Table of Contents
If you are a hairdresser, you should consider drafting a set of customer terms and conditions. Your terms and conditions will set out the rights and obligations of you and your clients. They should be clear, fair and easy for consumers to understand. This article will outline some standard clauses in a hairdressing business’ terms and conditions.
Acceptance
Your terms and conditions should start with an acceptance clause. This can be a simple sentence which states your customers accept these terms and conditions when they request the services your salon offers.
Pricing and Payment
Your terms will need to clearly state how much you charge a customer for your services and how they must pay you.
Consider how you run your business in practice and ensure that the terms work with how you set prices. For instance, suppose you charge a fixed price for different services such as cuts, colours or styling. Accordingly, you may state in your terms that prices will be as set out in the price list available on your website or in-store.
If you provide more bespoke hairdressing services and provide the customer with a quote based on their requests or particular needs, your terms should state that the price will be an estimate as indicated by the hairdresser. The terms should also include a clause allowing amendments to this quote should there be any service changes.
Continue reading this article below the formChanges and Cancellations
If your customer changes an appointment, you can help avoid disputes by clearly stating in your terms and conditions that you cannot guarantee a certain time or particular hairdresser will be available for the rescheduled appointment. Alternatively, a dispute policy addressing these situations could help you deal with these clients. For cancellations, you may wish to indicate a notice period.
For example, you may state that if a customer cancels within 24 hours, a cancellation fee will be:
- charged to the customer’s credit card; or
- deducted from their deposit if the customer has already made part payment.
You must ensure your cancellation fee is a genuine pre-estimate of your loss. If a customer cancels two weeks before the scheduled appointment, charging a substantial cancellation fee would be unreasonable as you can likely take another booking.
Unsatisfied Customers
There may be times when customers are unsatisfied with your service. Your terms and conditions should outline the procedure a customer can follow if unsatisfied with your services. This will help you to:
- resolve disputes easily; and
- maintain a good reputation.
If a customer is unsatisfied with their cut, colour or other hair services, you can offer to redo the service at no extra cost. You may also offer a refund if a customer is very dissatisfied. In any event, you must provide a refund or resupply your services in certain circumstances set out in the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
For example, these circumstances include major or minor faults. However, you do not need to give a refund for a change of mind.
Consumer Guarantees
Your terms and conditions must comply with applicable laws. In particular, the Australian Consumer Law and consumer guarantees apply to any business that provides consumer services.
Concerning the services you may provide as a hairdresser, the consumer has the right to expect that when they purchase a service, you will provide it with an acceptable level of care and skill.
You need to state in your terms and conditions that your customers will be entitled to a refund or resupply if there is a fault or failure with your services.
Limitation of Liability and Disclaimers
To protect your commercial interests, your terms and conditions can set out what you are not responsible (or ‘liable’ in legal terms) for. This is subject to the consumer guarantees, as discussed above. While you are expected to take all reasonable care when providing your services, you can exclude some circumstances where neither a refund nor repair will occur, such as:
- if the failure is due to the customer’s own mistake or negligence; or
- for any factors beyond your control.
Unfair Contract Terms
The unfair contract laws in the ACL apply to:
- standard form consumer contracts, which the consumer cannot negotiate; and
- small business contracts.
Accordingly, the unfair contract terms extend to your business terms and conditions. A term may be unfair, and therefore unenforceable, if it:
- causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations;
- is not reasonably necessary to protect your legitimate interests; and
- would cause detriment to a party if they relied on it.
If a Court determines a term is unfair, they may strike it out. For example, suppose you cancel a customer’s pre-paid booking, and your terms and conditions state that the customer cannot receive a refund. In that case, the customer may be able to argue that the term is unfair under the ACL.
Website Terms of Use
If your business has a website, you will need a website terms of use. These apply to every website visitor and will:
- protect your website; and
- limit your liability for your website.
Your website terms of use should claim your copyright and intellectual property rights and set out permissible and prohibited uses of your website. For example, this could include that competitors cannot use your website information.
The LegalVision Startup Manual provides guidance on a number of common challenges faced by startup founders including structuring, raising capital, building a team, dealing with customers and suppliers, and protecting intellectual property.
The guide includes 10 case studies featuring Australia’s top VC fund partners and leading Australian startups.
Privacy Policy
If you collect, use and disclose personal information from customers, including using the information for direct marketing, you need a privacy policy. The privacy policy is between you and each person you collect personal information from. It sets out:
- what personal information your business collects;
- how you use this information; and
- under what circumstances you will disclose the information to third parties.
Where Should I Display My Terms and Conditions?
As a hairdresser, it is unlikely that you require each customer to read and sign a document before each appointment.
Instead, you can make your terms and conditions available on your website for customers to read. If your website allows for online bookings, you may make the terms and conditions clickwrap. This means customers have to tick a box saying they agree to the terms before finalising their booking.
If you do not have a website, you may display a physical copy of the terms in your salon for customers to read.
Key Takeaways
If you run a hairdressing business, it is essential to have terms and conditions to:
- set out the rights and obligations of your business and your customers; and
- protect your interests.
A good commercial business lawyer can help you prepare terms and conditions to protect and strengthen your business interests.
If you need help drafting your terms and conditions, our experienced contract lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, hairdressers typically need terms and conditions to establish a clear understanding between themselves and their customers regarding their services, how customers must make, change, cancel and pay for bookings, and their rights.
If you have an online website, your terms should be available (preferably by clickwrap if online bookings are available). Alternatively, you can physically display the terms and conditions in your salon where customers can read them.
Australian Consumer Laws apply to any business which provides services to a consumer. This includes hairdressing services.
We appreciate your feedback – your submission has been successfully received.
