coiffeur

hair stylist

salon manager

instructor

barber

First Choice Haircutters

My expirience with managment was great, the only reason i stuck around as  much as i did. 
Youre always guarenteed your fulltime hours, but your hours are long. You will be closing and opening the next day, and first choice doesn't have a cut off time for taking customers, so if someone comes in at 5 mins till close, you have to take them. Regardless whether or not theres a huge line still. Weekends are particularly bad for this, not made better by the fact that saturdays are mandatory. There are people who have had funerals, weddings, even their own weddings on these days, and still have to work it. Trying to make appointments anywhere is a joke, the hours are so sparatic you're better off just booking the day off to do it. On top of the all over the place hours, they also like to ship you around to other first choice stores in the area. Big turnover in girls all the time so expect to cover on your days off or work longer on your shorter days. 
Your wage is not great, but thats normal for a hairstylist, tips are good. Benefits is $700 a year for everything, including eyes. It doesnt keep adding up if you dont use it that year, it will just reset back to $700. 
Really the most you can advance in this company is management, but all the responsibility for only a little bit more is not worth it. They throw apprentices on the floor right out of school after a week of basic training on just haircuts, and expect them to do anything from highlights to perm winding in record time. Many girls are working without their license. They'll send you to a yearly class reminding you of the basics of each service they offer. One year its barbering, one year its colour, ect.. but its not enough to make stylists comfertable with someone walking in for a balayage or an updo. None of the girls or comfortable or trained enough to really grow and stay on trend as a stylist.
The environment changes from store to store, some are more miserable at their job but get along with co workers for example, some are more bubbly but really catty.. it all depends. 
I've worked in multiple minimum wage retail and fast food jobs, and for the tiniest bit more I was making, it didn't feel rewarding enough to stay, especially considering I went to school for it.

Pros:

You make tips, which is on average $400 a month if you make $20 a day. The company gives you mannequins to practice cutting and coloring with. Stable hours, you get at least 30+ a week, sometimes even more. Walk-in clientele helps you get fast at your haircuts. You get two 15 minute breaks and one 30 minute lunch. You get 50% off employee discount every end of the month and 20% off the rest. Friends and family can take advantage of the discount. 

Cons:

They schedule you for closing one day and then opening the next day, which doesn't get you enough sleep. Managers barely help with anything. Communication within the company when managers are on holidays are terrible. We are always short-staffed, so sometimes they get you to work at other locations while working your 40+ hours at your own location. They get upset if you call in sick. Comission is only $0.005, so don't get fooled. You'll make so much more somewhere else. They put the same expectations on apprentices as they do licensed and experienced stylists, which is not fair. Your cutting might get fast and you might get to touch clients' hair. right away, but the quality of your work really suffers. No one is there to supervise apprentices. Managers don't give proper constructive criticism and they just tell you your work is great, even though it could use some more improvement. When there are fights between co-workers or between employees and managers, they fight in front of clients. Very unprofessional. When I tried to resign, I was lectured on how I could do so much and make so much money within the company. They also questioned me as a way of getting me to say things I shouldn't be saying about the company. Not a place for someone who wants to offer great quality service and get paid the price for the quality.

The environment is overall negative and draining. I was already warned by a friend who used to be a manager for the company. I did not listen. Would not recommend for someone who is looking to make it big in the hair industry.

I worked years ago at First Choice Haircutters. It was a good start as a Hairstylist after I graduated from hairstyling school because I got benefits, decent wage with tips. They taught me how to manage a business. So I highly recommend this as an entry into hairstyling.  It is very fast paced, long hours standing. Best thing was learning how to run a business, learned how to manage money and did some banking and bookkeeping. Good hygiene practice at the salon. Employee of the month got a free lunch. If you hustle, enjoy talking to people, are skilled and cut  fast you can earn a decent wage with tips.  You get benefits and if you show initiative are promoted quickly. Employee discounts, hair shows. Fun and great environment to work. Good place to work for entry level hairstylists. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The staff/coworkers
The client who comes in. Also I think comparing to all the other brand barber salons this is the one of the best for someone who just starting out. Because they offer a lot like perms and colors. training purposes and not much responsibilities and obligations


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Managements/supervisor's are over worked, licensed hairstylist and apprentices gets paid the same. So I don't recommend for an experience stylist or single person who is  trying to make ends meet with many  obligations. After tax it's $500 per week. I give 3 star because of a personal and professional experience with the company. That I will not put in here, because I am still grateful for the opportunities to work there. But there is  lots of room for improvements.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fast, slow , hectic,  collaborative,  sometimes 
Great clients, and coworkers, multi cultural environment. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Doing color applications or cutting, styling
Cleaning attending to laundry answering the phone 
Booking appointments, greeting clients as they comes in

