Shunning, Shaming and Fear…..

Many professions are a part of a governing group such as the American Bar Association( Lawyers) or The American Medical Association (Doctors). These groups provide guidelines for members of their profession and can advise, set rules and even sanction when those rules are broken. In many ways these groups control the behavior of their members.

They were formed to prevent unfair practices for the professional members and for their clients and patients.

Some religions act in unified ways to provide guidance to their leaders and members but some practice shunning for those who don’t comply with their beliefs. What is shunning?

shun
SHən/
verb
gerund or present participle: shunning

1. persistently avoid, ignore, or reject (someone or something) through antipathy or caution.

“he shunned fashionable society”

synonyms: avoid, evade, eschew, steer clear of, shy away from, fight shy of, keep one’s distance from, give a wide berth to, have nothing to do with.

What about the Hair Loss/Restoration Industry…is there a uniform group to guide and advise or does this industry practice shunning?  There are in fact many organizations, some for profit and other not, but none of them individually or collectively act an authoritative/governing body.

There are millions of men and women who suffer from hair loss in around the globe due to various causes….MILLIONS. You would think that with that large of a number there would be one organization to bring them all together to better the industry and ultimately the client. You would think that with such a high number, despite economic factors, there would be the desire to share information, research and treatments among members of this growing industry. Sure there are a few hundred that share, but when you consider the vast number of those in this industry, that is a very small number.  You would think that hair loss businesses would be more than happy to cooperate with their fellow professionals in order to encourage healthy competition and knowledge and to expand the customer base for everyone.  Sadly this is not the case.  This industry is ripe with sunning. As a matter of fact, if you believe that this cooperation among hair loss professionals is a given and that everyone wants to grow the industry you would be wrong.

Have you ever asked a fellow hair loss professional for help, a favor, anything? What was the response that you received? Were you made to feel threatened or shunned. Were you treated like the enemy among people you thought were your friends? If the answer is yes, you are not alone. This practice in our industry is common and the norm.

Do people in this profession share information with one another or is everyone so busy obsessing over their own ability to retain customers and prevent others from succeeding that they will do almost anything to mislead and confuse the competition.  Again, there are a few that share, but in the whole scheme of things, the numbers are very small.

Advertising tricks, loss leaders and giving away free services to beat out the competition is commonplace. Refusing to help a fellow professional in any manner is also commonplace.

I could go on for page after page citing instances of unfair practices and underhanded ways to harm the competition. I could cite instances of favors refused, lies told and out and out shunning occurring.

What does this type of behavior accomplish? Does it further healthy competition, encourage people in need of hair loss treatments to seek out one of the many professionals in our industry? Does it strengthen the industry and show a unified front in the fight against hair loss and the constantly evolving new methods and treatments? No…it causes not only bad feelings and ill will among fellow hair loss professionals but it confuses potential customers who no longer know who to believe because they have been told that what one professional told them was false or not in their best interest. Who are they supposed to believe and how can they trust anyone in the profession if the people who offer treatments can’t back each other up and stick to the facts.

This shunning is not only a wide-spread Industry problem but can take place within each business as well. Who has your back; does your fellow hair loss professional try to steal your customers instead of informing them so that they can make the best choices for their particular needs? Would you tell a customer that John Smith at XYZ Hair Restoration Studio misinformed you about a particular treatment, procedure or hair system? Would you run a misleading “special” that doesn’t save the customer any money at all in the long run but manages to get their business away from someone else? What’s important here the customer’s needs or your bottom line?

There is already an inherent unfairness built into the industry because the larger businesses can afford expensive and extensive advertising and marketing where the smaller businesses depend on word of mouth and skilled workers to bring in new business. That isn’t exclusive to the hair loss/restoration industry but it is a fact of life.

Would the goal be to put smaller treatment centers out of business while sacrificing the reputation of the entire industry and causing customers to stop seeking treatments because they don’t know who to believe or trust? Will the customer view the entire industry as a sham as a result of this mean-spirited behavior?

Do you want to see this industry grow and expand or would you prefer to keep the new methods on the down low so that only a few places can spread the word of the many new advances in the field and the many treatments and solutions available. Why not take a broader view and welcome healthy competition. Why not share the wealth and the information and welcome the millions of men and women who suffer from hair loss into your industry as a whole.

Why not take pride in this industry that you are a part of and make it as accessible and important as it should be. Reach out to your fellow hair restoration professionals and welcome them into the fold. The more wide-spread the industry is the bigger it grows and the more well known to the public.

You can be petty and you can shun and deceive or you can grow the hair restoration profession by establishing a reputation for being a cohesive group of professionals who are more interested in providing much needed services to individuals suffering from hair loss.

The choice is up to you………………….

At The Hair Society, it is our goal, our mission to bring this industry together, to help develop a unified dialog between the industry manufactures and the salons, and the salons to the clients.