USA Today Article

This article in USA Today, on breaking up with your personal service providers, came out this past Thursday. I was interviewed for it a few weeks ago. It was an hour-long interview that resulted in a couple of quotes, but they interviewed several people for it, including psychologists. This subject is something I speak about in much more detail in my book. The gist of the article is that people are afraid to leave service providers like hairdressers, personal trainers, etc, because they feel like they are breaking off a personal, rather than a business relationship.

I believe that it pays to keep in mind that this is, in fact, a business relationship and you're a customer purchasing a service. As a customer, you have the right to see whomever you wish, as often as you wish, without the professional making you feel guilty at the possibility of wanting to try someone else. This is simply your right as a client. Something I also said during my interview with USA Today, that was left out of the article, is that this is rarely just about money, but mostly about being happy with the service and seeing the value in it. If you're not completely happy, then it doesn't matter much whether a haircut is $50 or $200, you should and most likely will seek an alternative.