Former employee that could never get the hours needed. The manager has been replaced 3 times in the past year. If the manager doesn't approve of how fast you can cut hair then you are no good to the company. I have seen many talented stylists come in and last a week and find a new employment. The schedules are all over the place. It is not a job for anyone with small children or those that like to volunteer in your spare time. You are on a team but they make you feel worthless, untalented, unskilled. There is more criticism than there is any success or applaud for hard work. This is a stressful environment. It's not for the faint of heart. If you are unlicensed for the apprenticeship of hairstyling, they will still hire YOU out of highschool. It's not fair for the stylists that have gave the hours required for the trade. But this job doesn't ask you to be skilled or qualified. Just cut hair and do it well. This company undermines and breaks a lot of laws that are illegal in the work place. I put in enough years to get a full picture of what goes on behind the scenes. And the gossip talked.

The management at Spruce Grove location treat their employees in a disrespectful and degrading way.  They have no concerns for the staff and talk down to them.  They set rules in place that they do not follow themselves.  There have been several staff there that have been long time employees (9 - 15yrs) that have walked away due to so much stress and anxiety.  The owners are not hairdressers and could absolutely careless.  Nothing can be dealt with privately with owners or supervisors as they bring store management in and they are the problem.  I've worked there years ago where I started down in the USA and the company was wonderful and treated all employees with respect and encouragement. I managed a salon there and in Toronto at one point and know how employees are valuable and the back bone of all companies.  I recently started there again for part time employment and was disheartened by what I saw with the full time staff and how hurt and unhappy they were.  A lot of these women are single moms trying to make a living and its appalling what they have to endure with no solution in site. I believe this is a franchise location and not a corporate store.  Things may be better there.

I used to work there.
My manager made fun of a miscarriage I had. The assistant manager was a rude and horrible person. They pay min wage, expect you to work as fast as possible. They expect you to work on your break. They fired someone I know because she was looking for a new job. They don't care about their staff. The location I worked at bolted the fire door closed so we could not use it if there was an emergency. They only give chemical services to the management staff as that's where the big tips come in. We got in trouble for blow drying clients hair during Canadian winters about a week after we got in trouble for not drying clients hair. You can't win with them. You are literally working in a place that sees you as the trash of the hair dressing world. Owners wouldn't let us run the washer and dryer at the same time because it cut into their vacation money. The managers only give promotions to their hairstylist buddies. Literally the worst place I ever worked, it made me quit hair dressing. I DON'T CARE HOW DESPERATE YOU ARE, DON'T WORK HERE!

Everyday held something different, but the mainline job was the same. Over my 25 years in the trade I have learned a great many things. Management for me was a great opportunity to continue meeting my own personal and professional goals. As being part of a team your co-workers are a very important part of the job because of spending so much time them it is important to have a good fit. The hardest part of the job was continuing changes made at headoffice level{new people changing the direction of the company} that was beneficial to the company, but not necessarily to the clients and staff. The part of my job I Enjoyed the most would always have to be my clients. They become a part of your life and you look forward to seeing them on each visit. As well as having the opportunity to meeting new people everyday.

A typical day at work would involve interacting with people all day, offering services and providing them with an enjoyable experience that they will look forward to having again. I learned a lot while working at this particular job when it comes to dealing with members of the public and it allowed me to quickly develop strong communication and interpersonal skills. My coworkers were a joy to work with; everyone worked productively as a team and everyone contributed to making it a comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere to work in. Difficulties of this job included; having to deal with rude customers and being on my feet all day long. The most enjoyable part was meeting new people every day and making them smile.

The ownership and upper management is horrible. Don’t get paid nearly enough. You can work at McDonald’s for the same wage, meanwhile we go to school for this. Basically an assembly line. Complete disregard for safety in inclement weather. The fast food places in at our location have all closed during massive snowstorms, and we are expected to be open, even though nobody comes in for hours. Prices increase way too often. Tips go on a card and it hardly ever works-it’s your own money we should have access to it immediately. Get no backup on customer issues from upper management. You can build a clientele and your skill here, but that’s it. Complete disregard for their employees and super cheap.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Coiffeur 315 salaries reported	$17.23 per hour
Hair stylist 11 salaries reported	$20.06 per hour
Salon manager 4 salaries reported	$52,500 per year
Instructor 4 salaries reported	$23.25 per hour
Barber 1 salary reported	$28.75 per hour

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