, the alcoholics, the late client, the picky client and numerous other challenges I encountered with owning my own Business.


It’s all in the “day of a life of a Business owner

It took me a while to learn;

  • It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you handle it.
  • Shit happens!!! Deal with it.
  • Life does and will go on

Although I learned these a long time ago, I won’t lie….it’s difficult to follow everyday. However, I do find, when I follow these motto’s my days are much more calm and I’m able to stay focused on what’s important. I want to share with you some techniques or tactics, I would or still do, in an effort to “deal”.

  1. “think”…..is it really THAT bad? Before you blow up into a tizzy, take that 10 second pause.
  2. Stop and think of the worst case scenario. This is my absolute favorite. I‘m always telling my team...there isn’t anything that can’t be fixed. Don’t get me wrong. I do not endorse mistakes. However, they do happen. The real question is, can it be fixed?
  3. Get it out of the way. Is there a task you are not looking forward to? Do it first thing in the morning. You will be surprised at the weight lifted off your shoulders allowing you to have a fabulous day.
  4. STOP with the negative. It does come across. A bitch here and there is normal and healthy. Yet, so often it’s the same people over and over again that are just total doom and gloom. Negativity follows. I also notice those people are the ones who constantly have something bad happen to them. Call it karma’s a bitch or call it a negativity train. Call it whatever you want. IF you want good things to happen you have to think positive thoughts. Be positive. Share positivity.
  5. Don’t “expect”. Expectations are our worse enemy. The least we expect, the lest we are disappointed.
  6. Stay motivated. I am at my absolute worst when I’m not feeding my brain. I am at my absolute best when I am reading, learning and filling myself with positivity. They are all simply contagious and really go hand and hand….or foot )

Both stories above could have turned out differently, had I “reacted”. I didn’t. The wax scenario was much easier for sure because quite truthfully, our comment that we would dry clean them, was actually sarcastic…..yet it worked.

The 2nd story in having to deal with a team member under such uncomfortable circumstances, definitely was more challenging. However, I Knew my choice to let her go was for the betterment of my Business.

THAT is what you have to think about. What is gong to be the best for my Business? Negativity or positivity? Action or reaction?


Yes, I’m going to say this again. Dirty laundry is nothing anyone ever wants to see. Think about that before you hang yours out on social media. Every negative comment, every complaint, every moan and groan is developing the personality that you are showing others. Is that truly who you wish to be?

CJ Murray, President

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